[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 238 (Tuesday, December 12, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74576-74577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-21022]


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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.

Canadian National Railway Company

[Docket Number FRA-2006-26178]

    The Canadian National Railway Company (CN) requests a waiver of 
compliance from certain provisions of Title 49 Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) Part 228.9(a)(1), Hours of Service of Railroad 
Employees, for CN to utilize a computerized system of recording hours 
of duty data. The CFR requires that records maintained under Part 
228.9(a)(1) be signed by the employee whose time is being recorded, or 
in the case of train and engine crews, signed by the ranking 
crewmember. CN seeks to utilize a computerized system of recording 
hours of duty information which would not comply with the above 
requirements for a ``signature'' of the employee or ranking crewmember. 
CN proposes that each employee will have his or her own identification 
number (ID) and personal identification number (PIN). The PIN will 
remain confidential to the employee. The employee ID and PIN will be 
used to restrict access to jobs or train reporting screens to only the 
employee or ranking crew member of that specific job or train. When an 
employee accesses his or her reporting screens for input of the hours 
of service record required by CFR Part 228.11, the employee's PIN will 
not appear on the computer screen. After entering the appropriate data, 
the employee will be asked to ``certify'' his or her entries. When 
certified, the data entered by the employee will be date- and time-
stamped by the computer. The employee's certified record will then be 
available through the FRA Inspection Screen and will display the 
employee's ID Number along with the date and time of certification. CN 
proposes to replace the current manually signed paper record with a 
printable copy of the employee's program-entered data showing the date, 
time and ID of entering employee.
    CN warrants that FRA will be able to access each employee's 
certified records through agency-approved selection criteria. This 
criteria makes all CN employee hours of service records in the program 
available for review and printing by an inspector.
    CN maintains that the change is in the best interests of all 
parties because it will reduce unnecessary paperwork and the costs 
associated therewith while providing the railroad, its employees, and 
the FRA with a superior level of information on a more timely basis 
than is currently available.
    Interested parties are invited to participate in these proceedings 
by submitting written 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 communications concerning these proceedings should identify the 
appropriate docket number (FR-2006-26178) and may be submitted by one 
of the following methods:
     Web site: http://dms.dot.gov. Follow the instructions for 
submitting comments on the DOT electronic 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 20590-0001; or
     Hand Delivery: 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

[[Page 74577]]

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 December 6, 2006.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. E6-21022 Filed 12-11-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P