6256 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 25 / Monday, February 8, 2010 / Notices 

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) has 

received a request for a waiver of 

compliance from 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. 

CSX Transportation, Inc. 

(Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA– 

2009–0126) 

The CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT) 

requests a waiver of compliance from 

the requirements of 49 CFR part 240, 

Qualification and Certification of 

Locomotive Engineers, specifically 

Section 129. CSXT’s specific request is 

for a waiver from the requirement that 

certain remote control operators (RCOs) 

have annual operational performance 

evaluations as provided under the 

procedures pursuant to Sections 

240.129(b), (c), and (e). 

Section 240.129(b) requires a railroad 

to have procedures for monitoring the 

operational performance of those it has 

determined to be qualified as a 

‘‘locomotive engineer.’’ Section 

240.129(c) provides the requirements of 

the procedures referenced under (b), 

including that the engineer, ‘‘shall be 

annually monitored (check ride) by a 

Designated Supervisor of Locomotive 

Engineers’’ and is either accompanied by 

the designated supervisor’’ or ‘‘has his or 

her train handling activities 

electronically recorded.’’ CSXT has a 

program to comply with these 

requirements. Section 240.129(e) 

requires the railroad to have an 

operational testing and monitoring 

program in place, and to perform at least 

one unannounced test each calendar 

year. This program must be designed to 

monitor compliance with railroad 

operating rules and other directives, and 

to examine and test such compliance. 

CSXT is using a process whereby the 

engineer and RCO qualification 

endorsement is placed into the 

employee’s crew management profile 

when qualified, and the same engineer 

or RCO endorsement is removed when 

certain FRA requirements are not met. 

Presently, the Manager of FRA 

Certification or the System Road 

Foreman of Engines notifies the Crew 

Management Center and has the 

employee’s engineer or RCO status 

changed from active to inactive, thereby 

prohibiting such employee from 

working a locomotive engineer’s or 

RCO’s assignment. 

CSXT has a number of employees 

certified under 49 CFR part 240 for RCO 

service who are not currently 

performing the duties that require this 

certification. Some of these individuals 

have bid on and taken positions in other 

service while others have been 

furloughed. As a result, these 

individuals are not in a position to 

operate remote control equipment. 

CSXT requests relief from Section 

240.129 to avoid having to perform 

operational performance evaluations on 

individuals who are currently out of 

RCO service. Waiving performance of 

these evaluations on individuals not 

currently active as RCOs is consistent 

with the general application of Part 240, 

which applies to ‘‘any person who 

operates locomotives.’’ 

These individuals are not working as 

RCOs, nor will they be allowed to work 

as RCOs under CSXT’s control system. 

Performance of the operational 

evaluation on individuals not currently 

working as RCOs causes safety concerns 

because it requires calling a person in 

for the sole purpose of an evaluation 

and also because it would lead to those 

individuals achieving technical 

compliance with the rule only to go 

back to prolonged service in areas other 

than a RCO. 

If CSXT’s waiver request is granted, 

CSXT will provide any RCO wishing to 

return to active service a monitoring 

observation and an unannounced 

operating rule operational test within 30 

days of the employee’s return to RCO 

service. 

CSXT requests this waiver as a 

method of ensuring that active RCOs 

receive timely and appropriate training 

and monitoring as required for 

compliance with the rule. Through 

granting this waiver, CSXT believes 

there will be no negative impact on 

safety. As described, CSXT will not 

permit any RCO to operate a remote 

control locomotive without being in full 

compliance with part 240, including 

Section 129, of which relief is 

requested. CSXT believes this process 

will promote enhanced safety by 

providing for the operational 

performance evaluations to be done as 

these RCOs return to active service 

when safe operation of the equipment is 

their focus. 

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–2009– 

0126) and may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

• Web site: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Operations Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

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 the 

above facility. 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://www.regulations.gov. 

Anyone is able to search the 

electronic form of any written 

communications and comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

document (or signing the document, 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 (65 FR 

19477) or at http://www.dot.gov/ 

privacy.html. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 2, 

2010. 

Grady C. Cothen, Jr., 

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety 

Standards and Program Development. 

[FR Doc. 2010–2606 Filed 2–5–10; 8:45 am] 

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