[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 220 (Thursday, November 14, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61965-61966]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24749]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket Number FRA-1999-6253]


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    Under part 211 of title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), this 
document provides the public notice that on October 31, 2019, the Utah 
Transit Authority (UTA) petitioned the

[[Page 61966]]

Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a waiver of compliance from 
certain provisions of the Federal railroad safety regulations contained 
at 49 CFR parts 210, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 225, 228, 229, 
231, 234, 238, 239, 240, 242, and 243. FRA assigned the petition Docket 
Number FRA-1999-6253.
    UTA, operator of the rail fixed guideway public transit system TRAX 
in Salt Lake City, Utah, seeks an extension of the terms and conditions 
of its current shared use waiver of compliance. TRAX is operated with 
temporal separation on track owned by UTA and shared partially with 
Utah Railway Company and Savage Bingham & Garfield Railroad Company 
freight trains dispatched by UTA. FRA granted the original shared use 
waiver on August 19, 1999, for the North-South line, modified on March 
25, 2011, to include a portion of the Mid-Jordan extension with its 
additional Siemens S70 rolling stock (77 vehicles). In 2015, FRA 
renewed the previous waivers, granted relief from additional parts of 
the CFR, and approved the change of shared use milepost limits on the 
North-South Line to reflect the cessation of freight service south of 
6100 South as part of the transit-exclusive Draper Extension.
    Specifically, UTA requests FRA extend the regulatory relief in this 
docket, noting it has recently retired and disposed of 29 Urban 
Transportation Development Corporation (UTDC) vehicles acquired from 
the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Also, UTA is now 
requesting relief from part 243 for its light rail operators, 
supervisors, controller supervisors, and light rail rolling stock 
maintenance employees because training of these employees is already 
addressed by the existing Utah Department of Transportation State 
Safety Oversight Agency program certified by the Federal Transit 
Administration. UTA Track/Signal and Train Control maintenance-of-way 
employees will comply with part 243 because these employees also 
perform work on FRA-compliant Frontrunner commuter service.
    UTA states it will adopt specific policies and procedures that will 
provide a level of safety equivalent to that provided by full 
compliance with FRA regulations. Also, UTA states that ``unlike some 
light rail systems operating under a shared use waiver, UTA owns the 
entirety of the TRAX system and corridor, providing it control of the 
entry of freight trains on the TRAX system.
    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 Ave. 
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 Ave. SE, W12-140, Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal Holidays.
    Communications received by December 30, 2019 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 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.

John Karl Alexy,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety, Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019-24749 Filed 11-13-19; 8:45 am]
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