[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 139 (Thursday, July 21, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42139-42140]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-14342]


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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 Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway Company

[Docket Number FRA-2005-21359]

    Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway Company seeks a waiver 
of compliance from certain provisions of Title 49 of the CFR, part 213, 
Track Safety Standards. Specifically, BNSF seeks relief from the 
requirements of Section 213.121-Rail Joints, which prescribe the 
requirements for rail joints, including standard joints, insulated 
joints (IJ), and compromise joints.
    BNSF, in conjunction with Omega Industries of Vancouver, WA, is 
developing a new generation of IJ, and seeks a waiver in order to 
permit field testing of this new design. This new design differs from 
typical accepted IJ construction because it does not utilize a 
continuous angle bar. Instead, the design calls for the running rail on 
each side being attached to a large interlocking bearing and shaft that 
is cast into an H-shaped concrete tie that uniformly distributes loads 
to the ballast. The principal advantage of this design is that it 
provides for a large bearing surface that uses the entire rail base 
resting on conventional concrete tie pads to distribute vertical 
loading. The manufacturer and BNSF offer other advantages of such a 
design to include: Delrin plastic in place of a traditional fiberglass 
endpost, vertical movement is further restricted by a vertically 
positioned bolt system, no need for messy and toxic epoxy/glue 
substances, rails can easily be replaced without removing the joint, 
allowing correction of a rail failure without necessarily replacing the 
entire IJ.
    BNSF Railway Company offers the following testing plan:
    1. The initial IJ will be installed in a yard location (FRA Class 1 
speed) on a non-signaled track segment. Any design, construction, or 
installation shortcomings (in this case, current leakage from one rail 
to the next rail) will not result in a signal failure. This phase one 
test will remain in track for six months prior to moving to the next 
test phase.
    Monitoring--During this test phase, the IJ will be monitored for 
rail movement (all three directions) and current isolation. If the IJ 
restrains the rail movement and current does not pass from one rail to 
the next rail, the next test phase will be initiated. This first test 
IJ will be left in the yard track and will continue to be monitored 
after the initial six-month period. The IJ will remain in-track until 
it fails, or if it performs successfully in service for a minimum of 
one year, BNSF and Omega may option to move it to a signaled track 
segment in FRA Class 1 or 2 track.
    2. A second IJ will be installed in a Class 1 speed main track at a 
location that has a signalrequirement. This test IJ will remain in 
track for a minimum of six months prior to moving to a third test 
phase.
    Monitoring--During this test phase the IJ will be monitored for 
rail movement (all three directions) and current isolation. If the IJ 
restrains the rail movement and current does not pass from one rail to 
the next rail, then the IJ would be graduated to the next test phase. 
This second IJ will remain in track and continue to be monitored after 
the initial minimum six-month period.
    3. A third IJ will be installed after successful completion of the 
first phase and second phase tests. The third phase test will be 
conducted at a signal location in Class 2 speed track. This test IJ 
will remain in track until the joint fails. If the third phase test 
joint exceeds what is deemed the average life of conventional insulated 
joints, currently approximately 250-350 MGT, BNSF and Omega will 
propose the installation of additional joints. When the test IJ are 
removed from track due to failure, they will be sent back to the 
manufacturer for examination to determine the cause of the failure.
    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 communication concerning these proceedings should identify the 
appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-
2005-21359) and must be submitted to the

[[Page 42140]]

Docket Clerk, DOT Docket Management Facility, Room PL-401 (Plaza 
Level), 400 7th Street, SW., Washington, D.C. 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.

    Issued in Washington, DC on July 13, 2005.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. 05-14342 Filed 7-20-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P