82 FR 4964 - Proposed General Directive 17-1; Stop Signal Overruns on Rail Fixed Guideway Public Transportation Systems

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 10 (January 17, 2017)

FTA has placed in the docket and on its Web site a proposed General Directive to address safety risks associated with stop signal overruns. The proposed directive follows FTA's review and analysis of data and information submitted in response to the agency's Safety Advisory 16-1: Stop Signal Overruns, for Rail Fixed Guideway Public Transportation System operations during calendar year 2015.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 17, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4964-4965]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-00793]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

[Docket No. FTA-2016-0041]


Proposed General Directive 17-1; Stop Signal Overruns on Rail 
Fixed Guideway Public Transportation Systems

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed general directive; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: FTA has placed in the docket and on its Web site a proposed 
General Directive to address safety risks associated with stop signal 
overruns. The proposed directive follows FTA's review and analysis of 
data and information submitted in response to the agency's Safety 
Advisory 16-1: Stop Signal Overruns, for Rail Fixed Guideway Public 
Transportation System operations during calendar year 2015.

DATES: Comments must be received by March 20, 2017. Any comments filed 
after this deadline will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Please identify your submission by Docket Number [FTA-2016-
0041] through one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Submit electronic comments and 
other data to http://www.regulations.gov.
     U.S. Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations; U.S. 
Department of Transportation; 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: Take comments to Docket 
Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building, Ground Floor, at 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9:00 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, at (202) 493-2251.
    Instructions: You must include the agency name (Federal Transit 
Administration) and Docket Number (FTA-2016-0041) for this notice at 
the beginning of your comments. Due to security procedures in effect 
since October 2001, mail received through the U.S. Postal Service may 
be subject to delays. Parties submitting comments should consider using 
an express mail firm to ensure their prompt filing of any submissions 
not filed electronically or by hand. If you wish to receive 
confirmation that FTA received your comments, you must include a self-
addressed stamped postcard. All comments received will be posted 
without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided. You may review U.S. DOT's complete Privacy Act 
Statement published in the Federal Register on April 11, 2000, at 65 FR 
19477 or http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.
    Electronic Access and Filing: This document and all comments 
received may be viewed online through the Federal eRulemaking portal at 
http://www.regulations.gov. Assistance and guidelines for electronic 
submission and retrieval are available on the Web site 24 hours each 
day, 365 days a year. Please follow the instructions. An electronic 
copy of this document may be downloaded from the Office of Federal 
Register's home page at https://www.federalregister.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For program matters, Candace Key, 
Acting Director, Office of System Safety, (202) 366-9178 or 
[email protected] or Aloha Ley, Chief, Safety Assurance and Risk 
Management Division, (202) 366-4979 or [email protected]. For legal 
matters, Scott Biehl, Senior Counsel, (202) 366-0826 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMETARY INFORMATION: In accordance with 49 CFR 670.25, the Federal 
Transit Administration (FTA) is proposing a General Directive to 
address the combination of unsafe conditions and practices that lead to 
stop signal overruns and the risks of death or personal injury or 
damage to property or equipment. The proposed directive follows FTA's 
review and analysis of data and information submitted in response to 
the agency's Safety Advisory 16-1: Stop Signal Overruns, for RFGPTS 
operations during calendar year 2015. FTA's review of the data and 
information gathered in response to Safety Advisory 16-1: Stop Signal 
Overruns, for rail transit operations during calendar year 2015 
indicates that RFGPTSs experience stop signal overruns with varying 
frequencies, and that most SSOAs do not actively investigate these 
events. Further, the responses to Safety Advisory 16-1 indicate a lack 
of standard practice, definitions and requirements in the rail transit 
industry to protect against unauthorized passing of stop signals.

[[Page 4965]]

    FTA requests public comment on this proposed General Directive, 
which is available in its entirety on the FTA public Web site at http://www.transit.dot.gov/tso.html and in Docket No. FTA-2016-0041 at 
www.regulations.gov. Following a summary and analysis of the public 
comment, FTA will issue a final General Directive, and a notice of the 
availability of that final General Directive in the Federal Register, 
with a Web link to the agency's responses to the public comment.

Carolyn Flowers,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2017-00793 Filed 1-13-17; 8:45 am]
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