FRA Sends PTC Rule to OMB

On Friday OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had received a draft of a final rule from the DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration for the modification of the current regulations on the use of Positive Train Control.

According to the Unified Agenda information on this rulemaking this proposed regulation “would revise Positive Train Control regulations by defining the de minimis exception and en route failures, proposing exceptions relating to yard movements that may not be considered on the main line system, and amending regulations governing grade crossing and signal and train control systems”. This rulemaking was initiated based upon a petition submitted by the Association of American Railroads.

The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on this proposal was published in December of 2012 and only received eleven comments. The most serious objections came from:

• Western Interstate Energy Board Comment;

• Amtrak;

• Association of American Railroads; and

• GE Transportation  

It will probably be months before OIRA approves the draft for publication in the Federal Register.