[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 58 (Tuesday, March 28, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15417-15418]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-06046]



[[Page 15417]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2017-0002-N-3]


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its 
implementing regulations, FRA is seeking to conduct the information 
collection activities listed below. Before submitting this information 
collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for approval, FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of 
the activity identified below.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than May 30, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments on the following information 
collection activity by mail to either: Mr. Robert Brogan, Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, Office of Railroad Safety, Regulatory 
Safety Analysis Division, RRS-21, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 
New Jersey Ave. SE., Mail Stop 17, Washington, DC 20590, or Ms. Kim 
Toone, Information Collection Clearance Officer, Office of Information 
Technology, RAD-20, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey 
Ave. SE., Mail Stop 35, Washington, DC 20590. Commenters requesting FRA 
to acknowledge receipt of their respective comments must include a 
self-addressed stamped postcard stating, ``Comments on OMB control 
number 2130--NEW'', and should also include the title of the 
information collection. Alternatively, comments may be faxed to (202) 
493-6216 or (202) 493-6497, or emailed to Mr. Brogan at 
[email protected], or to Ms. Toone at [email protected]. Please 
refer to the assigned OMB control number in any correspondence 
submitted. FRA will summarize comments received in response to this 
notice in a subsequent notice and include them in its information 
collection submission to OMB for approval.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Brogan, Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, Office of Railroad Safety, Regulatory 
Safety Analysis Division, RRS-21, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 
New Jersey Ave. SE., Mail Stop 17, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: 
(202) 493-6292) or Ms. Kimberly Toone, Information Collection Clearance 
Officer, 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 PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520, and its 
implementing regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, require Federal agencies to 
provide 60-days' notice to the public to allow comment on information 
collection activities before seeking OMB approval of the activities. 44 
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A); 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), 1320.10(e)(1), 1320.12(a). 
Specifically, FRA invites interested parties to comment on the 
following summary of an information collection activity regarding: (1) 
Whether the information collection activity is necessary for FRA to 
properly execute its functions, including whether the activities will 
have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of FRA's estimate of the 
burden of the information collection activity, including the validity 
of the methodology and assumptions used to determine the estimate; (3) 
how FRA can enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information being collected; and (4) how FRA can minimize the burden of 
the information collection activity on the public by automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques 
and other forms of information technology (e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses). See 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A); 5 CFR 
1320.8(d)(1).
    FRA believes soliciting public comment will promote its efforts to 
reduce the administrative and paperwork burdens associated with the 
collection of information. In summary, FRA reasons that comments 
received will advance three objectives: (1) Reduce reporting burdens; 
(2) ensure it organizes information collection requirements in a 
``user-friendly'' format to improve the use of such information; and 
(3) accurately assess the resources expended to retrieve and produce 
information requested. See 44 U.S.C. 3501.
    Below is a brief summary of the proposed ICR that FRA will submit 
for OMB clearance as required under the PRA:
    Title: Workforce Development (WFD) Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 2130--NEW.
    Abstract: FRA has statutory responsibility to ensure the safety of 
railroad operations under 49 U.S.C. 20103. To conduct safe railroad 
operations, the workforce must have the requisite skills to operate 
equipment and technologies. Therefore, it is FRA's responsibility to 
promote workforce development policy and standards to ensure the 
workforce has the necessary skills and talent to conduct safe railroad 
operations. Due to an increasingly dynamic and maturing workforce 
combined with changing skills' requirements new technologies impose, 
there is an increasing risk of not having the necessary talent pools to 
fill critical railroad operational positions.
    In 2011, FRA published the Railroad Industry Modal Profile: An 
Outline of the Railroad Industry Workforce Trends, Challenges, and 
Opportunities (Railroad Industry Modal Profile), which provided a 
comprehensive overview of the railroad industry workforce as of 
December 31, 2008. This document is available to the public through 
FRA's Web site at https://www.fra.dot.gov/eLib/Details/L01294. FRA 
published the Railroad Industry Modal Profile in response to the DOT 
National Transportation Workforce Development Initiative that required 
each DOT Operating Administration (OA) to produce an analysis of its 
industry workforce. See https://www.rita.dot.gov/ntwd for information 
on the initiative.
    The prevailing workforce concerns during the early stages of the 
DOT National Transportation Workforce Development Initiative were the 
large number of retirement-eligible employees in transportation-related 
fields and the national shortage of science, technology, engineering, 
and math graduates. Since the railroad industry did very little hiring 
in the late 1980s and through most of the 1990s, the retirement-
eligible population became quite large--even more than most other 
industries and transportation modes (which were grappling with similar 
retirement population concerns).
    These industry hiring practices create risk in maintaining a viable 
workforce, and, to take effective and efficient action to minimize 
these risks, FRA requires railroads to submit trustworthy information 
on current Work Force Development strategies and challenges. Initial 
data FRA collected for the Railroad Industry Modal Profile established 
a baseline understanding of the risks and status. FRA proposes this 
survey to validate and further develop its understanding of the risks. 
With this submission, FRA is requesting permission to acquire the 
necessary information on the railroad industry workforce.
    Form Number(s): FRA 240.

[[Page 15418]]

    Affected Public: Class I freight and passenger railroads, short 
line and regional railroads, labor unions, major associations, 
academia, and specialty experts.
    Respondent Universe: 91.
    Frequency of Submission: One-time.
    Reporting Burden:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Burden
                                                    Number    hours @ \1/
               Stakeholder segment                invited to    3\ hour
                                                    survey    per survey
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Class I Passenger...............................           5        1.65
Class I Freight.................................          10         3.3
Short Line and Regional.........................          50        16.5
Labor Unions....................................           7         2.3
Associations....................................          10         3.3
Academia........................................           9           3
                                                 -----------------------
    Total.......................................          91       30.05
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Total Estimated Annual Responses: 91.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden: 30.05 hours.
    Type of Request: Approval of a new Information Collection.
    Under 44 U.S.C. 3507(a) and 5 CFR 1320.5(b), 1320.8(b)(3)(vi), FRA 
informs all interested parties that it may not conduct or sponsor, and 
a respondent is not required to respond to, a collection of information 
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

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

Sarah L. Inderbitzin,
Acting Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2017-06046 Filed 3-27-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-06-P