Trinity Railway Express's Request for Approval To Begin Field Testing on Its Positive Train Control Network
This document provides the public with notice that on October 28, 2023, Trinity Railway Express (TRE) submitted a request to field test trains on TRE's positive train control (P...
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION:
Notice of availability and request for comments.
SUMMARY:
This document provides the public with notice that on October 28, 2023, Trinity Railway Express (TRE) submitted a request to field test trains on TRE's positive train control (PTC)-equipped Silver Line subdivision, which is equipped with the Interoperable Electronic Train Management System (I-ETMS). TRE's October 2023 test request also withdraws its pending test request that it had previously filed with FRA on August 29, 2023. FRA is publishing this notice and inviting public comment on TRE's request to test its PTC system on the Silver Line subdivision.
DATES:
FRA will consider comments received by January 8, 2024. FRA may consider comments received after that date to the extent practicable and without delaying implementation of a PTC system.
ADDRESSES:
Comments:
Comments may be submitted by going to
www.regulations.gov
and following the online instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions:
All submissions must include the agency name and the applicable docket number. The relevant PTC docket number for this host railroad is Docket No. FRA-2010-0044. For convenience, all active PTC documents are hyperlinked on FRA's website at
railroads.dot.gov/reserch-development/program-areas/train-control/ptc/railroads-ptc-dockets.
All comments received will be posted without change to
www.regulations.gov;
this includes any personal information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Gabe Neal, Staff Director, Signal, Train Control, and Crossings Division, telephone: 816-516-7168, email:
Gabe.Neal@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
In general, Title 49 United States Code (U.S.C.) section 20157(h) requires FRA to certify that a host railroad's PTC system complies with title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 236, subpart I, before the technology may be operated in revenue service. On December 23, 2020, FRA certified TRE's I-ETMS PTC system under 49 CFR 236.1015 and 49 U.S.C. 20157(h). Pursuant to 49 CFR 236.1035, a railroad must obtain FRA's approval before field testing an uncertified PTC system, or a product of an uncertified PTC system, or any regression testing of a certified PTC system on the general rail system.
See49 CFR 236.1035(a). On October 28, 2023, TRE withdrew its pending joint test request that it submitted on August 29, 2023, which had a comment period ending on November 13, 2023.
See88 FR 62426 (Sept. 11, 2023). TRE submitted a new test request that identifies the Silver Line subdivision as part of its own territory, rather than a separate entity. TRE's test request includes a complete description of TRE's Concept of Operations and its specific test procedures, including the measures that will be taken to ensure safety during testing. TRE's test request is available for review online at
www.regulations.gov
in Docket No. FRA-2010-0044.
Interested parties are invited to comment on TRE's test request by submitting written comments or data. During its review of the test request, FRA will consider any comments or data submitted within the timeline specified in this notice and to the extent practicable, without delaying testing of valuable or necessary modifications to a PTC system.
See49 CFR 236.1035. FRA, however, may elect not to respond to any particular comment, and under 49 CFR 236.1035, FRA maintains the authority to approve, approve with conditions, or deny the test request at its sole discretion.
Privacy Act Notice
In accordance with 49 CFR 211.3, FRA solicits comments from the public to better inform its decisions. 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.transportation.gov/privacy.
See
www.regulations.gov/privacy-notice
for the privacy notice of
regulations.gov. To facilitate comment tracking, we encourage commenters to provide their name, or the name of their organization; however, submission of names is completely optional. If you wish to provide comments containing proprietary or confidential information, please contact FRA for alternate submission instructions.
Issued in Washington, DC.
Carolyn R. Hayward-Williams,
Director, Office of Railroad Systems and Technology.
Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.
88 FR 77417
Web Citation
Suggested Web Citation
Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.
“Trinity Railway Express's Request for Approval To Begin Field Testing on Its Positive Train Control Network,” thefederalregister.org (November 9, 2023), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2023-24844/trinity-railway-express-s-request-for-approval-to-begin-field-testing-on-its-positive-train-control-network.
www.regulations.gov
railroads.dot.gov/reserch-development/program-areas/train-control/ptc/railroads-ptc-dockets
title 49 Code of Federal Regulations
49 U.S.C. 20157(h)
www.transportation.gov/privacy