[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 201 (Tuesday, October 19, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61551-61552]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-23386]


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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.

Union Pacific Railroad Company

[Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-2004-18896]

    The Union Pacific Railroad Company (UPRR) seeks a waiver of 
compliance with the Locomotive Safety Standards, 49 CFR 229.49(a)(1) 
and with the Brake System Safety Standards 49 CFR 232.103(o)(2), as 
they pertain to main reservoir safety valve setting and minimal 
deferential between brake pipe and main reservoir air pressure on UPRR 
locomotives. The railroad states in their request that their locomotive 
safety valves are set at 150 (one hundred fifty) pounds-per-square-inch 
(psi) and the maximum working pressure of 125 psi (one hundred twenty-
five) creating a 25 (twenty-five) psi differential. Locomotive safety 
standards (49 CFR 229.46(a)(1) requires that the main reservoir system 
of each locomotive shall be equipped with at least one safety valve 
that shall prevent an accumulation of pressure of more than 15 pounds 
per square inch above the maximum working air pressure and Brake System 
Safety Standards (49 CFR 232.103(o)(2)) requires minimum differential 
15 psi between brake pipe and main reservoir air pressures, with brake 
valve in running position. UPRR adjusted its fleet of locomotives 
maximum working air pressure from 135 psi to125 psi in the late 1970's 
as a method to conserve fuel. The 150 psi safety valve setting was 
maintained so that UPRR locomotives remained compatible when operated 
in consist with foreign locomotives. UPRR has operated their 
locomotives with the 125 psi maximum working air pressure for over 
twenty-five years and reports no adverse effect.
    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 (FRA-2004-18896) and must be submitted to the 
Docket Clerk, DOT Docket Management Facility, Room PL-401 (Plaza 
Level), 400 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. 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

[[Page 61552]]

inspection and copying on the Internet at the docket facility's Web 
site at http://dms.dot.gov.
    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, 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 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-19478). The Statement 
may also be found at http://dms.dot.gov.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on October 12, 2004.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Acting Associate Administrator for Safety.
[FR Doc. 04-23386 Filed 10-18-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P