[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 74 (Thursday, April 16, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 21159-21161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08015]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

49 CFR Part 299

[Docket No. FRA-2019-0068, Notice No. 4]
RIN 2130-AC84


Texas Central Railroad High-Speed Rail Safety Standards

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; announcement of telephonic public hearings and 
comment period extension.

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

SUMMARY: On March 10, 2020, FRA published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPRM) that would establish safety standards for the Texas 
Central Railroad (TCRR) high speed rail system. On March 12, 2020, FRA 
announced three public hearings to provide members of the public an 
opportunity to provide oral comments on the proposed safety 
requirements, which were subsequently postponed on March 30, 2020. FRA 
is now announcing the rescheduling of the public hearings. 
Additionally, FRA is extending the comment period to May 26, 2020, to 
afford members of the public time to comment on opinions and views 
expressed during these hearings, that will be captured in a transcript 
of the proceedings and placed in the rulemaking docket.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published on March 10, 
2020 (85 FR 14036), is extended and now closes on May 26, 2020. Written 
comments in response to views or information provided at the public 
hearings must be received by May 26, 2020.
    The public hearings will be conducted on the following dates at the 
following times (members of the public will be able to call into each 
telephonic hearing 30 minutes prior to the start of each hearing):
     Hearing 1: May 4, 2020, from 5 p.m. (EDT) to 10 p.m. 
(EDT).
     Hearing 2: May 5, 2020, from 6 p.m. (EDT) to 10 p.m. 
(EDT).
     Hearing 3: May 6, 2020, from 6 p.m. (EDT) to 10 p.m. 
(EDT).

ADDRESSES: Written comments in response to views or information 
provided at the public hearings may be submitted by any of the methods 
listed in the NPRM. See 85 FR 14036.
    The public hearings will be held telephonically. For more 
logistical information on the public hearings please visit https://railroads.dot.gov/legislation-regulations/TCRR-NPRM. Please note that 
participation in each hearing will be limited to the first 300 callers.
    Dial-in phone numbers and participant access codes for each hearing 
are as follows:
     Hearing 1: Phone number: 844-721-7241; participant access 
code: 6322460.
     Hearing 2: Phone number: 844-721-7241; participant access 
code: 6441451.
     Hearing 3: Phone number: 844-291-5491; participant access 
code: 8976262.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Kenton Kilgore, Program Analyst, 
Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Railroad Safety (telephone: 
(202) 493-6286; email: [email protected]); or Mr. Michael Hunter, 
Attorney Adviser, Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Chief 
Counsel, (telephone: (202) 493-0368; email: [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Prior Public Engagement as Part of the Environmental Review Process

    In its March 12, 2020, announcement of the public hearings, FRA 
briefly discussed prior public engagement that was part of the 
environmental review process. See 84 FR 14449. While not repeating that 
discussion here, FRA still wishes to draw attention to those prior 
opportunities, reiterate that it is considering all comments received, 
and make clear that it will provide responses to the comments submitted 
during the public comment period for the draft environmental impact 
statement (EIS) in the final EIS. FRA anticipates releasing the final 
EIS in late Spring of this year.

Public Hearings To Receive Oral Comment on the NPRM--Purpose and Scope

    As stated above, FRA published the NPRM proposing safety 
requirements specific to the TCRR high-speed rail system, and opened 
the public comment period on March 10, 2020. See 85 FR 14036. On March 
12, 2020, FRA

[[Page 21160]]

announced it had scheduled three public hearings to be conducted in 
Dallas, Navasota, and Houston, Texas, between March 31 and April 2, 
2020. See 85 FR 14449.
    However, in light of the President's March 13, 2020, Proclamation 
on Declaring a National Emergency concerning the Novel Coronavirus 
Disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency, and the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance to cancel mass gatherings 
of people,\1\ FRA postponed the three public hearings in a March 30, 
2020 Federal Register publication (85 FR 17527). FRA is now announcing 
the rescheduling of those hearings to provide an opportunity for 
additional public participation. Consistent with CDC guidelines 
advising against in-person gatherings,\2\ FRA has decided to convene 
three telephonic public hearings. The choice to conduct these hearings 
telephonically represents merely a change in the manner of public 
engagement. As the medium of these hearings is telephonic (there is no 
web-based application being used as part of these hearings), members of 
the public, regardless of phone technology used, will be able to 
participate.\3\ FRA anticipates being able to accommodate the same 
number of participants at each telephonic hearing as during the in-
person hearings, and does not believe there will be any degradation in 
the quality of the opinions and views expressed during a telephonic 
hearing, as compared to an in-person hearing. Further, FRA will 
consider all comments received during these telephonic hearings just as 
it would if the comments were received at an in-person hearing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/large-events/mass-gatherings-ready-for-covid-19.html.
    \2\ Id.
    \3\ Please note that FRA is not making any representations about 
the connection of any one member of the public's individual phone. 
Technical issues that arise between a member of the public and their 
individual phone provider are outside of FRA's control.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As with the in-persons hearings, members of the public are invited 
to present oral statements, and to offer information and views about 
the technical safety requirements proposed in the NPRM at the upcoming 
hearings. Unlike the public hearings conducted for the environmental 
review, the purpose and scope of these hearings is to receive oral 
comments only on the technical safety requirements proposed in the NPRM 
and its associated economic analysis. The NPRM public hearings are not 
a forum for debate on the merits of the project as a whole, or to 
provide comment on proceedings outside of the NPRM, such as the 
environmental review process. Rather, the NPRM hearings are meant to 
help inform FRA's decisions regarding the technical safety requirements 
proposed in the NPRM and its associated economic analysis. The hearings 
on the NPRM will be conducted by representatives of FRA designated 
under FRA's Rules of Practice (49 CFR 211.25). The rules of evidence 
will not apply. The hearings will be informal, which means that they 
are non-adversarial proceedings and there will be no cross examination 
of persons presenting statements or offering evidence. These hearings 
are an opportunity to provide relevant technical information to FRA 
regarding the proposed requirements and associated economic analysis, 
and a mechanism to place that information in the record for review and 
consideration by FRA.

Exemption for Technological Improvements--Proceedings Under 49 U.S.C. 
20306

    As a part of only Hearing 1, FRA will conduct proceedings under 49 
U.S.C. 20306 to determine whether to invoke its discretionary authority 
to provide relief to TCRR from certain requirements of 49 U.S.C. ch. 
203 for its planned operation of new high-speed trainsets built to the 
proposed requirements contained in the NPRM. FRA will conduct these 
proceedings during the first hour of the hearing.
    Under 49 U.S.C. 20306, FRA may exempt TCRR from the above-
identified statutory requirements based on evidence received and 
findings developed at a hearing demonstrating that the statutory 
requirements ``preclude the development or implementation of more 
efficient railroad transportation equipment or other transportation 
innovations under existing law.'' Accordingly, to receive such evidence 
and develop findings to determine whether FRA should invoke its 
discretionary authority under 49 U.S.C. 20306 in this instance, 
proceedings will be conducted as part of Hearing 1 scheduled for 
Monday, May 4, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. (EDT). Interested parties are invited 
to present oral statements at the hearing regarding the technical 
information presented in the NPRM addressing the application of 49 
U.S.C. ch. 203. Again, as mentioned above, this part of the proceedings 
will be an informal hearing limited in scope to the technical 
information presented regarding the proposed requirements concerning 
safety appliances, and is not a forum to generally debate the project 
or other proceedings outside of the rulemaking.
    In its rulemaking petition, submitted April 16, 2016, TCRR 
requested FRA exercise its authority under 49 U.S.C. 20306 to exempt 
its high-speed passenger rail trainsets from the requirements of 49 
U.S.C. 20302, mandating that railroad vehicles be equipped with (1) 
secure sill steps and efficient hand brakes; (2) secure grab irons or 
handholds on vehicle ends and sides for greater security to individuals 
coupling and uncoupling vehicles; and (3) the standard height of 
drawbars. See 49 U.S.C. 20302(a)(1)(B), (a)(2), and (a)(3).
    In support of its request for an exemption, TCRR noted in its 
petition that safety appliances such as sill steps or end or side 
handholds are typically used in conventional North American practice by 
maintenance personnel who ride the side of trainsets in yards or 
maintenance facilities for marshalling operations. The N700 series 
trainset, as proposed in the NPRM, is a fixed-consist trainset where 
trainset make-up only occurs in defined locations where maintenance 
personnel can safely climb on, under, or between the equipment, 
consistent with the protections afforded under 49 CFR part 218. 
Additionally, the leading and trailing ends of the N700 series trainset 
are equipped with an automatic coupler located behind a removable 
shroud. These couplers, as proposed by TCRR, will only be used for 
rescue operations in accordance with TCRR's operating rules, and 
provide for the safe coupling of one trainset to another (i.e., each 
end will have automatic self-centering couplers that couple to other 
trainsets on impact and uncouple by mechanisms that do not require a 
person to go between trainsets or the activation of a traditional 
uncoupling lever). Further, as proposed, level boarding will be 
provided at all locations in trainset maintenance facilities where crew 
and maintenance personnel are normally required to access or disembark 
trainsets. Moreover, because the equipment is a fixed-consist trainset 
in which individual vehicles are semi-permanently coupled and, as noted 
above, individual vehicles can only be disconnected in repair 
facilities where personnel can work on, under, or between units under 
protections consistent with 49 CFR part 218, TCRR asserts that having 
drawbars at the statutorily prescribed height is unnecessary.
    As such, TCRR believes there is not a functional need to equip the 
ends of the trainsets with sill steps, end or side handholds, or 
uncoupling levers. As this technology is intended to operate at

[[Page 21161]]

high-speeds, the inclusion of these appurtenances would have a 
significant and detrimental impact on the aerodynamics of the trainset. 
This increase in the aerodynamic footprint would negatively impact both 
efficiency and aerodynamic noise emissions according to TCRR.
    TCRR also noted that trainset securement will be provided using 
wheel chocks in addition to stringent operating rules and procedures, 
which will be consistent with the service-proven procedures utilized on 
the Tokaido Shinkansen. Additionally, as proposed in the NPRM, TCRR 
will be required to demonstrate, as part of its vehicle qualification 
procedures, that the procedures effectively secure the trainset (see 
proposed Sec.  299.607).
    In sum, TCRR asserted that requiring compliance with the identified 
statutory requirements would serve to preclude the development or 
implementation of more efficient railroad transportation equipment or 
other transportation innovations under existing law.

Procedures for Public Participation in the Hearings on the NPRM

    At each NPRM hearing, FRA representatives will make opening 
statements reiterating the scope of the hearing as described above, and 
any relevant procedures to be followed at the hearing. Following FRA's 
opening statements, there will be an opportunity for members of the 
public to present a brief oral comment on the record. Time permitting, 
FRA will allow everyone who desires to provide an oral comment at a 
hearing the opportunity to do so. Those members of the public wishing 
to make a statement at the hearing will be required to follow those 
procedures announced at the hearings to indicate a desire to make a 
statement.
    FRA will generally limit the duration of individual presentations, 
as necessary, to afford all persons who wish to speak the opportunity 
to do so. However, during the proceedings under 49 U.S.C. 20306, 
conducted as part of Hearing 1, TCRR may be afforded additional time to 
present information to support its request for FRA to invoke its 
discretionary authority under 49 U.S.C. 20306.
    At each hearing, FRA will announce additional procedures that may 
be necessary for the conduct of the hearing, including the specific 
time limit for individual presentations. FRA reserves the right to 
limit participation in the hearing of persons who exceed their allotted 
time, or who discuss topics or issues outside the scope of the proposed 
rulemaking.
    The proceedings will be recorded, with transcripts prepared. FRA 
will add the transcripts of the hearings to the public docket in this 
rulemaking proceeding.
    For information on services for persons with disabilities, please 
contact FRA Program Analyst, Mr. Kenton Kilgore, at least 5 working 
days before the date of the hearing by one of the means listed in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

Extension of Comment Period

    As the comment period for the NPRM published on March 10, 2020, 
closes on May 11, 2020, and the public hearings are scheduled for May 
4-6, 2020, FRA is extending the comment period so that it now closes on 
May 26, 2020. FRA is extending the comment period so that members of 
the public have adequate time to review and provide written comments on 
the transcripts of the three public hearings conducted. All written 
comments must now be submitted by May 26, 2020. Written comments 
submitted after that date will be considered to the extent practicable.
    FRA notes that it received numerous requests not to hold ``virtual 
hearings,'' due to concerns over the lack of reliable high-speed 
internet access, and/or to indefinitely postpone hearings until they 
can be safely held in person. In response, FRA has shifted these 
hearings to telephone-only hearings, which will be able to accommodate 
the same number of participants as the previously scheduled in-person 
hearings, in a manner that is consistent with ensuring public health, 
and that does not require any technology beyond a telephone. We have 
also extended the comment period to ensure the opportunity to comment 
on any safety issues raised in the hearing. However, given the 
extensive public outreach already conducted related to this proposed 
rule, and the supplementary nature of the public hearings as related to 
the opportunity to provide detailed written comments on the proposed 
rule, in consultation with Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, FRA has determined that there is no need to further postpone 
the public hearings or further extend the comment period.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on April 13, 2020.
John Karl Alexy,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety, Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-08015 Filed 4-13-20; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P