
[Federal Register: January 25, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 15)]
[Notices]               
[Page 3961-3962]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25ja10-105]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

 
Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    In accordance with Part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR), notice is hereby given that the Federal Railroad Administration 
(FRA) has received a request for a waiver of compliance from certain 
requirements of its safety standards. The individual petition is 
described below, including the party seeking relief, the regulatory 
provisions involved, the nature of the relief being requested, and the 
petitioner's arguments in favor of relief.

Utah Transit Authority

[Supplement to Waiver Docket Number FRA-1999-6253]

    As a supplement to the Utah Transit Authority's (UTA) Petition for 
Approval of Shared Use and Waiver of Certain FRA Regulations (the 
original shared use waiver was granted by the FRA Railroad Safety Board 
on August 19, 1999, for the Sandy/Salt Lake TRAX LRT line), UTA is 
amending the terms and conditions of the original waiver by 
constructing the Daybreak/Test Track Segment portion of the Mid-Jordan 
LRT line extension of the Sandy/Salt Lake TRAX LRT line. This Test 
Track will be an exclusive light rail segment, featuring a limited 
connection to the general freight system at an interlocking. UTA 
submits that this request is consistent with the waiver process for 
Shared Use. See Statement of Agency Policy Concerning Jurisdiction Over 
the Safety of Railroad Passenger Operations and Waivers Related to 
Shared Use of the Tracks of the General Railroad System by Light Rail 
and Conventional Equipment, 65 FR 42529 (July 10, 2000); see also Joint 
Statement of Agency Policy Concerning Shared Use of the Tracks of the 
General Railroad System by Conventional Railroads and Light Rail 
Transit Systems, 65 FR 42626 (July 10, 2000).
    UTA is expanding its original Sandy/Salt Lake TRAX LRT line by 
building the 10.6-mile Mid-Jordan LRT line extension on the active 
Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) Bingham Branch, which is a single track 
used solely for freight operations. As part of this Mid-Jordan 
extension, UTA will reconstruct this existing track and add a new 
parallel track. This construction will allow that portion of the Mid-
Jordan LRT line that runs on the Bingham Branch to utilize two (2) 
tracks for light rail operations during the temporally separated 
passenger period. UPRR will continue to operate on the Bingham Branch 
only during the freight period. UTA anticipates petitioning FRA at a 
future date for a supplemental waiver of compliance from certain 
portions of Title 49 of the CFR for shared use temporal separation 
operations on this Mid-Jordan LRT line extension.
    This petition pertains to UTA's intent to first construct an 
initial 2-mile portion of this Mid-Jordan extension called the 
Daybreak/Test Track Segment, which will be used exclusively by UTA TRAX 
LRT equipment. This track initially will be used to commission new LRV 
equipment and to train LRV operators. This Daybreak/Test Track segment 
will be an exclusive light rail portion of the Mid-Jordan LRT line 
extension, with a limited connection to UPRR Bingham Branch at address 
5600 West. This connection will be composed of four electrically locked 
hand throw switches interlocked with UTA's Signal & Train Control 
System. In addition to this, UTA will temporarily employ portable 
derail devices to separate any possible incursions of UPRR equipment 
onto this Daybreak/Test Track equipment. Derails will be permanently 
removed once UTA has completed testing and begun pre-revenue service on 
the entire Mid-Jordan line.
    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 party 
desires an opportunity for oral comment, 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 (e.g., Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-
1999-6253) and may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Web site: 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

[[Page 3962]]

New Jersey Avenue, SE., W12-140, Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.
    Communications received within 45 days of the date of this notice 
will be considered by FRA before final action is taken. Comments 
received after that date will be considered as far as practicable. All 
written communications concerning these proceedings are available for 
examination during regular business hours (9 a.m.-5 p.m.) at the above 
facility. All documents in the public docket are also available for 
inspection and copying on the Internet at the docket facility's Web 
site at http://www.regulations.gov.
    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of any written 
communications and comments received into any of our dockets by the 
name of the individual submitting the document (or signing the 
document, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor 
union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in 
the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477) or at 
http://www.dot.gov/privacy.html.

    Issued in Washington, DC on January 19, 2010.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. 2010-1236 Filed 1-22-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P

