Petition for Waivers of Compliance

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

Petition for Waivers of Compliance

In accordance with 49 CFR 211.41, 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

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involved, the nature of the relief being requested and the petitioner's

arguments in favor of relief.

Siemens Transportation Systems, Incorporated (Siemens)

Docket Number H-96-2

Siemens 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 Locomotive Safety

Standards (49 CFR Part 229), the Railroad Safety Appliance Standards

(49 CFR Part 231) and the Railroad Safety Glazing Standards (49 CFR

Part 223). The relief is being sought in order to demonstrate the Regio

Sprinter (Sprinter) diesel powered rail vehicle in the United States.

The planned demonstration is being organized by Siemens and the

National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) in cooperation with

several transit districts, private rail operators, and state

departments of transportation.

The Sprinter completed a 5 month demonstration in Calgary, Alberta,

Canada and is currently in the Siemens assembly facility in Sacremento,

California. Presently Sprinters are manufactured by Siemens A.G. in

Krefeld, Germany. Sprinters are presently in operation in two locations

in Germany and one in Denmark. The Sprinter was developed to serve the

German transit non-electrified secondary lines about 30 miles long

which link city-centers and mid-size towns with their rural

surroundings. The Sprinter used in Calgary and which will be

demonstrated in the United States was built for a regional rail

authority in Germany and is on loan for the tour.

Siemens states that all necessary modifications will be made to the

equipment in their Sacramento facility. The horn and headlights will be

checked and brought into compliance with Federal Railroad

Administration (FRA) Railroad Locomotive Safety Standards, if

necessary. Marker lights will be verified for proper color and

intensity. The necessary communication equipment will be installed.

Exterior sound level tests will be performed in Sacramento. The

required air brake tests and inspections will be done prior to any

demonstration operation.

The Sprinter is a double articulated, 70% low floor, diesel

hydraulic train set with an operating cab at each end carried on an

A+2+A wheel arrangement. The driven end wheels are 30 inches in

diameter and the center truck wheels are 20 inches in diameter. The

Sprinter carbody is approximately 80 feet long, with a center section

of approximately 13.5 feet. It has a maximum width of approximately 10

feet and a height above top-of-rail of approximately 11 feet. The

Sprinter has a tare weight of approximately 30 ton, a maximum weight of

approximately 50 ton, seating capacity of 74 people and a maximum

capacity of 100 people. It has a maximum speed of 60 mph. The Sprinter

has retractable access ramps for elderly and handicapped passengers.

The double-articulated body shell is designed as a self supporting

aluminum structure with welded underframe and bolted side walls. The

side walls are of FRP sandwich construction, the roof of aluminum

sandwich construction. Two sets of two-swing plug doors measuring 52

inches are located at each side of the sprinter.

Located at each end of the cab is an autonomous drive system

comprised of a 5-cylinder turbocharged and intercooled MAN B&W diesel

engine rated at 198 horsepower direct connected to a reversing Hurth

automatic transmission. A carden shaft connects the transmission to the

axle gear box assembly. The transmission includes a hydrodynamic

retarder unit. The two outer sections of the railcar run on single-axle

driving wheel-sets, which are connected to the carbody by means of

longitudinal steering rods. The center unit is carried on a two axle

truck assembly. The center section is connected to the end sections

through flexible drawbars. Each engine is suppled from a 350 liter (92

gallon) fuel oil reservoir.

The Sprinter brake system consists of the two transmission

hydrodynamic retarders, a Knorr computer controlled air brake system

and an electromagnetic track brake at the center truck. In a normal

service brake application, braking is provided primarily by the

transmission retarders, assisted by the air brakes, as modulated by the

computer. This system minimizes brake lining wear. All power and

intermediate wheel sets are equipped with two brake discs and brake

pads. In the event of a brake computer failure, a manual air brake

system can be utilized. The electro-magnetic track brake is provided

for emergency braking and derives its power from the 24 volt battery

system. The Sprinter is equipped with spring-loaded parking brakes,

which replaces the handbrakes.

Siemens seeks a temporary waiver from compliance with the Railroad

Locomotive Safety Standards 49 CFR 229.71, Clearance above top of rail,

which requires that no part or appliance of a locomotive except the

wheels, flexible nonmetalic sand pipe extension tips, and trip cock

arms may be less that 2\1/2\ inches above top of rail. The magnetic

track brake of the intermediate truck is approximately 1-inch above the

top of rail. A temporary waiver is requested from 49 CFR 229.123,

Pilot, snowplows and end plates, which requires an end plate that

extends across both rails, a pilot or a snow plow. The Sprinter has no

end plate, snow plow or pilot. The ends are covered by a shroud

fabricated of fiberglass with a foam core.

Seimens 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 windshield and side facing

glazing are of the bonded frameless type. The windshield is made of 6.8

mm (.272 inch) laminated safety glass and the side windows are made of

6 mm safety glass (.24 inch). The side windows are designed as sliding

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

with minimum of four (4) emergency side windows. The Sprinter has no

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

with emergency hammers strategically located in the passenger

compartments. The four wide entrance doors located in the two sides of

the Sprinter provides a high proportion of door opening to floor space

which provides for emergency capability. The doors can be opened

manually from inside and outside without the assistance of compressed

air and electrical power.

Siemens 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 Sprinter has no horizontal handholds at either

end. Modifying the vehicle structure for handholds is impractical for

such a short duration test. Section 231.12(d) requires uncoupling

levers. The Sprinter does not have a conventional AAR coupler or

uncoupling lever at each end but is equipped with European style

buffers and hook and turnbuckle drawgear. A tempory portable AAR

coupler will be carried on the Sprinter for emergency moves.

Siemens demonstration sites and dates are as follows:

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December, 1996

Folsom, California........... Regional Transit of Greater Sacramento.

Napa, California............. Napa Valley Wine Train (Private

railroad).

San Jose, California......... Transit Authority of Santa Clara County.

January, 1997

Santa Cruz, California....... Santa Cruz Transit District.

Oceanside, California........ North County Transit District.

Los Angeles, California...... Los Angeles Metrolink.

Williams, Arizona............ Grand Canyon Railways (Private railroad).

February, 1997

Austin, Texas................ Capitol Metro Transit.

Tampa, Florida............... Hartline Transit-Hillsborough County.

Orlando, Florida............. Lynx Transit-Greater Orlando.

March, 1997

North Carolina............... Triangle Transit-Raleigh, Durham, Chapel

Hill District.

March/April, 1997

New Jersey................... New Jersey Transit.

The planned demonstration tour will focus on locations where there

are lightly used secondary branch lines, which could be used for future

passenger service. Siemens does not intend to demonstrate the Sprinter

on main lines of operation. Movement of the Sprinter from demonstration

site to site will be done as either a rail movement where short

distances are involved, or on a special leased 89 foot flat car for

long hauls. The moves will be coordinated by Amtrak and the local

authorities. In many cases the Sprinter service will be run on track

where there is only infrequent switching operations.

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-96-2)

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 30 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 October 28, 1996.

Phil Olekszyk,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Compliance and Program

Implementation.

[FR Doc. 96-27971 Filed 10-30-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910-06-P