Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 83 / Monday, May 1, 1995 / Notices 21233

Parties: Members of the International Air

Transport Association.

Subject: TC2/TC12 Mail Vote 739,

Rescission of Fare Increase from Sudan.

Proposed Effective Date: May 1, 1995.

Paulette V. Twine,

Chief, Documentary Services Division.

[FR Doc. 95–10573 Filed 4–28–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–62–P

Federal Railroad Administration

Petition for Exemption or Waiver of

Compliance

In accordance with Title 49 CFR 211.9

and 211.41, notice is hereby given that

the Federal Railroad Administration

(FRA) has received requests for

exemptions from or waivers of

compliance with a requirement of its

safety standards. The individual

petitions are described below, including

the party seeking relief, the regulatory

provisions involved, and the nature of

the relief being requested.

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 RSOP–95–1)

and must be submitted in triplicate to

the Docket Clerk, Office of Chief

Counsel, FRA, Nassif Building, 400

Seventh Street SW., Washington, D.C.

20590. Communications received within

45 days of the date of publication 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.) in Room

8201, Nassif Building, 400 Seventh

Street SW., Washington, D.C. 20590.

The individual petitions seeking an

exemption or waiver of compliance are

as follows:

American President Lines, Limited and

APL Land Transport Services,

Incorporated (APL) (Waiver Petition

Docket Number RSOP–95–1)

The American President Lines,

Limited and APL seek a permanent

waiver of compliance with certain

provisions of the Railroad Operating

Practices regulation (Title 49 CFR Part

218) for derail and blue signal

requirements. APL is seeking relief from

the requirements of § 218.29(c)(1) which

states: ‘‘(c) Except as provided in

paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section,

when workers are on, under, or between

rolling equipment on any track, other

than main track: (1) A derail capable of

restricting access to that portion of the

track on which such equipment is

located, will fulfill the requirements of

a manually operated switch when

positioned no less than 150 feet from

the end [of] such equipment * * *’’

A new container port facility and rail

yard, which will be operated by an APL

subsidiary, are being designed and built

by the Port of Seattle. The new facility

is designed to load and unload

intermodal trains and is expected to be

occupied by the last quarter of 1996.

The yard will have the capacity to store

up to 56 stack train cars with each such

car being a maximum of 337 feet long.

There will be 6 parallel spur tracks

entering the yard from the south end

with a single run-around track to the

west of the working tracks. The 6 spurs

are arranged in sets of 2 parallel tracks

which will be serviced by gantry cranes

or top-picks for loading and unloading.

The 6 spurs rejoin at the north end to

service a single spur which runs north

to a ‘‘dead end.’’ In the center of the

yard is a 70-foot wide crossing aisle that

divides each spur. On each side of the

aisle, APL plans to load and unload 3

to 5 stack cars on each of the 6 tracks.

The 6 tracks will each be about 3,100

feet in length, and the yard will be

approximately 3,200 feet in length by

about 300 feet in width. APL intends to

load or unload trains on all 6 spurs

simultaneously. To protect its workmen,

APL plans to install blue lights and

derailers 5 feet beyond the edge on both

sides of the aisle. The 5-foot area

between the edge of the aisle and the

derailer and blue light signal will be a

surface that will immediately dampen

the progress of any car that is derailed,

so that the car will stop moving before

the face of the coupler reaches the aisle.

The blue light, derail and red light will

all be remotely and automatically

controlled from a tower that is within

1,500 feet of the aisle and will have a

continuous uninterrupted view of the

yard. There will also be a blue light

signal and derail across the aisle, 80 feet

from the other blue light and derail,

which would, APL claims, in essence

provide dual protection for the

workmen.

The facility will load and unload

ships and intermodal unit trains. In a

typical operation, a loaded train will

enter the yard from the south, pulling

enough cars to fill the first track. The

speed limit in the yard will be 5 mph.

The locomotive will pull these cars onto

the first track, where a cut will be made

just before the aisle, and those cars to be

unloaded on the southeast side of the

aisle will be set out. The locomotive

will then pull the rest of the cars onto

the track north of the aisle where they

will be set out. The locomotive will then

exit the first track, proceed south on the

run-around track to the west of the yard

and pickup another cut of cars to fill the

second track. This will continue until

the incoming train is spotted or all six

tracks are filled. Excess cars can be

spotted in a storage yard west of and

adjacent to the main yard. During the

process, once each cut of cars is set out

on the appropriate track, the blue lights

and derails will be set.

At that point, top lifting type

container handling equipment will be

used to unload the railroad cars on any

given spur. Tractors will move the

trailers or containers either to a storage

area, or directly to ships that are berthed

at the facility. These tractors will use

the aisle as the means of access to and

from the yard with both chassis and

containers. A similar process will be

followed when loading unit trains from

a ship or the container storage yard.

APL requests waiver of the 150-foot

requirement for the blue lights and

derail devices to be used in the center

aisle in the yard. Each group of

workmen will be protected by blue light

signals 80 feet apart across the aisle.

Each group of workmen will also be

protected by two derail devices. The

first will be within 5 feet of the coupling

face, and the other will be 80 feet from

the first derail device, across the aisle.

Workmen will not begin working to load

or unload the cars on any given spur

until the cars have come to a complete

stop and are protected as set out in this

waiver request. They will be protected

by two blue light signals and by two

derail devices.

APL states that it ‘‘is working with the

Port in the process of designing the

yard. One important facet of this design

is that workmen be able to work in close

proximity to the aisle to increase

efficiency. As indicated in the Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking, when certain

criteria are present, a railroad may

safely use different approaches to afford

blue signal protection.’’ APL states they

will meet those criteria. ‘‘First, slow

speeds are involved since there is a 5

mph speed limit in the yard. Next,

control over the movement of the

equipment will be placed in the hands

of individuals directly responsible for

the people who need to be protected. In
21234 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 83 / Monday, May 1, 1995 / Notices

the Final Rule, FRA expressed its goal

of assuring workers’ safety.’’ APL states

that ‘‘the combination of very low

speed, a movement dampening surface,

and derails in close proximity to cars

that are standing still will limit travel to

not more than 5 feet after derailment

which is well within FRA’s goal to:

assure that rolling equipment will not

travel more than 50 feet after

derailment.’’

APL states that ‘‘the waiver sought by

APL will allow construction a modern

and efficient rail yard as part of an

intermodal facility at the Port of Seattle.

By operating with a reduced distance for

blue lights and derail devices, APL will

be able to fit the yard to the property

available. This project will substantially

increase the amount of rail business at

the Port and in the region. Shorter train

movements in the yard will also reduce

air emissions in the Port, thereby

reducing harm to the environment.’’

Issued in Washington, D.C. on April 25,

1995.

Phil Olekszyk,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety

Compliance and Program Implementation.

[FR Doc. 95–10580 Filed 4–28–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

Petition for Exemption or Waiver of

Compliance

In accordance with title 49 CFR

sections 211.9 and 211.41, notice is

hereby given that the Federal Railroad

Administration (FRA) has received from

the Port Authority Trans-Hudson

Corporation (PATH) requests for

waivers of compliance with

requirements of Federal rail safety

standards. The petitions are described

below, including the regulatory

provisions involved and the nature of

the relief being requested.

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–94–1) and

must be submitted in triplicate to the

Docket Clerk, Office of Chief Counsel,

FRA, Nassif Building, 400 Seventh

Street SW., Washington, D.C. 20590.

Communications received within 45

days of the date of publication 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.) in Room

8201, Nassif Building, 400 Seventh

Street SW., Washington, D.C. 20590.

Port Authority Trans-Hudson

Corporation [Waiver Petition Docket

Number LI–94–1]

The Port Authority Trans-Hudson

Corporation (PATH) seeks a permanent

exemption from the requirement of

installing and maintaining event

recorders on each of its multiple unit

(MU) electric cars, as required by Title

49 CFR Part 229. Section 229.135

requires that all trains operating over 30

mph be equipped with event recorders

by May 5, 1995.

PATH operates a 13.8 mile rapid

transit system between New Jersey and

New York. Approximately one-half of

the trackage is below ground level. Over

1,248 train movements per day carry

approximately 199,000 passengers five

days per week. Four major terminals

and nine intermediate stations serve the

closed system. Of PATH’s total fleet of

342 cars, 260 would require event

recorders. PATH has 10 different speed

limits ranging from 8 to 55 mph with

average speed over the system being

approximately 20 mph.

In FRA Docket LI–81–9, the

requirements of Title 49 CFR 229.117

were waived as they pertain to PATH.

That section required that all

locomotives operating over 20 mph

must be equipped with a speed

indicator. The requirement that each

lead locomotive be equipped with a

pilot, snow plow or end plate was also

waived.

The petitioner cites that since they are

excluded from the speed indicator

requirements, then they likewise should

be excluded from the event recorder

requirements since speed is the most

important of the recorded functions.

Port Authority Trans-Hudson

Corporation [Waiver Petition Docket

Number PB–94–2]

The Port Authority Trans-Hudson

Corporation (PATH) seeks a permanent

waiver of compliance with certain

provisions of the Railroad Power Brake

and Drawbars Regulation, Title 49 CFR

Part 232. PATH is requesting an

exemption from the requirement of

conducting a rear car application and

release test of the air brakes at stub end

or intermediate terminals when

changing operating ends on rapid transit

passenger trains. Title 49 CFR Section

232.13(c)(1) states:

At a point other than an initial terminal

where a locomotive or caboose is changed, or

where one or more consecutive cars are cut

off from the rear end or head end of a train

with the consist otherwise remaining intact,

after the train brake system is charged to

within 15 pounds of the feed valve setting on

the locomotive, but not less than 60 pounds

as indicated at the rear of a freight train and

70 pounds on a passenger train, a 20-pound

brake pipe reduction must be made and it

must be determined that the brakes on the

rear car apply and release. As an alternative

to the rear car brake application and release

test, it shall be determined that brake pipe

pressure of the train is being reduced as

indicated by a rear car gauge or device and

then that brake pipe pressure of the train is

being restored as indicated by a rear car

gauge or device.

PATH’s MU electric cars utilize a

dynamic brake through the propulsion

system, an electropneumatic tread brake

actuated at each wheel and a hand

operated parking brake. During service

braking the dynamic brake is fully

effective down to 10 mph after which

the friction brake is used to stop the car.

An emergency brake application

provides maximum braking effort by the

electropneumatic system with the

dynamic nullified.

PATH’s present operation requires the

FRA mandated initial terminal train air

brake test when a train is first put in

service or the consist is changed. At

stub end or intermediate terminals

where the engineer changes operating

ends, no operation is performed that

would interrupt the air lines. PATH

states that should a failure occur that

interrupted the flow of air on the train,

the engineer, on changing ends and

charging his train, would not get proper

brake pipe pressure nor engineer’s

indication in his operating cab. This

lack of indication advises the engineer

that something is wrong and procedures

are implemented to determine the

source of the problem. PATH believes

this indication circuit provides adequate

and reliable protection in the event of a

trainline failure, and performing a stub

end or intermediate terminal air brake

test is unnecessary. PATH estimates that

compliance with Section 232.13(c)(1)

would require 21 additional cars, 6

additional engineers and 6 additional

conductors to maintain the present level

of service due to the increased time

required for the test.