[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 21, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18276-18277]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-9139]


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

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 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.

Association of American Railroads (Docket Number FRA-2009-0004)

    The Association of American Railroads (AAR), on behalf of itself 
and its member railroads, seeks a waiver of compliance from certain 
provisions of the Railroad Locomotive Safety Standards, 49 CFR Part 
229. Specifically, AAR requests to change the time interval 
requirements of 49 CFR 229.27 Annual Tests and 49 CFR 229.29 Biennial 
Tests for all locomotives equipped with 26-L type brake systems, 
without air dryers, by extending the testing interval to 4 years.
    On May 12, 2005, AAR petitioned for an industry-wide waiver of 
annual and biennial testing requirements for locomotives equipped with 
both the 26-L brake systems and air dryers. This request was based on 
the test data gathered by the Canadian railroads and waivers which were 
previously granted to both the Canadian National and the Canadian 
Pacific Railroads. On December 2, 2005, FRA granted a conditional 
waiver to extend the time limits of the required tests to 4 years. AAR 
believes it is now time to grant a

[[Page 18277]]

waiver extending the time requirements to 4 years for annual and 
biennial testing on locomotives that are not equipped with air dryers.
    AAR proposes two alternatives for FRA to consider. The first is to 
expand the current waiver, Docket Number FRA 2005-21325 for locomotives 
equipped with air dryers to include locomotives not equipped with air 
dryers. The other option is a distinct test program for locomotives not 
equipped with air dryers. AAR is amenable to a test program with the 
following features:
     On locomotives approaching 3 years since the prior annual 
and biennial tests were performed, a full air test would be run with 
the valves untouched. On locomotives that pass the air tests, the 
valves would be marked with either a tag or stencil identifying them as 
part of the test waiver. The FRA blue card would annotate to reflect 
that the unit is operating under the test waiver. Any valve replaced 
during the test period would be sent to Wabtec Corporation for 
analysis. The railroads would keep track of all brake failures 
occurring during the test period.
     6 months into the waiver period, one locomotive operating 
under the waiver will be selected from the test group of each 
participating railroad. Eligible locomotives would be locomotives that 
have not had any air brake valves replaced for a 3\1/2\ year time 
period. These valve sets will be removed from the locomotives and sent 
to Wabtec for a joint tear-down inspection with FRA and members of the 
AAR Brake Systems and Locomotive Committees.
     1 year into the test period, one locomotive will be 
selected from the test group of each participating railroad. Eligible 
locomotives would be those that had not had any brake valve 
replacements for 4 years. These valve sets will be removed and sent to 
Wabtec for another joint tear-down inspection.
     If it is determined by the tear-down inspections that the 
lack of an air-dryer has no effect on the performance of the air brake 
system, FRA would then expand waiver Docket Number FRA-2005-21325 to 
include locomotives without air dryers.
    AAR does not believe any safety hazard will be created, and looks 
forward to working with FRA on a waiver test program which will 
demonstrate that an extended time interval between tests will not 
adversely affect safety on locomotives not equipped with 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-
2009-0004) 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 April 15, 2009.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. E9-9139 Filed 4-20-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P