[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 133 (Wednesday, July 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41857-41858]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-14860]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket Number FRA-2020-0096]


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    Under part 211 of title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), this 
document provides the public notice that on May 31, 2022, Brightline 
West (BW) petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a 
waiver of compliance from certain provisions of the Federal railroad 
safety regulations contained at 49 CFR part 238, Passenger Equipment 
Safety Standards. FRA assigned the petition Docket Number FRA-2020-
0096.
    Specifically, BW requests relief from two regulations: Sec. Sec.  
238.112(f) and

[[Page 41858]]

238.121(c)(2), regarding interior doors and emergency system back-up 
power, respectively. As background, in December 2020, FRA denied BW's 
request for relief to use single-leaf breakable safety glass vestibule 
doors instead of doors with removal panels per Sec.  238.112(f), 
because BW did not provide enough information and safety justification 
for FRA to render an appropriate decision. In its May 31, 2022, 
petition, BW states it has provided additional information as FRA 
identified, and renews its request for relief from this requirement. BW 
also requests new relief from Sec.  238.121(c)(2), pertaining to the 
requirement that passenger equipment's emergency system back-up power 
be capable of withstanding shocks leading to individually applied 
accelerations of 8g/4g/4g (longitudinal/lateral/vertical). BW explains 
that the 8g/4g/4g accelerations are ``inconsistent with the general 
design approach [for] a Tier III vehicle, which considers accelerations 
of [5g/3g/3g].'' Additionally, BW notes that the Tier III notice of 
proposed rulemaking consensus language allows this specification if 
certain conditions are met for other back-up power supply systems. 
Further, BW notes that the approval of BW's waiver request in December 
2020 assumed that the Siemens Velaro ``Classic'' trainsets would be 
used. BW requests FRA's confirmation and approval that the relief in 
this docket would apply to its next generation Siemens Velaro ``Novo'' 
trainsets, which are similar in design, but offer better accessibility, 
energy efficiency, and other improvements compared to the ``Classic'' 
trainsets.
    A copy of the petition, as well as any written communications 
concerning the petition, is available for review online at 
www.regulations.gov.
    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 and a public hearing, 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 and may be submitted at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
    Communications received by August 29, 2022 will be considered by 
FRA before final action is taken. Comments received after that date 
will be considered if practicable.
    Anyone can 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 document, if 
submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). 
Under 5 U.S.C. 553(c), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) 
solicits comments from the public to better inform its processes. DOT 
posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information 
the commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the 
system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 
https://www.transportation.gov/privacy. See also https://www.regulations.gov/privacy-notice for the privacy notice of 
regulations.gov.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
John Karl Alexy,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety, Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2022-14860 Filed 7-12-22; 8:45 am]
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