Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 22 / Friday, February 1, 2008 / Notices 6257 

(61 FR 9740) for additional information 

about the RSAC. 

Issued in Washington, DC on January 28, 

2008. 

Michael J. Logue, 

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety 

Compliance and Program Implementation. 

[FR Doc. E8–1865 Filed 1–31–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket No. FRA–2000–7257; Notice No. 44] 

Railroad Safety Advisory Committee 

(RSAC); Working Group Activity 

Update 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Announcement of Railroad 

Safety Advisory Committee working 

group activities. 

SUMMARY: FRA is updating its 

announcement of RSAC’s working 

group activities to reflect its current 

status. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Larry Woolverton, RSAC Coordinator, 

FRA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Mailstop 25, Washington, DC 20590, 

(202) 493–6212 or Grady Cothen, 

Deputy Associate Administrator for 

Safety, FRA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 

SE., Mailstop 25, Washington, DC 

20590, (202) 493–6302. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice serves to update FRA’s last 

announcement of working group 

activities and status reports as of 

October 30, 2007 (72 FR 61418). The 

33rd full RSAC Committee meeting was 

held October 25, 2007, and the 34th 

meeting is scheduled for February 20, 

2008, at the National Housing Center in 

Washington, DC. 

Since its first meeting in April 1996, 

the RSAC has accepted 24 tasks. The 

status for each of the tasks is provided 

below. 

Open Tasks 

Task 96–4—Reviewing the 

appropriateness of the Agency’s current 

policy regarding the applicability of 

existing and proposed regulations to 

tourist, excursion, scenic, and historic 

railroads. This task was accepted on 

April 2, 1996, and a working group was 

established. The working group 

monitored the steam locomotive 

regulation task and planned future 

activities involving the review of other 

regulations for possible adaptation to 

the safety needs of tourist and historic 

railroads. Contact: Grady C. Cothen, Jr., 

(202) 493–6302. 

Task 03–01—Passenger Safety. This 

task was accepted on May 20, 2003, and 

a working group was established. Prior 

to embarking on substantive discussions 

of a specific task, the working group sets 

forth in writing a specific description of 

the task. The working group also reports 

planned activity to the full Committee at 

each scheduled full RSAC meeting, 

including milestones for the completion 

of projects and progress toward 

completion. At the first meeting held 

September 9–10, 2003, a consolidated 

list of issues was completed. At the 

second meeting held November 6–7, 

2003, four task groups were established: 

emergency preparedness, mechanicalgeneral issues, mechanical-safety 

appliances, and track/vehicle 

interaction. The task groups met and 

reported on activities for working group 

consideration at the third meeting held 

May 11–12, 2004, and a fourth meeting 

was held October 26–27, 2004. The 

working group met on March 21–22, 

2006, and again on September 12–13, 

2006, at which time the group agreed to 

establish a task force on general 

passenger safety. The full Passenger 

Safety Working Group met on April 17–

18, 2007, and again on December 11–12, 

2007. The next meeting is scheduled for 

June 18, 2008. Contact: Charles Bielitz, 

(202) 493–6302. 

(Emergency Preparedness Task Force) 

At the working group meeting on March 

9–10, 2005, the working group received 

and approved the consensus report of 

the Emergency Preparedness Task Force 

related to emergency egress and rescue 

access. These recommendations were 

presented to, and approved by, the full 

RSAC Committee on May 18, 2005. The 

working group met on September 7–8, 

2005, and additional, supplementary 

recommendations were presented to, 

and accepted by, the full RSAC on 

October 11, 2005. The Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) was 

published on August 24, 2006, and was 

open for comments until October 23, 

2006. The working group agreed upon 

recommendations for the resolution of 

final comments during the April 17–18, 

2007, meeting. The recommendations 

were presented to, and approved by, the 

full RSAC Committee on June 26, 2007. 

The final rule regarding emergency 

egress and rescue access is expected to 

be published in early 2008. The task 

force met on October 17–18, 2007, and 

the group reached consensus on the 

draft rule text for a follow-up NPRM on 

passenger train emergency systems. The 

task force presented the draft rule text 

to the Passenger Safety Working Group 

on December 11–12, 2007, and the 

consensus draft rule text will be 

presented for full RSAC vote during the 

February 20, 2008, meeting. Contact: 

Brenda Moscoso, (202) 493–6282. 

(General Mechanical Task Force) 

(COMPLETED) Initial recommendations 

on mechanical issues (revisions to Title 

49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 

Part 238) were approved by the full 

Committee on January 26, 2005. At the 

working group meeting of September 7–

8, 2005, the task force presented 

additional perfecting amendments and 

the full RSAC approved them on 

October 11, 2005. An NPRM was 

published in the Federal Register on 

December 8, 2005 (70 FR 73070). Public 

comments were due by February 17, 

2006. The final rule was published in 

the Federal Register on October 19, 

2006, (71 FR 61835) effective December 

18, 2006. 

(General Passenger Safety Task Force) 

At the working group meeting on April 

17–18, 2007, the task force presented a 

progress report to the working group. 

The task force met on July 18–19, 2007, 

and afterwards it reported proposed 

reporting cause codes for injuries 

involving the platform gap, which were 

approved by the working group by mail 

ballot in September 2007. The full 

RSAC approved the recommendations 

for changes to 49 CFR Part 225 accident/ 

incident cause codes on October 25, 

2007. The task force continues work on 

passenger train door securement, 

‘‘second train in station,’’ trespasser 

incidents, and system safety-based 

solutions by developing a regulatory 

approach to system safety. The General 

Passenger Safety Task Force presented 

draft guidance material for management 

of the gap, which was considered and 

approved by the working group during 

the December 11–12, 2007, meeting and 

will present the material to the full 

RSAC for approval during the February 

2008 meeting. Contact: Dan Knote, (631) 

567–1596. 

(Passenger Equipment 

Crashworthiness Task Force) The 

Crashworthiness Task Force provided 

consensus recommendations on staticend strength, which were adopted by 

the working group on September 7–8, 

2005. The full Committee accepted the 

recommendations on October 11, 2005. 

The Front-End Strength of Cab Cars and 

Multiple-Unit Locomotives NPRM was 

published in the Federal Register on 

August 1, 2007, (72 FR 42016) with 

comments due by October 1, 2007. 

Several comments were entered into the 

docket. FRA is evaluating each of the 

comments received, and plans to have 

the final rule text completed by June 

2008. To demonstrate the means of 

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6258 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 22 / Friday, February 1, 2008 / Notices 

determining compliance with the 

crashworthiness requirements of the 

rule, FRA has scheduled two full-scale 

deformation tests as prescribed in the 

NPRM, a corner post test in February 

2008, a collision post test in March 

2008, and a dynamic test in April 2008. 

Contact: Gary Fairbanks, (202) 493–

6322. 

(Vehicle/Track Interaction Task 

Force) The task force is developing 

proposed revisions to 49 CFR Parts 213 

and 238 principally regarding highspeed passenger service. The task force 

met on October 9–11, 2007, and 

November 19–20, 2007, in Washington, 

DC, and presented the final task force 

report and final recommendations and 

proposed rule text for approval by the 

Passenger Safety Working Group at the 

December 11–12, 2007, meeting. The 

final report and the proposed rule text 

were approved by the working group 

and the proposal will be presented to 

the full RSAC for approval at the 

February 2008 meeting. Contact: John 

Mardente, (202) 493–1335. 

Task 05–01—Review of Roadway 

Worker Protection Issues. This task was 

accepted on January 26, 2005, to review 

49 CFR Part 214, Subpart C, Roadway 

Worker Protection, and related sections 

of Subpart A; recommend consideration 

of specific actions to advance the ontrack safety of railroad employees and 

contractors engaged in maintenance-ofway activities throughout the general 

system of railroad transportation, 

including clarification of existing 

requirements. A working group was 

established and reported to the RSAC 

any specific actions identified as 

appropriate. The first meeting of the 

working group was held on April 12–14, 

2005. The working group reported 

planned activity to the full Committee at 

each scheduled Committee meeting, 

including milestones for completion of 

projects and progress toward 

completion. The working group met on 

June 22–24, 2005, August 8–11, 2005, 

September 20–22, 2005, November 8–9, 

2005, January 10–11, 2006, February 1–

2, 2006, March 15–16, 2006, April 11–

12, 2006, August 22–23, 2006, 

November 14–15, 2006, January 17–18, 

2007, February 27–28, 2007, and March 

1, 2007. The group drafted and accepted 

regulatory language for various 

revisions, clarifications, and additions 

to 32 separate items in 19 sections of the 

rule. However, two parties raised 

technical concerns regarding the draft 

language concerning the electronic 

display of track authorities. The 

working group reported 

recommendations to the full Committee 

at the June 26, 2007, meeting. FRA, 

through the NPRM process, is to address 

this issue along with eight additional 

items on which the working group was 

unable to reach a consensus. A draft 

NPRM is currently under review by FRA 

Office of Safety staff and legal counsel, 

and is expected to be published in early 

2008. Contact: Christopher Schulte, 

(610) 521–8201. 

Task 05–02—Reduce Human FactorCaused Train Accident/Incidents. This 

task was accepted on May 18, 2005, to 

reduce the number of human factorcaused train accidents/incidents and 

related employee injuries. An Operating 

Rules Working Group has been 

established. The working group reports 

planned activity to the full Committee at 

each scheduled full RSAC meeting, 

including milestones for completion of 

projects and progress toward 

completion. The working group met on 

July 12–13, 2005, August 31–September 

1, 2005, September 28–29, 2005, 

October 25–26, 2005, November 16–17, 

2005, and December 6–7, 2005. The 

final working group meeting, devoted to 

developing a proposed rule, was held 

February 8–9, 2006. The working group 

was not able to deliver a consensus 

regulatory proposal, but did recommend 

that it be used to review comments on 

FRA’s NPRM, which was published in 

the Federal Register on October 12, 

2006, (FR 71 60372) with public 

comments due by December 11, 2006. 

Two reviews were held; one on 

February 8–9, 2007, and the other on 

April 4–5, 2007. Consensus was reached 

on four items, which were presented 

and accepted by the full RSAC 

Committee at the June 26, 2007, 

meeting. The most recent working group 

meeting was held September 27–28, 

2007, and the next scheduled meeting 

will occur on January 17–18, 2008. 

Contact: Douglas Taylor, (202) 493–

6255. 

Task 06–01—Locomotive Safety 

Standards. This task was accepted on 

February 22, 2006, to review 49 CFR 

Part 229, Railroad Locomotive Safety 

Standards, and revise as appropriate. A 

working group was established with the 

mandate to report any planned activity 

to the full Committee at each scheduled 

full RSAC meeting, to include 

milestones for completion of projects 

and progress toward completion. The 

first working group meeting was held 

May 8–10, 2006. Working group 

meetings were held on August 8–9, 

2006, September 25–26, 2006, October 

30–31, 2006, January 9–10, 2007, and 

the working group presented 

recommendations regarding revisions to 

requirements for locomotive sanders to 

the full RSAC on September 21, 2006. 

The NPRM regarding sanders was 

published in the Federal Register on 

March 6, 2007 (72 FR 9904). Comments 

received were discussed by the working 

group for clarification, and FRA 

published a final rule on October 19, 

2007 (72 FR 59216). The working group 

is continuing the review of 49 CFR Part 

229 with a view to proposing further 

revisions to update the standards. The 

working group met November 27–28, 

2007, and the next meeting is scheduled 

for February 5–6, 2008. Contact: George 

Scerbo, (202) 493–6249. 

Task 06–02—Track Safety Standards 

and Continuous Welded Rail. Section 

9005 of the Safe Accountable Flexible 

Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A 

Legacy for Users (Pub.L. No. 109–59, 

‘‘SAFETEA–LU’’), the 2005 Surface 

Transportation Authorization Act, 

requires FRA to issue requirements for 

inspection of joint bars in continuous 

welded rail (CWR) to detect cracks that 

could affect the integrity of the track 

structure (Title 49 U.S.C. 20142(e)). FRA 

published an interim final rule (IFR) 

establishing new requirements for 

inspections on November 2, 2005 (70 FR 

66288). On October 11, 2005, FRA 

offered the RSAC a task to review 

comments on this IFR, but the 

conditions could not be established 

under which the Committee could have 

undertaken this with a view toward 

consensus. Comments on the IFR were 

received through December 19, 2005, 

and FRA reviewed the comments. On 

February 22, 2006, the RSAC accepted 

this task to review and revise the CWR 

related to provisions of the Track Safety 

Standards, with particular emphasis on 

the reduction of derailments and 

consequent injuries, and damage caused 

by defective conditions, including joint 

failures, in track using CWR. A working 

group was established. The working 

group will report any planned activity 

to the full Committee at each scheduled 

full RSAC meeting, including 

milestones for completion of projects 

and progress toward completion. The 

first working group meeting was held 

April 3–4, 2006, at which time the 

working group reviewed comments on 

the IFR. The second working group 

meeting was held April 26–28, 2006. 

The working group also met May 24–25, 

2006, and July 19–20, 2006. The 

working group reported consensus 

recommendations for the final rule, 

which were accepted by the full RSAC 

Committee by mail ballot on August 11, 

2006. The final rule was published in 

the Federal Register on October 11, 

2006 (71 FR 59677). The working group 

is continuing its review of 49 CFR 

213.119 with a view to proposing 

further revisions to update the 

standards. The working group met 

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 22 / Friday, February 1, 2008 / Notices 6259 

January 30–31, 2007, April 10–11, 2007, 

June 27–28, 2007, August 15–16, 2007, 

and October 23–24, 2007, and the next 

meeting is scheduled for January, 8–9, 

2008. Contact: Ken Rusk, (202) 493–

6236. 

Task 06–03—Medical Standards for 

Safety-Critical Personnel. This task was 

accepted on September 21, 2006, to 

enhance the safety of persons in the 

railroad operating environment and the 

public by establishing standards and 

procedures for determining the medical 

fitness of duty of personnel engaged in 

safety-critical functions. A working 

group was established and will report 

any planned activity to the full 

Committee at each scheduled full RSAC 

meeting, including milestones for 

completion of projects and progress 

toward completion. The first working 

group meeting was held December 12–

13, 2006. The working group met on 

February 20–21, 2007, July 24–25, 2007, 

August 29–30, 2007, October 31–

November 1, 2007, and December 4–5, 

2007. A task force of physicians was 

established in May 2007 to work on 

specific medical exam-related issues. 

The task force had meetings or 

conference calls on July 24, 2007, 

August 20, 2007, October 15, 2007, and 

October 31, 2007. The next Medical 

Standards Working Group meeting is 

scheduled for February 13–14, 2008. 

Contact: Alan Misiaszek, (202) 493–

6002. 

Task 07–01—Track Safety Standards. 

This task was accepted on February 22, 

2007, to consider specific improvements 

to the Track Safety Standards or other 

responsive actions, supplementing work 

already underway on CWR, specifically: 

review controls applied to the reuse of 

rail in CWR ‘‘plug rail,’’ review the issue 

of cracks emanating from bond wire 

attachments, consider improvements in 

the Track Safety Standards related to 

fastening of rail to concrete ties, and 

ensure a common understanding within 

the regulated community concerning 

requirements for internal rail flaw 

inspections. These tasks were assigned 

to the Track Safety Standards Working 

Group. The working group will report 

any planned activity to the full 

Committee at each scheduled full RSAC 

meeting, including milestones for 

completion of projects and progress 

toward completion. The first working 

group meeting was held on June 27–28, 

2007, and the group met again on 

August 15–16, 2007, and October 23–24, 

2007. Two task forces were created 

under the working group; the Concrete 

Ties Task Force and the Rail Integrity 

Task Force. The Concrete Ties Task 

Force first met on November 26–27, 

2007, and the next meeting is scheduled 

for February 13–14, 2008. The Rail 

Integrity Task Force first met on 

November 28–29, 2007, and the next 

meeting is scheduled for February 12–

13, 2008. Contact: Ken Rusk, (202) 493–

6236. 

Completed Tasks 

Task 96–1—(Completed) Revising the 

Freight Power Brake Regulations. 

Task 96–2—(Completed) Reviewing 

and recommending revisions to the 

Track Safety Standards (49 CFR Part 

213). 

Task 96–3—(Completed) Reviewing 

and recommending revisions to the 

Radio Standards and Procedures (found 

under 49 CFR Part 220). 

Task 96–5—(Completed) Reviewing 

and recommending revisions to the 

Steam Locomotive Inspection and 

Maintenance Standards (49 CFR Part 

230). 

Task 96–6—(Completed) Reviewing 

and recommending revisions to 

miscellaneous aspects of the regulations 

addressing Locomotive Engineer 

Certification (49 CFR Part 240). 

Task 96–7—(Completed) Developing 

Roadway Maintenance Machines (OnTrack Equipment) Safety Standards. 

Task 96–8—(Completed) This 

planning task evaluated the need for 

action in response to recommendations 

contained in a report to Congress 

entitled, Locomotive Crashworthiness & 

Working Conditions. 

Task 97–1—(Completed) Developing 

crashworthiness specifications (49 CFR 

Part 229) to promote the integrity of the 

locomotive cab in accidents resulting 

from collisions. 

Task 97–2—(Completed) Evaluating 

the extent to which environmental, 

sanitary, and other working conditions 

in locomotive cabs affect the crew’s 

health and the safe operation of 

locomotives, proposing standards where 

appropriate. 

Task 97–3—(Completed) Developing 

event recorder data survivability 

standards. 

Task 97–4 and Task 97–5—

(Completed) Defining positive train 

control functionalities, describing 

available technologies, evaluating costs 

and benefits of potential systems, and 

considering implementation 

opportunities and challenges, including 

demonstration and deployment. 

Task 97–6—(Completed) Revising 

various regulations to address the safety 

implications of processor-based signal 

and train control technologies, 

including communications-based 

operating systems. 

Task 97–7—(Completed) Determining 

damages qualifying an event as a 

reportable train accident. 

Task 00–1—(Completed—task 

withdrawn) Determining the need to 

amend regulations protecting persons 

who work on, under, or between rolling 

equipment and persons applying, 

removing, or inspecting rear end 

marking devices (Blue Signal 

Protection). 

Task 01–1—(Completed) Developing 

conformity of FRA’s regulations for 

accident/incident reporting (49 CFR Part 

225) to revised regulations of the 

Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Labor, and to make appropriate 

revisions to the FRA Guide for 

Preparing Accident/Incident Reports 

(reporting guide). 

Please refer to the notice published in 

the Federal Register on March 11, 1996, 

(61 FR 9740) for more information about 

the RSAC. 

Issued in Washington, DC on January 28, 

2008. 

Michael J. Logue, 

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety 

Compliance and Program Implementation. 

[FR Doc. E8–1861 Filed 1–31–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

Petition for Waiver of Compliance 

In accordance with Title 49 Code of 

Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 211, 

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 favor of relief. 

New Jersey Transit Corporation 

[Supplement and Modification To Waiver 

Petition Docket Number FRA–1999–6135, 

with New Docket Number FRA–2007–0030] 

As a supplement and modification to 

New Jersey Transit Corporation’s (NJ 

Transit) petition for approval of shared 

use and waiver of certain FRA 

regulations (the original Shared Use 

Waiver was granted by the FRA Railroad 

Safety Board on December 3, 1999, a 5- 

year extension and decision regarding 

relief from the FRA Horn Rule was 

granted by the Safety Board on 

November 9, 2006), NJ Transit is seeking 

permission from FRA to modify the 

temporal separation operating plan to 

reflect new Burlington and Camden 

Subdivisions. Also, NJ Transit is asking 

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