[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 74 (Tuesday, April 17, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22840-22841]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9127]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket Number FRA-1999-6135]


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) has received a request for a waiver of compliance from certain 
requirements of its safety standards from New Jersey Transit (NJT). NJT 
seeks a modification to the original terms and conditions of its waiver 
of compliance that was granted in 1999. As part of NJT's construction 
of a future Pennsauken transfer station (allowing transfers between 
Atlantic City commuter trains and the River Line), NJT is lengthening 
the Pennsauken siding at Control Point (CP) 55 to now include Minson 
siding; incorporating trackwork improvements and changes to the signal 
and train control (S&TC) system. NJT 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 Railroads and Light Rail Transit Systems, 65 FR 42626 
(July 10, 2000).)
    Specifically, in April 2007, FRA approved NJT's S&TC improvements 
between CP45 and CP70 (which includes CP Ross, Minson siding, and 
Pennsauken siding) along its River Line

[[Page 22841]]

rail fixed guideway light-rail transit system. NJT calls this `scripted 
temporal separation,' which maintains the required temporal separation, 
but provides for superior use of the existing infrastructure by 
expanding the passenger period, and allowing Conrail some increased 
flexibility in and out of the Minson siding to Pavonia Yard. The 
addition of a future Pennsauken transfer station on the single track 
south of CP Ross at Milepost 4.9 will add time to trains operating 
northbound and southbound that meet at CP Ross, thus resulting in 
significant headway degradation. NJT claims that by lengthening 
Pennsauken siding to include Minson siding, headway degradation will be 
mitigated. This petition serves to notify FRA of NJT's plan to modify 
the trackwork, S&TC, and operational plans as part of this Pennsauken 
siding lengthening and Pennsauken transfer station construction.
    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 FRA-
1999-6135) and may be submitted by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
    <bullet> Fax: 202-493-2251.
    <bullet> Mail: Docket Operations Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., W12-140, Washington, DC 
20590.
    <bullet> Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal Holidays.
    Communications received by June 1, 2012 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://www.regulations.gov.
    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of any written 
communications and comments received into any of our dockets by the 
name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, 
if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). 
You may review the U.S. Department of Transportation's complete Privacy 
Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 
(Volume 65, Number 70; Page 19477), or online at http://www.dot.gov/privacy.html.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on April 11, 2012.
Ron Hynes,
Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for Regulatory and Legislative 
Operations.
[FR Doc. 2012-9127 Filed 4-16-12; 8:45 am]
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