[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 222 (Thursday, November 18, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 67619]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-25561]


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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) has 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.

The Valley Railroad Company

[Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-2004-19259]

    The Valley Railroad Company (VALE) of Essex, Connecticut, operator 
of a scenic railroad on leased track, seeks waivers from certain 
provisions of 49 CFR part 231, 49 CFR part 223, and 49 CFR part 229 for 
an 80-ton diesel-electric locomotive built by General Electric in 1937 
and currently numbered VALE 0901.
    The specific sections from which relief is requested and the 
justifications for such relief are as follows: (1) Switching steps of 
the type required by 49 CFR part 231.30(a)-(f) are not permitted by the 
frame construction of the locomotive. Instead, it is equipped with four 
side ladders which give access to the walkways near each corner of the 
locomotive. (2) Glazing in the locomotive is not compliant with 49 CFR 
part 223.11; however, the current glazing is automotive style safety 
glass, and VALE reports they operate in a rural area and have had few 
incidents of rocks being thrown at their trains, and no incidents of 
rocks being thrown at a locomotive. (3) The locomotive has never been 
equipped with a ``slip/slide alarm'' as required by 49 CFR part 
229.115; however, VALE reports that it will be operating at speeds less 
than 20 mph and with trains weighing less than 500 tons. (4) This 
locomotive is equipped with a single headlamp on each end which does 
not meet the requirements of 49 CFR part 229.125(a) for road 
locomotives, but which does meet the requirements for locomotives used 
in switching service given in 49 CFR part 229.125(b). Again, VALE 
states that this is sufficient due to the speed limit of 20 miles per 
hour.
    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-
2004-19259) 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 30 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 5, 2004.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Acting Associate Administrator for Safety.
[FR Doc. 04-25561 Filed 11-17-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P