81 FR 56574 - Competitive Passenger Rail Service Pilot Program

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 162 (August 22, 2016)

On June 22, 2016, FRA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would implement a pilot program for competitive selection of eligible petitioners in lieu of Amtrak to operate not more than three long-distance routes operated by Amtrak. FRA is announcing a public hearing to provide interested persons an opportunity to provide oral comments on the proposal. FRA is also announcing an extension of the comment period for this proceeding to allow time for interested parties to submit written comments in response to views or information provided at the public hearing.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 162 (Monday, August 22, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56574-56575]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-19910]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

49 CFR Part 269

[Docket No. FRA-2016-0023, Notice No. 3]
RIN 2130-AC60


Competitive Passenger Rail Service Pilot Program

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), U.S. Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of public hearing and extension of 
comment period.

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SUMMARY: On June 22, 2016, FRA published a Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (NPRM) that would implement a pilot program for competitive 
selection of eligible petitioners in lieu of Amtrak to operate not more 
than three long-distance routes operated by Amtrak. FRA is announcing a 
public hearing to provide interested persons an opportunity to provide 
oral comments on the proposal. FRA is also announcing an extension of 
the comment period for this proceeding to allow time for interested 
parties to submit written comments in response to views or information 
provided at the public hearing.

DATES: A public hearing will be held on September 7, 2016, at 1:45 p.m. 
in Washington, DC. The comment period for the NPRM published on June 
22, 2016, (81 FR 40624) is open through August 22, 2016. Comments in 
response to views or information provided at the public hearing must be 
received by October 7, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Public Hearing. The public hearing will be held at the U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Conference 
Center Room 7, Washington, DC 20590.
    Comments. You may submit comments identified by Docket Number FRA-
2016-0023 by any of the following methods:
     Online: Comments should be filed at the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal, http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., W12-140, Washington, DC 
20590.
     Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal Holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name, docket 
name, and docket number or Regulatory Identification Number (RIN) for 
this rulemaking (RIN 2130-AC60). FRA will post all comments received 
without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading in the 
``Supplementary Information'' section of this document for Privacy Act 
information about any submitted petitions, comments, or materials.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov at any time or to 
the U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West 
Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal Holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brandon White, Office of Railroad 
Policy and Development, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, (202) 493-1327, 
[email protected], or Zeb Schorr, Office of Chief Counsel, Federal 
Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 
20590, (202) 493-6072.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Interested parties are invited to present 
oral statements and to offer information and views at the hearing. The 
hearing will be informal and will be conducted by a representative FRA 
designates under FRA's Rules of Practice (49 CFR 211.25). The hearing 
will be a non-adversarial proceeding. Therefore, there will be no cross 
examination of persons presenting statements or offering evidence. An 
FRA representative will make an opening statement outlining the scope 
of the hearing. After all initial statements are completed those 
persons wishing to make a brief rebuttal will be given the opportunity 
to do so in the same order the initial statements were made. FRA will 
announce additional procedures necessary to conduct the hearing, at the 
hearing. The purpose of this hearing is to receive oral comments in 
response to an NPRM for a competitive passenger rail service pilot 
program. FRA will add a transcript of the discussions to the public 
docket in this proceeding.
    Public Participation Procedures. Any person wishing to make a 
statement at the hearing should notify Mr. White by telephone, email, 
or in writing, at least 5 working days before the date of the hearing 
and submit three copies of the

[[Page 56575]]

oral statement he or she intends to make at the proceeding. The 
notification should identify the party the person represents, the 
particular subject(s) the person plans to address, and the time 
requested. The notification should also provide the participant's 
mailing address and other contact information. FRA reserves the right 
to limit participation in the hearing of persons who fail to provide 
such notification. FRA also reserves the right to limit the duration of 
presentations if necessary to afford all persons with the opportunity 
to speak. 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 at least 5 working days before the date of the 
hearing. Mr. Kilgore can be reached at Federal Railroad Administration, 
Office of Railroad Safety, Mail Stop 25, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC 20590; (202) 493-6286; or [email protected].
    Extension of Comment Period. The comment period for the NPRM is 
currently open through August 22, 2016. To accommodate the public 
hearing and afford interested parties the opportunity to submit 
comments in response to views or information provided at the public 
hearing, FRA will extend the comment period. FRA must receive comments 
in response to views or information provided at the public hearing by 
October 7, 2016.

Privacy Act

    Anyone can search the electronic form of any written communications 
and comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the 
individual submitting the comment (or signing the document, if 
submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). 
See http://www.regulations.gov/#!privacyNotice for the privacy notice 
of www.regulations.gov. Interested parties may also review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477). Under 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits 
comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT 
posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information 
the commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the 
system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 
www.dot.gov/privacy.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on August 16, 2016.
Jamie Rennert,
Office Director, Office of Program Delivery.
[FR Doc. 2016-19910 Filed 8-19-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-06-P