
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 129 (Tuesday, July 7, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38799-38801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-16607]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2015-0007-N-18]


Agency Request for Emergency Processing of Collection of 
Information by the Office of Management and Budget

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), United States Department 
of Transportation (USDOT).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: FRA hereby gives notice that it is submitting the following 
Information Collection request (ICR) to

[[Page 38800]]

the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for emergency processing 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. FRA requests that OMB 
authorize the collection of information identified below seven days 
after publication of this Notice for a period of 180 days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of this individual ICR, with 
applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained by telephoning 
FRA's Office of Safety Clearance Officer: Robert Brogan (tel. (202) 
493-6292) or FRA's Office of Administration Clearance Officer: Kimberly 
Toone (tel. (202) 493-6132); these numbers are not toll-free; or by 
contacting Mr. Brogan via facsimile at (202) 493-6216 or Ms. Toone via 
facsimile at (202) 493-6497, or via email by contacting Mr. Brogan at 
Robert.Broga@dot.gov; or by contacting Ms. Toone at Kim.Toone@dot.gov. 
Comments and questions about the ICR identified below should be 
directed to OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: 
FRA OMB Desk Officer.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On Tuesday, May 12, 2015, Amtrak passenger 
train 188 (Train 188) was traveling timetable east (northbound) from 
Washington, DC, to New York City. Aboard the train were five Amtrak 
crew members, three Amtrak employees, and 250 passengers. Train 188 
consisted of a locomotive in the lead and seven passenger cars 
trailing. Shortly after 9:20 p.m., the train derailed while traveling 
through a curve at Frankford Junction in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As 
a result of the accident, eight persons were killed, and a significant 
number of persons were seriously injured.
    The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has taken the lead 
role conducting the investigation of this accident under its legal 
authority. 49 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.; 49 CFR 831.2(b). As is customary, 
FRA is participating in the NTSB's investigation and also investigating 
the accident under its own authority. While NTSB has not yet issued any 
formal findings, the information released to date indicates that train 
speed was a factor in the derailment. As Train 188 approached the curve 
from the west, it traveled over a straightaway with a maximum 
authorized passenger train speed of 80 mph. The maximum authorized 
passenger train speed for the curve was 50 mph. NTSB determined that 
the train was traveling approximately 106 mph within the curve's 50-mph 
speed restriction, exceeding the maximum authorized speed on the 
straightaway by 26 mph, and 56 mph over railroad's maximum authorized 
speed for the curve. FRA issued Emergency Order No. 31 (EO 31; 80 FR 
30534, May 28, 2015) in response to this derailment. EO 31 requires 
Amtrak to take prescribed actions to ensure the safe operation of 
passenger trains on the Northeast Corridor.
    In addition to the recent Amtrak passenger train derailment 
discussed above, in December 2013, a New York State Metropolitan 
Transportation Authority Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company (Metro-
North) train derailed as it approached the Spuyten Duyvil Station in 
Bronx, New York. The train traveled over a straightaway with a maximum 
authorized passenger train speed of 70 mph before reaching a sharp 
curve in the track with a maximum authorized speed of 30 mph. NTSB's 
investigation of the Metro-North accident determined the train was 
traveling approximately 82 mph as it entered the curve's 30-mph speed 
restriction before derailing. That derailment resulted in four 
fatalities and at least 61 persons being injured. The Metro-North 
accident is similar to the recent Amtrak accident in that it involved a 
serious overspeed event in a sharp curve in the track. As a result of 
the derailment, FRA issued Emergency Order No. 29 (78 FR 75442, Dec. 
11, 2013) requiring Metro-North to take certain actions to control 
passenger train speeds and also issued Safety Advisory 2013-08 to 
further enhance safety.
    FRA issued Safety Advisory 2015-03 on June 12, 2015 (see 80 FR 
33585) to stress to passenger railroads and railroads that host 
passenger service and their employees the importance of compliance with 
Federal regulations and applicable railroad rules governing applicable 
passenger train speed limits. This safety advisory makes 
recommendations to these railroads to ensure that compliance with 
applicable passenger train speed limits is addressed by appropriate 
railroad operating policies and procedures and signal systems.
    FRA is requesting Emergency processing approval seven days after 
publication of this Federal Register Notice because FRA cannot 
reasonably comply with normal clearance procedures on account of use of 
normal clearance procedures is reasonably likely to disrupt the 
collection of information. The associated collection of information is 
summarized below.
    Title: Operational and Signal Modification for Compliance with 
Maximum Authorized Passenger Train Speeds and Other Speed Restrictions.
    Reporting Burden:

 
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                                                            Total annual       Average time per    Total annual
     Safety advisory 2015-03       Respondent universe       responses             response        burden hours
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(1) RR Review of Circumstances of  28 Railroads.......  28 RR Bulletins....  8 hours............             224
 the Fatal May 12, 2015,
 Philadelphia Derailment with
 their Operating Employees.
(2) RR Survey of their Entire      28 Railroads.......  28 Surveys/Lists...  40 hours...........           1,120
 Systems or the Portions on Which
 Passenger Service is Operated
 and Identification of Main Track
 Locations where there is a
 Reduction of More than 20 mph
 from the Approach Speed to a
 Curve or Bridge and the Maximum
 Authorized Operating Speed for
 Passenger Trains at the
 Identified Location.
(3) Communications between         28 Railroads.......  2,800 Messages/      2 minutes..........              93
 Locomotive Engineer and a Second                        Communications.
 Qualified Crew Member in the
 Body of the Train at Identified
 Locations.
(4) RR Installation of Additional  28 Railroads.......  3,024 Wayside Signs  15.4839 minutes....             780
 Wayside Signs throughout Its
 System or Portions on Which
 Passenger Service is Operated,
 with Special Emphasis at
 Identified Locations.
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    Form Number(s): N/A.
    Respondent Universe: 28 Railroads.
    Frequency of Submission: One-time; on occasion.
    Total Estimated Responses: 5,880.

[[Page 38801]]

    Total Estimated Annual Burden: 2,217 hours.
    Status: Emergency Review.
    Pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 3507(a) and 5 CFR 320.5(b), 1320.8(b)(3)(vi), 
FRA informs all interested parties that it may not conduct or sponsor, 
and a respondent is not required to respond to, a collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.

Rebecca Pennington,
Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-16607 Filed 7-6-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P


