02-1255. Railroad Safety Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice of Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (“RSAC”) meeting.

SUMMARY:

FRA announces the next meeting of the RSAC, a Federal Advisory Committee that develops railroad safety regulations through a consensus process. The meeting will address a wide range of topics, including possible adoption of specific recommendations for regulatory action.

DATES:

The meeting of the RSAC is scheduled to commence at 9:30 a.m. and conclude at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, February 13, 2002.

ADDRESSES:

The meeting of the RSAC will be held at the Almas Temple Club in the Grand Ballroom, 1315 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005, [phone]. The meeting is open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis and is accessible to individuals with disabilities. Sign and oral interpretation can be made available if requested 10 calendar days before the meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Trish Butera, or Lydia Leeds, RSAC Coordinators, FRA, 1120 Vermont Avenue, NW, Stop 25, Washington, DC 20590, [phone]/6213 or Grady Cothen, Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program Development, FRA, 1120 Vermont Avenue, NW, Mailstop 25, Washington, DC 20590, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Pursuant to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), FRA is giving notice of a meeting of the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (“RSAC”). The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. and conclude at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, February 13, 2002. The meeting of the RSAC will be held at the Almas Temple Club, 1315 K Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20005, [phone]. All times noted are Eastern Standard Time.

RSAC was established to provide advice and recommendations to the FRA on railroad safety matters. The Committee consists of 48 individual voting representatives and five associate representatives drawn from among 32 organizations representing various rail industry perspectives, two associate representatives from the agencies with railroad safety regulatory responsibility in Canada and Mexico and other diverse groups. Staffs of the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Transit Administration also participate in an advisory capacity.

The RSAC will receive greetings and a charge from the new FRA Administrator. The morning session will be dedicated to a discussion of security of railroad passenger and freight operations. Status briefings will be held on Locomotive Cab Working Conditions (full RSAC ballot votes on the NPRM completed by December 10th, 2001), Accident/Incident Reporting, Crashworthiness, Event Recorders and other Working Group activities. The Committee may be requested to act upon recommendations of the Accident Reports Working Group regarding estimation of railroad property damages (RSAC Task 97-7) and recommendations of the Positive Train Control Working Group for resolution of comments on the proposed rule for Processor-Based Signal and Train Control Systems (RSAC Task 97-6). The RSAC will also discuss implications of the use of prescription and over-the-counter medications by safety-sensitive employees, and a briefing on safety initiatives directed a highway-rail grade crossings will be held in the afternoon.

See the RSAC Web site for details on pending tasks at: http: //rsac.fra.dot.gov/. Please refer to the notice published in the Federal Register on March 11, 1996 (61 FR 9740) for more information about the RSAC.

Issued in Washington, DC on January 11, 2002.

George A. Gavalla,

Associate Administrator for Safety.