[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 76 (Friday, April 19, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23631-23633]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-09295]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Notice of Intent To Grant Buy America Waiver to Amtrak To Use 
Three Non-Domestic Component Parts in No. 32.75 136RE Special Turnouts 
Manufactured in the U.S. by voestalpine Nortrak, Inc.

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 National Railroad Passenger Corporation 
(``Amtrak'') a waiver to purchase four (4) No. 32.75 136RE Special 
Turnouts (``Turnouts'') manufactured by voestalpine Nortrak,

[[Page 23632]]

Inc. (``Nortrak'') for use in the New York City to Trenton, NY, High-
Speed Rail Improvements Program (the ``High-Speed Rail Improvements 
Program'' or ``Program''). The Turnouts will be manufactured by Nortrak 
in the United States at its facility in Birmingham, Alabama, but will 
contain two components (ZU1-60 steel switch point rail sections and 
Schwihag roller assemblies and plates) that are not produced in the 
U.S. The cost of the Turnouts is approximately $2 million. The foreign 
material comprises approximately thirteen percent of the Turnouts' cost 
or approximately $260,000. FRA intends to grant the waiver because 
domestically-produced components meeting the specific needs of Amtrak 
for this application (i.e., specialized high-speed turnouts) are not 
produced in sufficient and reasonably available amount or are not of a 
satisfactory quality.

DATES: Written comments on FRA's determination to grant Amtrak's Buy 
America waiver request should be provided to FRA on or before April 22, 
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 Amtrak's request for a waiver from 
FRA's Buy America requirement, 49 U.S.C. 24405(a). The letter granting 
Amtrak's request provides as follows:

Mr. Jeff Martin, Chief Logistics Officer, National Railroad Passenger 
Corporation, 30th Street Station, Box 12, 5th Floor, SE Tower, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104.

Re: Request for Waiver of Buy America Requirement

    Dear Mr. Martin: This letter is in response to your August 8, 2012 
request that the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (``Amtrak'') 
be granted a waiver from the Federal Railroad Administration's 
(``FRA'') Buy America provision, at 49 U.S.C. Sec.  24405(a)(1) to 
purchase four (4) No. 32.75 136RE Special Turnouts (``Turnouts'') 
manufactured by voestalpine Nortrak, Inc. (``Nortrak'') for use in the 
New York City to Trenton, NY, High-Speed Rail Improvements Program 
(``NY-NJ HSR Program''). For the reasons set forth below, FRA is 
granting Amtrak's request.
    The NY-NJ HSR Program, funded through a $449,944,000 American 
Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant from FRA, will upgrade and improve 
the catenary, power, track and signal systems on the Northeast Corridor 
primarily between New Brunswick, New Jersey and Trenton, New Jersey. It 
will also improve the western approach tracks in New York Penn Station 
to facilitate increased speeds and improved reliability for all users 
and eventual higher levels of service. As you know, the Turnouts will 
be used as part of track and structures upgrades that will progress 
between New Brunswick, NJ and Trenton, NJ. Specifically, the Turnouts 
will be included in the design of new high speed interlockings known as 
``Delco'' and ``Adams'' to support high speed train operations by 
adding high speed diverging moves not currently possible. The new 
interlockings will allow New Jersey Transit (``NJT'') zone express 
trains to diverge from the high speed tracks to the local tracks. The 
new interlockings will allow an 80 mph (possibly higher) movement for 
NJT trains and other Regional Amtrak services operating simultaneously.
    The cost of the Turnouts is approximately $2 million. The foreign 
material comprises approximately thirteen percent of the Turnouts' cost 
or approximately $260,000. The Turnouts will be manufactured by Nortrak 
at its plant in Birmingham, Alabama, but will contain several 
components (ZU1-60 steel left and right switch point rail sections and 
Schwihag roller assemblies and plates) that are not produced in the 
U.S.
    Section 24405(a)(1) authorizes the Secretary of Transportation 
(``Secretary'') to obligate grant funds only if the steel, iron, and 
manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the United 
States. FRA believes a waiver is appropriate under 49 U.S.C. Sec.  
24405(a)(2)(B) for the ZUI-60 steel switch point rail sections and 
Schwihag roller assemblies and plates because domestically-produced 
components meeting the specific needs of Amtrak for this application 
(i.e., specialized high-speed turnouts) are not currently ``produced in 
sufficient and reasonably available amount or are not of a satisfactory 
quality.'' Amtrak also requested a waiver for the Turnout's vee point. 
However, FRA determined that a waiver is not necessary with regard to 
the vee point. FRA considers manufactured goods produced in the U.S. if 
they are manufactured in the U.S. from components that are manufactured 
in the U.S. No restrictions are placed upon the subcomponents of the 
manufactured goods. See http://www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0391 (FAQ no. 6). 
Because the vee point is a subcomponent of one of the Turnout's 
components (the moveable point frog), a waiver from the Buy America 
requirement is not necessary.
    In order to determine whether to grant Amtrak's request, FRA 
provided notice and an opportunity for comment on its public Web site. 
FRA received six comments to the Web site notice. All commenters 
encouraged finding domestic sources for the components. Two commenters 
stated that the cost information should be considered when evaluating 
the waiver request. No commenter identified a supplier for the 
components. FRA also used the services of the National Institute for 
Standards and Technology Manufacturing

[[Page 23633]]

Extension Partnership (MEP) in order to scout for domestic sources for 
the components. The MEP supplier scouting revealed that the ZU1-60 
steel sections from which the switch point rails are machined (by 
Nortrak) appeared to be currently available from a domestic 
manufacturing source. However, follow up discussions between MEP, 
Amtrak, and that potential source revealed that though it was 
determined that the source could roll the necessary steel it was not 
currently doing so. Moreover, the source reported that it would take, 
at best, six months to one year to produce the rail sections and 
questioned whether the quantity needed for these types of rails (four 
left and four right rails for this project) would justify the business 
expense of doing so.
    MEP also found that roller assemblies and plates potentially 
meeting the specific requirements of the Turnouts were available from 
domestic manufacturers. However, follow up discussions with these 
companies revealed that though several companies made similar items, 
the current ability to produce the items to the specification required 
by Amtrak did not exist without retool and retest in the No. 32.75 
136RE Special Turnout needed for this project.
    Importantly, FRA is currently funding a grant to Nortrak for the 
research and development of a high speed rail turnout design that is 
based on U.S. specifications. The goal of the research is to yield a 
``Buy America'' compliant high speed turnout. The grant runs through 
June 2013 and is expected to yield as a deliverable a drawing package 
suitable for bid. The next phase of the project (if funded) would be 
construction and test of the turnout at FRA's Transportation Testing 
Center in Pueblo, Colorado. Despite this research, the potential for a 
compliant turnout that may be available in the future and the timing of 
this waiver, the current availability of compliant components is at 
issue.
    As you know, Amtrak is currently in the early stages of procurement 
of the Turnouts, which require approximately 300 days for delivery. 
Once delivered, Amtrak must assemble the Turnouts at one of its 
Maintenance of Way facilities, which takes approximately one to two 
months. Then, once assembled, Amtrak must deliver the Turnouts by train 
to the locations where they will be installed. The tracks at Adams and 
Delco are scheduled to go out of service in February 2014 in order for 
the Turnouts to be installed. This outage has been planned with and 
agreed to by NJT. Accordingly, in order to have enough time to assemble 
the Turnouts prior to their installation in February 2014, the Turnouts 
must be delivered to Amtrak no later than early January 2014. This 
means that Amtrak must be able to place its order for the Turnouts not 
later than the end of March 2013. For this reason, even if a U.S. 
specification could be designed and steel switch point rail sections 
rolled and roller assemblies and plates meeting the needs of these 
specific turnouts fabricated and retested, it would happen too late to 
meet the tight project deadline for the long lead time Turnouts needed 
for this project.
    Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. Sec.  24405(a)(4), FRA will publish this 
letter granting Amtrak's request in the Federal Register and provide 
notice of such finding and an opportunity for public comment after 
which this waiver will become effective. This waiver applies only to 
the ZUI-60 steel switch point rail sections and Schwihag roller 
assemblies and plates as manufactured into the four No. 32.75 Turnouts 
installed on the NY-NJ HSR Program. As you are aware, discussions 
between MEP, Amtrak, Nortrak, and other companies that have the 
potential to produce these items are ongoing and future requests for a 
waiver will not be granted without a specific showing that significant 
good faith efforts to obtain a domestic source for the items have been 
made. FRA staff will stay involved in these discussions and will assist 
in whatever way needed.
    Question about this letter can be directed to, Linda Martin, Senior 
Attorney-Advisor, at [email protected] or (202) 493-6062.

Joseph C. Szabo,
Administrator.
    This Federal Register notice is issued in Washington, DC on 
April 16, 2013.
Melissa Porter,
Chief Counsel, Federal Railroad Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-09295 Filed 4-18-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P