E6-18617. 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) 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.

CSX Transportation

The CSX Transportation Company (CSXT) seeks a waiver of compliance with the Locomotive Safety Standards, 49 CFR 229.23, 229.27, and 229.29, as they pertain to the requirement to maintain the locomotive repair record form FRA 6180.49A, commonly referred to as the Blue Card, in the cab of their locomotives. If granted, CSXT would maintain locomotive inspection information in a secure database. The database would be maintained as the required office copy of form FRA 6180.49A. A computer-generated form that is similar to and contains all information currently contained on the required FRA 6180.49A would be maintained onboard the locomotive. In place of required signatures of the persons performing inspections and tests, CSXT employees would be provided a unique login identification number and a secure password to access the system and verify performance of inspections. In place of signatures, a computer-generated report would print the name of the employee performing a required inspection and print the employee's supervisor who is certifying that all inspections have been made and all repairs have been completed. Required filing of the previous inspection record will be maintained through the database.

Interested parties are invited to participate in these proceedings by submitting written opinions, data, or comments. FRA does not anticipate the need to schedule a public hearing in connection with these proceedings since the facts do not appear to warrant holding one. 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-2006-25705) 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 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 aforementioned 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 the Department of Transporation'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 November 1, 2006.

Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,

Deputy Associate Administrator, for Safety Standards and Program Development.