Document
Notice of Petition for Waiver of Compliance
This document provides the public notice that Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) District petitioned FRA for relief from certain regulations concerning safety appliances.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Under part 211 of title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), this document provides the public notice that by letter received February 7, 2025, SMART petitioned FRA for a waiver of compliance from certain provisions of the Federal railroad safety regulations contained at 49 CFR part 231 (Railroad Safety Appliance Standards). FRA assigned the petition Docket Number FRA-2025-0030.
Specifically, SMART seeks relief from § 231.14(f)(4)(i),
Passenger-train cars without end platforms,
which states that side door steps “exceeding 18 inches in depth shall have an additional tread and be laterally braced.” SMART's 18 Nippon Sharyo diesel multiple units (DMUs) operating in passenger service each currently have four compliant, 2-ring sill steps that occasionally cause crews to enter and exit cars where they must step more than 24 inches to the ground, which increases safety risks. SMART explains that it has tested a 3-ring sill step that reduces the distance to the ground to 14 inches, but SMART finds that lateral bracing on these steps “is impractical and would make repairs and maintenance on the equipment mounted behind the sill steps more difficult.” SMART proposes “to add a third step to the existing two step configuration” to “reduce injury risk for our employees that have to mount/dismount the equipment outside of the maintenance facility.”
A copy of the petition, as well as any written communications concerning the petition, is available for review online at
www.regulations.gov.
Interested parties are invited to participate in these proceedings by submitting written views, data, or comments. FRA does not anticipate scheduling a public hearing in connection with these proceedings since the facts do not appear to warrant a hearing. If any interested party desires an opportunity for oral comment and a public hearing, they should notify FRA, in writing, before the end of the comment period and specify the basis for their request.
Communications received by May 30, 2025 will be considered by FRA before final action is taken. Comments received after that date will be considered if practicable.
Privacy Act
Anyone can search the electronic form of any written communications and comments received into any of FRA's 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.). Under 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the public to inform its processes. 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
https://www.transportation.gov/privacy.
See also
https://www.regulations.gov/privacy-notice
for the privacy notice of
regulations.gov.
Issued in Washington, DC.
John Karl Alexy,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety, Chief Safety Officer.