[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 102 (Friday, May 26, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28011-28013]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-13018]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Petition for Waivers of Compliance
In accordance with 49 CFR 211.9, 211.41 and 211.45, notice is
hereby given that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has
received a request for a waiver of compliance with certain requirements
of the Federal safety laws and regulations. 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.
National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)
Docket Number H-95-1
Amtrak requests waivers of compliance with certain provisions of
the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) railroad safety regulations.
It is seeking relief from sections of Railroad Safety Appliance
Standards (49 CFR Part 231), Railroad Safety Glazing Standards (49 CFR
Part 223) and Railroad Track Safety Standards (49 CFR Part 213). The
relief is being sought in order to demonstrate the IC3 ``Flexiliner'',
a three-car, articulated, diesel hydraulic, multiple unit trainset
built by ABB Scandia A/S for the Danish State Railway (DSB).
The demonstration is a joint project by Amtrak and ABB Traction,
Inc. (ABB), and a number of potential sponsors, including state
departments of transportation and commuter agencies. Amtrak is serving
as the host agency and is acting as liaison with the FRA. The
Flexiliner which will be demonstrated was built for the DSB and is
presently in revenue service in Denmark. Modifications will be made to
the equipment in Denmark to ensure the trainset meets Amtrak and FRA
requirements, where practical.
Amtrak anticipates that the Flexiliner trainset will arrive at the
Port of Baltimore in July 1995, and be taken to Washington, DC for
commissioning tests. After completion of the tests, it is intended that
the Flexiliner will operate across the country and be placed in revenue
service in the Portland-Eugene, Oregon corridor. This is contingent
upon ABB receiving a contract award from Oregon, following a
competitive proposal evaluation. Demonstration runs in Amtrak's
Northeast Corridor, at a maximum speed of 110 mph, may be scheduled for
dignitaries before shipment to Oregon. The train may also operate in
either demonstration service or revenue service between other city
pairs in other parts of the country.
[[Page 28012]]
The Flexiliner will be comprised of three units. The front and rear
unit each have two air cooled diesel engines and hydraulic
transmissions. The two bogies of the end units are powered and the
trailing bogie supports one end of the intermediate non-powered unit.
The train is equipped with spring-loaded parking brakes, which replaces
the handbrakes.
Amtrak seeks a temporary waiver from compliance with the Railroad
Glazing Standards, Section 223.15 (a) and (b), which requires that all
front and rear facing windows on passenger cars must meet the FRA Type
I testing criteria and all side facing glazing on passenger cars must
meet the FRA Type II testing criteria.
The front and rear facing windshields, manufactured by the Triplex
Aircraft and Special Products, Limited (TASP), Birmingham, England, is
comprised of three sheets of glazing interlayered with soft PVB
resulting in a thickness of approximately 22.9 mm (.916 inch). The
front and rear facing glazing material was subjected to the British
Railways Board (BRB) Specification No. 566 for Type 2 windows, for
locomotives and multiple units operating at speeds up 180 km/hr. The
glazing material is designed to resist the penetration into the vehicle
of a sharp cornered hollow steel cube having sides of a dimension of 70
to 75 mm (2.76'' to 2.95'') and a mass of .9 kg (2 lbs),
traveling at a speed of 290 km/hr (180 mph) per hour, the
window to be vertically mounted in an ambient temperature of not more
than 10 degrees C and with the window heater turned off. The result of
the impact test was that all glass plies broke, some spalling off inner
glass face, small split in PVB interlayer, and no penetration of the
missile. The test specimen of TASP glazing adequately met the impact
requirements for BRB test No. 566 for Type 2 windows.
The side glazing is manufactured according to the National
Standards Institute Code ANSI Z97.1-1984. The side window glazing outer
pane is 6 mm (.24'') thick, heat-reflecting (coated), hardened, clear
``Antelio''. The space in between panes is 12 mm (.48''), Argon gas-
filled to improve insulation. The inner pane is 4 mm (.16'') thick,
specially hardened clear float glass. In general, the ANSI Test Code
for Z97.1 simulates the load from a 100 pound person running at a speed
of 22 feet/second hitting the glazing. The test is simulated with an
impactor made of a punching bag filled with lead shot weighing a total
of 100 pounds. The impactor is swung in a pendulum arc from a distance
of 12, 18, and 48 inches from the vertically supported glazing test
specimen. Interpretation of the test results depends upon the breakage
of the test specimen, but the details are not included in this notice.
Neither the front and rear facing glazing, nor the side facing glazing
materials are in compliance with Part 223 because none of it was tested
according to the testing criteria found in Appendix A to Part 223,
Certification of Glazing Materials.
Section 223.15(c) requires that each passenger car be equipped with
minimum of four (4) emergency [side] windows. The Flexiliner has no
emergency side windows per se, and the escape method is to break the
windows with emergency hammers strategically located in the passenger
compartments. Further, ABB states that wide aisles lead passengers to
the four wide entrance doors located in the side of the three unit
trainset. The entrance doors are normally electrically activated and
pneumatically operated, and in an emergency can be manually opened in
the absence of pneumatic pressure or electricity. The two side cab
doors at each end of the trainset may also be used as emergency exits.
Amtrak also seeks a temporary waiver from Section 231.12(c), which
requires that each passenger car with wide vestibules have two (2)
horizontal handholds located near each end on each side of the
vestibule end sill. The Flexiliner has no horizontal handholds at
either end of the trainset. Modifying the vehicle structure for
handholds is impractical for such a short duration test, according to
Amtrak.
Section 231.12(d) requires uncoupling levers. The Flexiliner does
not have a conventional uncoupling lever, since it was designed to be
uncoupled electrically by yard or operating crews. A manually operated
emergency lever is provided which does not meet FRA requirements.
Amtrak is seeking a temporary waiver because to design and install a
manual uncoupling lever is not practical for this [test] program.
Further, the Flexiliner has a European style automatic coupler at each
end. ABB stated that an adaptor would be provided so that the
trainset's automatic coupler can be coupled to a standard AAR coupler.
Amtrak states that during all tests, demonstration service, and
revenue service, the train will not exceed the authorized speed for the
class of track over which it is operating. However, Amtrak desires to
explore cant deficient curving operation of this non-tilt trainset at
speeds developing cant deficiency values in excess of the three inch
limit defined in the track safety standards. The track safety standards
in Section 213.57(b) prescribe a speed limit, not distinguishing
between freight and passenger rolling stock, at which trains may
operate over curved track as a function of curve radius (curvature) and
the installed superelevation. In the general case, for any combination
of curvature and superelevation there is a specific (``balanced'')
speed at which the effect of centrifugal force is cancelled and in the
case of passenger cars the result is passenger insensitivity to actual
curve negotiation. This is an ideal outcome for passenger trains which
usually operate considerably faster than freight trains and, as a
consequence, would demand greater superelevation to produce the
balanced effect. The track standards permit the operation of trains on
curves at speeds producing a conservative underbalance (or, put another
way, ``cant deficiency'') in line with historic industry practice. On
the other hand, successful passenger train operation in many places
overseas is predicated on curve negotiation at train speeds developing
significantly higher cant deficiencies than permitted by the U.S. track
regulations. This practice has been followed abroad without incident
for many years. State railroad authorities in Western Europe and Japan
approved curving speeds for specifically designed rolling stock that
produce cant deficiencies at the upper end of the acceptable range
without passengers incurring centrifugal force-induced discomfort (for
a detailed discussion of cant deficiency, see 52 FR 38035, October 13,
1987).
Amtrak and FRA have worked together in the conduct of cant-
deficiency-related analyses for four trainsets of foreign origin up to
now. In its petition, Amtrak outlines the now standard procedural steps
it intends to take in arriving at a safety qualification of the IC3
trainset in the mode of cant deficient operation at values above three
inches. If the petition is granted it would be FRA's responsibility to
assure that Amtrak follows these procedures rigorously in this case
just as was done in the past.
Interested parties are invited to participate in this proceeding by
submitting written views, data, or comments. FRA does not anticipate
scheduling a public hearing in connection with this proceeding 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 H-95-1)
and [[Page 28013]] must be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Clerk,
Office of Chief Counsel, Federal Railroad Administration, Nassif
Building, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C., 20590.
Communications received by July 1, 1995 will be considered 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.)
in Room 8201, Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington,
D.C. 20590.
Issued in Washington, D.C. on May 23, 1995.
Phil Olekszyk,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Compliance and Program
Implementation.
[FR Doc. 95-13018 Filed 5-25-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-M
