Notice of Petition for Extension of Waiver of Compliance
This document provides the public notice that St. Mary's Railroad (SM) petitioned FRA for an extension of relief from certain regulations concerning stenciling of rail cars.
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION:
Notice.
SUMMARY:
This document provides the public notice that St. Mary's Railroad (SM) petitioned FRA for an extension of relief from certain regulations concerning stenciling of rail cars.
DATES:
FRA must receive comments on the petition by June 22, 2026. FRA will consider comments received after that date to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES:
Comments:
Comments related to this docket may be submitted by going to
https://www.regulations.gov
and following the online instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions:
All submissions must include the agency name and docket number. All comments received will be posted without change to
https://www.regulations.gov;
this includes any personal information. Please see the Privacy Act heading in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section of this document for Privacy Act information related to any submitted comments or materials.
Docket:
For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to
https://www.regulations.gov
and follow the online instructions for accessing the docket.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Caleb Rogers, Railroad Safety Specialist, FRA Motive Power & Equipment Division, telephone: 202-493-6322, email:
caleb.rogers@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Under part 211 of title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), this document provides the public notice that by letter received February 18, 2026, SM petitioned FRA for an extension of a special approval pursuant to 49 CFR part 215 (Railroad Freight Car Safety Standards), and a waiver of compliance from certain provisions of the Federal railroad safety regulations contained in part 215. The relevant Docket Number is FRA-2020-0086.
Specifically, SM requests to extend the previous special approval pursuant to § 215.203,
Restricted cars,
in this docket for 3 cars (SM 1001, SM 1002, and SM 1003) and 2 cabooses (SM 0616 and SM X395) that are more than 50 years from the date of original construction. SM also seeks extended relief from § 215.303,
Stenciling of restricted cars.
SM states that the cars will not interchange with any other railroads and will be used in passenger service. SM adds that the stenciling relief is requested because SM “strives to have [its] equipment represent original appearances.”
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
( printed page 21864)
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 June 22, 2026 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.
Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.
91 FR 21863
Web Citation
Suggested Web Citation
Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.
“Notice of Petition for Extension of Waiver of Compliance,” thefederalregister.org (April 23, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-07926/notice-of-petition-for-extension-of-waiver-of-compliance.