[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 106 (Tuesday, June 3, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32016-32017]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-12827]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2014-0011-N-12]


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

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

ACTION: Notice and Request for Comments

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice announces that the renewal Information Collection Request (ICR) 
abstracted below is being forwarded to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of 
the information collection and its expected burden. The Federal 
Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the 
following collection of information was published on March 21, 2014 (79 
FR 15795).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 3, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Brogan, Office of Planning 
and Evaluation Division, RRS-21, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 
New Jersey Ave. SE., Mail Stop 25, Washington, DC 20590 (Telephone: 
(202) 493-6292), or Ms. Kimberly Toone, Office of Information 
Technology, RAD-20, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey 
Ave. SE., Mail Stop 35, Washington, DC 20590 (Telephone: (202) 493-
6132). (These telephone numbers are not toll-free.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
Public Law 104-13, sec. 2, 109 Stat. 163 (1995) (codified as revised at 
44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), and its implementing regulations, 5 CFR part 
1320, require Federal agencies to issue two notices seeking public 
comment on information collection activities before OMB may approve 
paperwork packages. 44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.5, 1320.8(d)(1), 
1320.12. On March 21, 2014, FRA published a 60-day notice in the 
Federal Register soliciting comment on ICRs that the agency was seeking 
OMB approval. See 79 FR 15795. FRA received one comment in response to 
this notice.
    The comment was not about the collection of information itself, its 
requirements, or the burden estimates delineated in the Federal 
Register Notice. Rather, it pertained to the issue of fatigue and came 
from a resident, Ms. Michelle Horton, of East Moline, Illinois. She 
wrote the following:

    As a wife of a railroader I feel an area of what you are 
classifying as ``fatigue'' is only in context of scheduled hours 
worked. Identifying the ``fatigue'' is the issue. Currently railroad 
employees are required to work in conditions that in itself cause 
fatigue. Switch men walking miles a day in -30 [degree] weather, at 
times in two feet of snow, in blizzard conditions for 8 hours a day 
is detrimental to their health, but with hours of service laws, 
employers can force these men to work in these conditions for 12 
hours for 5 days straight. AND they do it. In opposite conditions 
110 degrees and no wind walking miles a day. I see it every day and 
watch my husband struggle to walk, hold his head up, or even focus 
on a conversation for 5 minutes without falling asleep, right after 
he gets home from work. The cramping he endures is intense. And now 
railroad employees are required to submit all their time off with no 
sick days. My husband was very ill, worked 9 1/2 hours reported he 
had to go see a doctor when he was being forced to continue and upon 
his return (after he saw a doctor) was placed on a 30 day suspension 
for not completing his job duties. Workers are in fear of losing 
their jobs for reporting fatigue! My husband has been with the 
railroad for 17 years. No discipline was in his file. He is only 42. 
Currently there is no regulation to support an employee to say I am 
fatigued without persecution and dismissal. After 8 hours an 
employee should have a say especially under the conditions I noted. 
Not supporting the ability to have a choice after 8 hours of service 
is simply stating even the law could care less about fatigue.

    This comment is outside the scope of the Notice requirements of the 
1995 Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) and OMB PRA Implementing Guidance. 
However, the issue of fatigue is one that has been of longstanding 
concern to FRA and one that FRA plans to address by rulemaking in the 
near future.
    Before OMB decides whether to approve these proposed collections of 
information, it must provide 30 days for public comment. 44 U.S.C. 
3507(b); 5 CFR 1320.12(d). Federal law requires OMB to approve or 
disapprove paperwork packages between 30 and 60 days after the 30 day 
notice is published. 44 U.S.C. 3507 (b)-(c); 5 CFR 1320.12(d); see also 
60 FR 44978, 44983, Aug. 29, 1995. OMB believes that the 30 day notice 
informs the regulated community to file relevant comments and affords 
the agency adequate time to digest public comments before it renders a 
decision. 60 FR 44983, Aug. 29, 1995. Therefore, respondents should 
submit their respective comments to OMB within 30 days of publication 
to best ensure having their full effect. 5 CFR 1320.12(c); see also 60 
FR 44983, Aug. 29, 1995.
    The summary below describes the nature of the information 
collection request (ICR) and the expected burden. The revised request 
is being submitted for clearance by OMB as required by the PRA.
    Title: Hours of Service Regulations.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-0005.
    Abstract: FRA amended its hours of service recordkeeping 
regulations, to add substantive hours of service regulations, including 
maximum on-duty periods, minimum off-duty periods, and other 
limitations, for train employees (e.g., locomotive engineers and 
conductors) providing commuter and intercity rail passenger 
transportation on August 12, 2011. See 76 FR 50359. The new substantive 
regulations require that railroads employing such train employees 
analyze and mitigate the risks for fatigue in the schedules worked by 
these train employees, and that the railroads submit to FRA for its 
approval the relevant schedules and fatigue mitigation plans. This 
final rule also made corresponding changes to FRA's hours of service 
recordkeeping regulation to require railroads to keep hours of service 
records and report excess service to FRA in an manner consistent with 
the new substantive requirements. This regulation was authorized by the 
Rail Safety Improvement Act (RSIA) of 2008. The information collected 
under this rule is used by FRA and its inspectors to ensure compliance 
with the Hours of Service Laws and the requirements of this regulation. 
In particular, the new information collected as a result of new

[[Page 32017]]

Subpart F is used by FRA to verify that the employees of covered 
commuter and intercity passenger railroads do not exceed maximum on-
duty periods, abide by minimum off-duty periods, and adhere to other 
limitations set forth in this regulation to enhance rail safety and 
reduce the risk of accidents/incidents caused by train employee 
fatigue, as well as those accident/incidents where fatigue of train 
employees served as a contributory factor.
    Type of Request: Extension with change of a currently approved 
information collection.
    Affected Public: Businesses (Railroads).
    Form(s): FRA F 6180.3.
    Annual Estimated Burden: 3,514,805 hours.
    Addressee: Send comments regarding these information collections to 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 
and Budget, 725 Seventeenth Street NW., Washington, DC 20503, 
Attention: FRA Desk Officer. Comments may also be sent via email to OMB 
at the following address: [email protected].
    Comments are invited on the following: Whether the proposed 
collections of information are necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the Department, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; the accuracy of the Department's estimates of 
the burden of the proposed information collections; ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and 
ways to minimize the burden of the collections of information on 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
    A comment to OMB is best assured of having its full effect if OMB 
receives it within 30 days of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register.

    Authority:  44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 29, 2014.
Erin McCartney,
Acting Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-12827 Filed 6-2-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P