[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 49 (Thursday, March 12, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14449-14451]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-05177]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
49 CFR Part 299
[Docket No. FRA-2019-0068, Notice No. 2]
RIN 2130-AC84
Texas Central Railroad High-Speed Rail Safety Standards
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Proposed rule; announcement of public hearings.
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SUMMARY: On March 10, 2020, FRA published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM) that would establish safety standards for the Texas
Central Railroad (TCRR) high speed rail system. FRA is announcing three
public hearings to provide members of the public an opportunity to
provide oral comments on the proposed safety requirements.
DATES: The public hearings will be conducted on the following dates at
the following times (members of the public will be able to access the
hearing location 30 minutes prior to the start of each hearing):
Dallas, TX: March 31, 2020, from 4 p.m. (CDT) to 9 p.m.
(CDT).
Navasota, TX: April 1, 2020, from 5 p.m. (CDT) to 9 p.m.
(CDT).
Houston, TX: April 2, 2020, from 5 p.m. (CDT) to 9 p.m.
(CDT).
[[Page 14450]]
The comment period for the proposed rule published on March 10,
2020 (85 FR 14036), closes on May 11, 2020. Written comments in
response to views or information provided at the public hearings must
be received by that date.
ADDRESSES: The public hearings will be at the following locations:
Dallas, TX: Waxahachie Civic Center, 2000 Civic Center Ln,
Waxahachie, TX 75165.
Navasota, TX: Grimes County Fairgrounds and Expo Center,
5220 FM 3455, Navasota, Texas 77868.
Houston, TX: Waller High School Auditorium, 20950 Field
Store Rd, Waller, TX 77484.
Written comments in response to views or information provided at
the public hearings may be submitted by any of the methods listed in
the NPRM. See 85 FR 14036.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Kenton Kilgore, Program Analyst,
U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration,
Office of Railroad Safety, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC
20590 (telephone: (202) 493-6286; email: [email protected]).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Prior Public Engagement as Part of the Environmental Review Process
During the environmental review process, FRA provided many
opportunities for public involvement and engagement, beginning with 12
public scoping meetings held in various locations in Texas in October
and December of 2014. On December 22, 2017, FRA published the draft
environmental impact statement (EIS) for this project. FRA then
conducted 11 public hearings regarding the draft EIS along the proposed
alignment. In addition to providing a forum to present oral comments
and submit written comments, the public hearings for the draft EIS
included an information session where the public had an opportunity to
review project exhibits (such as maps of the proposed alignments) and
engage with FRA and TCRR regarding the environmental review. During the
77-day comment period on the draft EIS, which closed on March 9, 2018,
FRA received a total of 21,173 submissions from approximately 6,000
individuals, agencies, elected officials, businesses and
organizations.\1\
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\1\ FRA is considering all comments received and will provide
responses to the comments submitted during the public comment period
for the draft EIS in the final EIS. FRA anticipates releasing the
final EIS in late spring of this year.
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Public Hearings To Receive Oral Comment on the NPRM--Purpose and Scope
As stated above, FRA published the NPRM proposing safety
requirements specific to the TCRR high-speed rail system, and opened
the public comment period on March 10, 2020. See 85 FR 14036. The
public comment period for the NPRM is scheduled to close on May 11,
2020. FRA is holding three public hearings to receive oral comment on
the provisions proposed in the NPRM; however, no information session
will be conducted. During the hearing conducted in Dallas, TX, FRA will
also conduct proceedings under 49 U.S.C. 20306, which are discussed
further below.
Members of the public are invited to present oral statements, and
to offer information and views about the technical safety requirements
proposed in the NPRM at the upcoming hearings. Unlike the public
hearings conducted for the environmental review, the purpose and scope
of these hearings is to receive oral comments on the technical safety
requirements proposed in the NPRM, along with the associated economic
analysis. The NPRM public hearings are not a forum for debate on the
project as a whole or to provide comment on proceedings outside of the
NPRM, such as the environmental review process. Rather, the NPRM
hearings are meant to help inform FRA's decisions regarding the
technical safety requirements proposed in the NPRM, and associated
economic analysis. The hearings on the NPRM will be conducted by
representatives of FRA designated under FRA's Rules of Practice (49 CFR
211.25). The rules of evidence will not apply. The hearings will be
informal, which means that they are non-adversarial proceedings and
there will be no cross examination of persons presenting statements or
offering evidence. These hearings are an opportunity to provide
relevant technical information to FRA regarding the proposed
requirements, and associated economic analysis, and a mechanism to
place that information on the record for review and consideration by
FRA.
Exemption for Technological Improvements--Proceedings Under 49 U.S.C.
20306
As noted above, as part of the hearing conducted in Dallas, TX, FRA
will conduct proceedings under 49 U.S.C. 20306 to determine whether to
invoke its discretionary authority to provide relief to TCRR from
certain requirements of 49 U.S.C. ch. 203 for its planned operation of
new high-speed trainsets built to the proposed requirements contained
in the NPRM. FRA will conduct these proceedings during the first hour
of the hearing.
Under 49 U.S.C. 20306, FRA may exempt TCRR from the above-
identified statutory requirements based on evidence received and
findings developed at a hearing demonstrating that the statutory
requirements ``preclude the development or implementation of more
efficient railroad transportation equipment or other transportation
innovations under existing law.'' Accordingly, to receive such evidence
and develop findings to determine whether FRA should invoke its
discretionary authority under 49 U.S.C. 20306 in this instance,
proceedings will be conducted as part of the public hearing scheduled
for Tuesday, March 31, 2020, at 4:00 p.m. (CDT) at the Waxahachie Civic
Center. Interested parties are invited to present oral statements at
the hearing regarding the technical information presented in the NPRM
addressing the application of 49 U.S.C. ch. 203. Again, as mentioned
above, this part of the proceedings will be an informal hearing limited
in scope to the technical information presented regarding the proposed
requirements concerning safety appliances, and is not a forum to
generally debate the project or other proceedings outside of the
rulemaking.
In its rulemaking petition, submitted April 16, 2016, TCRR
requested FRA exercise its authority under 49 U.S.C. 20306 to exempt
its high-speed passenger rail trainsets from the requirements of 49
U.S.C. 20302, mandating that railroad vehicles be equipped with (1)
secure sill steps and efficient hand brakes; (2) secure grab irons or
handholds on vehicle ends and sides for greater security to individuals
coupling and uncoupling vehicles; and (3) the standard height of
drawbars. See 49 U.S.C. 20302(a)(1)(B), (a)(2), and (a)(3).
In support of its request for an exemption, TCRR noted in its
petition that safety appliances such as sill steps or end or side
handholds are typically used in conventional North American practice by
maintenance personnel who ride the side of trainsets in yards or
maintenance facilities for marshalling operations. The N700 series
trainset, as proposed in the NPRM, is a fixed-consist trainset where
trainset make-up only occurs in defined locations where maintenance
personnel can safely climb on, under, or between the equipment,
consistent with the protections afforded under 49 CFR part 218.
Additionally, the leading and trailing ends of the
[[Page 14451]]
N700 series trainset are equipped with an automatic coupler located
behind a removable shroud. These couplers, as proposed by TCRR, will
only be used for rescue operations in accordance with TCRR's operating
rules, and provide for the safe coupling of one trainset to another
(i.e., each end will have automatic self-centering couplers that couple
to other trainsets on impact and uncouple by mechanisms that do not
require a person to go between trainsets or the activation of a
traditional uncoupling lever). Further, as proposed, level boarding
will be provided at all locations in trainset maintenance facilities
where crew and maintenance personnel are normally required to access or
disembark trainsets. Moreover, because the equipment is a fixed-consist
trainset in which individual vehicles are semi-permanently coupled and,
as noted above, individual vehicles can only be disconnected in repair
facilities where personnel can work on, under, or between units under
protections consistent with 49 CFR part 218, having drawbars at the
statutorily prescribed height is unnecessary.
As such, there is not a functional need to equip the ends of the
trainsets with sill steps, end or side handholds, or uncoupling levers.
As this technology is intended to operate at high-speeds, the inclusion
of these appurtenances would have a significant and detrimental impact
on the aerodynamics of the trainset. This increase in the aerodynamic
footprint would negatively impact both efficiency and aerodynamic noise
emissions.
TCRR also noted that trainset securement will be provided by the
use of wheel chocks in addition to stringent operating rules and
procedures, which will be consistent with the service-proven procedures
utilized on the Tokaido Shinkansen. Additionally, as proposed in the
NPRM, TCRR will be required to demonstrate, as part of its vehicle
qualification procedures, that the procedures effectively secure the
trainset (see proposed Sec. 299.607).
In sum, TCRR asserted that requiring compliance with the identified
statutory requirements would serve to preclude the development or
implementation of more efficient railroad transportation equipment or
other transportation innovations under existing law.
Procedures for Public Participation in the Hearings on the NPRM
At each NPRM hearing, FRA representatives will make opening
statements reiterating the scope of the hearing as described above, and
any relevant procedures to be followed at the hearing. Following FRA's
opening statements, there will be an opportunity for members of the
public to present a brief oral comment on the record. Time permitting,
FRA will allow everyone who desires to provide an oral comment at a
hearing the opportunity to do so. Those members of the public wishing
to make a statement at the hearing will be required to sign up to do so
at the hearing location prior to the commencement of the proceeding.
FRA will generally limit the duration of individual presentations,
as necessary, to afford all persons who wish to speak the opportunity
to do so. However, during the proceedings under 49 U.S.C. 20306, in
Dallas, TX, TCRR may be afforded additional time to present information
to support its request for FRA to invoke its discretionary authority
under 49 U.S.C. 20306.
FRA will announce additional procedures that may be necessary for
the conduct of each hearing, at each hearing, to include the specific
time limit for individual presentations, which will be based on the
number of people who sign up to provide comment at each hearing. FRA
reserves the right to limit participation in the hearing of persons who
exceed their allotted time, or who discuss topics or issues outside the
scope of the proposed rulemaking.
There will be a court reporter present to record and transcribe
oral comments presented at each hearing verbatim. FRA will add the
transcripts of the hearings to the public docket in this rulemaking
proceeding.
For information on facilities or services for persons with
disabilities, or to request special assistance at the hearing, contact
FRA Program Analyst, Mr. Kenton Kilgore, by telephone, email, or in
writing, at least 5 working days before the date of the hearing by one
of the means listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
John Karl Alexy,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety, Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-05177 Filed 3-10-20; 4:15 pm]
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