[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 118 (Tuesday, June 21, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35770-35771]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-12117]


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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.

BNSF Railway Company

[Docket Number FRA-2004-19949]

    The BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) seeks a waiver of compliance from 
certain provisions of 49 CFR Part 232, Brake System Safety Standards 
for Freight and Other Non-Passenger Trains and Equipment. Specifically, 
Sec.  232.215(a), transfer train brake tests for trains moving from Old 
South Yard to New South Yard in Houston, Texas, a distance of 
approximately \1/4\ mile.
    New South Yard is located approximately one-fourth of a mile south 
of Old South Yard. Both yards are approximately one mile in length. The 
two yards are separated by a one-fourth mile section of main track. 
Train speed in both yards is 10 mph. Maximum speed on the main track is 
20 mph, but trains operating between the two yards operate at 10 mph 
and must be prepared to stop within one-half the range of vision. The 
grade of the main track is level, sight distance is unobstructed, and 
there are no at-grade road crossings or grade separations on the main 
track.
    After a review of the particulars at this location, FRA determined 
that any cars moved between Old South Yard and New South Yard 
constitutes a train movement, thus requiring an air brake test. BNSF 
contends that an air brake test is not required at this particular

[[Page 35771]]

location for cars being moved from one yard to the other. They base 
their opinion on the multi-factor analysis as presented in the preamble 
to the Power Brake Regulations published in the Federal Register, 
January 17, 2001. See 66 FR 4148. BNSF believes all of the moves 
between the two yards are switching moves.
    Based on FRA's ruling, BNSF is requesting that a waiver be granted 
for cars moving from Old South Yard to New South Yard without 
performing an air brake test, to facilitate the movement of cars 
through this already congested area. BNSF claims they have been 
operating within and between the yards since 1998, using only the 
locomotive's brakes to control the movement. In addition to moving cars 
between the two yards, the main track is often used while switching 
service is occurring within each yard, due to the small size of the 
yards. BNSF does not believe that there are any inherent safety risks 
or additional costs involved if the petition is granted.
    Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to FRA. 
All written communications concerning this petition should identify the 
appropriate docket number (e.g., Docket Number FRA-2004-19949) and must 
be submitted in triplicate to the Associate Administrator for Safety, 
Federal Railroad Administration, 400 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20590-0001. Comments received within 30 days of the date of this notice 
will be considered by FRA before any final action is taken. Although 
FRA does not anticipate scheduling a public hearing in connection with 
these proceedings, 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 written 
communications concerning these proceedings are available for 
examination during regular business hours (9 a.m.-5 p.m.) at the 
Central Docket Management Facility, Room PL-401 (Plaza Level), 400 7th 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. All documents in the public docket 
are also available for inspection and copying on the Internet at the 
docket facility's Web site 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) at http://dms.dot.gov.

    Issued in Washington, DC on June 13, 2005.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. 05-12117 Filed 6-20-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P