Document ID: FRA-2022-0046-0001
Agency: fra
Document Type: Notice
Title: Railroad Safety Program Plan and Product Safety Plan: Palmetto Railways
Posted Date: 2022-06-13T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 113 (Monday, June 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35846-35847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-12640]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2022-0046]

Palmetto Railways Request for Approval of a Railroad Safety 
Program Plan and Product Safety Plan

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This document provides the public with notice that, on August 
18, 2021, Palmetto Railways submitted a request for FRA approval of its 
Railroad Safety Program Plan (RSPP) and Product Safety Plan (PSP) for 
use of the RailSoft TrackAccess system in autonomous mode on its 
Charity Church Subdivision. As this request for FRA's approval involves 
a railroad's PSP, FRA is publishing this notice and inviting public 
comment on the document.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before July 28, 2022. 
FRA will consider comments filed after this date to the extent 
practicable.

ADDRESSES: Comments: Comments related to this Notice may be submitted 
by going to https://www.regulations.gov and following the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number (FRA-2022-0046). Please note that comments submitted 
online via www.regulations.gov are not

[[Page 35847]]

immediately posted to the docket. Several business days may elapse 
after a comment has been submitted online before it is posted to the 
docket.
    Privacy Act: DOT solicits comments from the public to better inform 
its regulatory process. DOT posts these comments, without edit, to 
www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records notice, DOT/
ALL-14 FDMS, accessible through www.dot.gov/privacy. To facilitate 
comment tracking and response, commenters are encouraged to provide 
their name, or the name of their organization; however, submission of 
names is completely optional. Whether or not commenters identify 
themselves, all timely comments will be fully considered. If you wish 
to provide comments containing proprietary or confidential information, 
please contact the agency for alternate submission instructions.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read comments received, please 
visit https://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions 
for accessing the docket.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gabe Neal, Staff Director, Signal, 
Train Control, and Crossings Division, telephone: 816-516-7168, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with part 236 of title 49, 
Code of Federal Regulations, and sec. 20502(a) of title 49, United 
States Code, this document provides the public notice that Palmetto 
Railways has petitioned FRA for approval of a PSP for use of the 
RailSoft TrackAccess system in autonomous mode on its Charity Church 
Subdivision. FRA has assigned the petition Docket Number FRA-2022-0046. 
Palmetto Railways' PSP has been placed in this docket and is available 
for public inspection and comment.
    The TrackAccess system is a processor-based dispatch system 
developed by RailSoft Systems to be operated in autonomous mode 
(without dispatcher intervention) for low-density rail lines. RailSoft 
indicates that the system provides a processor-based methodology of 
requesting and issuing track authority to either qualified train crew 
members or roadway workers, while increasing railroad productivity and 
significantly improving the safety of train operations, roadway 
workers, and other railway equipment.
    FRA is also providing public notice that Palmetto Railways' RSPP 
has been placed in Docket Number FRA-2022-0046 and is available for 
public inspection. FRA is not, however, accepting public comment on the 
RSPP; notice regarding the availability of the RSPP is provided for 
information only.
    Palmetto Railways asserts that its PSP, dated August 18, 2021, 
contains the same information and analysis as the Alabama and Tennessee 
River Railway's (ATN) PSP, Rev. 1, except that Palmetto Railways' PSP 
has been conformed to reflect only Palmetto Railways operations. FRA 
approved ATN's use of TrackAccess in autonomous mode when FRA approved 
ATN's PSP, Rev. 1, on January 28, 2014, available in Docket FRA-2013-
0088. Therefore, Palmetto Railways is seeking FRA approval to use the 
TrackAccess system in autonomous mode on its Charity Church 
Subdivision, through approval of Palmetto Railways' PSP, dated August 
18, 2021. Currently, Palmetto Railways is using the TrackAccess system 
in dispatcher-assisted mode and has done so without incident since 
April 2007.
    Interested parties are invited to comment on Palmetto Railways' PSP 
by submitting comments to the electronic docket. Please refer to the 
ADDRESSES section above for guidance on how to submit comments to the 
electronic docket.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
Carolyn R. Hayward-Williams,
Director, Office of Railroad Systems and Technology.
[FR Doc. 2022-12640 Filed 6-10-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P