Notice Requesting Expressions of Interest in Implementing a High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Corridor

Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 16, 2008 / Notices
regarding particular concepts in one or
more corridors.
Although authorized, no funds have
been appropriated to support
implementation of HSR under this
program, and the availability of such
funds in the future is not known.
Respondents to the request in today’s
Federal Register acknowledge, by virtue
of their response, that the likelihood of
future funding and implementation of
the projects covered by that notice is
unknown, and that the Federal
Government will not be liable for any
costs incurred in the preparation of
responses to this notice.

The information collected will be
used by the Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), commissions to
be formed in accordance with Section
502, and Congress. The collection of
information—responses that describe
high speed rail proposals—will be used
to inform the Department and Congress
about the benefits to the public and the
national transportation system from
high speed rail proposals received.
Upon receipt of responses and after the
close of the Expression of Interest
solicitation, FRA will evaluate them and
determine if each Expression of Interest
is complete and if there is evidence

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provided in the response that would
support conclusions, based on criteria
specified in Section 502. If FRA
determines that one or more
Expressions of Interest satisfy this
screening evaluation, FRA would form a
commission for each relevant corridor to
review and consider the response(s).
Form Number(s): N/A.
Affected Public: Businesses, States,
Individuals, Entities.
Respondent Universe: 50 Individuals
or Entities.
Frequency of Submission: On
occasion; annually.

REPORTING BURDEN
Respondent universe

Total annual responses

Average time per response

—Responses to Notice ..........
—Identifying Letters to FRA
regarding RFEI questions.
—RFEI Informational Sessions with FRA.

50 Individuals or Entities .......
50 Individuals or Entities .......

10 responses .........................
25 letters ................................

3,400 hours ............................
30 minutes .............................

34,000
13

50 Individuals or Entities .......

25 sessions ............................

2 hours ...................................

50

Total Responses: 60.
Estimated Total Annual Burden:
34,063 hours.
Status: Regular Review.
Pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 3507(a) and 5
CFR 1320.5(b), 1320.8(b)(3)(vi), FRA
informs all interested parties that it may
not conduct or sponsor, and a
respondent is not required to respond
to, a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control
number.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520.
Issued in Washington, DC on December 11,
2008.
Kimberly Orben,
Director, Office of Financial Management,
Federal Railroad Administration.
[FR Doc. E8–29788 Filed 12–15–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Notice Requesting Expressions of
Interest in Implementing a High-Speed
Intercity Passenger Rail Corridor

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Total annual
burden hours

RFEI notice

AGENCY: Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice Requesting Expressions
of Interest.
SUMMARY: Section 502 of the Passenger
Rail Investment and Improvement Act
of 2008, Public Law 110–432 (October
16, 2008), requires the Secretary of
Transportation to ‘‘issue a request for

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proposals for projects for the financing,
design, construction, operation, and
maintenance of a high-speed intercity
passenger rail system operating within’’
either the Northeast Corridor or a
Federally designated high-speed rail
(HSR) corridor. To satisfy this
requirement, the FRA is soliciting and
encouraging the submission of
Expressions of Interest for potential
projects to finance, design, construct,
operate, and maintain an improved HSR
intercity passenger system in the
Northeast Corridor or in one of ten
Federally designated corridors. FRA
envisions this as the first phase of a
qualification process that Congress may
follow with more specific actions
regarding particular proposals in one or
more corridors.
DATES: All Expressions of Interest
submitted in response to this notice
shall be submitted by 5 p.m. e.t. on
Monday, September 14, 2009, in
accordance with the instructions in
ADDRESSES below. In order to gauge
possible interest in this process, FRA is
requesting that participants considering
filing a response to this notice provide
a letter with names and contact
information by Friday, January 30, 2009.
The initial letter will help FRA gauge
interest in the Request for Expressions
of Interest (RFEI) process and will
facilitate future communications to
participants, including invitation to a
possible information session in the
spring of 2009 to further invite
questions from participants and to
provide information and guidance

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regarding the RFEI process. Failure to
provide a letter will not prevent
participants from submitting an
Expression of Interest in accordance
with this notice.
ADDRESSES: Any questions, responses or
Expressions of Interest in response to
this notice shall be submitted under the
docket number FRA–2008–0140 by any
of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: U.S. Department of
Transportation, Docket Operations,
M–30, West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
• Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of
Transportation, Docket Operations,
M–30, West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
• Fax: 1–202–493–2251.
Instructions: All submissions must
include the agency name and docket
number (FRA–2008–0140) for this RFEI
process. Note that all comments
received will be posted, without change,
to http://www.regulations.gov, including
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. Internet users
may access comments received by DOT
at http://www.regulations.gov.
If you wish to submit any information
under a claim of confidentiality, submit

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 16, 2008 / Notices

a version from which you have deleted
the claimed confidential business
information to the docket as specified
above and send two copies of your
complete submission, including the
information you claim to be confidential
business information, following the
steps outlined in ‘‘Requests for
Confidential Treatment’’ in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document to Mr. David Valenstein
as specified below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
information from FRA, please contact
Mr. David Valenstein, Office of Railroad
Development, Federal Railroad
Administration, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., MS–20/W38–303,
Washington, DC 20590. Phone (202)
493–6368.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FRA
anticipates that participants will have
questions during the RFEI process. In
order to assure that all respondents have
equal access to such questions and their
answers, questions about this notice
must be submitted to the docket as
specified in ADDRESSES above. Any
responses provided by the FRA will be
posted to the docket; summary
questions and answers will also be
posted on the FRA Web page for the
RFEI process.
Background on High-Speed Rail
(HSR): HSR is self-guided intercity
passenger ground transportation that is
time competitive with air and/or auto
on a door-to-door basis for trips in the
approximate range of 100 to 500 miles.
A corridor is a natural grouping of
metropolitan areas and markets that, by
their proximity and configuration, lend
themselves to efficient service by HSR.
The U.S. Department of Transportation
study that yielded these definitions,
High-Speed Ground Transportation for
America (1997, available at [http://
www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/515]), went
on to suggest that HSR—once built—
could potentially provide significant
public benefits (congestion relief,
emissions reductions, and petroleum
savings) while supporting its continuing
operations and future investment
requirements from the farebox. Actual
results would vary from one corridor to
another, and would depend on a host of
factors, including travel demand, fare
policies, characteristics of competing
modes, source of motive power, and
operating practices and costs.
Background on This Request for
Expressions of Interest (RFEI): Section
502 of the Passenger Rail Investment
and Improvement Act of 2008 (‘‘Section
502’’) (Pub. L. 110–432, October 16,
2008), requires the Secretary of
Transportation to ‘‘issue a request for

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proposals for projects for the financing,
design, construction, operation, and
maintenance of a high-speed intercity
passenger rail system operating within’’
either the Northeast Corridor or a
federally designated HSR corridor.
Section 502 prescribes that Expressions
of Interest received will be considered
by the Secretary and possibly by
commissions representing affected and
involved governors, mayors, freight
railroads, transit authorities, labor
organizations, and Amtrak. The results
of these reviews will be summarized in
one or more reports to Congress, which
will make recommendations for further
action regarding no more than one
project concept for each corridor. FRA
envisions this as the first phase of a
qualification process that Congress may
follow with more specific actions
regarding particular proposals in one or
more corridors.
Although authorized, no funds have
been appropriated to support
implementation of HSR under this
program, and the availability of such
funds in the future is not known.
Respondents to this request
acknowledge, by virtue of their
response, that the likelihood of future
funding and implementation of the
projects covered by this notice is
unknown, and that the Federal
Government will not be liable for any
costs incurred in the preparation of
responses to this notice.
Who May Respond: Responses to this
RFEI are welcome from all sources.
Section 502 calls for comprehensive
proposals that will address all the tasks
necessary to implement HSR. Potential
proposers are advised to verify, before
committing resources to responding to
this RFEI, that they would be able to
assemble a cohesive team that can plan,
organize, finance, design, and construct
a complete HSR system in an eligible
corridor, as well as gain the support of
the key public and private stakeholders,
and successfully operate and maintain it
on a long-term basis.
Performance Standards for HSR
Systems: Section 502 requires that the
HSR proposals for which Expressions of
Interest are requested meet certain travel
time performance standards and meet
any standards established by the
Secretary. The required performance
standards are:
(A) Northeast Corridor between New
York and Washington: Proposed express
service must link Pennsylvania Station,
New York, with Union Station,
Washington, with a reliable travel time
of two hours.
(B) All other eligible corridors,
including the Northeast Corridor
between New York and Boston: Existing

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minimum intercity rail scheduled
service trip times (as shown in Amtrak’s
published timetable in effect on October
16, 2008) between endpoints and all
other main corridor city-pairs must be
reduced by a minimum of 25 percent,
and a reliable service provided. If no
service presently exists in the corridor,
the proposer will need to demonstrate
that the proposed service will be
reliable and time competitive in
accordance with the definition of HSR
above.
Eligible Corridors: Responses to this
notice must address HSR proposals
located in part or all of one or more of
the following corridors that connect and
serve the key metropolitan areas listed
(shown on the map at: http://
www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/1272):
(A) ‘‘Northeast Corridor’’ between
Washington, DC; Baltimore, MD;
Wilmington, DE; Philadelphia, PA;
Trenton, NJ; New York, NY; New
Haven, CT; Providence, RI; and Boston,
MA. Separate service standards apply
north and south of New York City; see
Performance Standards for HSR
Systems, above.
(B) ‘‘California Corridor’’ connecting
and between the San Francisco Bay
Area, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San
Diego, CA;
(C) ‘‘Empire Corridor’’ between New
York City, Albany and Buffalo, NY, over
the route of the former New York
Central Railroad;
(D) ‘‘Pacific Northwest Corridor’’
between Eugene and Portland, OR;
Seattle, WA; and Vancouver, BC,
Canada;
(E) ‘‘South Central Corridor’’ along
three branches between Dallas/Fort
Worth, TX, and:
(1) Austin and San Antonio, TX;
(2) Oklahoma City and Tulsa, OK; and
(3) Texarkana and Little Rock, AR;
(F) ‘‘Gulf Coast Corridor’’ along three
branches between New Orleans, LA,
and:
(1) Birmingham, AL, and Atlanta, GA;
(2) Houston, TX; and
(3) Mobile, AL;
(G) ‘‘Chicago Hub Network’’ along six
routes between:
(1) Chicago, IL; Milwaukee, WI; and
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN;
(2) Chicago, IL, and Detroit, MI;
(3) Chicago, IL, Toledo and Cleveland,
OH;
(4) Chicago, IL; Indianapolis, IN; and
both Cincinnati, OH, and Louisville,
KY;
(5) Chicago, IL; St. Louis, MO; and
Kansas City, MO; and
(6) The transversal extension between
Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati,
OH;

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(H) ‘‘Florida Corridor’’ between
Miami, Orlando, and the Tampa Bay
region, FL;
(I) ‘‘Keystone Corridor’’ between
Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and
Pittsburgh, PA, over the route of the
former Pennsylvania Railroad;
(J) ‘‘Northern New England Corridor’’
along three branches between Boston,
MA, and:
(1) Portland/Lewiston-Auburn, ME;
(2) Concord, NH; Montpelier, VT;
Montreal, QE, Canada; and
(3) Springfield, MA, and to both New
Haven, CT, and Albany, NY; and
(K) ‘‘Southeast Corridor’’ along three
branches between:
(1) Washington, DC; Richmond, VA;
Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte, NC;
Greenville, SC; and Atlanta, GA;
(2) Raleigh, NC; Columbia, SC;
Savannah, GA; Jacksonville, FL; and
(3) Atlanta, Macon, and Jesup, GA,
thence either or both Savannah, GA and
Jacksonville FL.
Required Contents of Expressions of
Interest: Complete responses must
contain the required contents, and will
be evaluated by FRA to determine if
they satisfy the selection criteria in
Evaluation and Selection Process for
Expressions of Interest below. The
following minimum requirements may
be satisfied through a narrative
statement submitted by the applicant
and supported by spreadsheet
documents, tables, graphics, drawings,
and/or other materials, as appropriate.
Each Expression of Interest must:
1. Designate a point of contact for the
Expression of Interest and provide his or
her name and contact information,
including a telephone number, mailing
address and e-mail address.
2. Provide the name(s) and
qualifications of the person(s)
submitting the Expression of Interest,
and the names and qualifications of the
lead entity and each member/entity of
the team proposed to finance, design,
construct, operate, and maintain the
railroad, railroad equipment, and
related facilities, stations, and
infrastructure. Describe how such
entities would be related to the lead
entity.
3. Provide a short executive summary
overview of the proposed project
concept, including:
a. Markets served, including a concept
map;
b. Station locations;
c. Trip times for major markets
indicating that program performance
standards will be met;
d. Peak and average operating speeds
of the train service;
e. Proposed routes and alignments,
noting the extent of new rights-of-way

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(ROW) and use of existing ROW, as well
as a general discussion of how the
intended reliability requirements will be
achieved;
f. Type of train equipment to be used,
the maximum speed of that equipment,
and any technologies used to meet trip
time goals;
g. Proposed organizational structure;
h. Salient features of the intended
operation as they may affect operating
practices and unit costs;
i. Total capital cost and expected
contributions by Federal, state, and
other public and private sources; and
j. The benefits to the public and the
national transportation system,
including an explanation as to why the
project is cost-effective and what
advantages it offers over existing
services.
4. Provide a detailed technical
description of the project, including:
a. Populations of markets served by
each of the proposed stations;
b. Existing intercity traffic
(passengers, vehicle capacity,
frequency) by mode;
c. Proposed station locations and, for
each, whether it is existing or new, and
how it maximizes the use of existing
infrastructure;
d. How the project will facilitate
convenient intermodal travel
connections with other transportation
services and systems;
e. Trip time and fare comparisons
among proposed services, existing rail
services, if any, and competing modes
for major city pairs;
f. An operating plan with train service
frequency, timetable, and information
on intermodal connections;
g. Annual ridership and revenue
projections for 10 years with
documentation of assumptions and
methods and peaking characteristics;
h. Operating costs with
documentation of assumptions and
methods;
i. The impact of the project on
highway and aviation congestion,
energy consumption, pollutant
emissions, land use and economic
development;
j. A description of how the design,
construction, implementation, and
operation of the project will
accommodate and allow for future
growth of existing and projected
intercity, commuter, and freight rail
service;
k. The impact of the project on other
intercity, commuter, and freight rail
services;
l. Proposed routes and alignments
noting the extent of new ROW and use
of existing ROW;
m. Required infrastructure
investments and improvements,

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including the feasibility of building new
track and method for securing required
ROW;
n. How adverse impacts of the project
would be mitigated;
o. The type and quantity of train
equipment to be used, with technical
specifications, such as consist,
maximum speed, passenger capacity,
energy consumption profile,
acceleration and deceleration rates;
p. Project capital costs for major
categories of expenditures (track
structures, tunnels, bridges, vehicles,
stations, maintenance equipment and
facilities, communication and control
systems, and power systems), with
documentation of assumptions and
methods;
q. A detailed analysis of the methods
and technologies for achieving the
required reductions in trip times and
the intended reliability standards; and
r. Synopses and references for any
past high-speed rail studies deemed
relevant.
5. Present a detailed financial plan for
the proposed project, including:
a. Projected annual operating
revenues by year and sources;
b. Estimates of annual operating costs
by type of expenditure;
c. Annual schedule of capital costs
required both initially and in
subsequent years to maintain a state-ofgood-repair and to recapitalize as
necessary to sustain the initially
proposed level of service or higher
levels of service;
d. Sources and descriptions of capital
funds, including terms, conditions and
expectation for return on equity, and
e. Credit assumptions including
sources, guarantees, terms, maturity and
special conditions;
f. A description of the insurance
program contemplated for construction
and operation;
g. A description of construction cost
risk sharing and rationale for the
proposed approach;
h. A description of revenue and
operating cost risk sharing and rationale
for the proposed approach;
i. Projected funding for the full fair
market compensation for any asset,
property right or interest, or service
acquired from, owned, or held by a
private person or Federal entity that
would be acquired, impaired, or
diminished in value as a result of a
project, except as otherwise agreed to by
the private person or entity; and
j. A projected financial statement for
the proposed organization showing
annual revenues, costs, investments,
and debt service from project inception
through construction, testing, and the
first 20 years of operation.

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6. Describe the institutional
framework and address other
institutional issues, including:
a. A project structure organization
chart showing the proposer team and all
the relationships among the public and
private entities involved in the
proposed project, a description of the
relationships among the entities
responsible for the financing, design,
construction, operation and
maintenance of the proposed project
(including their equity stakes), and the
roles of other participants in the
operational aspects of the project;
b. Any new entities required and how
they will be structured legally and
financially;
c. Integration of the proposed service
with Amtrak, other HSR rail services,
other intercity passenger systems, and
local access/egress systems;
d. The feasibility of gaining access to
required ROW, the approach to track
capacity including building new track,
and any public and private agreements
for facility access and the expected costs
of each;
e. Required governmental actions and
approvals and the role of the state
government(s) in implementing the
proposal; and
f. The relationship to state rail plans
and programs or, if not already part of
such plans or programs, a statement
describing plans for integration into
them.
7. Identify legislative actions needed,
if any, to facilitate all aspects of the
proposed project, including:
a. Required Federal, state and/or local
legislation to authorize and create a
sponsoring entity for the project, or to
remove legal impediments to project
implementation, or otherwise facilitate
the project;
b. Required public funding
commitments, Federal, state and/or
local;
c. Any legislative action required to
allow the project to benefit from
government-sponsored credit assistance
programs, such as the Railroad
Rehabilitation and Improvement
Financing program and the
Transportation Infrastructure Finance
and Innovation Act program; and
8. Describe how the project will be
implemented to comply with Federal,
state and local laws, including but not
limited to:
a. Laws governing the rights and
status of employees associated with the
route and service, including those
specified in section 24405 of title 49
United States Code;
b. Rail safety and security laws,
orders, and regulations governing HSR
operations, including, but not limited

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to, the railroad safety provisions in Part
49 of the Code of Federal Regulations
and the requirements of the Rail Safety
Improvement Act of 2008;
c. Environmental laws and regulations
and the status or any progress towards
completion of required documentation
or actions under the National
Environmental Policy Act, the National
Historic Preservation Act, section 4(f) of
the DOT Act, or other applicable
Federal or state environmental impact
assessment laws; and
d. The Americans With Disabilities
Act.
Optional Contents Requested for
Inclusion in Submissions: In addition to
the required contents, respondents are
requested to provide, at their option,
their perspectives on what type of
contracting and financing strategies are
most likely to facilitate successful HSR
projects. FRA is particularly interested
in perspectives that draw on prior
experience with HSR projects. In
responding to this request, Expressions
of Interest should address the following:
a. What type of contracting structure
is likely to provide the most effective
allocation of the risk and responsibility
for each element of the project (design,
construction, financing, operation and
maintenance) between the private and
public sectors?
b. Should all of the project elements
to be performed by the private sector be
procured in a single procurement or
separately (for example, separate
procurements for civil works, the
provision of systems and equipment,
and long-term operations and
maintenance of the system)?
c. Should the project’s financing rely
on commercial ticket fares and other
revenue generated directly by the
facility to pay for all or any portion of
the project’s cost, and should the private
partner assume the risk that these
revenues will be sufficient to repay all
or any portion of the project’s financing?
d. What role should public sector
commitments play in financing the
project or particular components of the
project, and what type of public
commitment would be most effective?
e. What measures or commitments
would be needed, including possible
legislation, to provide and facilitate
multi-year Federal commitments of any
Federal financing needed for the
project?
f. What role should private equity
play in financing the project or
particular components of the project
and how would terms and conditions
affect public sector participation?
g. Are there any key considerations
that will encourage or dissuade private
sector involvement in the financing,

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design, construction, and long-term
operations and maintenance of HSR in
the corridors identified above?
h. Should the commissions required
by Section 502 be organized and their
work structured in the same way for all
corridors, and what structures and
models should be considered to guide
the commissions?
i. How would the proposal contribute
to the development of a national HSR
system?
Format for Submissions: Each
Expression of Interest shall be submitted
according to the instructions in
ADDRESSES above. At a minimum, two
(2) hard copies and electronic format on
optical media (except oversized
engineering drawings and maps, which
may be submitted solely in hard copy)
shall be submitted. Responses may
include maps or graphics when they
would illustrate information more
effectively than text.
Text and graphic documents shall be
submitted both as MS Word documents
and Adobe PDF documents, in Times
New Roman, 12 point font, with 1-inch
margins. Spreadsheets containing
financial information shall be submitted
as Microsoft Excel (or compatible)
documents and Adobe PDF documents.
Each Expression of Interest should not
exceed a maximum total of 75 pages,
excluding appendices. The following
sections shall be included in any
submission: Cover page, proposer
name(s) and contact information, project
overview, detailed technical
description, detailed financial plan,
institutional information, legislative
actions, legal compliance issues, and
appendices containing any
spreadsheets, drawings, and tables.
Optional content should be provided as
an additional section not included in
the page count. The executive summary
project overview should not exceed two
(2) pages in length.
Evaluation and Selection Process for
Expressions of Interest: FRA will review
responses and make determinations
within 60 days of the closing date,
under Dates above. The Secretary will
evaluate each Expression of Interest in
a two-step process. First, it will be
screened for its completeness in
responding to this RFEI. Second, it will
undergo substantive review according to
the selection criteria outlined below.
Selection Criteria: FRA will consider
the extent to which each Expression of
Interest satisfies the following selection
factors: (1) The project detailed in the
Expression of Interest demonstrates the
ability to achieve the specified
reduction in minimum intercity rail
service trip times and the intended
reliability standards. (2) The Expression

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of Interest is complete and includes all
the elements in the Requirements for
Expressions of Interest section, above.
(3) The project detailed in the
Expression of Interest is sufficiently
credible to warrant further
consideration. (4) The project detailed
in the Expression of Interest is likely to
result in a positive impact on the
Nation’s transportation system. (5) The
project detailed in the Expression of
Interest is cost-effective. (6) The project
detailed in the Expression of Interest is
in the public interest.
Step 1—Screening Process: Upon
receipt of responses and after the close
of the Expression of Interest solicitation,
FRA will evaluate them and determine
if each Expression of Interest is
complete and if there is evidence
provided in the response that would
support conclusions, based on criteria 3
through 6 above. If FRA determines that
one or more Expressions of Interest
satisfy this screening evaluation, the
Secretary would form a commission for
each relevant corridor to review and
consider the response(s).
Step 2—Selection Process: Section
502 requires the Secretary to establish
and support the formation of
commissions, representing affected and
involved governors, mayors, freight
railroads, transit authorities, labor
organizations, and Amtrak, that would
assess the responses, and authorizes
appropriation of necessary funds for this
purpose. No funds have been
appropriated for this purpose as of the
date of this RFEI. The commission(s)
would review the Expressions of
Interest and prepare a report to the
Secretary making recommendations for
further consideration.
Following receipt of each
commission’s evaluation and
recommendations, the Secretary will
consider the commission report(s) and
select Expression(s) of Interest that (i)
demonstrate a high likelihood of
providing substantial benefits to the
public and the national transportation
system; (ii) are cost-effective,
considering public commitments
necessary for implementation and
operation; and (iii) promise significant
advantages over existing services
operating in the same HSR corridor. The
Secretary will then submit a report to
Congress on all selected Expression(s) of
Interest. Subject to appropriations and
after submission of reports to Congress,
up to $5,000,000.00 may be made
available for preliminary engineering
under 49 U.S.C. Section 26104(a) for
one selected proposal per corridor.
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search
the electronic form of all comments
received into any of FRA’s dockets by

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17:09 Dec 15, 2008

Jkt 217001

the name of the individual submitting
the comment (or signing the comment,
if submitted on behalf of a State,
association, business, or labor union).
You may review DOT’s complete
Privacy Act Statement in the Federal
Register published on April 11, 2000
(65 FR 19477–78), or you may visit
http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.
Freedom of Information Act
Applicability: Documents submitted to
the agency pursuant to this notice
become agency records subject to the
public access provisions of the Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C.
552). FOIA generally provides that any
person has a right, enforceable in court,
to obtain access to Federal agency
records, except to the extent that such
records (or portions of them) are
protected from public disclosure by one
of nine exemptions or by one of three
special law enforcement record
exclusions. The Department of
Transportation’s regulations
implementing the FOIA are found at 49
CFR Part 7. See the discussion later in
this notice about the treatment of trade
secrets and commercial or financial
information obtained from a person that
is privileged or confidential.
Requests for Confidential Treatment:
FRA recognizes that Expressions of
Interest submitted to the agency
pursuant to this notice may contain
certain information that is or should be
exempt from public release, principally
because the information constitutes
trade secrets or commercial or financial
information obtained from a person that
is privileged or confidential as provided
for in Freedom of Information Act
exemption 4 (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)). The
term ‘‘trade secret’’ has been fairly
narrowly defined as a ‘‘secret,
commercially valuable plan, formula,
process, or device that is used for the
making, preparing, compounding, or
processing of trade commodities and
that can be said to be the end product
of either innovation or substantial effort.
Public Citizen Health Research Group v.
FDA, 704 F.2d 1280, 1288 (DC Cir.
1983). FRA expects that there should be
very limited, if any, need to submit
trade secret information in connection
with this notice. Commercial or
financial information obtained from a
person that is privileged or confidential
and thus exempt from release under
FOIA exemption typically involves
information the release of which is
likely to cause substantial harm to the
competitive position of the person from
whom the information was obtained.
National Parks & Conservation
Association v. Morton, 498 F.2d 765,
770 (DC Cir. 1974). This is a fairly
restrictive standard and should serve to

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76447

limit the volume of exempt material that
might be submitted.
FRA also recognizes that the nature of
the process established through section
502 of the Passenger Rail Investment
and Improvement Act of 2008, with the
potential involvement of a multimember commission that could be
charged with reviewing proposals
submitted pursuant to this notice, could
present significant challenges in
managing any confidential information
that is submitted. Thus, submitters are
encouraged to carefully review the
applicable standards governing what
constitutes trade secrets or confidential
commercial or financial information and
to limit the submission of such
information to that specifically needed
to respond to this notice.
A request for confidential treatment
with respect to a document or portion
thereof may be made in accordance with
instructions in ADDRESSES above on the
basis that the information is—(1)
Exempt from the mandatory disclosure
requirements of the Freedom of
Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552); (2)
Required to be held in confidence by 18
U.S.C. 1905; or (3) Otherwise exempt by
law from public disclosure. Any
document containing information for
which confidential treatment is
requested shall be accompanied at the
time of filing by a detailed statement
justifying non-disclosure and referring
to the specific legal authority claimed.
Any document containing any
information for which confidential
treatment is requested shall be marked
‘‘CONFIDENTIAL’’ or ‘‘CONTAINS
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION’’ in
bold letters. If confidentiality is
requested as to the entire document, or
if it is claimed that non-confidential
information in the document is not
reasonably segregable from confidential
information, the accompanying
statement of justification shall so
indicate and support with specific legal
authority. If confidentiality is requested
as to a portion of the document, then the
person filing the document shall file,
together with the document, a second
copy of the document from which the
information for which confidential
treatment is requested has been deleted.
If the person filing a document, of
which only a portion is requested to be
held in confidence, does not submit a
second copy of the document with the
confidential information deleted, FRA
may assume that there is no objection to
public disclosure of the document in its
entirety. FRA retains the right to make
its own determination with regard to
any claim of confidentiality. Notice of a
decision by the FRA to deny a claim, in
whole or in part, and an opportunity to

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76448

Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 16, 2008 / Notices

respond shall be given to a person
claiming confidentiality of information
no less than five days prior to its public
disclosure. FRA intends to address
protection of confidential information
by any commission(s) formed to review
submitted proposals through the
commission formation process.
Submitters are welcome to offer
suggestions for managing confidential
data along with their proposals.
Issued in Washington, DC, on December
11, 2008.
Mark E. Yachmetz,
Associate Administrator for Railroad
Development.
[FR Doc. E8–29795 Filed 12–15–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
Office of Hazardous Materials Safety;
Notice of Application for Special
Permits
AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration
(PHMSA), DOT.
ACTION: List of Applications for Special
Permits.

In accordance with the
procedures governing the application
for, and the processing of, special
permits from the Department of
Transportation’s Hazardous Material
Regulations (49 CFR Part 107, Subpart
B), notice is hereby given that the Office
of Hazardous Materials Safety has
received the application described
herein. Each mode of transportation for
which a particular special permit is
requested is indicated by a number in
the ‘‘Nature of Application’’ portion of
the table below as follows: 1—Motor
vehicle, 2—Rail freight, 3—Cargo vessel,
4—Cargo aircraft only, 5—Passengercarrying aircraft.
SUMMARY:

DATES: Comments must be received on
or before January 15, 2009.
Address Comments to: Record Center,
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration, U.S. Department of
Transportation, Washington, DC 20590.
Comments should refer to the
application number and be submitted in
triplicate. If confirmation of receipt of
comments is desired, include a selfaddressed stamped postcard showing
the special permit number.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Copies of the applications are
available for inspection in the Records
Center, East Building, PHH–30, 1200
New Jersey Avenue, Southeast,
Washington, DC or at http://
dms.dot.gov.
This notice of receipt of applications
for special permit is published in
accordance with Part 107 of the Federal
hazardous materials transportation law
(49 U.S.C. 5117(b); 49 CFR 1.53(b)).
Issued in Washington, DC, on December 8,
2008.
Delmer F. Billings,
Director, Office of Hazardous Materials
Special Permits and Approvals.

NEW SPECIAL PERMITS
Application
No.

Docket No.

Applicant

Regulation(s) affected

Nature of special permits thereof
To authorize the transportation of certain forbidden explosives and other hazardous materials by helicopter in remote areas of the
US for seismic exploration without being
subject to hazard communication requirements and quantity limitations. (mode 4)
To authorize the transportation in commerce of
certain DOT 3AAX and DOT 3T seamless
cylinders that have been repaired. (modes
1, 2, 3)
To authorize the manufacture, marking, sale
and use of a non-DOT specification cylinder
conforming in part with DOT Canada Specifications 4BA for transportation of certain Division 2.2 compressed gases. (modes 1, 2,
3, 4)

14791–N ......

.................

Heliqwest International
Inc., Montrose, CO.

49 CFR 172.101 HMT Column (9B),
172.200, 172.300, 172.400.

14792–N ......

.................

CP Industries,
McKeesport, PA.

49 CFR 180.205(f)(3) and 180.212 ...

14794–N ......

.................

Worthington Cylinders
of Canada Corp.,
Tilbury, Ontario.

49 CFR 173.301(a)(1) and (a)(2) and
173.302a(a)(1).

[FR Doc. E8–29638 Filed 12–15–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–60–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board

sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES

[STB Docket No. AB–314 (Sub-No. 4X)]

Chicago Central & Pacific Railroad
Company—Abandonment Exemption—
in Linn County, IA
Chicago Central & Pacific Railroad
Company (CCP) has filed a verified
notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152

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17:09 Dec 15, 2008

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Subpart F—Exempt Abandonments to
abandon a 0.25-mile line of railroad
extending between milepost 229.50 and
milepost 229.75 in Cedar Rapids, Linn
County, IA. The line traverses United
States Postal Service Zip Code 52302.
CCP has certified that: (1) No local
traffic has moved over the line for at
least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead
traffic to be rerouted; (3) no formal
complaint filed by a user of rail service
on the line (or by a state or local
government entity acting on behalf of
such user) regarding cessation of service
over the line either is pending with the

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Surface Transportation Board or with
any U.S. District Court or has been
decided in favor of complainant within
the 2-year period; and (4) the
requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7
(environmental report), 49 CFR 1105.8
(historic report), 49 CFR 1105.11
(transmittal letter), 49 CFR 1105.12
(newspaper publication), and 49 CFR
1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental
agencies) have been met.
As a condition to this exemption, any
employee adversely affected by the
abandonment shall be protected under
Oregon Short Line R. Co.—

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