03-26375. 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 favor of relief.

New Jersey Transit Corporation

(Supplement to Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-1999-6135)

As a supplement to New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) Corporation's Petition for Approval of Shared Use and Waiver of Certain Federal Railroad Administration Regulations (the Waiver was granted by the FRA on December 3, 1999 ), NJ Transit seeks permanent waiver of compliance from additional sections of Title 49 of the CFR for operation of its Southern New Jersey Light Rail Transit (SNJLRT) system. See Statement of Agency Policy Concerning Jurisdiction Over the Safety of Railroad Passenger Operations and Waivers Related to Shared Use of the Tracks of the General Railroad System by Light Rail and Conventional Equipment, 65 FR 42529 (July 10, 2000). See also Joint Statement of Agency Policy Concerning Shared Use of the Tracks of the General Railroad System by Conventional Railroads and Light Rail Transit Systems, 65 FR 42626 (July 10, 2000).

In this regard, NJ Transit has advanced the design and construction of the SNJLRT system towards implementation (Fall 2003) and in the process, has identified the following additional regulation from which it hereby seeks waiver: 49 CFR 238.231(h)(i) Braking System-SNJLRT vehicles are equipped with a passenger-accessible emergency brake handle that, when activated, initiates a full service brake application rather than an emergency brake application.

Since FRA has not yet completed its investigation of NJ Transit's petition, the agency takes no position at this time on the merits of NJ Transit's stated justifications. As part of FRA's review of the petition, the Federal Transit Administration will appoint a representative to advise FRA's Safety Board and that person will participate in the board's consideration of NJ Transit's waiver petition.

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 1999-6135) and must be submitted to the Docket Clerk, DOT Docket Management Facility, Room PL-401 (Plaza Level), 400 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Communications received by November 10, 2003 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://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 19477-78). The Statement may also be found at http://dms.dot.gov.

Issued in Washington, DC on October 14, 2003.

Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program Development.