Petition for Waiver of Compliance

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[FRA Docket No. LI-96-2]

Petition for Waiver of Compliance

In accordance with Part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations

(CFR), notice is hereby given that the Federal Railroad Administration

(FRA) received a request for a waiver of compliance with certain

requirements of its safety standards. 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.

Canadian National Railroad

[Waiver Petition Docket Number LI-96-2]

The Canadian National Railroad (CN) seeks a permanent waiver of

compliance with certain provisions of the Locomotive Safety Standards,

49 CFR 229.27 (a)(2) and 229.29 (a), concerning the time interval

provisions of the periodic cleaning, repairing, and testing of

locomotive air brake components for all of their locomotives operating

in the United States equipped with 26L type brake equipment. FRA

currently permits railroads to operate locomotives equipped with 26L

type brakes for periods not to exceed 1,104 days, before performing the

testing and inspection required by 49 CFR 229.27 (a)(2) and 229.29 (a).

Transport Canada has now authorized CN to operate its locomotives

equipped with 26L braking equipment on 48-month cleaning intervals. The

only exceptions are two valves in the system (P2A and H5) which will

remain on a 36-month interval until future

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evaluations establish that desired improvements with the valves have

been achieved. According to CN, during the extensive testing period,

which began in 1987 and involved approximately 1,200 locomotives, the

reliability of the braking systems was never an issue, therefore, train

operating safety is not at risk. With the high number of locomotives

operating in international service, CN states that managing two

different braking system maintenance intervals would be both

problematic and costly. Further, to revert to a 36 month cleaning

interval after almost ten years of successful testing at 48 month

intervals, would not provide any additional safety benefits. CN would

like the 48-month maintenance interval to be accepted for all of their

locomotives that operate in the United States.

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 LI-96-2)

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

Chief Counsel, FRA, Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20590. Communications received within 45 days of the

date of this notice 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 (9:00

a.m.--5:00 p.m.) at FRA's temporary docket room located at 1120 Vermont

Avenue, N.W., Room 7051, Washington, D.C. 20005.

Issued in Washington, D.C. on January 8, 1997.

Phil Olekszyk,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Compliance and Program

Implementation.

[FR Doc. 97-957 Filed 1-14-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910-06-P