[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 25, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 4250-4253]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1414]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

49 CFR Part 179


Operating Certain Railroad Tank Cars in Excess of 263,000 Pounds 
Gross Rail Load; Approval

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice regarding FRA approval for operating certain railroad 
tank cars in excess of 263,000 pounds gross rail load.

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SUMMARY: On May 14, 2010, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 
Administration (PHMSA) published a final rule amending the Hazardous 
Materials Regulations (HMR) to incorporate provisions contained in 
several widely used or longstanding special permits that have an 
established safety record. 75 FR 27205 (Final Rule). The Final Rule 
titled, Hazardous Materials: Incorporation of Special Permits into 
Regulations, in part, amended the HMR to allow certain rail tank cars, 
transporting hazardous materials, to exceed the gross weight on rail 
limitation of 263,000 pounds upon approval of the Federal Railroad 
Administration (FRA). This document provides notice of FRA's approval 
pursuant to the Final Rule of the operation of certain tank cars in 
hazardous materials service that exceed 263,000 pounds and weigh up to 
286,000 pounds gross rail load (GRL).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Karl Alexy ([email protected] or 
(202) 493-6245) or Mr. William Schoonover ([email protected] 
or (202) 493-6229), Office of Railroad Safety Assurance and Compliance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Prior to the Final Rule, Title 49 Code of 
Federal Regulations Section 179.13 of the HMR limited rail tank cars 
transporting hazardous materials to a maximum capacity of 34,500 
gallons (130,597 L) and, with certain exceptions, a GRL of 263,000 
pounds (119,295 kg).
    As noted in the preamble to the Final Rule, PHMSA has granted 
several special permits allowing tank cars subject to the 263,000 pound 
GRL limit of Sec.  179.13 to weigh up to 286,000 pounds (129,727 kg) 
GRL subject to certain conditions. The Final Rule amended Sec.  179.13 
to allow, upon approval by FRA's Associate Administrator for Railroad 
Safety, rail tank cars that are not transporting materials poisonous by 
inhalation (PIH) materials to exceed the 263,000 GRL

[[Page 4251]]

limit and weigh up to 286,000 pounds GRL without a special permit. 
Revised Sec.  179.13(a) further provides that FRA may impose conditions 
on these approvals and the tank cars ``must be operated only under 
controlled interchange conditions agreed to by participating 
railroads.'' In adopting this amendment, PHMSA noted that FRA has 
already established safety-based guidelines for applications for 
authority to transport rail tank cars that exceed 263,000 pounds and 
rationalized that providing for FRA approval of these tank cars will 
simplify and expedite the regulatory process while at the same time 
maintain safety.
    This document provides notice of FRA's approval pursuant to revised 
Sec.  179.13(a) for the use in hazardous materials transportation of 
certain tank cars which exceed 263,000 pounds GRL and that may be 
loaded up to 286,000 pounds GRL, provided the cars are not loaded with 
PIH materials. Specifically, this document provides notice of FRA's 
approval pursuant to Sec.  179.13(a) of (1) existing tank cars that are 
approved to operate in accordance with a PHMSA special permit allowing 
a GRL over 263,000 pounds; (2) cars that have been built, rebuilt, or 
otherwise modified for operation with a maximum GRL above 263,000 
pounds, but not currently approved to operate in accordance with a 
special permit allowing the increased GRL; and (3) newly manufactured 
tank cars designed to operate with a GRL above 263,000 pounds.
    Subject to the conditions specified below, railroad tank cars 
meeting the requirements in Sections II, III and IV, below, are 
approved, pursuant to Sec.  179.13(a), to be loaded to a GRL of up to 
286,000 pounds. No additional approval is required.

I. Background

    Since 1995, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) has 
maintained an industry standard in the form of an interchange rule 
related to freight cars (including hazardous materials tank cars) that 
weigh over 263,000 pounds GRL and up to 286,000 pounds GRL. That 
standard, AAR Standard S-259 (S-259)--Rail Car, 286,000-Lb Gross 
Weight, became effective January 1, 1995. In accordance with S-259, the 
design of a freight car's body must be based on a GRL of 286,000 pounds 
and the standard weight-related design loads for 100-ton cars used for 
fatigue-design criteria must be multiplied by 1.09, with the exception 
of longitudinal fatigue-design loads. S-259 also established minimum 
equipment requirements for brakes, bearings, axles, wheels, draft 
systems, springs and trucks. S-259, however, does not allow for the 
free interchange among carriers of cars meeting its requirements. In 
2002, AAR adopted a revised industry standard related to railroad 
freight cars weighing over 263,000 pounds \1\ GRL and weighing up to 
286,000 pounds. This revised industry standard, AAR Standard S-286 
(adopted 2002, revised 2003, 2005, 2006), Free/Unrestricted Interchange 
for 286,000 Lb Gross Rail Load Cars (S-286), is applicable to rail 
freight cars manufactured, rebuilt or modified on or after January 1, 
2003, and is the existing industry standard for designing, building, 
and operating rail cars at gross weights over 263,000 pounds and up to 
286,000 pounds. S-286 sets forth industry-tested practices for 
designing, building, and operating rail cars at gross weights over 
263,000 pounds and up to 286,000 pounds. S-286 provides for the free 
interchange among carriers of cars built to meet its requirements.
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    \1\ This AAR standard actually references tank cars with a ``GRL 
greater than 268,000 lbs,'' but FRA understands that the reference 
to ``268,000 lbs'' is a typographical error and the intent of the 
standard is to address tank cars with a GRL greater than 263,000 
lbs.
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    As noted in the preamble to the Final Rule, FRA's guidelines, 
applicable to rail tank cars exceeding 263,000 pounds GRL, are found in 
a document titled, ``Maximizing Safety and Weight, A White Paper on 
263K+ Tank Cars.'' This document is available for review on FRA's Web 
site at http://www.fra.dot.gov/Pages/1800.shtml. In sum, FRA's 
guidelines address the following topics: (1) Puncture resistance, (2) 
controlling longitudinal loading, (3) structural-worthiness, (4) track-
worthiness, (5) service equipment, (6) service reliability and 
maintenance management, and (7) maximizing safety and weight.
    Although FRA's guidelines address more aspects of tank car design 
than either of the AAR standards (including the puncture resistance of 
tank car tanks and the reliability of service equipment on the cars), 
existing tank cars built to meet the AAR standards have an excellent 
safety record. To date, special permits issued by PHMSA, related to 
GRL, in excess of 263,000 pounds GRL have required that the tank cars 
conform to either S-286 or S-259. In granting these special permits, 
PHMSA, with FRA's input, determined that in each instance, operating 
the tank cars with increased GRLs under the terms of the special permit 
would provide at least an equivalent level of safety as tank cars built 
to the minimum requirements of the HMR, but limited to a GRL of 263,000 
pounds. In fact, in evaluating several special permits related to 
increased GRLs, PHMSA and FRA found that the commodities shipped in the 
tank cars were overpackaged.\2\ Similarly, the agencies found that the 
specifications of the tank cars covered by other special permits 
indicate that the tanks were constructed of materials with mechanical 
properties superior to the minimum requirements of the HMR.
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    \2\ ``Overpackaged'' means the specification of the tank car was 
above the minimum requirements of the HMR. For example, a commodity 
that is allowed to be transported in a general purpose tank car is 
transported in a pressure car with a thicker tank shell.
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    In the preamble to the Final Rule, PHMSA identified the following 
special permits as those that would be affected by the rule's revisions 
to Sec.  179.13 and thus subject to FRA approval as far as the GRL 
limitations: DOT-SP 11241, 11654, 11803, 12423, 12561, 12613, 12768, 
12858, 12903, 13856, 13936, 14004, 14038, 14442, 14505, 14520, 14570, 
and 14619. In addition, FRA notes that there are five other special 
permits related to tank cars with a GRL in excess of 263,000 pounds. 
These include DOT-SP 14167, 14173, 14207, 14398, and 14734.
    Of the 23 special permits listed above, seven authorize the 
transportation of PIH materials in tank cars exceeding 263,000 pounds. 
These include special permits 12858 (ethylene oxide), 13856 (Division 
6.1 HMs), 14442 (anhydrous ammonia), 14520 (chlorine), 14167 
(chlorine), 14173 (ethylene oxide), and 14570 (titanium tetrachloride). 
Because the Final Rule revised Sec.  179.13(a) to provide FRA approval 
authority for tank cars ``other than'' those that contain PIH 
materials, as the regulation is currently written, FRA cannot provide 
approval to continue these cars in PIH materials transportation without 
the existing special permits. However, as demonstrated by the 
discussion in the preamble of the Final Rule identifying the special 
permits that would be affected by the revisions to Sec.  179.13, FRA 
believes that the inconsistency in the revised regulatory text is the 
result of a technical drafting error. Accordingly, FRA is working with 
PHMSA to develop and publish a correction to the Final Rule that would 
provide FRA authority to approve the loading of tank cars up to 286,000 
pounds GRL when transporting any regulated hazardous material, 
including PIH materials.
    All but three of the 16 special permits identified above that do 
not involve the transportation of PIH materials authorize the 
manufacturing, sale, and/or use of particular DOT-specification tank 
cars with a GRL of 286,000 pounds

[[Page 4252]]

for the transportation of particular hazardous materials identified in 
the permits. Special permits 11654 and 14619 authorize the 
transportation of certain Class 3 hazardous materials in DOT 105S tank 
cars with a maximum GRL of up to 270,000 pounds, while special permit 
14207 authorizes the transportation of sodium hydroxide solution, a 
Class 8 hazardous material, in certain identified DOT 111A100W tank 
cars with a maximum GRL of up to 268,000 pounds.
    The regulations from which grantees have been exempted in these 
special permits related to GRL include: Sec.  173.26 (quantity 
limitations); and the GRL limit of 263,000 pounds in Sec.  179.13. In 
five of these special permits (11241, 11654, 11803, 12613, and 14619), 
the grantees have been exempted from regulations not related to the GRL 
of the car, and these special permits must be maintained relative to 
these additional exemptions (i.e., special permits must be maintained 
for relief from regulations other than from Sec. Sec.  173.26 and 
179.13).
    Although FRA believes that tank cars, which have already been 
demonstrated to provide an equivalent level of safety to those 
specified by the HMR and existing tank cars built or retrofitted to 
similar standards, should be allowed to continue in HM transportation 
service, with the promulgation of a final rule designed to improve the 
crashworthiness and structural integrity of tank cars that transport 
highly hazardous materials such as PIH materials (HM-246; 74 FR 1770 
(Jan. 13, 2009) (the ``Tank Car Rule'')), FRA notes that there is a 
widening performance gap in crashworthiness between the most robust 
tank cars designed to transport certain hazardous materials and general 
purpose tank cars designed to transport other hazardous materials. 
Accordingly, subject to certain conditions, FRA is providing its 
approval under Sec.  179.13(a) to continue in service certain existing 
tank cars at GRLs in excess of 263,000 pounds and up to 286,000 pounds. 
At the same time, FRA is providing its approval for certain newly 
manufactured railroad tank cars to be loaded at an increased GRL of up 
to 286,000 pounds, provided certain additional conditions are met 
(e.g., conditions related to the puncture resistance and reliability of 
the service equipment on the cars). Approval of newly constructed 
railroad tank cars meeting these additional requirements will, over 
time, narrow the performance gap between the most robust tank cars in 
hazardous materials service and other tank cars in hazardous materials 
service while research continues to develop and implement a 
crashworthiness performance standard as discussed in the Tank Car Rule. 
See 74 FR at 1771.

II. FRA Approval of Existing Railroad Tank Cars Approved To Operate in 
Accordance With a PHMSA Special Permit Providing for a GRL Over 263,000 
Pounds

    Pursuant to Sec.  179.13(a), the terms of existing special permits 
11241, 11654, 11803, 12423, 12561, 12613, 12768, 12903, 13856, 13936, 
14004, 14038, 14207, 14398, 14505, and 14734, related to railroad tank 
cars transporting hazardous materials other than PIH materials and 
currently approved to operate in accordance with a special permit 
providing for a GRL in excess of 263,000 pounds, are approved, subject 
to the following conditions:
    1. Tank cars constructed, rebuilt, or otherwise modified to meet 
the requirements of S-259 shall be operated only in controlled 
interchange in accordance with that standard.
    2. Tank cars constructed, rebuilt, or otherwise modified to meet 
the requirements of S-286 shall be permitted to operate in unrestricted 
interchange in accordance with that standard.
    3. Tank car owners are responsible for determining which standard 
their tank cars meet. Tank car owners shall maintain records 
demonstrating compliance with that standard and make those records 
available to FRA upon request. Tank car owners shall also ensure that 
cars subject to this approval are appropriately marked in accordance 
with the HMR (i.e., marked with the relevant tare weight) and that the 
records of the cars in AAR's Universal Machine Language Equipment 
Register (UMLER) clearly indicate the standard applicable to each car.
    4. In accordance with S-286, if a tank car constructed in 
accordance with S-259 is rebuilt or otherwise modified to meet the 
requirements of S-286, that car shall be permitted to operate in 
unrestricted interchange. Tank car owners shall maintain records of the 
engineering analysis and upgrades performed that demonstrate compliance 
with S-286, and the tank car owner must file an R-1 with the AAR prior 
to the tank car being operated in unrestricted interchange. (See 
Appendix R of AAR's Manual of Standards and Recommended Practices, 
Section C-III, Specifications for Tank Cars (Specification M-1002)).
    5. The GRL limit for tank cars subject to special permits 11654 and 
14619 shall remain 270,000 pounds, and the GRL limit for tank cars 
subject to special permit 14207 shall remain 268,000 pounds; unless the 
cars are modified and a subsequent request for approval is made to FRA.
    The ``terms'' of the special permits referred to in this approval 
are the ``packaging'' safety control measures specified in paragraph 7 
of each special permit. For example, special permit 11241 authorizes 
the operation of DOT-specification 105J300W tank cars that meet certain 
technical specifications outlined in paragraph 7 of the permit and have 
a maximum GRL of up to 286,000 pounds. Consistent with the terms of 
that special permit, FRA's approval, per Sec.  179.13(a), is limited to 
the identified DOT-specification cars meeting the technical 
specifications outlined in the permit. FRA's approval, however, is not 
limited to the specific commodities identified in the permit; instead, 
FRA's approval extends to the use of the identified tank cars with a 
GRL of up to 286,000 pounds for the transportation of any regulated 
hazardous material that would otherwise be permitted to be transported 
in that type of specification car. Copies of the relevant special 
permits will be maintained by the Hazardous Materials Division of FRA's 
Office of Safety Assurance and Compliance. Copies of the special 
permits may be obtained by contacting the individuals listed in the 
``For Further Information Contact'' section above.
    Each of the special permits listed above require the special permit 
(or SP) number be stenciled on the sides of tank cars operating under 
its terms. For tank cars operating under a special permit related only 
to GRL and subject to this approval, that stencil must be removed or 
obliterated at the car's first shopping event after the date of this 
approval, or no later than January 25, 2012, whichever occurs first.

III. FRA Approval of Existing Railroad Tank Cars Built to S-286 or 
Rebuilt, or Otherwise Modified for Operation With a Maximum GRL Above 
263,000 Pounds, but Not Currently Authorized To Operate at a GRL Above 
263,000 Pounds

    Existing tank cars built, rebuilt, or otherwise modified to meet 
the requirements of either S-259 or S-286 may be loaded to a GRL of up 
to 286,000 pounds subject to the following conditions:
    1. Tank cars constructed, rebuilt, or otherwise modified to meet 
the requirements of S-259 shall be operated only in controlled 
interchange in accordance with that standard.
    2. Tank cars constructed, rebuilt, or otherwise modified to meet 
the requirements of S-286 shall be permitted to operate in unrestricted

[[Page 4253]]

interchange in accordance with that standard.
    3. Tank cars shall meet the following design specifications or be 
retrofitted as follows:
    a. Jacketed and non-jacketed tank cars constructed with ASTM 516-70 
steel and having only the minimum plate thickness required by 
Sec. Sec.  179.101-1 and 179.201-1 (no additional thickness allowance) 
must be retrofitted with a 7-gauge steel jacket (constructed of A-572 
steel).
    b. Jacketed and non-jacketed tank cars constructed with ASTM B209 
(Alloy 5052 and 5652) aluminum and having only the minimum plate 
thickness required by Sec. Sec.  179.101-1 and 179.201-1 (no additional 
thickness allowance) must be retrofitted with a 7-gauge steel jacket 
(constructed of A-572 steel).
    c. Jacketed and non-jacketed 111A100W tank cars constructed with 
TC-128 steel or an aluminum alloy, listed in Sec.  179.200-7 (other 
than Alloy 5052 or 5652 listed in b above) and having at least the 
minimum plate thickness required by Sec. Sec.  179.101-1 and 179.201-1, 
do not require retrofitting.
    4. Tank car owners are responsible for determining which standard 
their tank cars meet and whether their cars meet the requirements of 
Condition 3 above. Tank car owners shall maintain records demonstrating 
compliance with the relevant AAR standard and the requirements of 
Condition 3. Tank car owners shall make those records available to FRA 
upon request. Tank car owners shall also ensure that cars subject to 
this approval are appropriately marked in accordance with the HMR 
(i.e., marked with the relevant tare weight) and that the records of 
the cars in AAR's UMLER clearly indicate the standard applicable to 
each car.
    5. In accordance with S-286, if a tank car constructed in 
accordance with S-259 is rebuilt or otherwise modified to meet the 
requirements of S-286, that car shall be permitted to operate in 
unrestricted interchange. Tank car owners shall maintain records of the 
engineering analysis and upgrades performed that demonstrate compliance 
with S-286 and the tank car owner must file an R-1 with the AAR prior 
to the tank car being operated in unrestricted interchange. (See 
Appendix R of AAR's Manual of Standards and Recommended Practices, 
Section C-III, Specifications for Tank Cars (Specification M-1002)).

IV. FRA Approval of Maximum GRL of 286,000 Pounds for Newly 
Manufactured Railroad Tank Cars

    Tank cars manufactured after January 25, 2011 may be loaded to a 
maximum GRL of 286,000 pounds provided the tank cars meet the following 
criteria:
    1. Tank cars must be constructed in accordance with S-286.
    2. Puncture resistance:
    a. Tank car tanks must be constructed of TC-128 steel (normalized).
    b. A jacketed tank car must be equipped with an 11-gauge jacket 
constructed of A-572 steel and the shell and head of the tank must meet 
the minimum plate thickness required by Sec. Sec.  179.101-1 and 
179.201-1. Alternate thicknesses, based on material properties 
indicated in the notes of Sec.  179.101-1, are not approved.
    c. For a non-jacketed tank car, the shell and head of the tank must 
meet the minimum plate thickness of that required by Sec. Sec.  
179.101-1 and 179.201-1. Alternate thicknesses, based on material 
properties indicated in the notes of Sec.  179.101-1, are not approved.
    3. Service Equipment:
    a. Top fittings protection must meet the requirements of Sec.  10.2 
of Appendix E to Specification M-1002 for general purpose tank cars.
    b. A tank car must be equipped with a reclosing pressure relief 
device.
    The minimum plate thicknesses specified in paragraph 2 above were 
determined in the following manner. Using finite elements analysis of 
side impact simulations, a relationship between the puncture velocity 
and shell thickness was derived. Factors affecting puncture velocity 
were incorporated into the analysis, including gross weight, ultimate 
tensile strength of the shell material, tank and jacket thickness, tank 
diameter, and internal pressure and indenter size (which for this 
comparative analysis was assumed to be 12'' x 12''). The puncture 
velocities of representative baseline tank cars were calculated. The 
baseline tank cars were grouped according to the specified thickness 
requirements of the HMR. Additionally, the diameter of each grouping 
was based on a survey of tank car specifications. The specification 
grouping, respective diameters, thicknesses, materials of construction, 
and working pressures were as follows:

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                                                                                                       Working
       Tank car specification         Minimum plate thickness         Material of         Diameter     pressure
                                                (in)                 construction           (in)        (psig)
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111A100W1..........................  7/16                       A516-70                          94           50
105A200W...........................  9/16                       A516-70                         100          100
105A300W...........................  11/16                      A516-70                         117          100
112A340W...........................  11/16                      A516-70                         117          100
111A60ALW1.........................  1/2                        ASTM B209                         9           50
                                                                (Alloy 5052)
111A100ALW1........................  5/8                        ASTM B209                        94           50
                                                                (Alloy 5052)
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    Through an iterative process, the thickness of a tank car with 
similar characteristics, with the exception of a GRL of 286,000 pounds, 
was increased until the puncture velocity was the same as that for the 
263,000 GRL tank car. In a similar manner, the equivalent single-layer 
thickness was determined for tank cars not equipped with a jacket. The 
same analysis was not performed on the head because Sec.  2.5 of AAR's 
Specification M-1002, requires the tank cars to be equipped with 
[frac12]'' thick head shields.
    Failure of a tank car owner to comply with any condition of the 
above approvals will deprive the owner of the benefit of the approval 
and, in any such instances, FRA reserves the right to take appropriate 
enforcement action, which may result in FRA revoking such approval. If 
a party desires to manufacture or use a tank car not meeting the above 
criteria, FRA will consider such alternative designs upon application 
in accordance with Sec.  179.13.

    Issued in Washington, DC on January 19, 2011.
Jo Strang,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety/Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-1414 Filed 1-24-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P