[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 179 (Friday, September 16, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54801-54802]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-18482]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


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 a waiver of compliance with certain 
requirements of its safety standards. The individual petition is 
described below, including the party seeking relief, the regulatory 
provisions involved, the nature of the relief being requested, and the 
petitioner's arguments in favour of relief.

Long Island Rail Road

[Docket Number FRA-2005-21964]

    The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) seeks a waiver of compliance from 
certain provisions of the Railroad Operating Practices regulations, 49 
CFR part 218, regarding blue signal protection of workers. 
Specifically, the LIRR requests relief from the requirements of 49 CFR 
218.29 Alternate methods of protection, at its Diesel Service 
Facilities in Richmond Hills, NY, and Long Island City, NY.
    According to LIRR, both facilities are stub-end yards jointly used 
by both transportation and mechanical forces. These yards function to 
service, inspect, maintain, and dispatch the diesel passenger fleet for 
the LIRR. Each facility has a speed limit of 5 mph, with fixed derails 
on each service track and

[[Page 54802]]

manually operated switches. Yard movement is controlled by a 
yardmaster. Due to the configuration and service demands, the yard 
cannot facilitate the placement of a derail at the 150-foot interval as 
prescribed in Sec.  218.29. Additionally, LIRR believes that lining and 
locking the manual switches increases potential error of proper switch 
alignment, and is a safety concern for all employees working in the 
area. Therefore, LIRR requests that employees at these two facilities 
be allowed to place derails at a distance of 50-feet from the 
equipment. LIRR states that they will post signage to reinforce the 5 
mph speed restriction, as well as paint physical clearance lines 
denoting the 50-foot distance.
    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 FRA-
2005-21964) and must be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Clerk, 
DOT Central Docket Management Facility, Room Pl-401, Washington, DC 
20590-0001. 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 DOT 
Central Docket Management Facility, Room Pl-401 (Plaza Level), 400 
Seventh Street SW., Washington. 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.
    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19377-78). The statement 
may also be found at http://dms.dot.gov.

    Issued in Washington, DC on September 12, 2005.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. 05-18482 Filed 9-15-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P