[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 9 (Friday, January 13, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4454-4455]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-00693]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket Number FRA-2016-0121]
Petition for Waiver of Compliance
In accordance with part 211 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR), this provides the public notice that by a document
dated December 6, 2016, the Long Island Railroad Company (LIRR) has
petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a waiver of
compliance from certain provisions of the Federal railroad safety
regulations contained at 49 CFR part 214.353(a). FRA assigned the
petition Docket Number FRA-2016-0121. LIRR submitted this petition for
a partial waiver of a new regulation, which will be set forth in 49 CFR
214.353(a) and will go into effect on April 1, 2017, requiring that
conductors who act as roadway workers in charge (RWICs) receive annual
training as set forth in that section. See 81 FR 37840.
LIRR is not requesting a waiver from the portion of the new rule
requiring that it provide conductors who act as RWICs the specified
training set forth in the rule. LIRR already includes all of those
items in its training of assistant conductors prior to their promotion
to conductors. In fact, the level of Qualifications/Certifications for
LIRR assistant conductors and conductors far exceeds the RWIC
requirements, and LIRR conductors are fully qualified on all operating
rules and physical characteristics for LIRR's entire system. LIRR also
is revising its syllabus to make sure that, as of April 1, 2017, the
refresher training given to conductors includes all of the specified
topics, as well as any additional topics recommended in FRA Safety
Advisory 2016-02 (See 81 FR 85676). Nor is it requesting a waiver from
the portion of the new rule requiring that these individuals be
qualified every 3 years and, in fact, will require that they be
qualified every 2 years. Finally, LIRR is not requesting that the
annual training requirement be waived for LIRR's roadway workers or any
employees (such as non-roadway worker Engineering Department employees)
other than conductors who act as RWICs. It is simply requesting that
LIRR be permitted to provide the specified training to its conductors
who act as RWICs every 2 years.
LIRR is making this request because of the difficulty of training
all of its 1,200 conductors each year. LIRR currently conducts bi-
annual block training, with half of its conductors (600 out of 1,200)
trained in 1 year and the other half trained the following year. LIRR
also notes that it provides all of them each spring with a ``Roadway
Worker Refresher Guide'' that includes specific RWIC responsibilities.
In running its program in this manner, LIRR is able to maintain its 24
hour a day/7 day a week operation of the largest commuter railroad in
the United States and carry over 87 million passengers per year.
Requiring that all 1,200 conductors receive training each year would
force LIRR to hire additional conductors (an expensive and lengthy
process) and/or increase overtime (also expensive) to cover the
assignments that conductors cannot cover due to the increased training.
LIRR also may need to hire additional training personnel and/or limit
the amount of time such training personnel can devote to teaching LIRR
employees other non-mandated but useful subjects. As a public benefit
corporation that receives much of its funding from tax revenues, these
added personnel and training costs then would be passed on to the
public.
LIRR has spoken with officials from The International Association
of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) Division,
the union representing LIRR's conductors. SMART provided a letter in
support, and it is available for review in the public docket for this
waiver petition.
Permitting LIRR to instruct and qualify its conductors who act as
RWICs on the items set forth in 49 CFR 214.353, Training and
qualification of roadway workers who provide on-track safety for
roadway work groups, every 2 years, rather than instruct them every
year and qualify them every 3 years, would allow LIRR to maintain the
safety of its passengers and employees and also allow it to maintain
its operations without the need to: (i) Hire additional conductors and/
or training personnel, (ii) increase overtime, or (iii) reduce training
in non-mandated areas. As the waiver would be in the public interest
and consistent with public safety, LIRR requests that it be granted.
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 (DOT) Docket Operations Facility, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue 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
[[Page 4455]]
connection with these proceedings since the facts do not appear to
warrant a hearing. If any interested party desires an opportunity for
oral comment and a public hearing, 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 February 27, 2017 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.).
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the
public to better inform its processes. DOT posts these comments,
without edit, including any personal information the commenter
provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records
notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at
www.transportation.gov/privacy. See also https://www.regulations.gov/privacyNotice for the privacy notice of regulations.gov.
Robert C. Lauby,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety, Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-00693 Filed 1-12-17; 8:45 am]
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