[Federal Register: May 31, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 103)]
[Notices]
[Page 31002-31003]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31my05-103]
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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) has 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.
[[Page 31003]]
Association of American Railroads
[Docket Number FRA-2004-19402]
On behalf of the members of both companies, the Association of
American Railroads (AAR) and the Railway Supply Institute (RSI),
hereafter referred to as petitioners, seek to amend the original waiver
that was granted by the FRA regarding minimum piston travel as
prescribed by 49 CFR 232.205(b)(5) Class I Brake Test--Initial Terminal
Inspection.
On October 4, 2004, a waiver petition was submitted for the piston
travel requirements contained in Sec. 232.205(b)(5), to reduce the
minimum length of piston travel for cars equipped with 8\1/2\-inch or
10-inch diameter brake cylinders from seven inches to six inches. See
69 FR 64625. On February 23, 2005, FRA granted conditional approval of
this request with respect to light-weight cars with empty/load valves
rated below 50 percent. FRA granted this limited approval because the
data and analysis submitted addressed only the cars for which the
relief was granted. The petitioner contends that FRA's decision to
limit the waiver to only light-weight cars with empty/load valves rated
at below 50 percent will adversely affect safety because braking
performance will be impaired. Therefore, the petitioner is submitting
this request to modify the original waiver to include the entire fleet
of cars equipped with 8\1/2\-inch or 10-inch diameter brake cylinders
that are subject to the minimum piston travel requirements contained in
Sec. 232.205(b)(5).
The current minimum piston travel requirement of seven-inches dates
from a time when automatic slack adjusters and empty/load devices were
not widely used. Advances in empty/load valve technology have enabled
AAR to upgrade its original brake ratio specifications for new cars.
Effective January 1, 2004, AAR's minimum loaded brake ratio was
increased and the maximum empty brake ratio decreased. This results in
higher minimum braking forces for loaded cars and lower maximum braking
forces for empty cars, which results in a reduction in adverse effects
from excessive brake forces being applied to wheels on empty cars.
However, these improvements result in less than a nominal seven-inches
of piston travel on many empty cars. The problem is not limited to cars
of a particular type, such as light-weight cars or cars with empty/load
valves rated at less than 50 percent. Some cars of concern include, but
are not limited to: 89' flat cars weighing 82,000 pounds (lbs) equipped
with 60 percent empty/load valves, covered hopper cars (including
grain, cement, pressure differential, and pellet cars), mill gondolas
weighing 48,000 lbs with 50 percent empty/load valves, and cars that
have empty/load valves rated below the original waiver's threshold of
50 percent but weigh more than the 45,000 lbs, such as rapid discharge-
type coal hoppers weighing 48,500 lbs and small-cube covered hoppers
weighing 53,000 lbs.
The petitioner contends that even if the seven-inch minimum piston
travel provision could be complied with, it would be counterproductive
because a seven-inch piston travel minimum forces car builders to set
loaded piston travel as close as possible to the maximum piston travel
allowed under AAR rules (7\3/4\ inches) in an attempt to meet the
seven-inch minimum piston travel for empty cars. This results in
reduced braking forces because of the larger brake-cylinder volume and
correspondingly lower brake-cylinder pressure. Stopping distance is
thereby increased. Concomitantly, if empty cars are found with piston
travel of less than seven-inches and are adjusted to 7\1/2\ inches
while still empty, their piston travel could exceed the maximum nine-
inch piston travel requirement when loaded. This might not be
discovered until the next required testing. Moreover, the petitioner
contends that Transport Canada has long permitted a minimum piston
travel of six-inches for cars equipped with 8\1/2\-inch or 10-inch
diameter brake cylinders. The petitioner states that the six-inch
minimum piston travel requirement has been in effect in Canada since
1986, and there have been no adverse consequences from permitting
piston travel under seven-inches.
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-
2004-19402) 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 30 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 May 20, 2005.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program
Development.
[FR Doc. 05-10696 Filed 5-27-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P