[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 136 (Wednesday, July 15, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42975-42976]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15187]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket Number FRA-2020-0054]


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    Under part 211 of title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), this

[[Page 42976]]

document provides the public notice that on June 26, 2020, Virgin 
Trains USA--Florida, LLC (VTUS) petitioned the Federal Railroad 
Administration (FRA) for a waiver of compliance from certain provisions 
of the Federal railroad safety regulations contained at 49 CFR part 
270, System Safety Program. FRA assigned the petition Docket Number 
FRA-2020-0054.
    VTUS requests relief from certain deadlines required under 49 CFR 
part 270 considering the company's temporary suspension of revenue 
passenger rail operations. Specifically, VTUS requests relief from the 
March 4, 2021, system safety program (SSP) plan filing requirement in 
Sec.  270.201(a)(1). VTUS states that due to the COVID-19 public health 
emergency, VTUS suspended all passenger rail operations on March 26, 
2020. A timeline for service restoration is currently unknown, but is 
not anticipated to precede the March 4, 2021, filing deadline for SSP. 
VTUS proposes to comply with part 270 as applicable to passenger 
railroads not currently in operation, and submit its SSP plan not less 
than 90 days before recommencing passenger operations.
    Additionally, VTUS requests relief from the July 2, 2020, deadline 
in Sec.  270.107(a)(3) for holding a preliminary meeting with directly 
affected employees. Due to the suspension of passenger rail operations 
on March 26, 2020, and that there are currently no directly affected 
employees to consult with, VTUS states that the July 2, 2020, deadline 
is not practicable. VTUS seeks to postpone such preliminary meeting 
until 120 days before recommencing passenger operations, allowing the 
company 30 days to incorporate comments from such meeting into its 
railroad consultation statement described in Sec.  270.107(b).
    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 Ave. 
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 parties 
desire an opportunity for oral comment and a public hearing, 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 and may be submitted by any of the following 
methods:
     Website: 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 Ave. SE, W12-140, Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal Holidays.
    Communications received by August 31, 2020 will be considered by 
FRA before final action is taken. Comments received after that date 
will be considered if practicable.
    Anyone can 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.). 
Under 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 https://www.transportation.gov/privacy. See also https://www.regulations.gov/privacyNotice for the 
privacy notice of regulations.gov.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
John Karl Alexy,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety, Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-15187 Filed 7-14-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P


