[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 144 (Thursday, July 27, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42712-42713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-11964]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    In accordance with part 211 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR), notice is hereby given that the Federal Railroad 
Administration (FRA) has 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.

Union Pacific Railroad Company

[Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-2006-24840]

    The Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) is initiating a program to 
implement ``Remote Authority'' technology, designed to permit

[[Page 42713]]

authorized users in the field to request, be granted, or release on-
track authority. To facilitate the implementation of this technology, 
UP is requesting that FRA suspend compliance with certain rules in 
accordance with the provisions contained in 49 CFR 211.51.
    The Remote Authority is a web-based application that will permit 
authorized users to request, be granted, or release Foul Time, Track 
Permit, Track & Time or Track Warrant authority to occupy a main track 
or other controlled track. The central office component consists of one 
or more Remote Authority servers that will receive requests from 
authorized users for on-track authority or requests to release on-track 
authority. If the user is authorized to request or release on-track 
authority, and the request meets established criteria, the request is 
forwarded to the Union Pacific's Computer Aided Dispatching system for 
further processing. Requests that do not meet established criteria are 
rejected at this point in the process, and the user is provided the 
opportunity to change or cancel the request.
    Requests for on-track authority are received by the dispatching 
system and must meet established criteria to be eligible for issuance 
by the dispatching system without dispatcher intervention. If the 
established criteria are not satisfied, the request is placed in the 
appropriate authority request queue, and the train dispatcher is 
notified.
    In this regard, the UP requests relief to permit the dispatching 
system to grant or release on-track authority in response to a valid 
request from an authorized user without intervention on the part of the 
train dispatcher or control operator who controls train movements on 
that track. The UP hereby seeks relief from 49 CFR 214.321(a)(1), which 
requires a track occupancy authority for working limits to be issued to 
the roadway worker in charge by the train dispatcher or control 
operator who controls train movements on that track.
    Access to the Remote Authority application within the UP network 
requires the user to present valid credentials consisting of standard 
user identification and secret password. For off-network access, a 
Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection must be established by the 
employee before presenting valid credentials. Within the Remote 
Authority application, individual users are further restricted in the 
functions they may perform.
    Interested parties are invited to participate in this proceeding by 
submitting written views, data, or comments. Although FRA does not 
anticipate scheduling a public hearing in connection with this 
proceeding, 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 this proceeding should identify the 
appropriate docket number (FRA-2006-24840) and may be submitted by any 
of the following methods:
     Web site: http://dms.dot.gov. Follow the instructions for 
submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, 
Washington, DC 20590-001.
     Hand Delivery: Docket Management Facility, Room PL-401 on 
the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal Holidays.
    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 July 20, 2006.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. E6-11964 Filed 7-26-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P