[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 46 (Thursday, March 9, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12231-12232]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-3316]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

[[Page 12232]]

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.

Union Pacific Railroad Company

[Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-2006-23837]

    The Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) 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, Transfer Train Brake Tests and 
Sec.  232.103(e), which requires at least 85 percent of a train's 
brakes to be operative when moving defective equipment in a train. This 
relief would apply for the movement of ``bad order'' cuts of cars from 
UP's Salt Lake City North Yard to UP's Salt Lake City Roper Yard.
    UP contends that the yards in question, located in Salt Lake City, 
Utah, consists of one large end-to-end yard, which has historically 
been considered separate yards--North Yard and Roper Yard. North Yard 
and Roper Yard are six miles apart. Both yards have a repair facility, 
each consisting of three repair tracks. Currently, cars that are bad 
ordered in North Yard are repaired at the North Yard facility and cars 
bad ordered in Roper Yard are repaired at the Roper Yard facility. Due 
to the proximity of these repair facilities, UP is considering closing 
the North Yard shop and having all bad orders repaired at the Roper 
facility.
    UP contends that the movement of bad orders between Roper and North 
Yard should be treated as a switching move, without any air brake test 
requirement. If a transfer brake test is required for these repair 
movements, UP claims it will create a problem, since many of the cars 
are bad ordered for defective brakes, and at least 85 percent of the 
train's brakes would have to be operative in order to successfully 
perform a transfer train move. Accordingly, UP requests a waiver from 
the requirements of performing a transfer train brake test on the bad 
order repair movements from North Yard to Roper Yard, as well as relief 
from the requirements that no less than 85 percent of a train's brakes 
be operative for these train movements, subject to the following 
conditions:
    1. This waiver will only apply to repair movements between Roper 
and North Yard.
    2. After the train crew has coupled their locomotive(s) to the 
train, the brake hoses will be connected and the brake pipe pressure 
will be charged to 60 psi as indicated by an accurate gauge or an end-
of-train device at the rear of the train. After brake pipe pressure has 
been adequately charged, the train would receive a Class III brake test 
as prescribed in Sec.  232.211(b).
    3. Trains will be restricted to 10 mph when moving between the two 
yards.
    4. UP shall immediately notify FRA of any accident during these 
movements.

UP does not believe that safety will be compromised if the waiver is 
granted with the above conditions because these movements will have a 
certain number of operative train brakes, in addition to the locomotive 
brakes. UP cites that FRA has previously granted waivers allowing road 
trains to be moved several miles without an air brake test, FRA Docket 
2002-13251 and FRA Docket 2002-13399.

    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-
2006-23837) and must be submitted to the Docket Clerk, DOT Docket 
Management Facility, Room PL-401 (Plaza Level), 400 7th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590. 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 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 March 3, 2006.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
 [FR Doc. E6-3316 Filed 3-8-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P