[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 97 (Thursday, May 18, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31628-31629]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-12567]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    In accordance with Part 211 of Title 49 of the 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.

Alaska Railroad Corporation

[Docket Number FRA-2000-7350]

    The Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARR) seeks a temporary waiver of 
compliance with a provision of the Passenger Equipment Safety Standards 
(49 CFR part 238). ARR has been transporting full-length dome cars 
owned by Westours Motorcoaches, Inc. since 1987. ARR states that the 
cars currently have two emergency exits on each side of the car located 
in the staggered hallways (a total of four emergency exits per car 
located mid-way between the upper main level and a small lower level). 
Westours Motorcoaches, Inc. determined that the placement of the 
current emergency exits did not comply with 49 CFR 238.113(a) which 
addresses the number and location of emergency exits. Accordingly, 
Westours contracted for retrofit of existing dome cars to comply with 
section 238.1139(a). Although delivery of compliant emergency windows 
was originally scheduled for April 1, 2000, due to technical problems, 
delivery may not be accomplished until as late as August 1, 2000.

[[Page 31629]]

    ARR is therefore requesting a temporary waiver from section 
238.113(a) until August 1, 2000 to permit it to use Westours 
Motorcoaches, Inc. dome cars in revenue and non-revenue service until 
that time.
    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 this proceeding 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 this proceeding should identify the 
appropriate docket number (e.g. Docket No. FRA-2000-7350) 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 15 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 this proceeding are available for examination 
during regular business hours (9:00 am--5:00 pm) 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, D.C. on May 11, 2000.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. 00-12567 Filed 5-17-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P