[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 78 (Friday, April 23, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20052-20053]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-10165]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


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.

[[Page 20053]]

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (Docket Number FRA-1999-5429)

    The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) seeks a permanent 
waiver of compliance with the Locomotive Safety Standards, 49 CFR 
229.21, which requires each locomotive in use be inspected once during 
each calendar day. BNSF seeks this waiver for locomotives utilized to 
haul loaded coal trains through Alliance, Nebraska. BNSF states that 
these locomotives are inspected before the empty coal trains are hauled 
to the mine. The round trip from the Alliance service track to the mine 
takes 24 to 36 hours. BNSF states that on the return trip, the 
locomotives are removed from their train and placed on the service 
track for a second inspection which at a minimum takes three hours. 
BNSF indicates that this second inspection is unwarranted and causes 
undue congestion in the terminal.
    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 FRA-
1999-5429) and must be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Clerk, DOT 
Central Docket Management Facility, Room Pl-401, Washington, DC 20590-
001. 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 the 
DOT Central Docket Management Facility, Room Pl-401 (Plaza Level), 400 
7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. All documents in the public 
docket are also available for inspection and copying on the Internet at 
the docket facility's web site at http://dms.dot.gov.

    Issued in Washington, DC on April 15, 1999.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. 99-10165 Filed 4-22-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P