33416 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 100 / Tuesday, May 23, 2000 / Notices

All communications concerning these

proceedings should identify the

appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver

Petition Docket Number 2000–7094) and

must be submitted to the Docket Clerk,

DOT Docket Management Facility,

Room PL–401 (Plaza Level), 400 7th

Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 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 (9:00 a.m.–5:00 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.

Issued in Washington, DC, on May 18,

2000.

Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety

Standards and Program Development.

[FR Doc. 00–12918 Filed 5–22–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

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 provisions of the Hours of Service

Law (108 Stat. 888, Pub. L. 103–272, 49

U.S.C. 21102(b)). The Hours of Service

Law currently makes it unlawful for a

railroad to require specified employees

to remain on duty in excess of 12 hours.

However, the Hours of Service Law

contains a provision permitting a

railroad, which employs not more than

15 employees subject to the statute, to

seek an exemption from the 12 hour

limitation.

York Railway Company (YRC)

[Waiver Petition Docket No. FRA–2000–

7064]

The YRC seeks an exemption so that

it may permit train crew employees to

remain on duty not more than 16 hours

in any 24-hour period to provide coal

train deliveries to a consignee located in

Spring Grove, Pennsylvania. The YRC

further states that it is not its intention

to employ a train crew over 12 hours per

day under normal circumstances, but

this exemption, if continued, would

help its operation if other unusual

operating conditions are encountered.

The YRC provides service on over 40

miles of trackage located in York

County, Pennsylvania, with its

headquarters in York, Pennsylvania.

The petitioner indicates that granting

the exemption is in the public interest

and will not adversely affect safety.

Additionally, the petitioner asserts it

employs not more than 15 employees

that are subject to the statue and has

demonstrated good cause for granting

this exemption.

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 2000–7064) and

must be submitted to the Docket Clerk,

DOT Docket Management Facility,

Room PL–401 (Plaza Level), 400 7th

Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 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 (9:00 a.m.–5:00 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.

Issued in Washington, DC on May 18,

2000.

Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety

Standards and Program Development.

[FR Doc. 00–12917 Filed 5–22–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

Notice of Safety Advisory on

RoadRailer Trailers

AGENCY: Federal Railroad

Administration (FRA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of safety advisory.

SUMMARY: FRA is issuing Safety

Advisory 99–03A in order to modify

and update previously issued Safety

Advisory 99–03 which addressed the

securement of floor beam crossmembers on RoadRailer trailers. See 64

FR 61377 (November 10, 1999). FRA is

issuing this revised Safety Advisory to

address the securement of lift rods on

RoadRailer trailers in order to prevent

the highway tandem wheels on these

trailers from falling to the rails on

moving trains. This Safety Advisory also

provides updated information regarding

the actions being taken within the

industry regarding the securement of

floor beam cross-members and lift rods

on this equipment.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary

Fairbanks, Mechanical Engineer, Motive

Power and Equipment Division, Office

of Safety Assurance and Compliance,

FRA, 400 Seventh Street, SW, RRS–14,

Mail Stop 25, Washington, DC 20590

(Telephone 202–493–6322/ Fax 202–

493–6230)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In

November of 1999, FRA issued Safety

Advisory 99–03 based on its discovery

that several RoadRailer trailers

operated by Triple Crown Services

(Triple Crown) had experienced failures

of floor beam cross-members. See 64 FR

61377. The cross beams connect the

highway tandem wheel set to the body

of the trailer via slide rails. The failure

of the cross beams allows the weight of

the tandem wheel set to deflect the slide

rails to the point where the highway

tires contact the rail. Prior to the

issuance of Safety Advisory 99–03, FRA

notified Wabash National Incorporated

(Wabash), the manufacturer of

RoadRailer equipment, and requested

that Wabash randomly inspect trailers at

the Fort Wayne, Indiana, Triple Crown

facility. Representatives of Wabash,

Triple Crown, the Federal Highway

Administration (FHWA), and FRA

conducted a series of inspections at this

facility in October of 1999. The crossmember defects found during these

inspections could be classified into four

categories:

1. A weld crack at the slide rail to Ibeam cross-member;

2. A crack in the cross-member I-beam

flange (which usually starts at the end

of a weld);

3. A crack which has progressed into

the web of the I-beam from the flange;

or

4. A cross-member broken into two

pieces.

The practice of attaching the tandem

wheel set slide rails to the trailer body

by welding to floor cross-member Ibeam flanges has been the accepted

method of highway trailer fabrication

for many years. This method is