The Railroad Safety Board reviews, and approves or denies, waiver petitions, block-signal applications, and requests for special approval submitted by railroads and other parties subject to the regulations. For specific procedures pertinent to requests for relief, see 49 CFR Part 211 and relevant provisions of the specific regulations in question.

Petitions, applications, and requests for special approval should be filed with the Docket Clerk, Office of Chief Counsel, FRA, Mail Stop 10, RCC-10, 1120 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20590. Every petition and application is tracked using a docket number and can be viewed, together with public comments, on DOT's Document Management System (DMS) web site (http:// dms.dot.gov).

The Board meets periodically to consider these cases. The members of the Board are: FRA's Associate Administrator for Safety or a Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety (chair and deciding official), an FRA Regional Administrator, an FRA Deputy Regional Administrator, and an attorney designated by the Chief Counsel.

When FRA receives a petition, it takes two actions. First, FRA publishes a summary of the request in the Federal Register, inviting public comment. Second, the FRA region involved develops facts relevant to the request, verifying representations made by the petitioner and often requesting additional information. Headquarters subject-matter experts (normally in the Office of Safety Assurance and Compliance) review public comments and the results of FRA's own inquiries, and provide the resulting analysis to the Board for its consideration.

In certain cases (e.g., petitions for waiver), FRA is required to conduct a public hearing (for oral presentations) when asked to do so by an interested party. In certain other cases, FRA may call a hearing on its own motion to develop additional information. However, the great majority of proceedings conclude without a public hearing.

When the decision is made, a letter from the Associate Administrator or Deputy Associate Administrator is sent to the petitioner/applicant informing them of FRA's decision. In the case of approval, the letter may outline any mandatory conditions and the duration of the approval. This letter is a matter of public record and can be accessed at the DMS website.

Definitions :

Petition - request for a waiver of compliance with a law or regulation; or request for a modification or extension of an existing waiver; totals may include miscellaneous special approvals permitted under specific regulations.

Application - request for a modification or discontinuance of a block signal system (49 CFR Part 235).

Request for special approval - request for a special-purpose approval under a particular FRA regulation assigned to the Railroad Safety Board for action (e.g., grandfathering of certain passenger equipment under 49 CFR Part 238).