Notice of Petition for Inclusion in Waiver of Compliance

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket Number FRA-2016-0086]

Notice of Petition for Inclusion in Waiver of Compliance

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

This document provides the public notice that by letter received February 21, 2025, Alaska Railroad (ARRC) petitioned FRA for relief from certain regulations concerning calibration of air flow method (AFM) indicators.

DATES:

FRA must receive comments on the petition by April 16, 2025. FRA will consider comments received after that date to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES:

Comments:

Comments related to this docket 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 docket number. All comments received will be posted without change to

https://www.regulations.gov;

this includes any personal information. Please see the Privacy Act heading in the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section of this document for Privacy Act information related to any submitted comments or materials.

Docket:

For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to

https://www.regulations.gov

and follow the online instructions for accessing the docket.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steve Zuiderveen, Railroad Safety Specialist, FRA Motive Power & Equipment Division, telephone: 202-493-6337, email:

steven.zuiderveen@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under part 211 of title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), this document provides the public notice that by letter received February 21, 2025, ARRC petitioned FRA for inclusion in a waiver of compliance from certain provisions of the Federal railroad safety regulations contained at 49 CFR parts 229 (Railroad Locomotive Safety Standards) and 232 (Brake System Safety Standards for Freight and Other Non-Passenger Trains and Equipment: End-of-Train Devices). FRA assigned the petition Docket Number FRA-2016-0086.

Specifically, ARRC seeks to join the relief granted in this docket from § 229.29(b),

Air brake system calibration, maintenance, and testing

and § 232.205(c)(1)(iii),

Class I brake test—initial terminal inspection.

The existing relief allows participating railroads to test extending the AFM test intervals from 92 days to 184 days on locomotives equipped with the New York Air Brake (NYAB) CCB-II and Fastbrake air brake systems.

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As of FRA's November 26, 2024, letter, the railroads participating in the relief in this docket are BNSF Railway Company, CSX Transportation, and CPKC.

In justification of the waiver request, ARRC states that participating in the waiver would allow ARRC to align its

AFM calibrations with its established maintenance schedule, ensuring the calibrations “are performed by specialized shop personnel rather than field staff.” Further, ARRC cites that data resulting from this waiver “indicates that frequent calibration interventions may actually compromise the accuracy of air flow readings.” ARRC additionally states that its “operating environment and fleet composition would provide unique insights to the existing test committee.”

A copy of the petition, as well as any written communications concerning the petition, is available for review online at

www.regulations.gov.

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 and a public hearing, they should notify FRA, in writing, before the end of the comment period and specify the basis for their request.

Communications received by April 16, 2025 will be considered by FRA before final action is taken. Comments received after that date will be considered if practicable.

Privacy Act

Anyone can search the electronic form of any written communications and comments received into any of FRA's 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 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/privacy-notice

for the privacy notice of

regulations.gov.

Issued in Washington, DC.

John Karl Alexy,

Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety, Chief Safety Officer.

[FR Doc. 2025-04273 Filed 3-14-25; 8:45 am]

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