[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 38 (Tuesday, February 26, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13154-13155]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04390]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket Number FRA-2002-11809]
Petition for Waiver of Compliance
In accordance with Part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR), this document provides the public notice that the North County
Transit District (NCTD) has petitioned the Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA) to modify NCTD's petition for approval of Shared
Use and waiver of compliance from certain provisions of the Federal
railroad safety regulations (Shared Use waiver) to include 49 CFR Part
228-Hours of Service of Railroad Employees; Recordkeeping and
Reporting; Sleeping Quarters. (See Statement of Agency Policy
Concerning Jurisdiction Over the Safety of Railroad Passenger
Operations and Waivers Related to Shared Use of the Tracks of the
General Railroad System by Light Rail and Conventional Equipment, 65 FR
42529 (July 10, 2000). See also Joint Statement of Agency Policy
Concerning Shared Use of the Tracks of the General Railroad System by
Conventional Railroads and Light
[[Page 13155]]
Rail Transit Systems, 65 FR 42626 (July 10, 2000).) FRA assigned the
petition Docket Number FRA-2002-11809.
NCTD operates its SPRINTER light rail transit system (SPRINTER)
between Oceanside and Escondido, CA. On June 24, 2003, FRA issued the
initial waiver that granted NCTD conditional relief from certain
Federal railroad safety regulations, provided that NCTD maintains
temporal separation on track that is shared between SPRINTER and
freight railroads so that each would operate at separate and distinct
portions of the day and would not operate on the shared track at the
same time. Since 2003, NCTD has requested and been granted additional
relief from FRA.
NCTD's SPRINTER also falls under the safety oversight of the
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) as authorized by the
Federal Transit Administration.
NCTD's requested modification to its existing Shared Use waiver
seeks relief from the hours of service requirements for its light rail
transit (LRT) operators. In its petition, NCDT states that SPRINTER
operates with an engineer-only train crew. Additionally, NCTD's
operator training and qualification program for SPRINTER is approved
and monitored by the CPUC. NCTD's program complies with CPUC's General
Order 143-B, Section 12.04, which provides that LRT systems shall not
allow any safety sensitive employees to remain on duty for more than 12
consecutive hours or more than an aggregate of 12 hours distributed
over a period of 16 hours. Finally, NCTD states that the dispatch and
signal employees for SPRINTER will continue to meet all of the
requirements of 49 CFR Part 228.
A copy of the petition, as well as any written communications
concerning the petition, is available for review online at
www.regulations.gov and in person at the U.S. Department of
Transportation's Docket Operations Facility, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE.,
W12-140, Washington, DC 20590. The Docket Operations Facility is open
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
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 and may be submitted by any of the following
methods:
Web site: http://www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: 202-493-2251.
Mail: Docket Operations Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., W12-140, Washington, DC
20590.
Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room W12-140,
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal Holidays.
Communications received by April 12, 2013 will be considered by FRA
before final action is taken. Comments received after that date will be
considered as far as practicable.
Anyone is able to search the electronic form of any written
communications and comments received into any of our dockets by the
name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the document,
if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.).
See http://www.regulations.gov/#!privacyNotice for the privacy notice
of regulations.gov or interested parties may review DOT's complete
Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11,
2000 (65 FR 19477).
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 21, 2013.
Robert C. Lauby,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Regulatory and Legislative
Operations.
[FR Doc. 2013-04390 Filed 2-25-13; 8:45 am]
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