[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 108 (Wednesday, June 4, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 31911]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-12405]


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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.

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority

(Modification to Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-1999-6254)

    As a modification to Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority's 
(VTA) existing Vasona Corridor Light Rail (Vasona Line) Shared Use/
Temporal Separation waiver originally granted by FRA on September 26, 
2005, VTA requests FRA to modify the original terms and conditions of 
its permanent waiver of compliance from sections of Title 49 of the 
CFR. This request is made due to changes that have recently occurred 
along the Vasona Line, a light rail line that features ``limited 
connections'' such as a shared corridor operation and an at-grade 
diamond rail crossover of the VTA light rail track by a Union Pacific 
Railroad Company (UPRR) freight spur within this shared corridor. 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 42626 (July 10, 2000).
    On December 11, 2007, the spur and siding at Milepost (MP) 3.82 
that served a wholesale flooring company were abandoned and removed by 
UPRR, which operates a freight railroad in this corridor but on 
separate track from the light rail system. This action rendered 
obsolete the Lincoln/UPRR diamond crossover which allowed UPRR trains 
the ability to cross the VTA light rail tracks to gain entry into the 
spur and service the flooring business. With the removal of the spur 
and siding, the trackage, switch, and diamond, as well as signal 
equipment at the diamond, are no longer needed and can be removed from 
service. With the exception of eliminating freight car movements across 
the light rail tracks, there will be no other changes to VTA light rail 
operations or UPRR freight rail operations at this location or 
elsewhere along the Vasona Corridor.
    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-
1999-6254) and may be submitted by any of the following methods:
    Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Fax: 202-493-2251.
    Mail: Docket Operations Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., W12-140, Washington, DC 
20590.
    Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590, 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://www.regulations.gov.
    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of any written 
communications and 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).

    Issued in Washington, DC on May 29, 2008.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
 [FR Doc. E8-12405 Filed 6-3-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P