Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 226 / Wednesday, November 22, 2000 / Notices 70379

The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe

Railway Company

[Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA–2000–

7926]

The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe

Railway Company (BNSF) seeks a

waiver of compliance from the

provisions of the Track Safety

Standards, 49 CFR section 213.55,

regarding the allowable deviations from

uniformity of track alinement. There are

2191 track miles on BNSF where the

maximum allowable passenger train

speed is 80 mph or less and the

corresponding freight train speed is

between 61 and 70 mph. Pursuant to 49

CFR section 213.9(a) of the Track Safety

Standards, the allowable freight train

speeds subject these locations to FRA

Class 5 standards.

BNSF is petitioning for a waiver

which would establish intermediate

values for allowable alinement

deviations over the 2191 track miles in

question. The intermediate values

would be more restrictive than those

prescribed for FRA Class 4 track, but

less restrictive than those prescribed for

FRA Class 5 track. The petitioner cites

the fact that the allowable freight train

speeds are at the lower end of the Class

5 speed regime, and the existence of

various operating restrictions which

closely control freight train speeds

within the 61 to 70 mph range, as

arguments in favor of relief. The

petitioner also states there have been no

reportable or non-reportable derailments

attributed to irregular alinement over

these 2191 miles in the past five years.

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 2000–7926) 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 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 (9:00 a.m.–5:00 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 November 16,

2000.

Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety

Standards and Program Development.

[FR Doc. 00–29904 Filed 11–21–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

Research and Development Programs

Meeting

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice announces a

public meeting at which NHTSA will

describe and discuss specific research

and development projects. Further, the

notice requests suggestions for topics to

be presented by the agency.

DATES AND TIMES: The National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration will hold

a public meeting devoted primarily to

presentations of specific research and

development projects on December 14,

2000, beginning at 1:30 p.m. and ending

at approximately 5 p.m. The deadline

for interested parties to suggest agenda

topics is 5 p.m. on November 29, 2000.

Questions may be submitted in advance

regarding the agency’s research and

development projects. They must be

submitted in writing by December 4,

2000, to the address given below. If

sufficient time is available, questions

received after the December 4 date will

be answered at the meeting during the

discussion period. The individual,

group, or company asking a question

does not have to be present for the

question to be answered. A consolidated

list of answers to questions submitted

by December 4 will be available at the

meeting and will be mailed to requesters

after the meeting.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the Best Western Gateway International

Hotel, Romulus, Michigan 48174,

telephone number 734–728–2800.

Suggestions for specific research and

development topics as described below

and questions for the December 14,

2000, meeting relating to the agency’s

research and development programs

should be submitted to the Office of the

Associate Administrator for Research

and Development, NRD–01, National

Highway Traffic Safety Administration,

Room 6206, 400 Seventh Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20590. The fax number

is (202) 366–5930.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In recent

years, since April 1993, NHTSA has

provided detailed information about its

research and development programs in

presentations at a series of public

meetings. The purpose is to make

available more complete and timely

information regarding the agency’s

research and development programs.

This is the twenty-eighth meeting in

that series, and it will be held on

December 14, 2000, at the Best Western

Gateway International Hotel, Romulus,

Michigan.

NHTSA requests suggestions from

interested parties on specific agenda

topics to be presented at this meeting.

NHTSA will base its decisions about the

agenda, in part, on the suggestions it

receives by 5 p.m. on November 29,

2000. Before the meeting, NHTSA will

publish a notice with an agenda listing

the research and development topics to

be discussed. The agenda can also be

obtained by calling or faxing the request

to the telephone numbers listed in this

notice, through the E-mail address listed

in this notice, or from NHTSA’s Web

site under Announcements/Public

Meetings at URL http://

www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/announce/

meetings/.

NHTSA asks that the suggestions be

limited to three topics, in priority order,

so that the presentations at the

December 14, 2000, meeting can be most

useful to the audience. Specific research

and development topics are listed

below. Many of these topics have been

discussed at previous meetings.

Suggestions for agenda topics are not

restricted to this listing, and interested

parties are invited to suggest other

research and development topics of

specific interest to their organizations or

items of general interest. Additionally, if

any interested parties would like to

make a presentation regarding technical

issues concerning any of NHTSA’s

research programs, information

concerning the proposed topic and

speaker should be submitted in writing

by 5 p.m. on November 29, 2000.

Specific R&D topics are:

Fiscal Years 2000–2001 R&D Research

Efforts,

International Harmonized Research

Activities (IHRA),

On-line tracking system for NHTSA’s

research projects, and

Crash Injury Research and

Engineering Network (CIREN).

70380 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 226 / Wednesday, November 22, 2000 / Notices

1Tedesco Family Trust directly controls two

motor carriers of passengers, Academy Bus Tours,

Inc. (MC–165004), and Academy Lines, Inc. (MC–

106207). It indirectly controls, through its

noncarrier subsidiary, Franmar Logistics, Inc., of

Hoboken, NJ, four motor carriers of passengers,

Academy Bus Tours, Inc. (PA) (MC–215354),

Academy Express, Inc. (MC–228481), Commuter

Bus Line, Inc. (MC–162133), and No. 22 Hillside

Corp. (MC–182453), and through its noncarrier

subsidiaries, Franmar Equities, Inc., of Hoboken, NJ,

and Consolidated Bus Service, Inc., one motor

carrier of passengers, Funaway Tours of New Jersey,

Inc. (MC–174942).

2 Inner Circle Qonexions, Inc., filed for a name

change in June 1995. It now has the same name as

one of Tedesco Family Trust’s existing carrier

subsidiaries and will be merged into that subsidiary

upon consummation of this transaction.

Specific Crashworthiness R&D topics

are:

Preparation of new dummies for

assessment of advanced air bag

technology,

Improved frontal crash protection

(program status, problem

identification, offset testing),

Vehicle compatibility,

Upgrade side crash protection,

Child restraint/air bag interaction

(CRABI) dummy testing,

Head and neck injury research,

Lower extremity injury research, and

Thorax injury research.

Specific Crash Avoidance R&D topics

are:

National Advanced Driving Simulator

(NADS),

Intelligent vehicle initiative (the rearend collision avoidance system

operational test),

Drowsy driver monitoring,

Driver workload assessment, and

Lane change/merge collision avoidance

system guidelines.

Specific National Center for Statistics

and Analysis (NCSA) topics are:

Special crash investigation studies and

Crash avoidance data collection.

Separately, questions regarding

research projects that have been

submitted in writing not later than 5

p.m. on December 4, 2000, will be

answered. The summary minutes of the

meeting, copies of materials handed out

at the meeting, and answers to the

questions submitted for response at the

meeting will be available for public

inspection in the DOT Docket in

Washington, DC, within 3 weeks after

the meeting. Copies of this material will

then be available at ten cents a page

upon request to DOT Docket, Room PL–

401, 400 Seventh Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20590. The DOT

Docket is open to the public from 10

a.m. to 5 p.m. The summary minutes,

handouts, and answers to the questions

will also be available on NHTSA’s Web

site at Announcements/Public Meetings

at URL http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/

announce/meetings/.

Additionally, the agency is in the

process of reviewing NHTSA’s quarterly

meetings on its safety performance

standards and research and

development programs. A survey has

been posted on NHTSA’s Web site at

URL http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/

announce/meetings/ for those interested

in commenting on the quarterly meeting

process.

NHTSA will provide technical aids to

participants as necessary, during the

Research and Development Programs

Meeting. Thus, any person desiring the

assistance of ‘‘auxiliary aids’’ (e.g., signlanguage interpreter, telecommunication

devices for deaf persons (TTDs), readers,

taped texts, braille materials, or large

print materials and/or a magnifying

device), please contact Rita Gibbons by

telephone on (202) 366–4862, by telefax

on (202) 366–5930, or by E-mail at

rgibbons@nhtsa.dot.gov by 5 p.m.

December 4, 2000.

Should it be necessary to cancel the

meeting due to inclement weather or to

any other emergencies, a decision to

cancel will be made as soon as possible

and posted immediately on NHTSA’s

Web site at Announcements/Public

Meetings at URL http://

www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/announce/

meetings/. If you do not have access to

the Web site, you may call for

information at the contact listed below

and leave your telephone or telefax

number. You will be called only if the

meeting is postponed or canceled.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rita

Gibbons, Staff Assistant, Office of

Research and Development, 400

Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC

20590. Telephone: (202) 366–4862. Fax

number: (202) 366–5930. E-mail:

rgibbons@nhtsa.dot.gov.

Issued: November 16, 2000.

Raymond P. Owings,

Associate Administrator for Research and

Development.

[FR Doc. 00–29905 Filed 11–21–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. MC–F–20976]

Tedesco Family ESB Trust—

Acquisition and Merger—American

Limousine Service, Inc., and Academy

Express, Inc.

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board,

Transportation.

ACTION: Notice tentatively approving

finance transaction.

SUMMARY: Tedesco Family ESB Trust,

Francis Tedesco and Mark Tedesco,

settlers, of Hoboken, NJ (Tedesco Family

Trust or applicant),1 a noncarrier, has

filed an application under 49 U.S.C.

14303 for the acquisition of American

Limousine Service, Inc. (MC–186879),

and Academy Express, Inc. (formerly,

Inner Circle Qonexions, Inc.) (MC–

145482),2 motor carriers of passengers,

and their subsequent merger, and the

merger of Academy Bus Tours, Inc.

(PA), and Commuter Bus Line, Inc., into

Academy Express, Inc., which will be

the surviving entity. Persons wishing to

oppose the application must follow the

rules at 49 CFR 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

January 8, 2001. Applicant may file a

reply by January 22, 2001. If no

comments are filed by January 8, 2001,

the approval is effective on that date.

ADDRESSES: Send an original and 10

copies of any comments referring to STB

Docket No. MC–F–20976 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

comments to applicant’s representative:

Fritz R. Kahn, 1920 N Street, NW., (8th

Floor), Washington, DC 20036–1601.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Beryl Gordon, (202) 565–1600. (TDD for

the hearing impaired: 1–800–877–8339.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

carriers being acquired and those being

merged all hold federally issued

operating authority and provide either

local commuter bus service and other

regular-route operations, or special and

charter operations, or a combination of

both. Collectively, these carriers operate

between New York, NY, and various

points in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

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.

Applicant has submitted the

information required by 49 CFR 1182.2,

including information to demonstrate

that the proposed transaction is

consistent with the public interest

under 49 U.S.C. 14303(b). Specifically,

applicant has shown that the proposed