Petition for Waivers of Compliance

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

Petition for Waivers of Compliance

In accordance with 49 CFR 211.9, 211.41 and 211.45, notice is

hereby given that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has

received a request for a waiver of compliance with certain requirements

of the Federal safety laws and regulations. The individual petition is

described below, including the party seeking relief, the regulatory

provisions involved, the nature of the relief being requested and the

petitioner's arguments in favor of relief.

National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)

Docket Number H-95-1

Amtrak requests waivers of compliance with certain provisions of

the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) railroad safety regulations.

It is seeking relief from sections of Railroad Safety Appliance

Standards (49 CFR Part 231), Railroad Safety Glazing Standards (49 CFR

Part 223) and Railroad Track Safety Standards (49 CFR Part 213). The

relief is being sought in order to demonstrate the IC3 ``Flexiliner'',

a three-car, articulated, diesel hydraulic, multiple unit trainset

built by ABB Scandia A/S for the Danish State Railway (DSB).

The demonstration is a joint project by Amtrak and ABB Traction,

Inc. (ABB), and a number of potential sponsors, including state

departments of transportation and commuter agencies. Amtrak is serving

as the host agency and is acting as liaison with the FRA. The

Flexiliner which will be demonstrated was built for the DSB and is

presently in revenue service in Denmark. Modifications will be made to

the equipment in Denmark to ensure the trainset meets Amtrak and FRA

requirements, where practical.

Amtrak anticipates that the Flexiliner trainset will arrive at the

Port of Baltimore in July 1995, and be taken to Washington, DC for

commissioning tests. After completion of the tests, it is intended that

the Flexiliner will operate across the country and be placed in revenue

service in the Portland-Eugene, Oregon corridor. This is contingent

upon ABB receiving a contract award from Oregon, following a

competitive proposal evaluation. Demonstration runs in Amtrak's

Northeast Corridor, at a maximum speed of 110 mph, may be scheduled for

dignitaries before shipment to Oregon. The train may also operate in

either demonstration service or revenue service between other city

pairs in other parts of the country.

[[Page 28012]]

The Flexiliner will be comprised of three units. The front and rear

unit each have two air cooled diesel engines and hydraulic

transmissions. The two bogies of the end units are powered and the

trailing bogie supports one end of the intermediate non-powered unit.

The train is equipped with spring-loaded parking brakes, which replaces

the handbrakes.

Amtrak seeks a temporary waiver from compliance with the Railroad

Glazing Standards, Section 223.15 (a) and (b), which requires that all

front and rear facing windows on passenger cars must meet the FRA Type

I testing criteria and all side facing glazing on passenger cars must

meet the FRA Type II testing criteria.

The front and rear facing windshields, manufactured by the Triplex

Aircraft and Special Products, Limited (TASP), Birmingham, England, is

comprised of three sheets of glazing interlayered with soft PVB

resulting in a thickness of approximately 22.9 mm (.916 inch). The

front and rear facing glazing material was subjected to the British

Railways Board (BRB) Specification No. 566 for Type 2 windows, for

locomotives and multiple units operating at speeds up 180 km/hr. The

glazing material is designed to resist the penetration into the vehicle

of a sharp cornered hollow steel cube having sides of a dimension of 70

to 75 mm (2.76'' to 2.95'') and a mass of .9 kg (2 lbs),

traveling at a speed of 290 km/hr (180 mph) per hour, the

window to be vertically mounted in an ambient temperature of not more

than 10 degrees C and with the window heater turned off. The result of

the impact test was that all glass plies broke, some spalling off inner

glass face, small split in PVB interlayer, and no penetration of the

missile. The test specimen of TASP glazing adequately met the impact

requirements for BRB test No. 566 for Type 2 windows.

The side glazing is manufactured according to the National

Standards Institute Code ANSI Z97.1-1984. The side window glazing outer

pane is 6 mm (.24'') thick, heat-reflecting (coated), hardened, clear

``Antelio''. The space in between panes is 12 mm (.48''), Argon gas-

filled to improve insulation. The inner pane is 4 mm (.16'') thick,

specially hardened clear float glass. In general, the ANSI Test Code

for Z97.1 simulates the load from a 100 pound person running at a speed

of 22 feet/second hitting the glazing. The test is simulated with an

impactor made of a punching bag filled with lead shot weighing a total

of 100 pounds. The impactor is swung in a pendulum arc from a distance

of 12, 18, and 48 inches from the vertically supported glazing test

specimen. Interpretation of the test results depends upon the breakage

of the test specimen, but the details are not included in this notice.

Neither the front and rear facing glazing, nor the side facing glazing

materials are in compliance with Part 223 because none of it was tested

according to the testing criteria found in Appendix A to Part 223,

Certification of Glazing Materials.

Section 223.15(c) requires that each passenger car be equipped with

minimum of four (4) emergency [side] windows. The Flexiliner has no

emergency side windows per se, and the escape method is to break the

windows with emergency hammers strategically located in the passenger

compartments. Further, ABB states that wide aisles lead passengers to

the four wide entrance doors located in the side of the three unit

trainset. The entrance doors are normally electrically activated and

pneumatically operated, and in an emergency can be manually opened in

the absence of pneumatic pressure or electricity. The two side cab

doors at each end of the trainset may also be used as emergency exits.

Amtrak also seeks a temporary waiver from Section 231.12(c), which

requires that each passenger car with wide vestibules have two (2)

horizontal handholds located near each end on each side of the

vestibule end sill. The Flexiliner has no horizontal handholds at

either end of the trainset. Modifying the vehicle structure for

handholds is impractical for such a short duration test, according to

Amtrak.

Section 231.12(d) requires uncoupling levers. The Flexiliner does

not have a conventional uncoupling lever, since it was designed to be

uncoupled electrically by yard or operating crews. A manually operated

emergency lever is provided which does not meet FRA requirements.

Amtrak is seeking a temporary waiver because to design and install a

manual uncoupling lever is not practical for this [test] program.

Further, the Flexiliner has a European style automatic coupler at each

end. ABB stated that an adaptor would be provided so that the

trainset's automatic coupler can be coupled to a standard AAR coupler.

Amtrak states that during all tests, demonstration service, and

revenue service, the train will not exceed the authorized speed for the

class of track over which it is operating. However, Amtrak desires to

explore cant deficient curving operation of this non-tilt trainset at

speeds developing cant deficiency values in excess of the three inch

limit defined in the track safety standards. The track safety standards

in Section 213.57(b) prescribe a speed limit, not distinguishing

between freight and passenger rolling stock, at which trains may

operate over curved track as a function of curve radius (curvature) and

the installed superelevation. In the general case, for any combination

of curvature and superelevation there is a specific (``balanced'')

speed at which the effect of centrifugal force is cancelled and in the

case of passenger cars the result is passenger insensitivity to actual

curve negotiation. This is an ideal outcome for passenger trains which

usually operate considerably faster than freight trains and, as a

consequence, would demand greater superelevation to produce the

balanced effect. The track standards permit the operation of trains on

curves at speeds producing a conservative underbalance (or, put another

way, ``cant deficiency'') in line with historic industry practice. On

the other hand, successful passenger train operation in many places

overseas is predicated on curve negotiation at train speeds developing

significantly higher cant deficiencies than permitted by the U.S. track

regulations. This practice has been followed abroad without incident

for many years. State railroad authorities in Western Europe and Japan

approved curving speeds for specifically designed rolling stock that

produce cant deficiencies at the upper end of the acceptable range

without passengers incurring centrifugal force-induced discomfort (for

a detailed discussion of cant deficiency, see 52 FR 38035, October 13,

1987).

Amtrak and FRA have worked together in the conduct of cant-

deficiency-related analyses for four trainsets of foreign origin up to

now. In its petition, Amtrak outlines the now standard procedural steps

it intends to take in arriving at a safety qualification of the IC3

trainset in the mode of cant deficient operation at values above three

inches. If the petition is granted it would be FRA's responsibility to

assure that Amtrak follows these procedures rigorously in this case

just as was done in the past.

Interested parties are invited to participate in this proceeding by

submitting written views, data, or comments. FRA does not anticipate

scheduling a public hearing in connection with this proceeding 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 H-95-1)

and [[Page 28013]] must be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Clerk,

Office of Chief Counsel, Federal Railroad Administration, Nassif

Building, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C., 20590.

Communications received by July 1, 1995 will be considered 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, S.W., Washington,

D.C. 20590.

Issued in Washington, D.C. on May 23, 1995.

Phil Olekszyk,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Compliance and Program

Implementation.

[FR Doc. 95-13018 Filed 5-25-95; 8:45 am]

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