[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 196 (Wednesday, October 12, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59392-59394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-20361]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for Comments; 
Clearance of a New Information Collection: Work Schedules and Sleep 
Patterns of Railroad Dispatchers

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Railroad Administration invites public comments 
about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's 
(OMB) approval for a new information collection. The proposed 
collection involves the work schedules and sleep patterns of railroad 
dispatchers. FRA seeks to develop an understanding of the work 
schedule-related fatigue issues that affect railroad dispatchers. FRA 
will use the data obtained from the proposed collection (a survey) to 
identify whether or not this segment of the railroad workforce has a 
work and sleep schedule pattern that may compromise their ability to 
carry out their safety critical role in railroad operations in a 
suitable manner. FRA is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
to publish this notice. The Federal Register notice with a 60-day 
comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of 
information was published on August 4, 2005.

DATES: Please submit comments on or before November 14, 2005.

[[Page 59393]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Brogan, Office of Planning 
and Evaluation Division, RRS-21, Federal Railroad Administration, 1120 
Vermont Ave., NW., Mail Stop 17, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 
493-6292), or Victor Angelo, Office of Support Systems, RAD-20, Federal 
Railroad Administration, 1120 Vermont Ave., NW., Mail Stop 35, 
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493-6470). (These telephone 
numbers are not toll-free.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
Pub. L. No. 104-13, 2, 109 Stat. 163 (1995) (codified as revised at 44 
U.S.C. 3501-3520), and its implementing regulations, 5 CFR Part 1320, 
require Federal agencies to issue two notices seeking public comment on 
information collection activities before OMB may approve paperwork 
packages. 44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.5, 1320.8(d)(1), 1320.12. On 
August 4, 2005, FRA published a 60-day notice in the Federal Register 
soliciting comment on ICRs that the agency was seeking OMB approval. 70 
FR 44971. FRA received two comments in response to this notice. Both 
commenters supported the proposed information collection.
    The first comment came from Mr. Leo McCann, President of the 
American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA). ATDA is a rail labor 
organization that represents approximately 2,100 railroad workers who 
are charged with the task of safely and efficiently moving the nation's 
freight and passenger service on a daily around-the-clock basis. In his 
remarks, Mr. McCann stated the following:

    ATDA is considered one of several ``non-operating crafts'' whose 
members are subject to work schedule-related fatigue. Fatigue 
continues to be a factor for the non-operating crafts within the 
rail industry, especially in view of the working conditions, 
expanded territories, frequent changes in workweek and starting 
times, and erratic call schedules for our extra train dispatchers. 
Our members, like BRS and BMWE, are subject to a number of work 
schedule-related factors which can lead to fatigue induced accidents 
and incidents. As such, we support the study contemplated in the 
above-referenced notice to assist FRA and the rail industry in 
understanding the impact of work schedules, territory size, call 
schedules, working conditions, and other factors which may 
contribute to ATDA employee fatigue.

    The second comment came from Mr. Freddie Simpson, President of the 
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (BMWE). The BMWE is a rail 
labor organization that represents 40,000 railroad workers who build, 
maintain, repair, and inspect tracks, bridges, and related railroad 
infrastructure throughout the United States. In his letter, Mr. Simpson 
noted the following:

    Railroad Dispatchers play a critical role in the safety of rail 
operations. Fatigue has been a huge factor in the railroad industry, 
and recent railroad mergers and manpower reductions have exacerbated 
the problem. BMWE contends that the Work Schedules and Sleep 
Patterns of Railroad Dispatchers, OMB Control Number 2130-NEW, study 
will help FRA and the rail industry to develop an understanding of 
the work schedule-related fatigue issues that affect Railroad 
Dispatchers.

    Before OMB decides whether to approve these proposed collections of 
information, it must provide 30 days for public comment. 44 U.S.C. 
3507(b); 5 CFR 1320.12(d). Federal law requires OMB to approve or 
disapprove paperwork packages between 30 and 60 days after the 30 day 
notice is published. 44 U.S.C. 3507 (b)-(c); 5 CFR 1320.12(d); see also 
60 FR 44978, 44983, Aug. 29, 1995. OMB believes that the 30 day notice 
informs the regulated community to file relevant comments and affords 
the agency adequate time to digest public comments before it renders a 
decision. 60 FR 44983, Aug. 29, 1995. Therefore, respondents should 
submit their respective comments to OMB within 30 days of publication 
to best ensure having their full effect. 5 CFR 1320.12(c); see also 60 
FR 44983, Aug. 29, 1995.
    The summaries below describe the nature of the information 
collection requirements (ICRs) and the expected burden. The proposed 
requirements are being submitted for clearance by OMB as required by 
the PRA.
    Title: Work Schedules and Sleep Patterns of Railroad Dispatchers.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-XXXX.
    Type of Request: Approval of a new information collection.
    Affected Public: Businesses.
    Form(s): FRA F 6180.122; FRA F 6180.123.
    Abstract: In a continuing effort to improve rail safety and to 
reduce the number of injuries and fatalities to rail workers, FRA and 
the railroad industry have focused on the issue of fatigue, primarily 
among train and engine crew personnel. Because railroading is an 
around-the-clock, seven-days-a-week operation and because a wide array 
of workers are needed both to operate and to maintain the nation's 
railroads, other crafts--besides train and engine crews--can also be 
subject to fatigue. The non-operating crafts, including track 
maintenance, signal system maintenance and telecommunications and 
railroad dispatchers, fall into this second category. FRA is proposing 
a study which will focus on railroad dispatchers, one of the non-
operating railroad crafts. FRA seeks to develop an understanding of the 
work schedule-related fatigue issues that affect railroad dispatchers. 
The proposed study has two primary purposes: (1) It aims to document 
and characterize the work/rest schedules and sleep patterns of the 
railroad dispatchers; and (2) It intends to examine the relationship 
between these schedules and level of alertness/fatigue for the 
individuals who work these schedules. The intent is to report results 
in the aggregate, not by individual or railroad. Subjective ratings 
from participants of their alertness/sleepiness on both work and non-
work days will be an integral part of this study. The data will be 
collected through the use of a daily diary or log completed by 
participants over a continuous two-week time period, as well as through 
a brief background questionnaire completed by each participant. 
Analysis of the diary data will allow FRA to assess whether or not 
there are any work-related fatigue issues for railroad dispatchers. The 
proposed study will provide a defensible and definitive estimate of the 
work/rest cycle parameters and fatigue in dispatchers that will inform 
possible future FRA regulatory policy and action.
    Annual Estimated Burden Hours: 858.
    Addressee: Send comments regarding these information collections to 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 
and Budget, 725 Seventeenth Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503; 
Attention: FRA Desk Officer.
    Comments are invited on the following: Whether the proposed 
collections of information are necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of FRA, including whether the information will have 
practical utility; the accuracy of FRA's estimates of the burden of the 
proposed information collections; ways to enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize 
the burden of the collections of information on respondents, including 
the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.
    A comment to OMB is best assured of having its full effect if OMB 
receives it within 30 days of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35; and 49 CFR 1.48.


[[Page 59394]]


    Dated in Washington, DC on October 5, 2005.
D.J. Stadtler,
Director, Office of Budget, Federal Railroad Administration.
[FR Doc. 05-20361 Filed 10-11-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P