Petition for Waivers of Compliance

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

Petition for Waivers of Compliance

In accordance with 49 CFR Sections 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.

3R International

[Docket Numbers F-96-3, RSGM-96-6, LI-96-1, SA-96-3 and PB-96-4]

3R International (3R) requests waivers of compliance with certain

provisions of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) railroad safety

regulations. It is seeking relief from sections of the Railroad Freight

Car Safety Standards (49 CFR Part 215) Docket number F-96-1, Railroad

Safety Glazing Standards (49 CFR Part 223) Docket number RSGM-96-1,

Railroad Locomotive Safety Standards (49 CFR Part 229) Docket number

LI-96-1, Railroad Safety Appliance Standards (49 CFR Part 231) Docket

number SA-96-3, and Railroad Power Brake and Drawbar Regulations (49

CFR Part 213) Docket number PB-96-4. The relief is being sought in

order to place in service what the petitioner describes as the 3R road/

rail system. The 3R system was developed and two 3R trains have been

operated by the Canadian National Railway in revenue service without

incident in Canada for the previous two years.

The 3R road/rail system provides the means to transform a common

semi-trailer at little cost for use in a convoy on railway tracks. This

adaptation is made by adding at the rear of a semi- trailer or

container carrying chassis a second king-pin similar to that used at

the front of a semi-trailer. The 3R road/rail system is composed of a

control cab unit which is used as a crew station at the front end of

the convoy and contains all the electronic controls for the intermodal

train, but has no propulsion capability, nor does it have an air

compressor. The control cab has a console type control stand with

computer screens. Air is supplied by the power units through the main

air reservoir pipe which runs through the train and into the cab

control unit, where it is supplied to the brake pipe through the 26 L

feed valve. A 26 L type air brake with a 30CW controller is located on

the console. The control cab unit does have an engine/generator set to

provide power for the control system and battery charging. The control

cab unit controls the power units remotely by radio, but a hard wire

capability is available. It is equipped with two non-driving rail

wheel/axle sets and a set of retractable rubber tires for off rail

movement. The control cab unit contains a fifth wheel which engages and

locks the kingpin of the first semi-trailer in the convoy or a power

unit. Subsequent semi-trailers are transported on bogies which contains

two rail wheel sets and two fifth wheels for securing the kingpin of

the semi-trailers. A power unit is incorporated in the convoy at

intervals of eight to ten semi-trailers. For intermodal operation, each

power unit can haul seven to eight trailers of 93,500 pounds at 65 mph.

The 3R system allows the assembly of a convoy directly in the yard

of a customer and such convoy remains intact until it reaches its

destination. Assembling is made on a rail siding which can be accessed

by a highway tractor. The train is made up by placing a semi-trailer

upon a bogie and locking onto the kingpin, raising the highway wheels

and moving the assembled portion of the train a distance sufficient to

place each subsequent semi-trailer in the train. A power unit is placed

between two semi-trailers and connected by a kingpin at one end to the

adjacent bogie's fifth wheel and to the kingpin of the semi-trailer

with the power units fifth. A dead weight unit, which contains a

standard automatic coupler, is placed as a counter weight at the back

end of the last bogie in the train. The coupler allows hauling from the

back end with a maximum tractive effort of 50,000 pounds.

3R request for a waiver from the requirements of 49 CFR Part 215 is

based upon the fact that the semi-trailer is not a rail car. However,

all those parts of the train that are referenced in the regulation,

i.e., wheels, trucks, springs, etc. are required to be in compliance,

and are contained within the bogies. The bogies are fabricated of steel

elements arranged to encompass 2-AAR 6 by 11 cartridge roller bearings

and wheel sets. A sub assembly contains 2-fifth wheels which engage the

kingpin of the semi-trailers. The sub-assembly is raised by 12 air bags

which lift the tires off the ground after the semi-trailer is connected

to the bogie. The bogie is equipped with an ABD air brake.

3R request for a waiver from 49 CFR part 223 is related to the

glazing material of the control cab. The glazing material is in

compliance with the Canadian Transport Commission (CTC) Railway Safety

Glazing Regulations. 3R indicates that the front and side facing

glazing is in conformity with CTC regulations. It may not be in

compliance with FRA glazing standards.

3R request for a waiver from 49 CFR Part 229 is for the control cab

and the power units within the train, which are defined in the

Locomotive Safety Standard, 49 CFR 229.5(k) as Locomotives. The control

cab has no propelling motors but has a control stand and the power

units have propelling motors designed to move other equipment. The

control cab is designed with two front collision posts which will

withstand 500,000 pounds each at a height of 30 inches above the

underframe. It can also withstand 200,000 pound load compression

between front coupler and kingpin without permanent deformation. The

power units are placed in the train to provide traction power through a

40 inch wheel set and an axle mounted traction motor. The power unit is

designed so that one end rides on and is connected to the adjacent

bogie by the kingpin and the other end connects to the king-pin of an

adjacent semi-trailer. The power unit contains a 12 cylinder

Caterpillar diesel engine driving a Kato traction alternator. The

engine is rated at 730 horsepower and the traction

[[Page 36108]]

alternator has a continuous capacity 1250 amps, and a 15 minute rating

of 1700 amps at a maximum voltage rating of 1250 direct current. The

power unit is self contained encompassing all the accessories necessary

for a locomotive. The power units also contain a hydraulic driven 2-

stage air compressor which provides air for the air brake system and

train air for the balloon suspension system of the bogies.

3R request for a waiver from 49 CFR Part 231 and 232 is for the

lack of safety appliances and handholds on the bogies, rear counter

weight, or semi-trailers in the train. The cab control unit has an

automatic front coupler and some safety appliances. Some handholds are

applied to the power units. The semi-trailers are connected to the

bogies by use of kingpins and fifth wheels commonly found in highway

tractor/semi-trailer service. The cab control unit, power units and

bogies have no hand brakes per se, but are equipped with a spring

loaded parking brake.

The 3R rail system has not been used in the United States. A

consist of a cab control unit, a power unit, three containers on

chassis (semi-trailers), one dead weight unit, and sufficient bogies to

assemble the train was tested by the Association of American Railroads

(AAR) at the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in Pueblo,

Colorado, from December 1994 to April 1995. The train was tested

according to the specifications of Chapter XI, of the AAR's M-1001,

Manual of Standards and Recommended Practices. The 3R train performed

within Chapter XI performance standards, and indicate the likelihood of

safe car performance.

3R's objective in the United States is to allow short line

operators to benefit from their value added road/rail transportation

system, by transporting on rail, the freight that would be destined to

an alternate and less desirable mode of transportation. When the waiver

petition was submitted by 3R, two United States short line railroads

had shown a strong interest in its road/rail system. Rail America, one

of the short lines, would like to operate two road/rail convoys of six

power units each with sixty containers. The equipment will operate at

approximately 45 mph and haul domestic waste in 82,500 pound containers

from inner-city points to suburban waste dumps.

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 LI-96-1)

and 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

within 45 days of the date of publication of this notice 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 July 2, 1996.

Phil Olekszyk,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Compliance and Program

Implementation.

[FR Doc. 96-17455 Filed 7-8-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910-06-P