Petition for Waiver of Compliance and Notice of Public Hearing

Issuing agencies

Abstract

On July 3, 2025, FRA published notice that Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited (CPKC) petitioned FRA for relief from certain regulations concerning air brake testing. In this notice, FRA is announcing a public hearing to allow interested persons the opportunity to provide comments on the petition. FRA is also reopening the comment period to allow time for interested parties to submit comments on the petition or in response to views or information provided at the public hearing.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 202 (Wednesday, October 21, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 202 (Wednesday, October 21, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66620-66621]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-21515]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket Number FRA-2025-0055]


Petition for Waiver of Compliance and Notice of Public Hearing

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Announcement of public hearing and extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: On July 3, 2025, FRA published notice that Canadian Pacific 
Kansas City Limited (CPKC) petitioned FRA for relief from certain 
regulations concerning air brake testing. In this notice, FRA is 
announcing a public hearing to allow interested persons the opportunity 
to provide comments on the petition. FRA is also reopening the comment 
period to allow time for interested parties to submit comments on the 
petition or in response to views or information provided at the public 
hearing.

DATES: (1) A public hearing will be held on November 18, 2026, from 1 
p.m. (CDT) to 5 p.m. (CDT) in St. Paul, Minnesota, and through one or 
more internet links.
    (2) Comments: FRA must receive comments on the petition, or in 
response to views or information provided at the public hearing, by 
December 18, 2026. FRA will consider comments received after that date 
to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: 
    Public Hearing: The public hearing will allow for participation in 
person or virtually. For those appearing in person, the public hearing 
will be held at the CPKC Battle Creek Operations Building, 1010 Shop 
Road, St. Paul, MN 55106. For those participants wishing to make a 
statement at the public hearing, either in person or virtually, please 
contact FRA as described under the Public Participation Procedures 
heading in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

[[Page 66621]]

    Comments: Comments related to this docket may be submitted by going 
to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> 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 
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>; 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 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and follow the 
online instructions for accessing the docket.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kar Gazarov, Deputy Staff Director, 
FRA Motive Power & Equipment Division, telephone: 904-776-5697, email: 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2942485b074e4853485b465f694d465d074e465f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4d262c3f632a2c372c3f223b0d292239632a223b">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this hearing is to receive 
comments in response to a petition, received under part 211 of title 49 
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), from CPKC for a waiver related to 
certain air brake testing regulations. By letter dated April 4, 2025, 
CPKC petitioned FRA for a waiver of compliance from Sec. Sec.  232.5, 
Definitions; 232.15, Movement of defective equipment; 232.103(f), 
General requirements for all train brake systems; 232.205(a), Class I 
brake test--initial terminal inspection; and 232.213(a)(6)(ii), 
Extended haul trains. CPKC also requests an exemption from the 
requirements of title 49, United States Code (U.S.C.), section 20303, 
which states that a rail vehicle with defective or insecure equipment 
may be moved to the nearest available place ``at which the repairs can 
be made.''
    The petitioner (CPKC) should be present at the hearing and prepared 
to present evidence to justify its request. Interested parties are 
invited to present statements and to offer information and views at the 
hearing. The hearing will be an informal, non-adversarial proceeding 
conducted by a representative FRA designates under FRA's Rules of 
Practice (49 CFR 211.25). Therefore, there will be no cross-examination 
of persons presenting statements or offering information. An FRA 
representative will make an opening statement outlining the scope of 
the hearing. Interested parties will then be provided with an 
opportunity to make initial statements. After all initial statements 
are completed, those persons wishing to make a brief rebuttal will be 
given the opportunity to do so, in the same order in which they made 
the initial statements. FRA will announce any additional procedures at 
the hearing.
    There will be a court reporter to record and transcribe comments 
presented at the hearing. FRA will add the verbatim transcript of the 
discussions to the public docket in this proceeding.

Public Participation Procedures

    Any person: (1) wishing to attend the hearing in person or 
virtually, (2) make a statement at the hearing either in-person or 
virtually, or (3) both, should notify FRA by contacting Kar Gazarov, 
Deputy Staff Director, FRA Motive Power & Equipment Division, by email 
at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#620903104c05031803100d1422060d164c050d14"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9ff4feedb1f8fee5feedf0e9dffbf0ebb1f8f0e9">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>, no later than Thursday, November 12, 2026 
providing the following information, as applicable:
    (a) The name, affiliation or party represented, email address, and 
phone number of the participant.
    (b) Whether the participant is attending in person or virtually.
    (c) The subject(s) of the statement and/or presentation the 
participant wishes to make, and the amount of time requested.
    (d) A copy of the oral statement and/or presentation, if available.
    FRA reserves the right to limit participation in the hearing of 
persons who fail to follow the public participation procedures as 
outlined above, or additional procedures announced at the hearing. FRA 
also reserves the right to limit the duration of presentations, as 
necessary, to afford all persons the opportunity to speak, or to limit 
participation in the hearing of persons who exceed their allotted time 
or who discuss topics or issues outside the scope of the petition. 
Further, FRA reserves the right to limit in-person attendance at the 
hearing, as space is limited; preference in attendance will be provided 
to persons requesting to present statements in person.
    FRA is committed to providing equal access to this meeting for all 
participants. If you need alternative formats or other reasonable 
accommodations to participate in this meeting, either in-person or 
virtually, please contact Kar Gazarov, Deputy Staff Director, FRA 
Motive Power & Equipment Division, by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7d161c0f531a1c071c0f120b3d191209531a120b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cda6acbfe3aaacb7acbfa2bb8da9a2b9e3aaa2bb">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>, no 
later than Thursday, November 12, 2026.

Extension of Comment Period

    FRA is extending the comment period to December 18, 2026 to allow 
time for interested parties to submit written comments on the proposal 
or in response to views or information provided at the public hearing.

Privacy Act

    In accordance with FRA Order 1100.14G, FRA solicits comments from 
the public to inform its disposition of waivers, exemptions, block 
signal applications, and other special approvals under the Federal 
railroad safety laws and regulations and in accordance with 49 CFR part 
211. DOT posts these comments, without edit, including any personal 
information the commenter provides, to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, as 
described in the system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can 
be reviewed at <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/privacy">https://www.transportation.gov/privacy</a>. To facilitate 
comment tracking and response, we encourage commenters to provide their 
name, or the name of their organization; however, submission of names 
is optional. Whether or not commenters identify themselves, all timely 
comments will be fully considered. If you wish to provide comments 
containing proprietary or confidential information, please contact the 
agency for alternate submission instructions.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
John Karl Alexy,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety, Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2026-21515 Filed 10-20-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P


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