[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 92 (Friday, May 12, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 27785]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-7289]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Notice of Application for Approval of Discontinuance or 
Modification of a Railroad Signal System or Relief From the 
Requirements of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 236

    Pursuant to Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 235 and 
49 U.S.C. 20502(a), the following railroad has petitioned the Federal 
Railroad Administration (FRA) seeking approval for the discontinuance 
or modification of the signal system or relief from the requirements of 
49 CFR Part 236 as detailed below.

Docket Number FRA-2006-24563

Applicant: Long Island Rail Road, Mr. Brian J. Finn, Chief Engineer, 
Hillside Maintenance Complex, 93-59 183 Street, Hollis, New York 11423.

    The Long Island Rail Road Company (LIRR) seeks relief from the 
requirements of the Rules, Standard and Instructions, Title 49 CFR, 
Part 236, Sec.  236.51, Track circuit requirements, to the extent that 
the LIRR be permitted to utilize single rail track circuits which do 
not provide for broken rail protection, in the vicinity of a new LIRR 
terminal called East Side Access (ESA). The ESA Project is a new rail 
and tunnel connection being developed, which will operate from existing 
Harold Interlocking, located in Long Island City, Queens, New York, 
extending approximately 3.5 miles into a new eight track terminal at 
Grand Central Terminal (GCT), in New York City, New York. There is a 
total of 36 specified track circuits involved.
    Applicant's justification for relief:
    (1) The track speed for these circuits will be restricted to 15 
mph.
    (2) The track in this area will be inspected, a minimum of twice 
per week, for evidence of broken rail.
    (3) The cost to provide broken rail protection in the area is 
estimated to cost $30 million, due to the necessary installation of 
reactors in the negative return circuits. These reactors are necessary 
for LIRR's double rail track circuits in DC propulsion territory, to 
prevent leakage current from adjoining track circuits from keeping 
track relays energized, in the event of a broken rail.
    (4) The installation of broken rail reactors would have an effect 
on the tunnel construction and the environmental impact study (EIS), 
due to increased ventilation plant requirements for the reactors.
    Any interested party desiring to protest the granting of an 
application shall set forth specifically the grounds upon which the 
protest is made, and contain a concise statement of the interest of the 
party in the proceeding. Additionally, one copy of the protest shall be 
furnished to the applicant at the address listed above.
    All communications concerning this proceeding should be identified 
by the docket number and must be submitted to the Docket Clerk, DOT 
Central Docket Management Facility, Room PL-401 (Plaza Level), 400 7th 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Communications received within 
45 days of the date of this notice will be considered by the 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.
    FRA wishes to inform all potential commenters that 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) or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.
    FRA expects to be able to determine these matters without an oral 
hearing. However, if a specific request for an oral hearing is 
accompanied by a showing that the party is unable to adequately present 
his or her position by written statements, an application may be set 
for public hearing.

    Issued in Washington, DC on May 9, 2006.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. E6-7289 Filed 5-11-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P