[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 206 (Tuesday, October 26, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62506-62507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-24058]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-2004-18746]


Union Pacific Railroad Company; Notice of Extension of Comment 
Period

    On August 10, 2004, FRA published a notice in the Federal Register 
announcing the Union Pacific Railroad Company's (UP) request to be 
granted a waiver of compliance from certain provisions of the Brake 
System Safety Standards for Freight and Other Non-

[[Page 62507]]

passenger Trains and Equipment; End of Train Devices, 49 CFR part 232, 
Freight Car Safety Standards, 49 CFR part 215, and Locomotive Safety 
Standards, 49 CFR part 299. See 69 FR 48558. Specifically, UP requests 
relief from the requirements of Sec.  232.205 Class I Brake Test-
Initial Terminal Inspection, Sec.  232.409 Inspection and Testing of 
End-of-Train, Sec.  215.13 Pre-departure Inspection, Sec.  229.21 Daily 
Inspection.
    UP requests that the above provisions of the Federal regulations be 
waived to permit run-through trains, that originate in Mexico and are 
interchanged with the UP at the Laredo, Texas Gateway, to operate into 
the interior of the United States without having to perform inspections 
at the U.S./Mexican border, provided that the trains receive proper 
inspections in Mexico by Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM), 
according to the standards prescribed in 49 CFR parts 232, 215, and 
229. UP would maintain all records required by applicable regulations 
for ready access on the U.S. side of the border, for FRA inspections. 
In addition, TFM has provided written consent for FRA to conduct 
inspections of their facilities and inspection practices.
    In response to comments received on the original notice, FRA issued 
a notice on August 31, 2004, granting the requests for a public hearing 
and extending the comment period to October 8, 2004. See 69 FR 54177 
(September 7, 2004). A public hearing in this matter was conducted on 
October 1, 2004. Subsequent to the close of the comment period on 
October 8, 2004, a number of significant documents were added to the 
public docket. These include: new uncorrupted translation files from 
TFM; a letter from Congressman James L. Oberstar and 22 other members 
of Congress opposing the petition; and the transcript from the October 
1, 2004, public hearing. FRA currently is in the process of reviewing 
and evaluating this new information as well as all the other previously 
submitted material and information. In order to provide interested 
parties an opportunity to review and potentially comment on this new 
information, FRA believes it is necessary to reopen the public docket 
in this matter and extend the comment period for a short period of 
time.
    Accordingly, FRA is extending the comment period in this matter to 
November 10, 2004. All communications concerning these proceedings 
should identify the appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver Petition 
Docket Number FRA-2004-18746) and must be submitted to the Docket 
Clerk, DOT Docket Management Facility, Room PL-401 (Plaza Level), 400 
7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. 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://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 19477-78). The Statement 
may also be found at http://dms.dot.gov.

    Issued in Washington, DC on October 22, 2004.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Acting Associate Administrator for Safety.
[FR Doc. 04-24058 Filed 10-25-04; 8:45 am]
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