[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 110 (Thursday, June 7, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26540-26541]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-12224]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket Number FRA-2018-0048]


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    Under part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), this 
document provides the public notice that on May 25, 2018, the Santa 
Clara Valley Transportation Authority (SCVTA) and the American 
Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) petitioned 
the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a waiver of compliance 
from certain provisions of the Federal hours of service laws contained 
at 49 U.S.C. 21105, which in part prohibit a dispatching service 
employee from being on duty for more than a total of 9 hours during a 
24-hour period. FRA assigned the petition Docket Number FRA-2018-0048.
    Specifically, Petitioners seek approval of a pilot project under 49 
U.S.C. 21108, which allows railroads and labor organizations to jointly 
petition for a waiver of compliance from the hours of service laws to 
enable the establishment of a pilot project. The proposed pilot project 
would permit a 4-day, 10 hours-per-day work week for the affected 
employees, ``the controllers'' on the SCVTA system. Petitioners allege 
the pilot project will enhance safety of operations due to the 
increased flexibility in terms of staff assignments and covering 
unanticipated occurrences on the system, be beneficial to morale, and 
will provide more flexibility in arranging for ongoing training for 
employees without having to ask them to sacrifice days off from work.
    Petitioners explain that SCVTA is a public agency, with light rail 
transit operations on three lines, including the Vasona Corridor, which 
shares a corridor and grade crossings, but not tracks, with Union 
Pacific Railroad Company (UP). AFSCME is the authorized collective 
bargaining representative for the controllers, the employees on the 
SCVTA system that dispatch SCVTA light rail trains. UP train crews 
contact the SCVTA Operating Control Center prior to operating in the 
shared corridor, but SCVTA controllers do not otherwise communicate 
directly with UP train crews, nor do they share a radio frequency with 
UP.
    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 (DOT) Docket Operations Facility, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue 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 parties 
desire an opportunity for oral comment and a public hearing, 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:
     Website: 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 July 23, 2018 will be considered by FRA 
before final action is taken. Comments received after that date will be 
considered if practicable.
    Anyone can 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.). 
Under 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the public to better 
inform its processes. DOT posts these comments, without edit, including 
any personal information the commenter provides, to 
www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records

[[Page 26541]]

notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at https://www.transportation.gov/privacy. See also https://www.regulations.gov/privacyNotice for the privacy notice of regulations.gov.


    Issued in Washington, DC.
Robert C. Lauby,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety, Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-12224 Filed 6-6-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-06-P