[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 238 (Thursday, December 11, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69124-69125]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-30651]


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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 from certain 
requirements of its safety regulations. 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.

Union Pacific Railroad Company

[Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-2003-14408]

    On September 22, 2003, FRA denied a waiver request submitted by the 
Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) seeking a waiver of compliance from 
certain provisions of the Railroad Operating Practices regulations, 49 
CFR 218, regarding blue signal protection of workers. Specifically, UP 
wanted authority to have train and yard crew members, and utility 
employees to remove and replace batteries in the two-way end-of-train 
telemetry device (EOT) on the train the individual has been assigned 
to, without establishing any blue signal protection. UP requested the 
same relief that was earlier granted to the Burlington Northern and 
Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) in waiver request FRA-2001-10660. FRA denied 
the original request because it included utility employees from any 
working craft. UP is amending the original request, with regard to 
relief for utility employees. The new request is only for train and 
yard crew members and operating craft utility employees.
    Both 218.25 and 218.27 requires blue signal protection when workers 
are on, under, or between rolling equipment on main track or other than 
main track. 218.5 defines worker as any railroad employee assigned to 
inspect, test, repair, or service railroad rolling equipment or their 
components, including brake systems. Members of train and yard crews 
are excluded, except when assigned such work on railroad rolling 
equipment that is not part of the train or yard movement they have been 
called to operate (or assigned to as ``utility employees''). Utility 
employees assigned to and functioning as temporary members of a 
specific train or yard crew (subject to the conditions set forth in 
218.22 of this chapter), are excluded only when so assigned and 
functioning. 218.22(b) states in part: A utility employee may be 
assigned to serve as a member of a train or yard crew without the 
protection otherwise required by subpart D of part 218 of this chapter 
only under the following conditions * * * (5) The utility employee is 
performing one or more of the following functions: * * * inspect, test, 
install remove or replace a rear marking device or end of train device. 
Under all other circumstances a utility employee working on, under, or 
between railroad rolling equipment must be provided with blue signal 
protection in accordance with 218.23 through 218.30 of this part.
    The FRA has maintained that removing or replacing a battery in an 
EOT, while the device is in place on the rear of a train, requires blue 
signal protection since this task is a service and repair to the 
device. Therefore, the only way a utility employee or a train and yard 
crew member can legally remove or replace the EOT battery without 
establishing blue signal protection, is to remove the EOT from the rear 
of the train and perform the battery work outside the area normally 
protected by the blue signal.
    UP contends that safety would be improved by eliminating the need 
for employees to remove an EOT and place it on the ground to change the 
battery, then have to pick it up and re-mount it to the freight car 
coupler. Once again, UP requests that they be granted a waiver under 
conditions similar to those listed in BNSF waiver FRA-2001-10660.
    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 (e.g., Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-
2003-14408) 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.


[[Page 69125]]


    Issued in Washington, DC on December 5, 2003.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. 03-30651 Filed 12-10-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P