[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 89 (Wednesday, May 7, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25823-25825]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-10091]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice and Request For Comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information 
Collection Requirements (ICRs) abstracted below have been forwarded to 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. Each 
ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected 
burden. The Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period 
soliciting comments on the collections of information listed below was 
published on February 26, 2008 (See 73 FR 10322).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 6, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Brogan, Office of Planning 
and Evaluation Division, RRS-21, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 
New Jersey Ave., SE., Mail Stop 25, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: 
(202) 493-6292), or Ms. Nakia Poston, Office of Information Technology, 
RAD-20, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., 
Mail Stop 35, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493-6073). (These 
telephone numbers are not toll-free.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
Pub. L. 104-13, section 2, 109 Stat. 163 (1995) (codified as revised at 
44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), and its implementing regulations, 5 CFR Part 
1320, require Federal agencies to issue two notices seeking public 
comment on information collection activities before OMB may approve 
paperwork packages. 44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.5, 1320.8(d)(1), 
1320.12. On February 26, 2008, FRA published a 60-day notice in the 
Federal Register soliciting comment on ICRs that the agency was seeking 
OMB approval. 73 FR 10322. FRA received no comments in response to this 
notice.
    Before OMB decides whether to approve this proposed collection of 
information, it must provide 30 days for public comment. 44 U.S.C. 
3507(b); 5 CFR 1320.12(d). Federal law requires OMB to approve or 
disapprove paperwork packages between 30 and 60 days after the 30 day 
notice is published. 44 U.S.C. 3507 (b)-(c); 5 CFR 1320.12(d); see also 
60 FR 44978, 44983, Aug. 29, 1995. OMB believes that the 30 day notice 
informs the regulated community to file relevant comments and affords 
the agency adequate time to digest public comments before it renders a 
decision. 60 FR 44983, Aug. 29, 1995. Therefore, respondents should 
submit their respective comments to OMB within 30 days of publication 
to best ensure having their full effect. 5

[[Page 25824]]

CFR 1320.12(c); see also 60 FR 44983, Aug. 29, 1995.
    The summaries below describe the nature of the information 
collection requirements (ICRs) and the expected burden. The revised 
requirements are being submitted for clearance by OMB as required by 
the PRA.
    Title: Railroad Locomotive Safety Standards and Event Recorders.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-0004.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Railroads.
    Form(s): FRA F 6180.49A.
    Abstract: The Locomotive Inspection requires railroads to inspect, 
repair, and maintain locomotives and event recorders so that they are 
safe, free of defects, and can be placed in service without peril to 
life. Crashworthy locomotive event recorders provide FRA with 
verifiable factual information about how trains are maintained and 
operated, and are used by FRA and State inspectors for Part 229 rule 
enforcement. The information garnered from crashworthy event recorders 
is also used by railroads to monitor railroad operations and by 
railroad employees (locomotive engineers, train crews, dispatchers) to 
improve train handling, and promote the safe and efficient operation of 
trains throughout the country, based on a surer knowledge of different 
control inputs.
    Annual Estimated Burden: 863,951 hours.
    Title: Qualifications for Locomotive Engineers.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-0533.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Railroads.
    Form(s): N/A.
    Abstract: Section 4 of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 1988 
(RSIA), Public Law 100-342, 102 Stat. 624 (June 22, 1988), later 
amended and re-codified by Public Law 103-272, 108 Stat. 874 (July 5, 
1994), required that FRA issue regulations to establish any necessary 
program for certifying or licensing locomotive engineers. The 
collection of information is used by FRA to ensure that railroads 
employ and properly train qualified individuals as locomotive engineers 
and designated supervisors of locomotive engineers. The collection of 
information is also used by FRA to verify that railroads have 
established required certification programs for locomotive engineers 
and that these programs fully conform to the standards specified in the 
regulation.
    Annual Estimated Burden: 271,000 hours.
    Title: Roadway Worker Protection (Roadway Maintenance Machines).
    OMB Control Number: 2130-0539.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Railroads.
    Form(s): FRA F 6180.119.
    Abstract: This rule establishes regulations governing the 
protection of railroad employees working on or near railroad tracks. 
The regulation requires that each railroad devise and adopt a program 
of on-track safety to provide employees working along the railroad with 
protection from the hazards of being struck by a train or other on-
track equipment. Elements of this on-track safety program include an 
on-track safety manual; a clear delineation of employers' 
responsibilities, as well as employees' rights and responsibilities 
thereto; well-defined procedures for communication and protection; and 
annual on-track safety training. The program adopted by each railroad 
is subject to review and approval by FRA.
    Annual Estimated Burden: 817,358 hours.
    Title: Locomotive Cab Sanitation Standards.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-0552.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Railroads.
    Form(s): N/A.
    Abstract: The collection of information is used by FRA to promote 
rail safety and the health of railroad workers by ensuring that all 
locomotive crew members have access to toilet/sanitary facilities--on 
as needed basis--which are functioning and hygienic. Also, the 
collection of information is used by FRA to ensure that railroads 
repair defective locomotive toilet/sanitary facilities within 10 
calendar days of the date on which these units becomes defective.
    Annual Estimated Burden: 1,272 hours.
    Title: Positive Train Control.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-0553.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Railroads.
    Form(s): N/A.
    Abstract: The collection of information is used by FRA to ensure 
that new or novel signal and train control technologies, essentially 
electronic or processor-based systems, meet the ``performance 
standard'' stipulated in FRA's rule and work as intended in the U.S. 
rail environment. These new signal and train control technologies are 
known as ``Positive Train Control'' (PTC).
    Annual Estimated Burden: 250,966 hours.
    Title: Post-Traumatic Stress in Train Crew Members After a Critical 
Incident.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-0567.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Train Crew Members.
    Form(s): FRA-F-186, FRA-F-187, FRA-F-188.
    Abstract: Nearly 1,000 fatalities occur every year in this country 
from trains striking motor vehicles at grade crossings and individual 
trespassers along the track. These events can be very traumatic to 
train crew members, who invariably are powerless to prevent such 
collisions. Exposure of train crews to such work-related traumas can 
cause extreme stress and result in safety-impairing behaviors, such as 
are seen in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or Acute Stress Disorder. 
Most railroads have Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) 
intervention programs designed to mitigate problems caused by exposure 
to these traumas. However, they are quite varied in their approach, and 
it is not certain which components of these programs are most 
effective. The purpose of this collection of information is to identify 
``best practices'' for CISD programs in the railroad industry. By means 
of written and subsequent oral interviews with train crew members that 
will each take approximately 45 minutes, the approved study aims to 
accomplish the following: (1) Benchmark rail industry best practices of 
CISD programs; (2) Establish the extent of traumatic stress disorders 
due to grade crossing and trespasser incidents in the rail industry 
(not by region or railroad) and identify at-risk populations; and (3) 
Evaluate the effectiveness of individual components of CISD programs. 
It should be noted that only the components of CISD programs will be 
evaluated, not an individual railroad's overall intervention program.
    Annual Estimated Burden: 2,043 hours.

ADDRESSES: Send comments regarding these information collections to the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, 725 Seventeenth Street, NW., Washington, DC, 20503; Attention: 
FRA Desk Officer. Comments may also be sent via e-mail to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) of the Office of Management 
and Budget at the following address: [email protected].
    Comments are invited on the following: Whether the proposed 
collections of information are necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of FRA, including whether the information will have 
practical utility; the accuracy of FRA's estimates of the

[[Page 25825]]

burden of the proposed information collections; ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and 
ways to minimize the burden of the collections of information on 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
    A comment to OMB is best assured of having its full effect if OMB 
receives it within 30 days of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register.

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.

    Issued in Washington, DC on May 1, 2008 .
Kimberly Orben,
Acting Director, Office of Financial Management, Federal Railroad 
Administration.
 [FR Doc. E8-10091 Filed 5-6-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P