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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 93396-93397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27696]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2024-0112]

Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its 
implementing regulations, FRA seeks approval of the Information 
Collection Request (ICR) summarized below. Before submitting this ICR 
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval, FRA is 
soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities 
identified in the ICR.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
January 27, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed ICR 
should be submitted on regulations.gov to the docket, Docket No. FRA-
2024-0112. All comments received will be posted without change to the 
docket, including any personal information provided. Please refer to 
the assigned OMB control number (2130-NEW) in any correspondence 
submitted. FRA will summarize comments received in a subsequent 30-day 
notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Arlette Mussington, Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, at email: [email protected] or 
telephone: (571) 609-1285 or Ms. Joanne Swafford, Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, at email: [email protected] 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 
provide 60 days' notice to the public to allow comment on information 
collection activities before seeking OMB approval of the activities. 
See 44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.8 through 1320.12. Specifically, 
FRA invites interested parties to comment on the following ICR 
regarding: (1) whether the information collection activities are 
necessary for FRA to properly execute its functions, including whether 
the activities 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 
for FRA to minimize the burden of information collection activities on 
the public, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. See 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A); 5 
CFR 1320.8(d)(1).
    FRA believes that soliciting public comment may reduce the 
administrative and paperwork burdens associated with the collection of 
information that Federal regulations mandate. In summary, comments 
received will advance three objectives: (1) reduce reporting burdens; 
(2) organize information collection requirements in a ``user-friendly'' 
format to improve the use of such information; and (3) accurately 
assess the resources expended to retrieve and produce information 
requested. See 44 U.S.C. 3501.
    The summary below describes the ICR that FRA will submit for OMB 
clearance as the PRA requires:
    Title: Class I Railroads Annual Excepted Track Inventory.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-NEW.
    Abstract: FRA's Track Safety Standards (TSS; 49 CFR part 213) 
prescribe minimum safety requirements for railroad track that is part 
of the general railroad system of transportation. The TSS were first 
established in October 1971, following the enactment of the Federal 
Railroad Safety Act of 1970 in which Congress granted FRA comprehensive 
authority over ``all areas of railroad safety.'' 49 U.S.C. 20103. The 
TSS are an evolving set of safety requirements, subject to continuous 
revision, allowing the regulations to keep pace with industry 
innovations and agency research and development.
    FRA added the excepted track provision (Sec.  213.4) to the TSS in 
1982 in response to an industry outcry for regulatory relief on those 
rail lines producing little or no income. With some limitations, Sec.  
213.4 permits railroads to designate track as ``excepted'' from 
compliance with minimum safety requirements for roadbed, track 
geometry, and track structure. FRA believed that without some relief 
for low density lines, railroads would accelerate abandonment of those 
lines rather than invest their slim resources where returns would be 
limited. In 1998, FRA amended Sec.  213.4, by adding new safety 
requirements, after FRA and state inspectors found instances where 
railroads had taken advantage of the permissive language in the 1982 
provision to conduct operations in a manner not envisioned when FRA 
drafted the provision. At the time of those revisions, it was estimated 
there were between 8,000 and 9,000 miles of excepted track nationwide.
    Over 25 years later, to better understand the current condition of 
rail infrastructure in the United States, FRA is seeking to compare the 
current amount of excepted track to historic levels. FRA is also 
seeking to better understand the extent and manner in which the 
industry is utilizing the excepted track provision. Additionally, while 
FRA has not currently found systemic misuse of excepted track or 
evidence of significant safety concerns, FRA has received complaints 
alleging misuse of Sec.  213.4, and the information FRA proposes to 
collect as part of this new ICR will be useful in ensuring that the 
provision continues to be used in a safe and effective manner.
    Accordingly, FRA is initiating this new ICR to gather excepted 
track data from all Class I freight railroads. Specifically, the 
proposed information collection will request that the railroads provide 
FRA with data regarding the amount of excepted track currently in 
operation (number of track miles and tonnage). The requested data will 
be collected using Excel-based form FRA F 6180.289 Class I Railroads 
Annual Excepted Track Inventory Reporting. To minimize the burden of 
this ICR, FRA is requesting an annual inventory (for three years) only 
of Class I freight railroads' excepted track. FRA believes all Class I 
freight railroads already maintain lists of excepted track locations 
and tonnage, so the effort to

[[Page 93397]]

report the requested information should be minimal. Once FRA has 
collected this information, it will be used to help confirm that the 
excepted track provision continues to be used in a safe and effective 
manner, and consistent with the original intent of Sec.  213.4.
    Type of Request: Approval of a new collection of information.
    Affected Public: Railroads.
    Form(s): FRA F 6180.289.
    Respondent Universe: 6.
    Frequency of Submission: Annually.
    Reporting Burden: 2 hours per railroad per year.
    Total Estimated Annual Responses: 6.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden: 12 hours per year.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden Hour Dollar Cost Equivalent: 
$1,069.56.\1\
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    \1\ The dollar equivalent cost is derived from the 2023 Surface 
Transportation Board Full Year Wage A&B data series using employee 
group 200 (Professional Administrative Staff) hourly wage rate of 
$50.93. The total burden wage rate (straight time plus 75%) used is 
$89.13 ($50.93 x 1.75 = $89.13).
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    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,
Deputy Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2024-27696 Filed 11-25-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P
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