[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 42 (Monday, March 4, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14152-14153]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04894]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Notice of Intent To Grant Buy America Waiver to Illinois 
Department of Transportation To Use Three Non-Domestic Component Parts, 
in the Incremental Train Control System

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to grant Buy America waiver.

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SUMMARY: FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that it 
intends to grant the Illinois Department of Transportation (``IDOT'') a 
waiver from FRA's Buy America requirement for the use of three 
component parts that are not produced in the United States for the 
Incremental Train Control System (``ITCS''). The three component parts 
included in IDOT's waiver request are: (1) An ethernet cable; (2) an 
omni directional antenna; and (3) a router/server combination. FRA 
believes a waiver is appropriate because off-the-shelf domestically 
produced components meeting the specific technical and design needs of 
the ITCS are not available, and custom-designed components are not 
``reasonably available'' given the short timeframe associated with 
Positive Train Control (PTC) implementation and the low dollar value of 
the two components as installed on just twenty (20) locomotives, and 
only one router/server combination needed for the entire project. The 
total cost of the non-domestically produced components is approximately 
$20,000, out of the $2.5 million cost for the ITCS.

DATES: Written comments on FRA's determination to grant IDOT's Buy 
America waiver request should be provided to the FRA on or before March 
19, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Please submit your comments by one of the following means, 
identifying your submissions by docket number FRA-2012-0033. All 
electronic submissions must be made to the U.S. Government electronic 
site at http://www.regulations.gov. Commenters should follow the 
instructions below for mailed and hand-delivered comments.
    (1) Web Site: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions 
for submitting comments on the U.S. Government electronic docket site;
    (2) Fax: (202) 493-2251;
    (3) Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE., Docket Operations, M-30, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001; 
or
    (4) Hand Delivery: Room W12-140 on the first floor of the West 
Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must make reference to the ``Federal 
Railroad Administration'' and include docket number FRA-2012-0033. Due 
to security procedures in effect since October 2001, mail received 
through the U.S. Postal Service may be subject to delays. Parties 
making submissions responsive to this notice should consider using an 
express mail firm to ensure the prompt filing of any submissions not 
filed electronically or by hand. Note that all submissions received, 
including any personal information therein, will be posted without 
change or alteration to http://www.regulations.gov. For more 
information, you may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the 
Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or visit 
http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about this notice, 
please contact Ms. Linda Martin, Senior Attorney-Advisor, FRA Office of 
Chief Counsel, (202) 493-6062 or via email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FRA is issuing this notice to advise the 
public that it intends to grant IDOT's request for a waiver from FRA's 
Buy America requirement, 49 U.S.C. 24405(a), for the use of three 
component parts, which are not produced in the United States in the 
Incremental Train Control System (``ITCS''). Comments may be submitted 
regarding this waiver request by the methods detailed in this notice. 
The letter granting IDOT's request provides as follows:

Joseph E. Shacter,
Director, Division of Public and Intermodal Transportation
Illinois Department of Transportation
100 West Randolph Street, Suite 6-600
Chicago, IL 60601

Re: Request for Waiver of Buy America Requirement
Dear Mr. Shacter:

    This letter is in response to your September 26, 2012 request that 
the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) be granted a waiver 
from the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Buy America provision, 
at 49 U.S.C. 24405(a)(1), for use in the Incremental Train Control 
System (ITCS), of three

[[Page 14153]]

components that are not produced in the United States. For the 
following reasons, FRA is granting IDOT's Buy America waiver request.
    In December 2010, IDOT and FRA entered into cooperative agreements 
to allow IDOT to complete the activities necessary to implement high-
speed passenger rail service along Union Pacific Railroad's (UP) 
Chicago to St. Louis rail corridor. The project consists of six tasks 
encompassing infrastructure improvements, station improvements, 
acquiring rolling stock, communications, and program management. The 
overall grant for the Chicago-St. Louis High Speed Rail Corridor 
development is $1.142 billion.
    The subject of this waiver is a project within the larger Chicago 
to St. Louis rail corridor development and pertains to the installation 
of certain signaling improvements on a demonstration segment between 
Dwight and Joliet, Illinois. The IDOT contracted with Amtrak, UP, and 
General Electric Train Systems (GETS) to build and supply onboard 
equipment to retrofit 20 locomotives with the ITCS for this 
demonstration. The total cost of the ITCS is $2.5 million.
    The ITCS system is manufactured by GETS. The ITCS contains several 
``end products''--the onboard equipment, the wayside equipment, and 
Amtrak's Departure Testing Center equipment. This means that the 
manufactured products, e.g., the cables, routers, air filtration 
system, power supplies, radios, antennae, displays, and sensors, which 
are assembled into each end product, are components and must be 
manufactured in the United States. The ITCS's three end products and 
the majority of their components are manufactured at various locations 
in the United States, including Grain Valley and Warrensburg, Missouri; 
Melbourne, Florida; and Chicago, Illinois. The three components 
included in IDOT's Buy America waiver request are: (1) an Ethernet 
Cable from INET-II Radio to Ethernet Switch; (2) a 900 MHz Omni-
directional antenna; and (3) a RuggedComm RX-1000 router/server 
combination. The total cost of the non-domestically produced components 
is approximately $20,000, out of the $2.5 million cost for the ITCS.
    Section 24405(a)(1) authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to 
obligate grant funds only if the steel, iron, and manufactured goods 
used in the project are produced in the United States. However, section 
24405(a)(2) also permits the Secretary (delegated to the FRA 
Administrator) to waive the Buy America requirements if the Secretary 
finds that: (A) applying paragraph one would be inconsistent with the 
public interest; (B) the steel, iron, and goods manufactured in the 
United States are not produced in sufficient and reasonably available 
amount or are not of a satisfactory quality; (C) rolling stock or power 
train equipment cannot be bought or delivered to the United States 
within a reasonable time; or (D) including domestic material will 
increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent.
    The FRA believes a waiver is appropriate under 49 U.S.C. 
24405(a)(2)(B) because off-the-shelf domestically produced components 
meeting the specific technical and design needs of the ITCS are not 
available. Moreover, custom-designed components are not ``reasonably 
available'' given the short timeframe associated with positive train 
control (PTC) implementation, low dollar value of the two components as 
installed on just 20 locomotives, and only one router/server 
combination is needed for the entire project. The manufacturer of the 
ITCS, General Electric Transportation Systems (GETS), estimates that it 
would cost more than $1 million and take approximately six months to 
one year to accomplish the redesign and testing of parts made by a 
domestic manufacturer, assuming one would come forth to do so. 
Additionally, the need to continue the revenue demonstration testing of 
the ITCS equipment, which is a PTC system that the Rail Safety 
Improvement Act of 2008 requires be installed on certain rail lines by 
December 31, 2015, is essential to continued progress toward 
implementing this important safety technology. The successful 
demonstration tests were conducted in October 2012, and any further 
delay could result in additional costs and risk that the PTC system may 
not be fully tested for implementation prior to the 2015 statutory 
deadline.
    The FRA believes that such costs in both time and money make the 
components not ``reasonably available'' and, therefore, a waiver is 
appropriate. Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 24405(a)(4), FRA will publish this 
letter granting IDOT's request in the Federal Register and provide 
notice of such findings and an opportunity for public comment after 
which this waiver will become effective. This waiver applies only to 
the ITCS as installed in the Chicago to St. Louis corridor passenger 
rail service demonstration segment between Dwight and Joliet and 
specifically because of the facts and time constraints associated with 
this limited demonstration project. Any future requests for waivers 
regarding the ITCS will not be granted without a specific showing that 
domestic products for that particular project are not reasonably 
available at the time any subsequent request is made and GETS has made 
significant good faith efforts to secure all domestic components for 
the ITCS. The FRA encourages GETS to use the services of the U.S. 
Department of Commerce's National Institute for Standards and 
Technology-Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST-MEP). The FRA and 
NIST-MEP have partnered to increase the domestic manufacturing base for 
rail rolling stock and rail infrastructure related products. The FRA 
can facilitate these discussions, as requested. Questions about this 
letter can be directed to Linda Martin, Senior Attorney-Advisor, at 
[email protected] or 202-493-6062.

Sincerely,

Joseph C. Szabo,
Administrator.

    This Federal Register notice is issued in Washington, DC on 
February 26, 2013.
Melissa L. Porter,
Chief Counsel, Federal Railroad Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-04894 Filed 3-1-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P