Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 178 / Friday, September 15, 2023 / Notices 63647 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket No. FRA–2022–0002–N–24] 

Proposed Agency Information 

Collection Activities; Comment 

Request 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of information collection; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its 

implementing regulations, this notice 

announces that FRA is forwarding the 

Information Collection Request (ICR) 

summarized below to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and comment. The ICR describes 

the information collection and its 

expected burden. On November 14, 

2022, FRA published a notice providing 

a 60-day period for public comment on 

the ICR. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before October 

16, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed ICR 

should be sent within 30 days of 

publication of this notice to 

www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 

Find the particular ICR by selecting 

‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open 

for Public Comments’’ or by using the 

search function. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Arlette Mussington, Information 

Collection Clearance Officer, at email: 

Arlette.Mussington@dot.gov or 

telephone: (571) 609–1285, or Ms. 

Joanne Swafford, Information Collection 

Clearance Officer, at email: 

joanne.swafford@dot.gov or telephone: 

(757) 897–9908. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The PRA, 

44 U.S.C. 3501–3520, and its 

implementing regulations, 5 CFR part 

1320, require Federal agencies to issue 

two notices seeking public comment on 

information collection activities before 

OMB may approve paperwork packages. 

See 44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.8 

through 1320.12. On November 14, 

2022, FRA published a 60-day notice in 

the Federal Register soliciting comment 

on the ICR for which it is now seeking 

OMB approval. See 87 FR 68226. FRA 

received one comment from the 

Association of American Railroads 

(AAR) related to the proposed collection 

of information. 

On January 13, 2023, AAR submitted 

a spreadsheet containing suggestions for 

changes to the proposed collection. 

AAR’s suggestions fell into three 

categories: (1) changes to the data 

validation and listed options, (2) 

options to fill in a cell with a blank, ‘‘N/ 

A’’, or ‘‘Other’’ if there was not a valid 

option in the proposed list, and (3) 

general changes to the form’s 

instructions to improve clarity. 

For data validation and listed options, 

AAR asked that the software version 

numbers allow for free text, so versions 

such as ‘‘6.3.24.2’’ be allowed rather 

than just numbers with a single decimal 

point, such as 6.3. The restrictions on 

the cell were removed to allow for free 

text entry. AAR additionally asked that, 

for ‘‘Type of Reportable Issue’’, a listed 

option be changed to ‘‘Previously 

Unidentified Hazard’’ from the 

incorrectly listed prior two options that 

stated ‘‘Previously’’ and ‘‘Unidentified 

Hazard.’’ In the dropdown list, the two 

original line items were combined into 

‘‘Previously Unidentified Hazard’’ to 

correct for the typographical error. 

AAR asked for the option to fill in 

many cells with ‘‘N/A’’, a blank, or 

provide an ‘‘Other’’ option to record 

additional entries outside of the original 

list. Doing so would allow for cases 

where an entity might not know the 

information requested but could provide 

an answer to the form rather than 

leaving it blank. For example, positive 

train control (PTC) Suppliers or Vendors 

do not often know confidential 

information about the railroad, such as 

mile posts or track segment 

designations, and this option would 

allow them to submit without knowing 

milepost or track segment associated 

with the failure. The following sections 

now allow for ‘‘N/A’’ or ‘‘Other’’ 

options: ‘‘Affected Railroad, Supplier or 

Vendor’’, ‘‘Track Segment’’, and ‘‘Nature 

of Failure’’. 

Additionally, several of the form 

instructions were clarified or elaborated 

on as requested by AAR. The revisions 

did not require changing the context of 

a cell, but rather allowed for multiple 

cases and a better understanding of 

what FRA is asking for within the form. 

The following sections were updated: 

‘‘Submission Instructions’’, ‘‘Additional 

Affected Railroad(s), Supplier(s), or 

Vendor(s).’’ As the ‘‘Submission 

Instructions’’ were updated, FRA 

elected not to revise the instructions 

next to the cells themselves as the 

revisions that were made were 

sufficient. 

Finally, AAR made two suggestions 

that FRA did not act on. First, AAR 

recommended removing the ‘‘Estimated 

Date to Correct Failure’’ field. However, 

this is required per regulatory 

compliance, so FRA has not removed 

this field. Second, AAR noted that the 

proposed form cells need to ‘‘grow’’ as 

text is entered. FRA conducted testing 

on several noted cells, such as the 

‘‘Synopsis’’ field, and confirmed that 

the field did expand as the user entered 

more text. 

Before OMB decides whether to 

approve the proposed collection of 

information, it must provide 30 days for 

public comment. 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(a); see also 60 FR 44978, 44983 

(Aug. 29, 1995). OMB believes 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. 

Comments are invited on the 

following ICR regarding: (1) whether the 

information collection activities are 

necessary for FRA to properly execute 

its functions, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) the accuracy of FRA’s estimates of 

the burden of the information collection 

activities, including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used to 

determine the estimates; (3) ways for 

FRA to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information being 

collected; and (4) ways to minimize the 

burden of information collection 

activities on the public, including the 

use of automated collection techniques 

or other forms of information 

technology. 

The summary below describes the ICR 

that FRA will submit for OMB clearance 

as the PRA requires: 

Title: Positive Train Control and 

Other Signal Systems. 

OMB Control Number: 2130–0553. 

Abstract: FRA’s regulations require 

that both railroads and PTC vendors and 

suppliers notify FRA of certain PTC 

system errors and malfunctions. 49 CFR 

236.1023. For example, railroads must 

maintain a database of all safetyrelevant hazards identified in their PTC 

Safety Plans (PTCSP) and those that had 

not previously been identified in their 

PTCSPs. 49 CFR 236.1023(e). If the 

frequency of a safety-relevant hazard 

exceeds the thresholds in a railroad’s 

PTCSP, or such hazard has not been 

previously identified in a railroad’s risk 

analysis, then the railroad must notify 

FRA of the failure, malfunction, or 

defective condition that decreased or 

eliminated the safety functionality of 


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63648 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 178 / Friday, September 15, 2023 / Notices 

1The current inventory exhibits a total burden of 

51,993 hours and 4,567,826 responses, while the 

total burden in this notice is 51,930 hours and 

4,567,826 responses. As noted in the 60-day FRN, 

the decrease in burden is due to the proposed 

standardized reporting process using FRA F 

6180.179 and in this notice, FRA has made 

adjustments to correct rounding errors in previously 

reported burden hours. 

2OMB-approved form FRA F 6180.152 remains 

unchanged. 

3While included in the PRA table published, 

FRA inadvertently did not include the 10 vendors 

as part of the respondent universe summary. 

the railroad’s PTC system. 49 CFR 

236.1023(e)(1). In addition, FRA’s 

regulations require PTC vendors and 

suppliers to notify FRA of any safetyrelevant failure, defective condition, or 

previously unidentified hazard 

discovered by the vendor or supplier 

and the identity of each affected and 

notified railroad. 49 CFR 236.1023(h)(2). 

Currently, each railroad or PTC vendor 

and supplier that must submit 

notifications of such a failure, 

malfunction, or defective condition does 

so by emailing the information to an 

FRA inbox (FRAPart2361023

Notification@dot.gov). The information 

is sent in different formats by each 

railroad or PTC supplier and vendor 

because there is currently no 

standardized form. 

Therefore, FRA is hereby proposing to 

standardize the reporting process 

required by 49 CFR 236.1023(e)(1), (h), 

and (f) by creating the Errors and 

Malfunctions Notification Form (Form 

FRA F 6180.179), which is one part of 

the existing information collection 

request under OMB Control No. 2130– 

0553. This proposed Form FRA F 

6180.179 will be in an Excel format and 

will make it easier for the entities to 

notify FRA of each applicable failure, 

malfunction, or defective condition, and 

for FRA to synthesize and act on the 

reported failure. The Errors and 

Malfunctions Notification Form would 

not change the requirements that each 

railroad or PTC supplier and vendor 

currently must follow to notify FRA of 

each reportable failure, malfunction, or 

defective condition. See, e.g., 49 CFR 

236.1023(e), (h), and (f). The proposed 

Form FRA F 6180.179 would be 

submitted to FRAPart2361023

Notification@dot.gov within the 15-day 

deadline under 49 CFR 236.1023(f)(1). 

With the current reporting process, 

FRA estimated that each notification 

would take 8 hours to prepare. With the 

new standardized Form, FRA estimates 

that, on average, each notification will 

be reduced to 7.5 hours to prepare if the 

railroad or PTC supplier or vendor uses 

the FRA-provided Excel Form. This 

estimate is based on the fact that the 

proposed new Form FRA F 6180.179 

offers drop-down menus that would 

allow railroads or PTC suppliers and 

vendors to select an answer from an 

established list instead of creating each 

answer from scratch. The revised 

burden would also account for the 

review of the instructions in the FRAprovided Excel Form. Thus, FRA 

estimates that by creating this Form, the 

total annual burden hours will decrease 

by 14 hours.1

Type of Request: Revision to a 

currently approved collection. 

Affected Public: Businesses. 

Form(s): FRA F 6180.179 (new form) 

and FRA F 6180.152 (existing form).2

Respondent Universe: 742 railroads 

and 10 vendors.3

Frequency of Submission: On 

occasion. 

Total Estimated Annual Responses: 

4,567,826. 

Total Estimated Annual Burden: 

51,930 hours. 

Total Estimated Annual Burden Hour 

Dollar Cost Equivalent: $4,324,155. 

FRA informs all interested parties that 

it may not conduct or sponsor, and a 

respondent is not required to respond 

to, a collection of information that does 

not display a currently valid OMB 

control number. 

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520. 

Christopher S. Van Nostrand, 

Acting Deputy Chief Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19976 Filed 9–14–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary 

[Docket No. DOT–OST–2023–0125] 

Notice of Funding Opportunity To 

Establish Cooperative Agreements 

With Technical Assistance Providers 

for the Fiscal Year 2023 Thriving 

Communities Program 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary of 

Transportation, U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of Funding Opportunity 

(NOFO), Assistance Listing Number: 

20.942. 

SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is 

to publish DOT’s application 

submission requirements and 

application review procedures to select 

national and State, Tribal, or regional 

capacity builders to provide technical 

assistance, planning, and capacity 

building support to communities 

through cooperative agreements with 

DOT, as authorized by the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2023. 

DATES: The deadline for application 

submission is 4:59 p.m. eastern time on 

November 28, 2023. Proposals or 

applications received after the above 

deadlines will not be reviewed or 

considered. See section E of this NOFO 

regarding DOT’s review process and 

section G of the NOFO for DOT’s 

contact information. 

ADDRESSES: Applications must be 

submitted through https://

www.grants.gov. Opportunity number: 

DOT–TCP–FY23–01. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ongoing updates, webinar notices, 

FAQs: https://www.transportation.gov/ 

thriving-communities. 

POC: Monica Guerra, (202) 366–7738, 

monica.guerra@dot.gov. 


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