02-9420. 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 favour of relief.

Metro-North Commuter Railroad & Connecticut Department of Transportation

Metro-North Commuter Railroad (MNCW) and the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT) seek an extension of time for a previously approved temporary waiver of compliance with the Passenger Equipment Safety Standards, 49 CFR part 238.235, which requires that by December 31, 1999, each power operated door that is partitioned from the passenger compartment shall be equipped with a manual override adjacent to that door. They request that the waiver be granted for 159 passenger coaches equipped with power operated side doors outside the passenger compartment. This request is for 59 cars not yet completed and, if granted, would allow an extension of time until December 31, 2002, for the installation of the manual overrides.

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-2000-6778) and must be submitted to the Docket Clerk, DOT Central Docket Management Facility, Room Pl-401, Washington, DC 20590. 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 (9:00 a.m.—5:00 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.

Issued in Washington, DC, on April 11, 2002.

Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program Development.