Petition for Exemption or Waiver of Compliance

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Petition for Exemption or Waiver of Compliance

In accordance with 49 CFR 211.9 and 211.41, notice is hereby given

that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has received from the

Association of American Railroads (AAR) a request for an interim waiver

of compliance with a requirement of Federal rail safety standards. The

petition is described below, including the regulatory provisions

involved and the nature of the relief being requested.

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, 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 (e.g., Waiver Petition Docket Number RSFC-94-

2) and must be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Clerk, Office of

Chief Counsel, Federal Railroad Administration, Nassif Building, 400

Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20590. Communications received

before December 1, 1994, will be considered by FRA before final action

is taken. Comments received after that date will be considered as far

as practicable. All written communications concerning these proceedings

are available for examination during regular business hours (9 a.m.-5

p.m.) in Room 8201, Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street SW.,

Washington, DC 20590.

Association of American Railroads (AAR)--(Waiver Petition Docket

Number RSFC-94-2)

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) seeks an interim waiver

of compliance with certain provisions of the Railroad Freight Car

Safety Standards, 49 CFR Part 215. The AAR is requesting an exemption

from the requirement of 49 CFR 215.103(h) which requires the removal

from service of freight car wheels that show signs of having been

overheated as evidenced by reddish brown discoloration, as it is

applied to heat-treated curved-plate wheels. As a result of a petition

by the AAR (Rulemaking Petition No. 93-1), the FRA intends to initiate

a rulemaking addressing the proposal to revise 49 CFR 215.103(h) as it

applies to heat-treated curved-plate (HT-CP) freight car wheels.

AAR indicates that it is filing this petition for an interim waiver

to address the situation while the rulemaking process proceeds.

AAR requests that FRA issue a waiver providing in substance, that:

49 CFR 215.103 shall not prohibit a railroad from placing or

continuing in service a freight car if the only reason for such

prohibition is one or more wheels that are discolored as described in

49 CFR 215.103(h), provided:

(i) Each such discolored wheel is heat-treated and is of curve-

plate design,

(ii) Each such wheel is identified as a heat-treated curved-plate

wheel in accordance with AAR interchange rules, and

(iii) The railroad has submitted to FRA and to AAR a written

agreement to participate in the Data Collection Program on Premature

Wheel Failure.

AAR cites the following justification for the waiver request:

1. HT-CP wheels are extraordinarily resistant to the development of

residual tensile rim stresses which are a precondition for wheel

fracture.

2. The resistance of HT-CP wheels to development of residual

tensile rim stress is a function of the design of the wheels and the

manufacturing processes used.

3. In-service wheel failure data and experimental data show that

HT-CP wheels have an incidence of residual tensile rim stress and of

wheel failure that is approximately the same as non-discolored HT-CP

wheels.

4. Transport Canada, the Canadian rail safety agency, does not

prohibit the use of discolored curved-plate wheels on railroad freight

cars. Canadian data collected over nine years similarly show that

discolored and non-discolored HT-CP wheels fail for residual tensile

rim stress related reasons at approximately the same rate.

5. New air brake testing procedures have significantly reduced the

likelihood of sticking brakes--the principal cause of the development

of residual tensile rim stress in HT-CP wheels.

6. Removal of HT-CP wheels costs the railroad industry

approximately $40 million per year, yet provides no discernible safety

benefit.

Data Collection on Premature Wheel Failure

AAR proposes a data collection program that will provide a data

base which can be used to make sound decisions about railroad freight

car wheels, particularly HT-CP wheels.

Issued in Washington, DC on October 21, 1994.

Phil Olekszyk,

Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Compliance and Program

Implementation.

[FR Doc. 94-26694 Filed 10-27-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910-06-M