Document ID: FRA-2011-0012-0003
Agency: fra
Document Type: Notice
Title: Petitions for Waivers of Compliance
Posted Date: 2012-02-07T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 7, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6171-6172]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-2744]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket Number FRA-2011-0012]

Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    In accordance with Part 211 of Title 49 of the 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.
    In a letter dated January 27, 2011, the Hoosier Valley Railroad 
Museum, Inc. (HVRM) of North Judson, IN, petitioned for a permanent 
waiver of compliance for one switching locomotive (HVRM 11) from the 
requirements of 49 CFR part 223, Railroad Safety Glazing Standards, 
which require certified glazing in all windows. The request was 
assigned Docket Number FRA-2011-0012. This 95-ton diesel-electric 
locomotive, built by General Electric (s/n 31517) in Erie, PA, in May 
of 1952, is equipped with safety glass that is in good condition, clear 
and unscratched. The locomotive is used on a semiregular basis to 
primarily pull excursion trains over trackage owned by the Town of 
North Judson and operated by the Chesapeake and Indiana Railroad 
(CKIN). CKIN trackage, over which this locomotive is operated, is in a 
very rural area (mostly farmland); and there have been no issues with 
glass vandalism in the past. The maximum speed for movement over CKIN 
trackage is 15 mph for passenger trains and the locomotive itself is 
geared to a maximum speed of 25 mph. HVRM states that they are a 
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission to preserve railroad 
history in northwest Indiana and would very much like to keep the 
locomotive's as-built appearance. Moreover the expense of

[[Page 6172]]

retrofitting the subject locomotive with FRA-certified glazing will 
impose a high financial burden.
    Pursuant to the receipt of the waiver request, FRA is hereby 
providing the public an opportunity to comment on this waiver. 
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 (FRA-2011-0012) and must be submitted to the 
Docket Clerk, Docket Operations Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., W12-140, Washington, DC 
20590.
    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 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 the 
U.S. Department of Transportation's complete Privacy Act Statement in 
the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; 
Pages 19477-78), or online at http://www.dot.gov/privacy.html.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 2, 2012.
Michael W. Lestingi,
Acting Director for the Office of Safety Assurance and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2012-2744 Filed 2-6-12; 8:45 am]
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