[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 236 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71237-71238]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-20831]


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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.

BNSF Railway and Norfolk Southern Railway

[Docket Number FRA-2006-26435]

    The BNSF Railway (BNSF) and Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), two 
Class I Railroads, request relief from certain provisions of Title 49 
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 232 Brake System Safety 
Standards for Freight and Other Non-Passenger Trains and Equipment and 
49 CFR Part 229 Railroad Locomotive Safety Standards to begin 
implementation of

[[Page 71238]]

Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) brakes. The petition 
implicitly requests, as well, exemption from certain provisions of 
Chapter 204, Title 49, United States Code. The petitioners believe that 
implementation of ECP brakes requires a substantial capital investment, 
and relief from certain provisions of 49 CFR Part 232 will permit them 
to initiate pilot train operations. In addition, BNSF and NS believe 
that this relief will permit them to implement this pilot program on an 
expedited basis, allow FRA and the industry to identify definable 
savings with ECP brake equipped train operations, and evaluate changes 
to the CFR to accommodate these operations on a permanent basis.
    BNSF and NS specifically request relief from the following 
subsections of 49 CFR Part 232: 232.207 Class IA Brake Test, 
232.15(a)(7) Movement of defective equipment, 232.103 (d) and 
232.103(g) General requirement for train braking system, 232.109 
Dynamic brake requirements, 232.111(b)(3) and (4) Train handling 
information, 232.205 Class I brake test, 232.205(c)(3), (c)(4) and 
(c)(5), 232.209(a)(1) Class II brake inspection, 232.211 Class III 
brake inspection, 232.217(c)(3) Train brake tests conducted using yard 
air, 232.305 Single car airbrake tests, 232.505(e) Pre-revenue service 
acceptance testing plan, and elimination of all Subpart E--End of train 
devices. In addition, the petitioners request relief from the 
requirements to perform daily inspections for locomotives (49 CFR 
229.21) in service on ECP brake equipped trains, performing only a trip 
inspection. Petitioners also represent that this requested relief 
should provide a framework for an expedited rulemaking by FRA which 
will encourage further investment in ECP brake technology throughout 
the railroad industry.
    Interested parties are invited to participate in these proceedings 
by submitting written views, data, or comments. FRA anticipates 
scheduling a public hearing in connection with these proceedings in the 
near future, at a time and place yet to be determined, as the facts 
appear to warrant a hearing. Interested parties are advised that the 
petition appears to present issues that would require findings under 49 
U.S.C. Sec.  20306 (Exemption for technological improvements). The 
petitioners should be present at the hearing and prepared to support 
any required findings with evidence that any requirements of Chapter 
204, title 49, United States Code, sought to be waived ``preclude the 
development or implementation of more efficient railroad transportation 
equipment or other transportation innovations under existing law.''
    All communications concerning these proceedings should identify the 
appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-
2006-26435) and must be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Clerk, 
DOT Central Docket Management Facility, Room Pl-401, Washington, DC 
20590-0001. 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 DOT 
Central Docket Management Facility, Room Pl-401 (Plaza Level), 400 
Seventh Street, SW., Washington. 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 19377-78). The statement 
may also be found at http://dms.dot.gov.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on December 4, 2006.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
 [FR Doc. E6-20831 Filed 12-7-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P