[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 76 (Friday, April 18, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 21092-21094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-8432]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
49 CFR Part 232
[Docket No. FRA-2006-26175, Notice No. 3]
RIN 2130-AB84
Electronically Controlled Pneumatic Brake Systems
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Proposed rule; partial reopening of comment period.
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[[Page 21093]]
SUMMARY: This document announces an additional 15-day period to file
comments in this proceeding. This extension provides interested parties
an opportunity to comment on recently revised or new standards
developed by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) that are
related to the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in this proceeding.
DATES: Written comments must be received by May 5, 2008. Comments
received after that date will be considered to the extent possible
without incurring additional expenses or delays.
ADDRESSES: Comments: Comments related to Docket No. FRA-2006-26175, may
be submitted by any of the following methods:
1. Web site: Comments should be filed at the Federal eRulemaking
Portal, http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the Web site's online
instructions for submitting comments.
2. Fax: 202-493-2251.
3. Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., W12-140, Washington, DC
20590.
4. Hand Delivery: Room W12-140 on the Ground level of the West
Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and
docket number or Regulatory Identification Number (RIN) for this
rulemaking. Note that all comments received will be posted without
change to http://www.regulations.gov including any personal
information. Please see the Privacy Act heading in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document for Privacy Act information
related to any submitted comments or materials.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov or to Room W12-140
on the Ground level of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Wilson, Office of Safety
Assurance and Compliance, Motive Power and Equipment Division, RRS-14,
Mail Stop 25, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue,
SE., Washington, DC 20590 (telephone 202-493-6259); or Jason
Schlosberg, Trial Attorney, Office of Chief Counsel, Mail Stop 10,
Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone 202-493-6032).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On September 4, 2007, FRA published in the Federal Register an NPRM
seeking comments on proposed rules relating to the implementation and
use of electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brake systems on
freight trains and freight cars. See 72 FR 50820. The NPRM proposed
incorporation by reference of existing AAR Standards and Recommended
Practices related to ECP brake systems. At the time FRA published the
NPRM, those standards, collectively known as the AAR S-4200 Series
Standards, included the following:
(1) AAR S-4200, ECP Cable-Based Brake Systems--Performance
Requirements (2004);
(2) AAR S-4210, ECP Cable-Based Brake System Cable, Connectors, and
Junction Boxes--Performance Specifications (2002);
(3) AAR S-4220, ECP Cable-Based Brake DC Power Supply--Performance
Specification (2002);
(4) AAR S-4230, Intratrain Communication (ITC) Specification for
Cable-Based Freight Train Control System (2004);
(5) AAR S-4250, Performance Requirements for ITC Controlled Cable-
Based Distributed Power Systems (2004); and
(6) AAR S-4260, ECP Brake and Wire Distributed Power
Interoperability Test Procedures (2007).
In the NPRM, FRA noted that the AAR S-4200 Series do not provide
requirements for hardware and software configuration management plans
and acknowledged that AAR was in the process of developing standards
related to ECP brake system configuration management. The NPRM further
noted that if a configuration management standard were to be adopted
and published by the AAR subsequent to the closing of the NPRM's
comment period, FRA would consider other forums for receiving comments,
including, but not limited to, issuing a supplemental notice informing
interested parties of the standard's availability.
Subsequent to the closing of the comment period in this proceeding,
AAR made changes to the S-4200 Series Standards by modifying individual
standards S-4200 and S-4210 and by proposing a new standard S-4270. FRA
has preliminarily reviewed these changes and notes that they are in
each case either (i) more protective of safety or (ii) safety neutral
but designed to make ECP brake systems more practical for field
application. Accordingly, FRA presents the proposed changes for comment
with a view toward potential incorporation in the final rule.
After a period for comment by AAR members, AAR published a revised
S-4200 standard and postponed the implementation date from February 16,
2008, to June 1, 2008. See AAR Circular Letters C-10686 and C-10697;
AAR Standard S-4200 (2008). AAR Circular Letter C-10686 summarized the
changes to the S-4200 standard as follows:
Section 4.2.2.1 Description of Setup: This section was revised
to limit changes of the empty/load setting to changes of E/L from
empty to loaded only.
Section 4.2.2.2.4 Empty/Load: A sentence was added to stipulate
that the engineer shall not be allowed to change the train's empty/
load setting from loaded to empty while the train is in motion.
Section 4.2.2.2.4.1 Empty Load Selection While the Train is
Enroute: A sentence was revised to require that the train be stopped
with a full service brake application or a full service brake
application must have been commanded for at least 2 minutes in order
to change the train's empty/load setting from loaded to empty.
Section 4.2.2.2.5 Train Net Braking Ratio: This section was
revised to require that, if the OEM provides the optional ability to
change the train NBR, the engineer will not be given the opportunity
to change the setting.
Section 4.2.2.2.6 Configuration Confirmation: Empty/load value
was added to brake pipe pressure setpoint for which the HEU shall
display the entered values and request a confirmation from the
engineer.
Section 4.3.12 Mechanical Brake Cylinder and Reservoir Venting:
This section was revised to require a means to manually vent
pressure from the brake cylinder and reservoir at every CCD location
from both sides of the car without reliance on electronic activation
or control.
Note 1 has been revised to require that the brake cylinder
release valve be capable of releasing air pressure from all brake
cylinders; regardless of the charge status of the brake pipe.
Note 3 is new.
Note 4 is old Note 3 revised.
Note 6 is old Note 7 revised.
Note 7 is new (pneumatic backup functionality when brake
cylinder release valve has been activated)
Section 4.4.2.1.1.1 Recovering from a Missed EOT Beacon Fault: A
sentence has been added requiring re-initialization of the train if
the EOT beacon is lost for more than 15 seconds while in RUN mode.
Section 4.4.16 Recovery from Emergency, Fault-Induced, or
Penalty Brake Applications: When recovering from an emergency brake
application, the operator will position the brake lever to 100%
brake application to release the interlock.
Section 6.0 Approval Procedure: This detailed section has been
replaced with a cross reference to AAR Standard S-4240 (adopted
January 16, 2007, Circular Letter c-10454).
[[Page 21094]]
After a period for comment by AAR members, AAR also issued
revisions to its S-4210 standard. See AAR Circular Letter C-10650; AAR
Standard S-4210 (2007). While the standard was apparently implemented
in November 2007, its accompanying AAR Circular Letter C-10650 was
issued on December 6, 2007. AAR Circular Letter C-10650 summarized the
changes to the S-4210 standard as follows:
Section 3.1 General Characteristics: The overall outside
dimension of the cable was changed from 0.70 inch minimum/0.75 inch
maximum to 0.675 inch minimum/0.725 inch maximum.
Section 6.0 CONNECTOR ASSEMBLIES: This revised section covers
the intercar connector, cable, strength member (lanyard), and car
body junction box plug connector.
Section 7.0 INTERCAR CONNECTOR PERFORMANCE AND TESTING
DESCRIPTIONS: This section has been significantly expanded.
Section 8.0 This is a new section with a TESTING SEQUENCE:
Section 9.0 CAR BODY CONNECTIONS: The car body connector
mounting envelope has been clarified and expanded with a figure
added. Figures for the various end air hose mounting arrangements
and brackets have been added. The length of the entire connector
assembly would be revised to 36 inches + or - 1 inch for
conventional cars versus 40 inches now.
AAR has also proposed a new standard S-4270 to address ECP brake
system configuration management plans. According to AAR Circular Letter
C-10750, this specification describes how the industry will control and
track hardware and software changes to the ECP equipped interchange car
fleet. AAR is currently seeking comment on proposed standard S-4270.
To ensure that the final rule in this proceeding does not rely on
outdated information or technical standards, FRA is proposing to
replace the NPRM's references to S-4200 and S-4210 with the
aforementioned updated versions of those standards. Parties may be
reluctant to adopt technology whose standards may be soon outdated or
obsolete. Thus, implementation of a final rule relying on outdated
standards or procedures may further delay the proliferation,
implementation, and use of ECP brake systems.
For these same reasons, FRA also seeks comments on the proposed
draft standard S-4270. In the NPRM, FRA proposed the incorporation by
reference of standard S-4270 if the standard was adopted by AAR prior
to the date necessary for its inclusion in the final rule. However, FRA
will not include S-4270 in the final rule if substantial changes are
made from the current draft or AAR's adoption of S-4270 is not complete
in the near future.
Accordingly, FRA is hereby reopening and extending the comment
period in this proceeding for an additional 15 days from the date of
this notice. During this additional comment period, FRA is seeking
comments solely on the updated versions of S-4200 and S-4210 and the
new standard S-4270, subject to the caveats explained above. FRA will
not consider comments relating to any issues outside of this narrow
scope. FRA has placed the revised and new standards and their
concomitant circular letters referenced herein in the public docket to
this proceeding.
Privacy Act
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 April 14, 2008.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program
Development.
[FR Doc. E8-8432 Filed 4-17-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P