November 7, 2022 | Question and Answer Session

3:00 pm to 7:00 pm EST

Background

On October 14, 2022, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a waiver of compliance from a provision of the Federal railroad safety regulations contained at 49 CFR § 236.1005(c), Hazard detectors.  

Specifically, LIRR is seeking relief from § 236.1005(c) because the Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System II (ACSES II) Tunnel Collision Avoidance (TCA) package for LIRR’s locomotives will not be completed before LIRR’s commencement of its East Side Access passenger service and the opening of the Grand Central Madison tunnels.  LIRR’s petition notes LIRR has existing hazard detection, which protects against the misrouting of oversized trains, within LIRR’s cab signaling and automatic train control system.  LIRR also describes how its operating practices provide additional protection.  LIRR is seeking a temporary waiver from § 236.1005(c) because LIRR’s positive train control system, ACSES II, is currently not integrated with, and does not enforce, LIRR’s hazard detector, as § 236.1005(c) otherwise requires.   

Exhibit A to LIRR’s petition describes the exact measures LIRR will use during the period of its temporary waiver, if granted, to ensure oversize trains are not routed to, and do not enter, the tunnels.  LIRR also explains that “[a]s soon as the new ACSES software which includes the TCA functionality can be deployed to the LIRR rolling stock fleet, [positive train stop (PTS)] enforcement at permissive aspects for oversized LIRR trains will be provided.”  LIRR’s petition for a waiver also includes a statement of no objection from Amtrak, its applicable tenant railroad.

Reference Documents

•  FRA assigned Docket Number FRA-2022-0092 to LIRR’s waiver petition.
• LIRR’s October 14, 2022, waiver petition is available at the following link: https://www.regulations.gov/document/FRA-2022-0092-0001.
• FRA’s October 21, 2022, Federal Register notice announcing LIRR’s waiver petition, summarizing it, and inviting public comment until November 15, 2022, is available at the following link: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/10/21/2022-22848/petition-for-waiver-of-compliance. 

Virtual Question-and-Answer (Q&A) Session 

Given the urgent nature of this waiver request and the resulting abbreviated comment period, FRA will hold a virtual question-and-answer session on November 7, 2022, from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm EST.  During this session, FRA will be available to answer technical questions relating to LIRR’s waiver petition. 

Please join FRA’s virtual Q&A session via  the following Zoom link or Zoom telephone instructions:

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