[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 136 (Wednesday, July 15, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42975-42976]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15187]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket Number FRA-2020-0054]
Petition for Waiver of Compliance
Under part 211 of title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), this
[[Page 42976]]
document provides the public notice that on June 26, 2020, Virgin
Trains USA--Florida, LLC (VTUS) petitioned the Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA) for a waiver of compliance from certain provisions
of the Federal railroad safety regulations contained at 49 CFR part
270, System Safety Program. FRA assigned the petition Docket Number
FRA-2020-0054.
VTUS requests relief from certain deadlines required under 49 CFR
part 270 considering the company's temporary suspension of revenue
passenger rail operations. Specifically, VTUS requests relief from the
March 4, 2021, system safety program (SSP) plan filing requirement in
Sec. 270.201(a)(1). VTUS states that due to the COVID-19 public health
emergency, VTUS suspended all passenger rail operations on March 26,
2020. A timeline for service restoration is currently unknown, but is
not anticipated to precede the March 4, 2021, filing deadline for SSP.
VTUS proposes to comply with part 270 as applicable to passenger
railroads not currently in operation, and submit its SSP plan not less
than 90 days before recommencing passenger operations.
Additionally, VTUS requests relief from the July 2, 2020, deadline
in Sec. 270.107(a)(3) for holding a preliminary meeting with directly
affected employees. Due to the suspension of passenger rail operations
on March 26, 2020, and that there are currently no directly affected
employees to consult with, VTUS states that the July 2, 2020, deadline
is not practicable. VTUS seeks to postpone such preliminary meeting
until 120 days before recommencing passenger operations, allowing the
company 30 days to incorporate comments from such meeting into its
railroad consultation statement described in Sec. 270.107(b).
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 August 31, 2020 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. 2020-15187 Filed 7-14-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P