[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 108 (Wednesday, June 4, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31911-31912]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-12407]


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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.

Norfolk Southern Corporation

(Docket Number FRA-2008-0042)

    The Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS) seeks a waiver of compliance 
from certain provisions of 49 CFR Part 232, Brake System Safety 
Standards for Freight and Other Non-Passenger Trains and Equipment. 
Specifically, NS is requesting a temporary waiver from the requirement 
to display in real-time, in the cab of the locomotive, the total train 
dynamic brake retarding force available in the train, as prescribed in 
49 CFR 232.109(g)(2), on locomotives placed in service for the first 
time on or after October 1, 2007. The functionality of this requirement 
is commonly referred to as the ``Dynamic Brake Status Reporting'' 
(DBSR).

[[Page 31912]]

    NS accepted delivery of 50 new ES40DC locomotives from General 
Electric, which were equipped with DBSR systems as specified in the 
Association of American Railroads (AAR) Standard S-5509 (S-5509). At 
that time, S-5509 required the DBSR systems to operate on ANSI/EIA 
709.2 (Echelon PL-22) communication frequency on the C-band, which is 
the same communication band used by the Electronically Controlled 
Pneumatic (ECP) brake systems. On February 14, 2008, AAR modified S-
5509 by requiring the DBSR systems to use a communication frequency on 
A-band, instead of the C-band, to eliminate any interference problems 
the two systems could encounter using the same frequency band. This 
modification applies to all new locomotives, as well as a retrofit of 
locomotives presently equipped with DBSR systems employing the C-band.
    NS currently operates trains equipped with ECP brake technology 
that utilize many of the 50 locomotives that were equipped with the 
DBSR systems using the C-band communication configuration. These trains 
have experienced communication interference problems due to the two 
systems using the same C-band channel. Tests have shown that 
electrically disconnecting the DBSR system from the affected 
locomotives causes the communication interference to subside. 
Therefore, NS requests a temporary waiver of Sec.  232.109(g)(2) in 
order to electrically disconnect the DBSR system until the locomotives 
are modified with the new A-band DBSR system. In addition to these 
locomotives being equipped with functioning acceleration/deceleration 
displays per Sec.  232.109(h)(2), NS will continue to inform the 
locomotive engineer of the operational status of dynamic brakes on all 
locomotives, pursuant to Sec.  232.109(a) and (i). The locomotive 
numbers for this waiver request are NS 7670-7719.
    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-
2008-0042) 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 20 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. E8-12407 Filed 6-3-08; 8:45 am]
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