
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 54 (Monday, March 21, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15144-15145]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-06212]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket Number FRA-2000-7137]


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    In accordance with part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR), this document provides the public notice that by a document 
dated February 24, 2016, petitioner San Diego Trolley Incorporated 
(SDTI) has petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a 
waiver of compliance from certain provisions of the Federal railroad 
safety regulations contained at 49 CFR. FRA assigned the petition 
Docket Number FRA-2000-7137.
    SDTI seeks a 5-year extension of its existing waiver of compliance 
with some modifications. The waiver covers several sections of Title 49 
CFR and applies to certain portions of SDTI's light rail transit 
operations that employ temporal separation in order to safely share 
track with the general railroad system's San Diego and Imperial Valley 
Railroad. Contiguous to the shared trackage are portions with limited 
connections to the general railroad system, which include a small 
shared corridor with BNSF Railway and Coaster commuter train service 
(Coaster also shares a storage yard with SDTI). SDTI received its 
initial waiver and permission from the FRA on January 19, 2001; the 
waiver was extended for 5 years on September 11, 2006, to include minor 
operational changes and the waiver was recently extended for 5 years on 
June 22, 2011, (this most recent extension updated CFR section changes 
made since 2006). In 2012, SDTI received a separate waiver from FRA to 
operate its SD100 and S70 rolling stock at speeds that generate cant 
deficiency not exceeding 6 inches on its Orange Line joint use 
trackage. See Docket Number FRA-2012-0088. To simplify matters, SDTI 
now requests that the relief in both Dockets be combined and baselined 
in Docket FRA-2000-7137.
    Based on the foregoing, SDTI seeks relief from the following parts 
and sections in 49 CFR: 213.57--Curves, elevation and speed 
limitations; Part 217--Railroad Operating Rules (except for 217.9(d)); 
218.27(a)--Railroad Operating Practices (as granted in part and denied 
in part in FRA's January 19, 2001, decision letter); Part 219--Control 
of Drug and Alcohol Use; Part 220--Railroad Communications (as granted 
in part in FRA's January 19, 2001, decision letter); Part 221--Rear End 
Marking Device; 223.9(c) and 223.17--Identification of equipped 
locomotives;

[[Page 15145]]

passenger cars and cabooses; 223.15(c)--Emergency Window Requirements 
and Emergency Exit Markings; Part 225--Railroad Accident/Incidents: 
Reports Classification, and Investigations (for employee injuries 
only); 229.46-229.59, 229.61, 229.65, 229.71, 229.71, 229.77, 229.125, 
and 229.135--Event recorders; 231.14--Passenger-train cars without end 
platforms; the following sections of Part 238--Passenger Equipment 
Safety Standards: 238.113, 238.114, 238.115(b)(4), 238.203, 238.205, 
238.207, 238.209, 238.211, 238.213, 238.215, 238.217, 238.219, 238.231, 
238.233, 238.235, 238.237, and part 238, Subpart D in its entirety, 
sections 238.301 through 238.319; Part 239--Passenger Train Emergency 
Preparedness; and Part 240--Qualification and Certification of 
Locomotive Engineers.
    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 
Avenue 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 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-
2000-7137) 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 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 by May 5, 2016 will be considered by FRA 
before final action is taken. Comments received after that date will be 
considered as far as practicable.
    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 comment (or signing the document, 
if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). 
In accordance with 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 www.dot.gov/privacy. 
See also http://www.regulations.gov/#!privacyNotice for the privacy 
notice of regulations.gov.

Robert C. Lauby,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety, Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2016-06212 Filed 3-18-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P


