Background

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is proposing an RPA to establish safety standards for the Texas Central Railroad (TCRR or the railroad) high speed rail system.  The proposed standards are not intended for general application in the railroad industry, but would apply only to the TCRR system planned for development in the State of Texas. The TCRR system is planned to operate from Houston to Dallas, on dedicated track, with no grade crossings, at speeds not to exceed 330 km/h (205 mph).  The TCRR rolling stock, track, and core systems will replicate the Central Japan Railway Company (JRC), Tokaido Shinkansen high-speed rail system, and will be used exclusively for revenue passenger service.

Telephonic Public Hearing

FRA will conduct a series of telephonic public hearings to provide members of the public an opportunity to provide oral comment on the proposed rule.  A telephonic public hearing will allow attendees to participate in the hearing telephonically instead of in person.  The hearing announcement is available here.

As FRA mentioned in the hearing announcement, individual statements will be limited in time to allow maximum participation during each hearing.  So that members of the public can plan appropriately, FRA has set the time limit for individual statements at 2 minutes.

Dial-in phone numbers and participant access codes for each hearing are as follows:

• Hearing 1, May 4, 2020, from 5 p.m. (EDT) to 10 p.m. (EDT):
  Phone number: 844–721–7241; participant access code: 6322460.
   
• Hearing 2, May 5, 2020, from 6 p.m. (EDT) to 10 p.m. (EDT):
  Phone number: 844–721–7241; participant access code: 6441451.
   
• Hearing 3, May 6, 2020, from 6 p.m. (EDT) to 10 p.m. (EDT):
  Phone number: 844–291–5491; participant access code: 8976262.

Please note that when members of the public call into the phone line, they will be automatically muted. During opening remarks, the operator will provide verbal instructions on how to indicate a desire to give a comment. These instructions will be repeated several times during the call.  Participants who wish to make a comment will need to follow the operator’s instructions to enter a command on their telephone keypad. After they enter the command, they will be placed in line on a first come, first served basis. When it is their turn to speak, the commenter will receive instructions that their line is open and they can provide their comment.

The full audio recordings of the three telephonic hearings that were conducted on the NPRM are available to listen to at the following web address: https://www.fra.dot.gov/static/recordings/.

For further information, please contact:

Mr. Kenton Kilgore, Program Analyst, U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Railroad Safety, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493–6286; email: Kenton.Kilgore@dot.gov).

Mr. Michael Hunter, Attorney Adviser, U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Chief Counsel, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493–0368; email: Michael.Hunter@dot.gov).