[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 117 (Tuesday, June 19, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33799-33800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-11760]


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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 from 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.

American Public Transportation Association

[Docket Number FRA-2007-28306]

    The American Public Transportation Association (APTA), on behalf 
its member railroads, seeks a permanent waiver of compliance from 
certain provisions of the Passenger Equipment Safety Standards of 49 
CFR part 238. Specifically, the APTA requests to change the time 
interval requirements of 49 CFR 238.309, Periodic brake equipment 
maintenance, for all locomotives equipped with 26-L-type brake systems 
and air dryers by extending the testing interval to 4 years (1,472 
days).
    In 1981, FRA granted a test waiver (H-80-7) to eight railroads, 
permitting them to exceed the annual and biennial testing requirements 
of 49 CFR sections 229.27 and 229.29, in order to conduct a study of 
the safe service life and reliability of the locomotive brake 
components. On January 29, 1985, FRA expanded the waiver to permit all 
railroads to inspect the 26-L-type brake equipment on a triennial 
basis. In the 1990's, Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and the Canadian 
National Railway (CN) petitioned FRA to allow them to operate 
locomotives into the United States that received periodic attention 
every 4 years. The requests were based on a decision by Transport 
Canada to institute a 4-year inspection program following a thorough 
test program in Canada. In November 2000, FRA granted conditional 
waivers to both CN and CP, extending the testing interval to 4 years 
for Canadian-based locomotives equipped with 26-L-type brake systems 
and air dryers. The waiver also requires all air brake filtering 
devices to be changed annually and the air compressor to be overhauled 
not less than every 6 years. In December, 2005, FRA granted the 
Association of American Railroads a similar waiver request to allow 
freight locomotives operating in the U.S. with 26-L-type brakes and 
functioning air dryers to operate up to 4 years (1,472 days) between 
periodic air brake attention.
    APTA did not see any rational basis for permitting freight 
locomotives with 26-L-type brakes and air dryers to operate 4 years 
between inspections, while subjecting passenger locomotives with the 
same brake systems and air dryers to a 3-year inspection interval. APTA 
makes this conclusion based on the fact that FRA has permitted this 
practice without any accidents caused by the malfunctioning of a 26-L-
type brake system. Accordingly, APTA requests that the inspection 
interval be extended to 4 years (1,472 days) for passenger locomotives 
equipped with 26-L-type brake systems and air dryers, and for cab cars 
equipped with 26-L-type brakes only when operated with locomotives with 
functional air dryers.
    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 FRA-
2007-28306) and must be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Clerk, 
DOT Central Docket Management Facility, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
Room W12-140, 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, 1200 
New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001. 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

[[Page 33800]]

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 June 13, 2007.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
 [FR Doc. E7-11760 Filed 6-18-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P