[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 154 (Thursday, August 11, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46910-46911]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-15950]


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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

[[Page 46911]]

involved, the nature of the relief being requested, and the 
petitioner's arguments in favour of relief.

Association of American Railroads

[Docket Number FRA-2005-21325]

    The Association of American Railroads (AAR), on behalf of itself 
and its member railroads, seeks a permanent waiver of compliance from 
certain provisions of the Railroad Locomotive Safety Standards, 49 CFR 
Part 229. Specifically, the AAR requests to change the time interval 
requirements of 49 CFR 229.27 Annual Tests and 49 CFR 229.29 Biennial 
Tests for all locomotives equipped with 26-L type brake systems and air 
dryers, by extending the testing interval to four years.
    In 1981, FRA granted a test waiver (H-80-7) to eight railroads, 
permitting them to exceed the annual and biennial testing requirements 
of Sec.  229.27 and Sec.  229.29, in order to conduct a study of the 
safe service life and reliability of the locomotive brake components. 
On January 29, 1985, FRA expanded the waiver to permit all railroads to 
inspect the 26-L type brake equipment on a triennial basis. In the 
1990's, the Canadian Pacific Railroad (CP) and the Canadian National 
Railroad (CN) petitioned the FRA to allow them to operate locomotives 
into the United States that received periodic attention every four 
years. The requests were based on a decision by Transport Canada to 
institute a four-year inspection program following a thorough test 
program in Canada. In November 2000, FRA granted conditional waivers to 
both the CN and CP Railroads, extending the testing interval to four 
years for Canadian-based locomotives equipped with 26-L type brake 
systems and air dryers. The waiver also requires all air brake 
filtering devices be changed annually and the air compressor to be 
overhauled not less than every six years.
    AAR does not see any rational basis for permitting Canadian-based 
locomotives with 26-L type brakes and air dryers to operate four years 
between inspections, while subjecting U.S.-based locomotives with the 
same brake systems and air dryers to a three-year inspection interval. 
AAR makes this conclusion based on the fact that Transport Canada has 
permitted this practice without any accident caused by the malfunction 
of a 26-L type brake system, and because the FRA approved the CN and CP 
waiver requests in 2000. Accordingly, AAR requests that the inspection 
interval for all locomotives equipped with 26-L type brake systems and 
air dryers be extended to four years.
    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-
2005-21325) and must be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Clerk, 
DOT Central Docket Management Facility, Room Pl-401, Washington, DC 
20590-0001. 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 DOT 
Central Docket Management Facility, Room Pl-401 (Plaza Level), 400 
Seventh Street SW., Washington. 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 19377-78). The statement 
may also be found at http://dms.dot.gov.

    Issued in Washington, DC on August 8, 2005.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. 05-15950 Filed 8-10-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-U