[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 39 (Wednesday, February 28, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9060-9061]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3480]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


 Notice of Application for Approval of Discontinuance or 
Modification of a Railroad Signal System or Relief From the 
Requirements of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 236

    Pursuant to Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 235 and 
49 U.S.C. 20502(a), the following railroad has petitioned the Federal 
Railroad Administration (FRA) seeking approval for the discontinuance 
or modification of the signal system or relief from the requirements of 
49 CFR Part 236, as detailed below.

[Docket Number FRA-2006-26756]

    Applicant: Canadian National Railway, Mr. E. L. Harris, Executive 
Vice President, Operations, 10004-104th Avenue, Floor 24, Edmonton, 
Alberta T5J 0K2.
    Canadian National Railway (CN) seeks relief from the requirements 
of the rules, standards, and instructions set out in CFR 236.410, as it 
relates to the requirement for an entering signal or electric switch 
lock to enter the main track in centralized traffic control territory 
at a hand-operated switch. CN believes that the precepts of 49 CFR 
236.410 are based on an outdated ideology that concerned itself with 
then-new signal technology, a less-than-robust communication network, 
and/or rail traffic controller (RTC) system that did not have today's 
abilities for checking and blocking regarding block occupancy 
movements. CN believes that other jurisdictions have acknowledged the 
redundancy of the electric switch lock and provided for their removal 
and the reliance on the RTC, who is the authority for track occupancy 
on his or her respective territory. CN therefore requests exemption 
from the requirements of 49 CFR 236.410 in the territories recently 
identified as a traffic control system, which was previously identified 
as ABS/Rule 512B. This exemption would involve approximately 80 hand-
operated switches within these areas.
    Any interested party desiring to protest the granting of an 
application shall set forth specifically the grounds upon which the 
protest is made and include a concise statement of the interest of the 
party in the proceeding. Additionally, one copy of the protest shall be 
furnished to the applicant at the address listed above.
    All communications concerning this proceeding should be identified 
by Docket Number (FRA 2006-26756) and must be submitted to the Docket 
Clerk, DOT Central Docket Management Facility, Room PI-401, 400 7th 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Communications received within 
45 days of the date of this notice will be considered by the 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

[[Page 9061]]

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.
    FRA wishes to inform all potential commenters that 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) or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.
    FRA expects to be able to determine these matters without an oral 
hearing. However, if a specific request for an oral hearing is 
accompanied by a showing that the party is unable to adequately present 
his or her position by written statements, an application may be set 
for public hearing.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 23, 2007.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
 [FR Doc. E7-3480 Filed 2-27-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P