Petitions for Waiver of Compliance: Dallas Area Rapid Transit

Federal Register: November 3, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 211)

Notices

Page 56920-56921

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

DOCID:fr03no09-110

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) has received a request for a waiver of compliance from 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.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit

Docket Number FRA-2004-20000

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), located in Dallas, TX, seeks an extension of its permanent waiver of compliance from Title 49 of the

CFR for continued operation of a light rail line at a ``limited connection'' with the Dallas Garland and Northeastern Railroad (DGNO).

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 Rail

Transit Systems, 65 FR 42626 (July 10, 2000).

DART is currently expanding its light rail operations and will double in size to 93 miles by 2014. Expansion includes shared corridor operation with DGNO with up to 50 or more limited connections at shared highway-rail grade crossings anticipated.

Based on the foregoing, DART is seeking an extension of the terms and conditions of its current waiver of compliance from the provisions of the

Page 56921

Federal Railroad Locomotive Safety Standards, 49 CFR 229.125--

Headlights and Auxiliary Lights, and 49 CFR 234.105--Activation

Failure. Other than new construction of the new light rail lines described in the original petition, DART claims that no modifications or changes have occurred since the first waiver was granted on May 2, 2005.

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- 2004-20000) 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 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 a.m.--5 p.m.) at the above facility. 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://www.regulations.gov.

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 document (or signing the document, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477) or at http://www.dot.gov/privacy.html.

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 28, 2009.

Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program

Development.

FR Doc. E9-26433 Filed 11-2-09; 8:45 am

BILLING CODE 4910-06-P