[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 87 (Friday, May 5, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26603-26604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6788]


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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.

Sacramento Regional Transit District

[Petition Docket Number FRA-2006-24216]

    As a supplement to Sacramento Regional Transit District's (SRTD) 
Petition for Approval of Shared Use (Shared Corridor) and waiver of 
Certain FRA Regulations (the original shared corridor waiver was 
granted by the FRA Railroad Safety Board on September 1, 2003), SRTD 
seeks a permanent waiver of compliance from additional sections of 
Title 49 of the CFR for continued safe operation of its 18.3-mile Light 
Rail Transit (RT System) everywhere it shares a corridor and 
corresponding highway-rail grade crossings with the Union Pacific 
Railroad (UPRR). SRTD submits that this request is consistent with the 
waiver process for Shared Use. See Statement of Agency Policy 
Concerning Jurisdiction Over the Safety of Railroad Passenger 
Operations and Waivers Related to Shared Use of the Tracks of the 
General Railroad System by Light Rail and Conventional Equipment, 65 FR 
42529 (July 10, 2000); see also Joint Statement of Agency Policy 
Concerning Shared Use of the Tracks of the General Railroad System by 
Conventional Railroads and Light Rail Transit Systems, 65 FR 42626 
(July 10, 2000).
    The RT System operates on its own tracks in certain rail corridors 
also used by UPRR for freight rail operations over adjacent tracks. The 
RT System and the UPRR share 18 public highway-rail grade crossings on 
the Placerville Branch, a rail corridor owned by Sacramento-Placerville 
Transportation Corridor Joint Powers Authority (SPTC-JPA) that extends 
between milepost (MP) 97.0 and MP 110. The RT System and UPRR also 
share 11 public highway-rail grade crossings on the UPRR mainline 
between approximately MP 131 and MP 137.9.
    SRTD states that since it began light rail service in 1987, the RT 
System utilized a 75 dbA gong on its vehicles to sound an audible 
warning at highway-rail grade crossings. On June 24, 2005, the RT 
System began using a 95-100 dbA vehicle horn instead of the 75 dbA 
gong. In March, 2006, SRTD finished installing new 75dbA ``clatter'' 
gongs in its vehicle fleet, which are being sounded at highway-rail 
grade crossings in place of the 95-100 dbA horn.
    On April 27, 2005, the FRA issued the Final Rule on Use of 
Locomotive Horns at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings, 69 FR 21844 (2005), 
with an effective date on June 24, 2005. SRTD is working with the City 
of Rancho Cordova and the County of Sacramento to evaluate the 
feasibility of establishing Quiet Zones along portions of the RT 
System, but is concerned about the anticipated costs of implementing 
such Zones. With the exception of the Quiet Zone established by the 
City of Sacramento between C street downtown and Meadowview Road 
between 7AM and 6AM (previously filed as a Pre-Rule Partial Quiet Zone 
Notice), RT System LRVs along all shared public highway-rail grade 
crossings with the UPRR are sounding either a 95-100 dbA horn or 75 dbA 
``clatter'' gong that complies with the Final Horn Rule sound pattern 
requirements of CFR part 222. Because the RT System is running through 
residential areas, SRTD is receiving complaints from local residents 
about the noise of these horns and ``clatter'' gongs and would like to 
return to its historical practice of using 75 dbA gongs. SRTD states 
that the 75 dbA gong complies with all applicable sound level 
requirements of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) as 
set forth in General Order 143-B. The proposed 75 dbA gong sounding 
practice at shared highway-rail grade crossings has been the standard 
operating practice from 1987 until June 2005, and in such time, has had 
only 20 reportable accidents or incidents. SRTD further states that 
light rail operations are significantly different in character from 
freight rail operations and the audible warning procedures for the RT 
System's LRVs reflect those differences. Accordingly, SRTD seeks a 
waiver of compliance with certain sections of CFR part 229.129 (minimum 
horn decibel requirements) and CFR part 222.21 regarding start time, 
pattern, and duration requirements. (Section 229.129(d) clearly excepts 
locomotives of rapid transit operations, notwithstanding preamble 
discussion in the final rule to the contrary; accordingly this portion 
of the request for relief will be dismissed and comment is not 
requested on this aspect of the request for relief.)
    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-
2006-24216) 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 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.


[[Page 26604]]


    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 1, 2006.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
 [FR Doc. E6-6788 Filed 5-4-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P