[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 20, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 75535]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-7565]



[[Page 75535]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    In accordance with Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 
Parts 211.9 and 211.41 notice is hereby given that the Federal Railroad 
Administration (FRA) has received a request to expand an existing 
waiver of compliance from certain requirements of Federal railroad 
safety regulations. The individual petition is described below, 
including the parties seeking the extension, the nature of the 
extension being requested and the petitioner's arguments in favor of 
relief.

Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company

[Docket Number FRA-2003-15432]

    The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) seeks 
permission to expand the current Electronic Train Management System 
(ETMS) waiver granted on June 23, 2004, into another area of their rail 
network. The extension of this pilot will allow BNSF to further 
demonstrate the objectives of ETMS on different track configurations 
and operational scenarios. This extension will also allow BNSF to 
demonstrate the ETMS technology with denser traffic patterns and give 
BNSF the potential to test interoperability with other railroads.
    The ETMS pilot project on the Beardstown subdivision is currently 
in the third phase of the FRA waiver that was granted on June 23, 2004. 
To date, BNSF has operated nearly 1700 ETMS-activated trains over this 
pilot test area. BNSF has conducted over five hundred tests in 
cooperation with the FRA Office of Safety that have successfully 
demonstrated the objectives that are feasible in the first pilot test 
area. BNSF is prepared to continue the testing and demonstration of the 
ETMS technology in other areas of their rail network that will allow 
them to further demonstrate the safety and operational benefits that 
the rail industry can derive from this technology.
    The ETMS expansion will be tested and demonstrated on the BNSF's 
Fort Worth subdivision between Fort Worth, Texas, milepost 346.67 and 
Gainesville, Texas, milepost 411.3. In addition, the system will be 
tested and demonstrated on the Red Rock subdivision between 
Gainesville, Texas, milepost 411.3X and Arkansas City, Kansas, milepost 
264.11. The combined distance of the test territory is 329 miles. The 
present method of operation on the BNSF is Centralized Traffic Control. 
The total trains are approximately 25 per day, 21 BNSF trains, 2 Amtrak 
trains, and 2 Union Pacific Railroad trains.
    BNSF is currently developing an installation, test, and 
implementation plan for this second pilot test area. BNSF's present 
implementation guidelines would follow the same methodologies as 
previously used in the Beardstown test area with regards to personnel 
training and the testing of the test area's unique components such as 
grade, track configuration, and track database. In addition, BNSF's 
plan for this area would include a phased methodology as was done in 
the Beardstown test area where Phase 1 included no enforcement with 
ETMS active, Phase 2 included enforcement with ETMS active, and Phase 3 
is a continuance of Phase 2 with some relief from detail reporting. 
This approach has proven to be productive and comprehensive.
    The expansion would begin with wayside and locomotive equipment 
installation in the beginning of 2006. Upon completion of the wayside 
installation, the track database verification and locomotive testing 
would commence. Finally, the phased revenue demonstration would begin 
upon the successful completion of the verification and validation 
testing.
    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-
2003-15432) and must be submitted to the Docket Clerk, DOT Central 
Docket Management Facility, Room PL-401, Washington, DC, 20590-0001. 
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 December 15, 2005.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
 [FR Doc. E5-7565 Filed 12-19-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P