[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 25, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53174-53175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-13866]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket Number FRA-2022-0067]


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    Under part 211 of title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), this 
document provides the public notice that by letters received January 
12, 2024, and May 22, 2024, Illinois Central Railroad Company, a 
subsidiary of Canadian National Railway Company (CN), 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 232 (Brake System Safety Standards for Freight and Other 
Non-Passenger Trains and Equipment; End-of-Train Devices). The relevant 
Docket Number is FRA-2022-0067.
    Specifically, CN seeks relief from the requirements of 49 CFR 
232.305(b)(2), Single car air brake tests, to ``permit the replacement 
of non-FRA condemnable wheelsets on rail cars as part of an in-train 
wheelset replacement program without the need to also perform the 
[single car air brake test (SCABT)]'' as required. The existing 
wheelset replacement program which ``identifies and replaces wheel-sets 
with minor defects, which are condemnable under [Association of 
American Railroads] standards,'' operates under a waiver in Docket 
Number FRA-2019-0003 for a facility in Fulton, Kentucky. CN states that 
the program has been ``a resounding success.'' CN seeks to add a new 
location, Memphis, Tennessee, to its wheelset replacement program. The 
Memphis location would be ``an alternative location to perform repairs 
and wheel-set replacements under an SCABT waiver[,] so as to avoid 
trains queuing at Fulton for work pursuant to'' the waiver in Docket 
Number FRA-2019-0003 granted for the Fulton location.
    In support of its request, CN states that ``the repairs conducted 
and wheels changed out under the SCABT waiver have made a huge 
contribution to preventing and reducing the number of wheel, bearing, 
impact, and broken rail-caused derailments, as well as associated 
injuries.'' CN adds that the program ``will improve safety by

[[Page 53175]]

significantly reducing the number of switching events required to 
replace wheel-sets as CN will no longer have to remove cars from trains 
at this location and place them in specialized repair tracks to replace 
the wheel-set.''
    A copy of the petition, as well as any written communications 
concerning the petition, is available for review online at 
www.regulations.gov.
    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 at www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
    Communications received by August 26, 2024 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 the Department of Transportation's 
(DOT) 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/privacy-notice for the privacy notice of regulations.gov.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
John Karl Alexy,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety, Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-13866 Filed 6-24-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P