[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 39 (Wednesday, February 28, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9061-9062]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3449]


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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) 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.

Saint Louis Metro

[Docket Number FRA-2007-27207]

    Saint Louis Metro (Metro), the provider of bus, paratransit, and 
light rail transit in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area, seeks a 
permanent waiver of compliance from sections of Title 49 of the CFR for 
operation of its MetroLink Light Rail over two at-grade rail diamond 
crossings that constitute a ``limited connection'' with the general 
railroad system. (See Statement of Agency Policy Concerning 
Jurisdiction Over the Safety of Railroad Passenger Operations and 
Waivers Related to Shared Use of the Tracks of the General Railroad 
System by Light Rail and Conventional Equipment, 65 FR 42529 (July 10, 
2000). See also Joint Statement of Agency Policy Concerning Shared Use 
of the Tracks of the General Railroad System by Conventional Railroads 
and Light Rail Transit Systems, 65 FR 42526 (July 10, 2000).)
    MetroLink consists of 44.8 miles of light rail tracks located in 
St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis, Missouri; and St. Clair 
County, Illinois, for the purpose of providing rapid transit operations 
within the St. Louis Metropolitan area. The MetroLink alignment is a 
double-track light rail alignment running at grade, above grade, below 
grade, and in tunnels with two-car consists. Revenue hours are from 
3:45 a.m. to 1:15 a.m. daily.

[[Page 9062]]

MetroLink currently crosses a single existing freight railroad industry 
lead known as the Grand Freight Diamond, thus constituting a limited 
connection to the general railroad system. Freight movements are 
conducted by Metro's contractor, Squaw Creek Southern Railroad, Inc., 
across this diamond crossing and are temporally separated, occurring 
only during MetroLink's nonrevenue hours of 1:15 a.m. to 3:45 a.m.
    For this limited connection, Metro seeks permanent waiver of 
compliance from the following Parts of 49 CFR: Part 217--Railroad 
Operating Rules, Part 219--Control of Alcohol and Drug Use, Part 220--
Railroad Communications, Part 221--Rear End Marking Devices, Part 223--
Safety Glazing Standards, Part 238--Passenger Equipment Safety 
Standards, and Part 239--Passenger Emergency Preparedness. Metro offers 
that it is similarly governed by the System Safety Program Plan as 
required by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and administered 
by the Missouri Department of Transportation (Momot).
    Interested parties are invited to participate in these proceedings 
by submitting written views, 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 (e.g., Waiver Petition Docket Number 2007-
27207) 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 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 February 23, 2007.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. E7-3449 Filed 2-27-07; 8:45 am]
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