Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 14 / Friday, January 21, 2000 / Notices 3529

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 1999–6639) 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 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.

Issued in Washington, DC on January 18,

2000.

Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety

Standards and Program Development.

[FR Doc. 00–1499 Filed 1–20–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA–1999–6252]

CSX Transportation, Inc.; Public

Hearing

On November 1, 1999, the Federal

Railroad Administration (FRA)

published a notice in the Federal

Register announcing CSX

Transportation, Inc.’s (CSXT) request to

obtain a temporary waiver of

compliance from certain provisions of

the Railroad Locomotive Safety

Standards, Title 49, Code of Federal

Regulations (CFR), Part 229.

Specifically, CSXT requests relief from

the requirements of 49 CFR 229.27(a)(2),

Annual tests, and 49 CFR 229.29(a),

Biennial tests, as solely applicable to all

present and future installations of the

New York Air Brake Corporation’s

Computer Controlled Brake (CCB)

Systems on CSXT locomotives. CSXT is

making this request so they can begin

the implementation of a Test Plan to

prove the new technology incorporated

in this brake system is more reliable and

safer in the rail transportation industry

with the intent of relying on the CCB

computer diagnostics to identify

defective components and repair as

required. The petitioner seeks to move

toward a performance-based COTS

criterion.

As a result of comments received by

FRA concerning this waiver petition,

FRA has determined that a public

hearing is necessary before a final

decision is made on this petition.

Accordingly, a public hearing is hereby

set for 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday,

February 23, 2000, in Conference Room

One, Seventh Floor, at 1120 Vermont

Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005.

Interested parties are invited to present

oral statements at this hearing. The

hearing will be informal and will be

conducted in accordance with Rule 25

of the FRA Rules of Practice (49 CFR

211.25) by a representative designated

by FRA. The FRA representative will

make an opening statement outlining

the scope of the hearing, as well as any

additional procedures for the conduct of

the hearing. The hearing will be a nonadversarial proceeding in which all

interested parties will be given the

opportunity to express their views

regarding this waiver petition without

cross-examination. After all initial

statements have been completed, those

persons wishing to make a brief rebuttal

will be given an opportunity to do so in

the same order in which initial

statements were made.

Issued in Washington, DC on January 18,

2000.

Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety

Standards and Program Development.

[FR Doc. 00–1500 Filed 1–20–00; 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

from certain requirements of its safety

standards. The individual petition is

described below including, the party

seeking relief, the regulatory provision

involved, the nature of the relief being

requested, and the petitioner’s

arguments in favor of relief.

RailRunner, Manufacturer of ‘‘IRV’’

Intermodal Rail Vehicle

(Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA1999-6416)

RailRunner is seeking a permanent

waiver of compliance with the Railroad

Safety Appliance Standards, 49 CFR

231.1(a)(3)(I); § 231.1(a)(3)(ii) which

specifies the operation and location of

the hand brake shaft; § 231.1 (b) through

(j) which specifies the location,

dimension and manner of application of

brake steps, sill steps, end ladder

clearance, roof handholds, side

handholds, horizontal handholds and

vertical handholds; and Railroad Freight

Car Safety Standards, 49 CFR part 215,

Appendix A (I) (4) which restrict the use

of an ‘‘I’’ section compression or tension

member on truck side frame, for

RailRunner Intermediate Rail Vehicle

equipment.

The RailRunner car-less intermodal

system consists of modified semitrailers, or container chassis,

interconnected by special purpose rail

bogies. Trailers are fitted with receivers

at each end to allow mating with the

bogies. The trailers are also fitted with

air lines to provide air for brakes and air

springs.

The bogie is a fabricated radial truck

with air springs. The air springs are

used to lift the trailers to proper height

above the rail, and they also act as the

secondary suspension. Shear pads

provide lateral and longitudinal

suspension stiffness. The bogie uses

conventional 33-inch wheel sets and

truck mounted brakes. Each bogie is

fitted with an ABDX control valve and

a lever-type hand brake.

The trailers rest on the upper frame of

the bogie, which carries the vertical

load. In-train longitudinal forces are

transmitted through a continuous

drawbar between the trailers. The

drawbar is connected to each trailer

through a 3-inch diameter pin.

The front and rear of the train are

fitted with a transition bogie. This bogie

has an identical lower frame and

suspension arrangement to the

intermediate bogie. The upper frame is

basically a conventional railcar center

sill and draft sill. The draft sill holds a

top and bottom shelf coupler with an M901E draft gear. The sill also supports a

crossover platform. The transition bogie

allows the RailRunner train to be

coupled to a locomotive or other

standard railcars.

A RailRunner bogie has two lower

frames, one over each axle and one

upper frame. The lower frames are

linked at the center of the bogie to allow

frames and axles to align radial in a

curve. The upper frame serves two

3530 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 14 / Friday, January 21, 2000 / Notices

1Stagecoach controls Coach through various

subsidiaries, namely, SUS 1 Limited, SUS 2

Limited, Stagecoach General Partnership, and SCH

US Holdings Corp.

2See Stagecoach Holdings PLC—Control—Coach

USA, Inc., et al., STB Docket No. MC–F–20948 (STB

served July 22, 1999).

3See Coach USA, Inc. and Coach USA North

Central, Inc.—Control—Nine Motor Carriers of

Passengers, STB Docket No. MC–F–20931, et al.

(STB served July 14, 1999).

4ACL is a Georgia corporation. It holds federallyissued operating authority in Docket No. MC–

141589, authorizing it to provide charter and

special services between points in the United

States, as well as various regular route services

between the Atlanta area and points in Georgia,

North Carolina and Alabama. ACL operates a fleet

of approximately 70 buses and employs

approximately 120 persons. Its revenues for the 12-

month period ending September 30, 1999, were

approximately $8.8 million.

functions. Its primary function is to

distribute the weight of two trailer ends

to the lower frame via the suspension

system. The second function of the

upper frame is to lift the trailer to

operating height. This is accomplished

in two steps. First, the upper frame is

shaped like a ramp. When a trailer is

backed up the ramp it is raised high

enough for the rubber tires to clear the

ground. This removes the friction

between the rubber tires and the ground,

allowing the air springs, which raises

the trailer further.

There is a parallel arrangement for air

springs and coil springs. When the bogie

is in the lowered position, with the air

bags deflated, the coil springs fit inside

the upper frame. When the bogie is in

the ‘‘run’’ position, with air bags

inflated, a plate is rotated into position

covering the coil springs hole in the

upper frame. At this point, if the air

springs inadvertently deflated, the

upper frame rests on the coil springs.

The 6X11 roller bearings are rated for

a total bogie weight-on-rail of 110,000

pounds (70-ton railcar).

The petitioner states that the

RailRunner System passed all Chapter

XI tests at the Transportation

Technology Center Inc., (TTCI).

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 1999–6416) 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 45

days of the 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 document in the public

docket are also available for inspection

and copying on the Internet at the

docket facility’s web site http://

dms.dot.gov.

Issued in Washington, D.C. on January

18, 2000.

Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety

Standards and Program Development.

[FR Doc. 00–1498 Filed 1–20–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. MC–F–20960]

Stagecoach Holdings PLC and Coach

USA, Inc., et al.,— Control— American

Coach Lines, Inc.

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Notice Tentatively Approving

Finance Transaction.

SUMMARY: Stagecoach Holdings PLC

(Stagecoach) and its subsidiary, Coach

USA, Inc. (Coach), noncarriers, and

various subsidiaries of each

(collectively, applicants), filed an

application under 49 U.S.C. 14303 to

acquire control of American Coach

Lines, Inc. (ACL), a motor passenger

carrier. Persons wishing to oppose this

application must follow the rules under

49 CFR part 1182.5 and 1182.8. The

Board has tentatively approved the

transaction, and, if no opposing

comments are timely filed, this notice

will be the final Board action.

DATES: Comments must be filed by

March 6, 2000. Applicants may file a

reply by March 21, 2000. If no

comments are filed by March 6, 2000,

this notice is effective on that date.

ADDRESSES: Send an original and 10

copies of any comments referring to STB

Docket No. MC–F–20960 to: Surface

Transportation Board, Office of the

Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925 K

Street, NW, Washington, DC 20423–

0001. In addition, send one copy of any

comments to applicant’s representative:

Betty Jo Christian, Steptoe & Johnson

LLP, 1330 Connecticut Avenue, NW,

Washington, DC 20036.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Joseph H. Dettmar (202) 565–1600. [TDD

for the hearing impaired: 1–800–877–

8339.]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Stagecoach is a public limited

corporation organized under the laws of

Scotland. With operations in eight

countries, Stagecoach is one of the

world’s largest providers of passenger

transportation services. Stagecoach had

annual revenues for the fiscal year

ending April 30, 1999, of $2.475 billion.

Coach is a Delaware corporation that

currently controls 83 motor passenger

carriers.

Stagecoach and its subsidiaries

currently control Coach 1, its noncarrier

regional management subsidiaries, and

the motor passenger carriers jointly

controlled by Coach and the

management subsidiaries.2 In previous

Board decisions, Coach management

subsidiaries, including Coach USA

Southeast, Inc., have obtained authority

to control motor passenger carriers

jointly with Coach.3

Applicants state that Coach purchased

all of the outstanding stock of ACL in

November 1999 and simultaneously

placed that stock into an independent

voting trust.4

According to applicants, the

transaction did not involve any transfer

of the federal or state operating

authorities held by ACL and will not

entail any change in that carrier’s

operations.

Applicants have submitted

information, as required by 49 CFR

1182.2(a)(7), to demonstrate that the

proposed acquisition of control is

consistent with the public interest

under 49 U.S.C. 14303(b) Applicants

state that the proposed transaction will

not reduce competitive options,

adversely impact fixed charges, or

adversely impact the interests of the

employees of ACL. In addition,

applicants have submitted all of the

other statements and certifications

required by 49 CFR 1182.2. Additional

information, including a copy of the

application, may be obtained from the

applicants’ representative.

Under 49 U.S.C. 14303(b), we must

approve and authorize a transaction we

find consistent with the public interest,

taking into consideration at least: (1) the

effect of the transaction on the adequacy

of transportation to the public; (2) the

total fixed charges that result; and (3)

the interest of affected carrier

employees.