[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 218 (Friday, November 12, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 65497]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-25136]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Notice of Application for Approval of Discontinuance or 
Modification of a Railroad Signal System or Relief From Requirements

    Pursuant to Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 235 and 
49 U.S.C. 20502(a), the following railroad has petitioned the Federal 
Railroad Administration (FRA) seeking approval for the discontinuance 
or modification of the signal system or relief from the requirements of 
49 CFR Part 236 as detailed below.

Docket Number FRA-2004-19336

    Applicant: Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company, Mr. 
William G. Peterson, Director Signal Engineering, 4515 Kansas Avenue, 
Kansas City, Kansas 66106.
    The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) seeks 
relief from the requirements of the Rules, Standards and Instructions, 
49 CFR, Part 236, Section 236.110, to the extent that each test record, 
need not be signed by the person making the inspection or test. In lieu 
of the signature, the BNSF proposes to implement an electronic system 
for recording and maintaining signal inspection records, that uniquely 
identify the person as the author of the record with a PIN number or 
password. Once a record is entered and verified, it cannot be modified. 
In conjunction with this relief, the BNSF also requests the utilization 
of an electronic system for recording and maintaining applicable 
inspection and test records as defined in 49 CFR, Part 234, subject to 
approval by the Associate Administrator for Safety, as required by 
Section 234.273. A pilot program is planned for approximately 100 
signal employees located in Washington, Idaho, Montana, Texas, and 
Louisiana.
    Applicant's justification for relief: The BNSF believes that the 
electronic system will serve the best interest of the BNSF and the 
Federal and State Inspection authorities that are required to inspect 
records. The BNSF also anticipates this system will provide many 
benefits, including: improved availability of test records, improved 
management reporting of compliance, improved consistency for filing 
records, and a reduction in the need for paper documentation.
    Any interested party desiring to protest the granting of an 
application shall set forth specifically the grounds upon which the 
protest is made, and include a concise statement of the interest of the 
party in the proceeding. Additionally, one copy of the protest shall be 
furnished to the applicant at the address listed above.
    All communications concerning this proceeding should be identified 
by the docket number and must be submitted to the Docket Clerk, DOT 
Central Docket Management Facility, Room PI-401, 400 7th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590-0001. Communications received within 45 days of 
the date of this notice will be considered by the 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://dms.dot.gov.
    FRA wishes to inform all potential commenters that 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) or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.
    FRA expects to be able to determine these matters without an oral 
hearing. However, if a specific request for an oral hearing is 
accompanied by a showing that the party is unable to adequately present 
his or her position by written statements, an application may be set 
for public hearing.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on November 1, 2004.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Acting Associate Administrator for Safety.
[FR Doc. 04-25136 Filed 11-10-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P