[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 6, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 32630]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-8735]


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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.

Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation

[Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-2006-24562]

    The Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation 
(Metra), further identified herein as the railroad, seeks approval for 
a waiver of compliance with the requirements of the Passenger Equipment 
Safety Standards contained in 49 CFR 238.309(b)(3), Periodic brake 
equipment maintenance, which requires that brake equipment receive 
periodic maintenance at 736 days. Metra requests an extension of the 
time period to 1840 days for 26 new bi-level electric passenger MU's.
    The twenty-six new electric MU locomotives for which the relief is 
being requested are being built by Sumitomo Corporation of America/
Nippon Sharyo and the air brake system is provided by Knorr Brake 
Corporation in Westminster, Maryland. The railroad explains that the 
brake application is transmitted electronically to each MU's Friction 
Brake Control Unit (FBCU). The FBCU then provides the requested brake 
application without drawing down brake pipe pressure. An Emergency 
Magnetic Valve (EMV) is provided on each MU for an electronic emergency 
brake application.
    Interested parties are invited to participate in these proceedings 
by submitting written views, data, or comments. Each comment shall set 
forth specifically the basis upon which it is made, and contain a 
concise statement of the interest of the commenter in the proceeding. 
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 (FRA-2006-24562) 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 available for inspection and copying 
on the Internet at the docket facility's Web site: 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 May 26, 2006.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
 [FR Doc. E6-8735 Filed 6-5-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P