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[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 149 (Wednesday, August 5, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39133-39135]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-18740]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2009-0001-N-18]

Information Collection

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information 
Collection Requirement (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR 
describes the nature of the information collection and its expected 
burden. The Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period 
soliciting comments on the following collection of information was 
published on May 21, 2009 (74 FR 23927).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 4, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Brogan, Office of Safety, 
Planning and Evaluation Division, RRS-21, Federal Railroad 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop 25, 
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493-6292), or Ms. Nakia Jackson, 
Office of Information Technology, RAD-20, Federal Railroad 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop 35, 
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493-6073). (These telephone 
numbers are not toll-free.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
Public Law 104-13, Section 2, 109 Stat. 163 (1995) (codified as revised 
at 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), and its implementing regulations, 5 CFR Part 
1320, require Federal agencies to issue

[[Page 39134]]

two notices seeking public comment on information collection activities 
before OMB may approve paperwork packages. 44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 
1320.5, 1320.8(d)(1), 1320.12. On May 21, 2009, FRA published a 60-day 
notice in the Federal Register soliciting comment on this ICR that the 
agency was seeking OMB approval. 74 FR 23927. FRA received one 
comment--a letter--in response to this notice.
    The joint letter came from Mr. James Stem, National Legislative 
Director, United Transportation Union (UTU), and John Tolman, 
President, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET). The 
UTU represents 125,000 active and retired railroad, bus, and mass 
transit workers in the United States and Canada. The BLET is a rail 
labor organization that was founded as part of the Teamsters Union and 
represents railroad engineers and railroad operating employees in the 
United States and Canada. In their extensive letter of support, Mr. 
Stem and Mr. Tolman stated the following:

    Congress assigned FRA to prescribe regulations and issue orders 
to establish hours of service requirements for train employees 
engaged in commuter rail and passenger services. Those regulations 
may differ from the requirements of the Rail Safety Improvement Act 
(RSIA) requirements for Hours of Service (HOS) applicable to train 
employees engaged in freight service. In establishing this 
exception, Congress required FRA to consider scientific and medical 
research related to fatigue and fatigue abatement, scheduling 
practices and operating practices that improve safety or reduce 
employee fatigue. A significant body of scientific and medical 
research already exists. Also, the commuter and passenger services 
current scheduling and operating practices in use today mitigate 
fatigue substantially; so much so that only minor changes to the 
existing HOS regulations are necessary.
    The ``Fatigue Avoidance Scheduling Tool'' (FAST) is a 
comprehensive and detailed analysis of how wakefulness affects 
fatigue and an individual's effectiveness. The FAST model is based 
upon the SAFTE fatigue assessment tool which was developed for the 
U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army. For a fatigue assessment tool to 
be useful, it must establish how fatigue impacts effectiveness and 
at which point reduced effectiveness might compromise safety. The 
FAST model has been validated for use in predicting effectiveness in 
freight railroad service, and we believe it can function as an 
appropriate tool to compare work schedules against a baseline 
representing the maximum schedule that can be worked under the 
statute. The current model is programmed to reflect sleep patterns 
in a workforce that reports for duty on call, and will need to be 
adjusted to reflect the different sleep patterns of workers with a 
known reporting time. We believe such an adjustment would permit the 
use of the FAST model to predict effectiveness among commuter and 
passenger train employees * * *
    The medical research supports the conclusion that predictable 
sleep patterns can significantly diminish the fatiguing effect long 
hours have on employees. While not a panacea, predictability in work 
schedules certainly provides the employees with the opportunity to 
plan their rest. Individuals without regular work hours may find 
themselves un-rested if they have been at a doctor's appointment or 
attending to an elderly parent or child when a call for duty comes. 
Since the commuter/passenger services serve the public their 
operations must be advertised to the general public. Train 
departures, and therefore work schedules, are highly predictable * * 
*
    Obviously adequate levels of manpower are essential for the 
railroads to properly execute the operation of the scheduled 
service. Recently, the country has seen a significant increase in 
ridership in the commuter/passenger operations. With the current 
administration's High Speed Rail initiative there is every reason to 
believe that this trend will continue for the foreseeable future. 
Coupled with the natural attrition of an aging workforce, manpower 
will be stressed for years to come.
    Railroads must develop some objective means of determining an 
appropriate and safe level of manpower staffing. One commuter 
operation has chronic manpower shortages. So much so that the 
overwhelming majority of its regular assignments and all of its 
extra list assignments are required to work 6 days. It utilizes a 
supplementary volunteer extra list of regularly assigned employees 
(working their only day off) 7 days per week sometimes for weeks in 
a row simply to address its regular operation.
    A fair assessment of operating and scheduling practices will 
minimize the impact of fatigue on railroad operations, the employees 
and the general public that use the systems. Through the RSIA 
Congress instructed the secretary to implement regulations to reduce 
employee fatigue and improve safety. Fatigue can be effectively 
mitigated by addressing it before it occurs. Proper manpower 
staffing and construction of assignments are essential to ensure 
that outcome. By addressing fatigue at its base level (daily) 
through the use quality restorative sleep from napping in conducive 
sleep environments and predictable, regular home sleep patterns the 
industry will have effectively reduced acute, cumulative and chronic 
fatigue from wakefulness to a safe level.

FRA received no other comments in response to this notice. Accordingly, 
DOT announces that these information collection activities have been 
evaluated and certified under 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and forwarded to OMB for 
review and approval pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.10(a).
    Before OMB decides whether to approve these proposed collections of 
information, it must provide 30 days for public comment. 44 U.S.C. 
3507(b); 5 CFR 1320.12(d). Federal law requires OMB to approve or 
disapprove paperwork packages between 30 and 60 days after the 30 day 
notice is published. 44 U.S.C. 3507 (b)-(c); 5 CFR 1320.12(d); see also 
60 FR 44978, 44983, Aug. 29, 1995. OMB believes that the 30 day notice 
informs the regulated community to file relevant comments and affords 
the agency adequate time to digest public comments before it renders a 
decision. 60 FR 44983, Aug. 29, 1995. Therefore, respondents should 
submit their respective comments to OMB within 30 days of publication 
to best ensure having their full effect. 5 CFR 1320.12(c); see also 60 
FR 44983, Aug. 29, 1995.
    The summary below describes the nature of the information 
collection requirement (ICR) and the expected burden for the ICR being 
submitted for clearance by OMB as required by the PRA.
    Title: Work Schedules and Sleep Patterns of Train Crews in Commuter 
Passenger Service.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-New.
    Type of Request: Regular Approval of a New Collection of 
Information.
    Affected Public: Commuter Railroad Passenger Service Train Crews.
    Abstract: The Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) grants 
the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) the authority to prescribe 
regulations ``* * *Governing the Hours of Service of Train Employees of 
Commuter and Intercity Passenger Railroad Carriers.'' (section 21109). 
This section of the law provides that

    Such regulations and orders may address railroad operating and 
scheduling practices, including unscheduled duty calls, 
communications during time off duty, and time spent waiting for 
deadhead transportation or in deadhead transportation from a duty 
assignment to the place of final release, that could affect employee 
fatigue and railroad safety.

Furthermore, the regulations shall consider

* * * scientific and medical research related to fatigue and fatigue 
abatement, railroad scheduling and operating practices that improve 
safety or reduce employee fatigue, a railroad's use of new or novel 
technology intended to reduce or eliminate human error, the 
variations in freight and passenger railroad scheduling practices 
and operating conditions, the variations in duties and operating 
conditions for employees subject to this chapter, a railroad's 
required or voluntary use of fatigue management plans covering 
employees subject to this chapter, and any other relevant factors.

The purpose of the research addressed under this proposed study is to 
provide FRA with the necessary information to meet the requirements of 
RSIA as noted above.

[[Page 39135]]

    The proposed study has two primary purposes:
     To document and characterize the work/rest schedules and 
sleep patterns of train crews in commuter passenger service
     To examine the relationship between these schedules and 
level of alertness/fatigue for the individuals who work these 
schedules.
    The intent is to report results in aggregate, not by railroad.
    The study will seek to describe the work and sleep patterns for 
this group of railroad employees. It will also obtain subjective 
ratings from participants of their alertness/sleepiness on both work 
and non-work days. Data collection will be through the use of a daily 
diary or log as well as a brief background questionnaire for each 
participant. Analysis of the diary data will allow the FRA to assess 
whether or not there are any work-related fatigue issues. The proposed 
study will provide a defensible and definitive estimate of the work/
rest cycle parameters and fatigue in this group of railroad employees 
that will inform FRA regulatory policy and action.
    Form Number(s): FRA F 6180.130; FRA F 6180.131
    Annual Estimated Burden Hours: 930 hours
    Addressee: Send comments regarding this information collection to 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 
and Budget, 725 Seventeenth Street, NW., Washington, DC, 20503, 
Attention: FRA Desk Officer. Comments may also be sent via e-mail to 
OMB at the following address: [email protected]
    Comments are invited on the following: Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the Department, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; the accuracy of the Department's estimate of 
the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and 
ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
    A comment to OMB is best assured of having its full effect if OMB 
receives it within 30 days of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register.

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.

    Issued in Washington, DC on July 29, 2009.
Donna Alwine,
Acting Director, Office of Financial Management, Federal Railroad 
Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-18740 Filed 8-4-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P
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