[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 85 (Friday, May 1, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25506-25507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09281]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2020-0031]


Program Approval: Union Pacific Railroad

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

ACTION: Notice of approval.

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SUMMARY: FRA is issuing this notice to explain its rationale for 
approving a Union Pacific Railroad (UP) petition for a Test Program 
designed to test track inspection technologies (i.e., autonomous track 
geometry measurement systems) and new operational approaches to track 
inspections and its rationale for granting a limited, temporary 
suspension of a substantive FRA rule that is necessary to facilitate 
the conduct of the Test Program.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yu-Jiang Zhang, Staff Director, Track 
Division, Office of Railroad Safety, FRA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 
Washington, DC 20590, telephone (202) 493-6460 or email 
[email protected]dot.gov; Aaron Moore, Attorney, Office of Chief Counsel, 
FRA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, telephone (202) 
exception occurred on : 2020-09281.htm
493-7009 or email dot.gov">[email protected]dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 23, 2020, UP petitioned FRA under 
Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Section 211.51 to suspend 
certain requirements of FRA's track safety regulations to conduct a 
program to test new track inspection technologies (i.e., autonomous 
track geometry measurement systems) and new operational approaches to 
track inspections. UP also submitted a written Test Program providing a 
description of the proposed tests and the geographic scope of the 
testing territory.
    The Test Program specifies that the tests will be conducted on 
approximately 1,700 miles of main line track in 5 subdivisions of UP's 
SPSCL and Sunset routes.
    The Test Program is designed to test autonomous track geometry 
measurement systems and decreased

[[Page 25507]]

manual visual inspections as an alternative to FRA's inspection 
frequency requirements. UP indicates that it will continue to use other 
inspection technologies during the Test Program, including: (1) Vehicle 
Track Interaction monitoring systems; (2) ultrasonic rail inspection 
systems; and (3) optical joint bar inspection systems. The Test Program 
will be carried out in two separate phases over the course of 12 
months, as detailed in Exhibit C of the Test Program (available for 
review at www.regulations.gov (docket number FRA-2020-0031)).
    After review and analysis of UP's petition for a Test Program, 
subject to certain conditions designed to ensure safety, FRA approved 
UP's Test Program and suspended the requirements of 49 CFR 213.233(c) 
as necessary to carry out the Test Program. A copy of FRA's letter 
approving UP's Test Program and granting the requested limited 
temporary suspension of 49 CFR 213.233(c), as well as a copy of the 
Test Program, is available in docket number FRA-2020-0031 at 
www.regulations.gov. FRA's letter approving UP's Test Program and 
granting the requested limited temporary suspension of certain 
regulations specifically details the conditions UP will need to 
undertake during the Test Program. As required by 49 CFR 211.51(c), FRA 
is providing this explanatory statement describing the Test Program.
    As explained more fully in its approval letter, FRA finds that the 
temporary, limited suspension of 49 CFR 213.233(c) is necessary to 
conduct the approved Test Program, which is specifically designed to 
evaluate the effectiveness of new automated track inspection 
technologies and operational methods. Furthermore, FRA also finds that 
the scope and application of the granted suspension of 49 CFR 
213.233(c) as applied to the Test Program are limited to that necessary 
to conduct the Test Program. Finally, FRA's approval letter outlines 
the conditions of the Test Program that will ensure standards 
sufficient to assure safety.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
John Karl Alexy,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety, Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-09281 Filed 4-30-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P


