[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 206 (Thursday, October 26, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73635-73636]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23637]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2010-0064]


Consolidated Rail Corporation's Request To Amend Its Positive 
Train Control System

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

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This document provides the public with notice that, on October 
16, 2023, the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) submitted a 
request for amendment (RFA) to its FRA-certified positive train control 
(PTC) system to notify FRA of a planned PTC outage to perform a 
necessary PTC Back Office Subsystem upgrade during December 2023. FRA 
is publishing this notice and inviting public comment on the railroad's 
RFA to its PTC system.

DATES: FRA will consider comments received by November 15, 2023. FRA

[[Page 73636]]

may consider comments received after that date to the extent 
practicable and without delaying implementation of valuable or 
necessary modifications to a PTC system.

ADDRESSES: 
    Comments: Comments may be submitted by going to https://www.regulations.gov and following the online instructions for 
submitting comments.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and the 
applicable docket number. The relevant PTC docket number for this host 
railroad is Docket No. FRA-2010-0064. For convenience, all active PTC 
dockets are hyperlinked on FRA's website at https://railroads.dot.gov/research-development/program-areas/train-control/ptc/railroads-ptc-dockets. All comments received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov; this includes any personal information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gabe Neal, Staff Director, Signal, 
Train Control, and Crossings Division, telephone: 816-516-7168, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In general, Title 49 United States Code 
(U.S.C.) section 20157(h) requires FRA to certify that a host 
railroad's PTC system complies with title 49 Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) part 236, subpart I, before the technology may be 
operated in revenue service. Before making certain changes to an FRA-
certified PTC system or the associated FRA-approved PTC Safety Plan 
(PTCSP), a host railroad must submit, and obtain FRA's approval of, an 
RFA to its PTC system or PTCSP under 49 CFR 236.1021.
    Under 49 CFR 236.1021(e), FRA's regulations provide that FRA will 
publish a notice in the Federal Register and invite public comment in 
accordance with 49 CFR part 211, if an RFA includes a request for 
approval of a material modification of a signal and train control 
system. Accordingly, this notice informs the public that, on October 
16, 2023, Conrail submitted an RFA to its PTCSP for its Interoperable 
Electronic Train Management System (I-ETMS) which seeks FRA's approval 
for a three-hour outage in December 2023 to perform an upgrade to 
Conrail's PTC Back Office Subsystem to improve the reliability and 
stability of Conrail's I-ETMS system. Conrail's RFA states that their 
I-ETMS system must be disabled in order to perform the PTC Back Office 
System upgrade. The RFA is available in Docket No. FRA-2010-0064.
    Interested parties are invited to comment on Conrail's RFA to its 
PTC system by submitting written comments or data. During FRA's review 
of this railroad's RFA, FRA will consider any comments or data 
submitted within the timeline specified in this notice and to the 
extent practicable, without delaying implementation of valuable or 
necessary modifications to a PTC system. See 49 CFR 236.1021; see also 
49 CFR 236.1011(e). Under 49 CFR 236.1021, FRA maintains the authority 
to approve, approve with conditions, or deny a railroad's RFA to its 
PTC system at FRA's sole discretion.

Privacy Act Notice

    In accordance with 49 CFR 211.3, FRA solicits comments from the 
public to better inform its decisions. DOT posts these comments, 
without edit, including any personal information the commenter 
provides, to https://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 https://www.regulations.gov/privacy-notice for the privacy notice of regulations.gov. To facilitate 
comment tracking, we encourage commenters to provide their name, or the 
name of their organization; however, submission of names is completely 
optional. If you wish to provide comments containing proprietary or 
confidential information, please contact FRA for alternate submission 
instructions.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
Carolyn R. Hayward-Williams,
Director, Office of Railroad Systems and Technology.
[FR Doc. 2023-23637 Filed 10-25-23; 8:45 am]
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