[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 232 (Wednesday, December 3, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 67736]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-30101]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    In accordance with part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR), notice is hereby given that the Federal Railroad Administration 
(FRA) received a request for a waiver of compliance with certain 
requirements of its safety standards. The individual petition is 
described below, including the party seeking relief, the regulatory 
provisions involved, the nature of the relief being requested, and the 
petitioner's arguments in favor of relief.

Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad Company

[Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-2003-16440]

    The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad Company (BNSF) seeks 
a waiver of compliance with the Locomotive Safety Standards, 49 CFR 
229.23, 229.27 and 229.29, as they pertain to the requirement to 
maintain the locomotive repair record form FRA 6180.49A, commonly 
referred to as the Blue Card, in the cab of their locomotives. If 
granted, BNSF would maintain locomotive inspection information in a 
secure BNSF data base. The data base would be maintained as the 
required office copy of form FRA 6180.49A. A computer generated form, 
which contains all information currently contained on the required FRA 
6180.49A, would be maintained on board the locomotive. In place of 
required signatures of persons performing inspections and tests, BNSF 
employees would be provided with a unique login identification number 
and a secure password to access the system and verify performance of 
inspections. In place of signatures, computer generated reports would 
block print the name of the employee performing a required inspection 
and block print the employee's supervisor who is certifying that all 
inspections have been made and all repairs were completed. Required 
filing of the previous inspection record will be maintained through the 
data base.
    Interested parties are invited to participate in these proceedings 
by submitting written views, data, or comments. FRA does not anticipate 
scheduling a public hearing in connection with these proceedings since 
the facts do not appear to warrant a hearing. If any interested party 
desires an opportunity for oral comment, they should notify FRA, in 
writing, before the end of the comment period and specify the basis for 
their request.
    All communications concerning these proceedings should identify the 
appropriate docket number (FRA-2003-16440) and must be submitted to the 
Docket Clerk, DOT Docket Management Facility, Room PL-401 (Plaza 
Level), 400 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Communications 
received within 45 days of the date of this notice will be considered 
by FRA before final action is taken. Comments received after that date 
will be considered as far as practicable. All written communications 
concerning these proceedings are available for examination during 
regular business hours (9 a.m.-5 p.m.) at the above facility. All 
documents in the public docket are also available for inspection and 
copying on the Internet at the docket facility's Web site at http://dms.dot.gov.
    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78). The Statement 
may also be found at http://dms.dot.gov.

    Issued in Washington, DC on November 26, 2003.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. 03-30101 Filed 12-2-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P