[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 132 (Tuesday, July 9, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36107-36108]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-17455]
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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