2214 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 10 / Wednesday, January 15, 1997 / Notices

evaluations establish that desired

improvements with the valves have

been achieved. According to CN, during

the extensive testing period, which

began in 1987 and involved

approximately 1,200 locomotives, the

reliability of the braking systems was

never an issue, therefore, train operating

safety is not at risk. With the high

number of locomotives operating in

international service, CN states that

managing two different braking system

maintenance intervals would be both

problematic and costly. Further, to

revert to a 36 month cleaning interval

after almost ten years of successful

testing at 48 month intervals, would not

provide any additional safety benefits.

CN would like the 48-month

maintenance interval to be accepted for

all of their locomotives that operate in

the United States.

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 LI–96–2) and

must be submitted in triplicate to the

Docket Clerk, Office of Chief Counsel,

FRA, Nassif Building, 400 Seventh

Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 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

FRA’s temporary docket room located at

1120 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Room

7051, Washington, D.C. 20005.

Issued in Washington, D.C. on January 8,

1997.

Phil Olekszyk,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety

Compliance and Program Implementation.

[FR Doc. 97–957 Filed 1–14–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

[FRA Docket No. H–92–3]

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 an extension of a waiver of

compliance with certain provisions of

its safety standards. The individual

petition is described below, including

the party seeking relief, the regulatory

provisions involved, and the nature of

the relief being requested.

Westinghouse Air Brake Company

[Waiver Petition Docket Number H–92–3]

In 1992, the Westinghouse Air Brake

Company (WABCO) was granted a

waiver for their EPIC microprocessorbased locomotive braking equipment.

Specifically, the waiver excludes 1000

locomotives equipped with EPIC

braking equipment from the

requirements of 49 CFR 229.29 by

extending the required time interval for

cleaning, testing, and inspecting

locomotive air brake valves from 736

calendar days to five years. WABCO

requests that the waiver condition

which limits the number of locomotives

permitted to be equipped with EPIC

microprocessor-based braking

equipment, be adjusted to include all

locomotives in the United States that are

equipped with EPIC 3102 and EPIC II

electronic brake equipment. The EPIC

3101 series electronic brake equipment

is not included in this request.

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 H–92–3) and

must be submitted in triplicate to the

Docket Clerk, Office of Chief Counsel,

FRA, Nassif Building, 400 Seventh

Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 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 a.m.—5 p.m.) at FRA’s

temporary docket room located at 1120

Vermont Avenue, N.W., Room 7051,

Washington, D.C. 20005.

Issued in Washington, D.C. on January 8,

1997.

Phil Olekszyk,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety

Compliance and Program Implementation.

[FR Doc. 97–959 Filed 1–14–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

[BS–AP–No. 3393]

The New Orleans Public Belt Railroad;

Public Hearing

The New Orleans Public Belt Railroad

has petitioned the Federal Railroad

Administration (FRA) seeking approval

of the proposed discontinuance and

removal of 15 signals (No.’s 48, 47, 46,

45, 40, 39, 38, 37, 33, 2, 14, 16, 18, 20,

and 22) on the two Running tracks,

between Lampert Junction, milepost

J.O.2 and East Bridge Junction, milepost

J.3.0, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

This proceeding is identified as FRA

Block Signal Application Number (BS–

AP–No.) 3393.

The FRA has issued a public notice

seeking comments of interested parties

and conducted a field investigation in

this matter. After examining the carrier’s

proposal and the available facts, FRA

has determined that a public hearing is

necessary before a final decision is

made on this proposal.

Accordingly, a public hearing is

hereby set for 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday,

February 19, 1997, in the New Orleans

Union Passenger Terminal, Room 201,

located at 1001 Loyola Avenue, New

Orleans, Louisiana. Interested parties

are invited to present oral statements at

the hearing.

The hearing will be an informal one

and will be conducted in accordance

with Rule 25 of the FRA Rules of

Practice (Title 49 CFR Part 211.25), by

a representative designated by the FRA.

The hearing will be a nonadversary

proceeding and, therefore, there will be

no cross-examination of persons

presenting statements. The FRA

representative will make an opening

statement outlining the scope of the

hearing. After all initial statements have

been completed, those persons wishing

to make brief rebuttal statements will be

given the opportunity to do so in the

same order in which they made their

initial statements. Additional

procedures, if necessary for the conduct

of the hearing, will be announced at the

hearing.