[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 8 (Friday, January 12, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1574-1575]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-318]


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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 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.

New Jersey Transit Corporation

[Supplement to Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-1999-6135]

    As a supplement to New Jersey Transit Corporation's (NJ Transit) 
Petition for Approval of Shared Use and Waiver of Certain FRA 
Regulations (the original shared use waiver was granted by the FRA 
Railroad Safety Board on December 3, 1999, and a five year extension 
was granted by the FRA Railroad Safety Board on May 2, 2005), NJ 
Transit is making signal improvements between CP45 and CP70 in order to 
create an ``Extended Temporal Separation Mode'' of operation. This will 
allow NJ Transit and Conrail to safely share a limited and specific 
section of the River Line outside of the fixed-windows of temporal 
separation. NJ Transit submits that this request is consistent with the 
waiver process for Shared Use. See Statement of Agency Policy 
Concerning Jurisdiction Over the Safety of Railroad Passenger 
Operations and Waivers Related to Shared Use of the Tracks of the 
General Railroad System by Light Rail and Conventional Equipment, 65 FR 
42529 (July 10, 2000); see also Joint Statement of Agency Policy 
Concerning Shared Use of the Tracks of the General Railroad System by 
Conventional

[[Page 1575]]

Railroads and Light Rail Transit Systems, 65 FR 42526 (July 10, 2000).
    Currently, River Line passenger operations and Conrail operations 
are temporally-separated, with light rail having exclusive use of the 
shared track from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. during the Passenger Period and 
Conrail maintaining exclusive rights at all other times during the 
Freight Period. NJ Transit is proposing to make signal improvements 
that will maintain temporal separation but provide for superior 
utilization of the existing infrastructure by expanding the Passenger 
Period and allow Conrail an increased operating flexibility. 
Specifically, the intent of these improvements is to: enable the 
provision of passenger service to Route 73 station in Pennsauken during 
the extended hours of 5:30 a.m. until 12 a.m.; provide additional 
flexibility and efficiencies for the operation of freight trains, 
specifically to enable Conrail to operate between Pavonia Yard and 
Minson Siding/Pennsauken Industrial Track under vitally enforced 
separation from light rail vehicles during all hours; provide positive 
train separation through the utilization of active trip stop 
transponders for light rail encroachment; and power derails for freight 
encroachment.
    NJ Transit further submitted on December 15, 2006, a letter 
offering clarification and additional information to amend the original 
petition. First, NJ Transit is formally notifying the FRA that in 
September of 2004, NJ Transit and Conrail established two separate 
zones of temporal separation: Zone One from CP45 (Pennsauken) to CP269 
(Bordentown), with exclusive Passenger Period from 6 a.m. until 10 
p.m., which remains unchanged from the original Shared Use Waiver; Zone 
Two from CP269 (Bordentown) to CP329 (Trenton) features a revised 
Passenger Period that starts at 5:45 a.m. until 10 p.m.
    Second, as part of the current proposed extended temporal 
separation between CP45 and CP70, there is potential for a new parallel 
operation between River Line light rail vehicles and Conrail freight 
equipment at track centerline distances that in some locations are less 
than 17-ft. NJ Transit is informing FRA that it will not install an 
Intrusion Detection System (IDS) in this area as was done previously at 
two other locations of the River Line. Instead, NJ Transit proposes to 
maintain an equivalent level of safety by restricting this section of 
River Line to one mode at a time by prohibiting River Line light rail 
vehicles from operating between CP45 and CP70 when a Conrail freight 
train has been authorized through this section.
    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 communication concerning these proceedings should identify the 
appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-
1999-6135) and must be submitted to the Docket Clerk, DOT Docket 
Management Facility, Room PL-401 (Plaza Level), 400 7th Street, SW., 
Washington, D.C. 20590. Communications received within 30 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 9, 2007.
Grady C. Cothen,
Deputy Associate Administrator, for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
 [FR Doc. E7-318 Filed 1-11-07; 8:45 am]
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