[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 38 (Tuesday, February 26, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13154-13155]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04390]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket Number FRA-2002-11809]


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    In accordance with Part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR), this document provides the public notice that the North County 
Transit District (NCTD) has petitioned the Federal Railroad 
Administration (FRA) to modify NCTD's petition for approval of Shared 
Use and waiver of compliance from certain provisions of the Federal 
railroad safety regulations (Shared Use waiver) to include 49 CFR Part 
228-Hours of Service of Railroad Employees; Recordkeeping and 
Reporting; Sleeping Quarters. (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

[[Page 13155]]

Rail Transit Systems, 65 FR 42626 (July 10, 2000).) FRA assigned the 
petition Docket Number FRA-2002-11809.
    NCTD operates its SPRINTER light rail transit system (SPRINTER) 
between Oceanside and Escondido, CA. On June 24, 2003, FRA issued the 
initial waiver that granted NCTD conditional relief from certain 
Federal railroad safety regulations, provided that NCTD maintains 
temporal separation on track that is shared between SPRINTER and 
freight railroads so that each would operate at separate and distinct 
portions of the day and would not operate on the shared track at the 
same time. Since 2003, NCTD has requested and been granted additional 
relief from FRA.
    NCTD's SPRINTER also falls under the safety oversight of the 
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) as authorized by the 
Federal Transit Administration.
    NCTD's requested modification to its existing Shared Use waiver 
seeks relief from the hours of service requirements for its light rail 
transit (LRT) operators. In its petition, NCDT states that SPRINTER 
operates with an engineer-only train crew. Additionally, NCTD's 
operator training and qualification program for SPRINTER is approved 
and monitored by the CPUC. NCTD's program complies with CPUC's General 
Order 143-B, Section 12.04, which provides that LRT systems shall not 
allow any safety sensitive employees to remain on duty for more than 12 
consecutive hours or more than an aggregate of 12 hours distributed 
over a period of 16 hours. Finally, NCTD states that the dispatch and 
signal employees for SPRINTER will continue to meet all of the 
requirements of 49 CFR Part 228.
    A copy of the petition, as well as any written communications 
concerning the petition, is available for review online at 
www.regulations.gov and in person at the U.S. Department of 
Transportation's Docket Operations Facility, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., 
W12-140, Washington, DC 20590. The Docket Operations Facility is open 
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
    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 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 by April 12, 2013 will be considered by FRA 
before final action is taken. Comments received after that date will be 
considered as far as practicable.
    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 document, 
if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). 
See http://www.regulations.gov/#!privacyNotice for the privacy notice 
of regulations.gov or interested parties may review DOT's complete 
Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 
2000 (65 FR 19477).

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 21, 2013.
Robert C. Lauby,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Regulatory and Legislative 
Operations.
[FR Doc. 2013-04390 Filed 2-25-13; 8:45 am]
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