[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 104 (Tuesday, May 31, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32494-32495]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-11633]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2010-0034]


Port Authority Trans-Hudson's Request To Operate Its Positive 
Train Control System With Procedural Mitigations

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

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: This document provides the public with notice that, on May 23, 
2022, Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) submitted a request to 
temporarily operate its conditionally FRA-certified Communications 
Based Train Control (CBTC) positive train control (PTC) system with a 
procedural mitigation to address a recently discovered software error. 
As this request involves the failure of a conditionally certified PTC 
system to perform its intended function, FRA is publishing this notice 
to advise the public that: PATH has determined the cause of the failure 
to be a software error; PATH is in the process of repairing the error 
without undue delay, as FRA's regulations require; and PATH has 
proposed a procedural mitigation in the interim to ensure that the 
software error will not cause a further failure of PATH's PTC system. 
Based on FRA's review of all pertinent information, FRA has approved 
PATH to temporarily operate its conditionally certified PTC system with 
a procedural mitigation.

DATES: FRA may consider comments 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-2010-0034. For convenience, all active PTC 
dockets are hyperlinked on FRA's website at https://railroads.dot.gov/train-control/ptc/ptc-annual-and-quarterly-reports. 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.) 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. Under 49 CFR 236.1023(j) and 236.1029(a), when any safety-
critical PTC system, subsystem, or component fails to perform its 
intended function, the cause must be determined and the faulty product 
adjusted, repaired, or replaced without undue delay. Until corrective 
action is completed, a railroad shall take appropriate action as 
specified in its PTC Safety Plan (PTCSP).
    FRA conditionally certified PATH's CBTC PTC system on November 27, 
2018. Since that time, to FRA's knowledge, PATH's PTC system has 
operated reliably performing its intended functions, except in May 
2022. Recently, PATH experienced two safety incidents on May 12 and May 
17, 2022, with its PTC system. In response to

[[Page 32495]]

these safety incidents and until the cause of the incidents was 
determined, PATH operated its PTC system in manual mode. Through 
investigation, testing, and replication of the events that led to the 
safety incidents, PATH determined on May 23, 2022, the cause to be a 
software error. PATH subsequently developed a procedural mitigation to 
prevent the unique series of events that resulted in the safety 
incident. PATH is in parallel rectifying the software error.
    PATH requested to operate its PTC system in manned automatic train 
control mode, with a procedural mitigation to prohibit the unique 
series of events that resulted in the safety incident, which FRA 
approved temporarily. As noted above, FRA's PTC regulations require 
PATH to repair the software error without undue delay. See 49 CFR 
236.1023(j), 236.1029(a).
    FRA will publish a further notice, including an opportunity for 
comment, when PATH submits a request for amendment (RFA) to its PTCSP 
that will include the update to PATH's PTC system rectifying the 
software error, in accordance with 49 CFR 236.1021. As background, 
before making certain changes to an FRA-certified PTC system or the 
associated FRA-approved PTCSP, a host railroad must submit, and obtain 
FRA's approval of, an RFA to its PTCSP. 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.

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. 2022-11633 Filed 5-27-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P


