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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 151 / Friday, August 8, 2025 / Notices
‘‘user-friendly’’ format to improve the
use of such information; and (3)
accurately assess the resources
expended to retrieve and produce
information requested. See 44 U.S.C.
3501.
The summary below describes the ICR
that FRA will submit for OMB clearance
as the PRA requires:
Title: System for Telephonic
Notification of Unsafe Conditions at
Highway-Rail and Pathway Grade
Crossings.
OMB Control Number: 2130–0591.
Abstract: FRA’s regulations on
emergency notification systems (ENS)
for telephonic reporting of unsafe
conditions at highway-rail and pathway
grade crossings (subpart E of 49 CFR
part 234) prescribe standards to ensure
that the congressional mandate 1 to
require railroad carriers to establish and
maintain a toll-free telephone service to
report unsafe conditions at highway-rail
and pathway grade crossings is carried
out. This collection of information is
used by railroads to investigate and
respond to unsafe conditions and
thereby reduce the risk of accidents/
incidents and corresponding casualties
and property damage at such crossings.
Additionally, law enforcement
authorities use the information to direct
vehicular traffic or carry out other
activities to maintain safety at the
highway-rail or pathway grade crossing.
In this 60-day notice, FRA made
multiple adjustments that increased the
previously approved burden hours from
13,649 to 22,385 hours and increased
the number of responses from 163,996
to 186,102. These adjustments are
summarized below:
• Under § 234.305, which contains
requirements for railroads’ response to
credible reports of warning system
malfunction at highway-rail grade
crossings, FRA adjusted the burden
estimates to reflect the number of
responses and estimated average time
because the number of closed crossings
is no longer included.
• Section 234.305(a)(1), which
contains requirements for railroads to
contact law enforcement under
paragraph (a)(2), was not included in
previous submissions of this ICR.
Accordingly, FRA adjusted the burden
estimates to include the number of
hours and estimated average time
required to report a warning, which
increased the burden by 35 hours.
• Under § 234.305(b) through (d),
FRA made multiple burden adjustments
to reflect the estimated annual
responses more accurately from 607
railroads with open grade crossings.
Specifically, a previous year analysis of
the highway-rail grade crossing data
indicated that approximately 90 percent
of the 607 railroads responsible for ENS
do not have maintenance responsibility.
In addition, based on a previous
extrapolation of a study/pilot program,
FRA estimated an average of
approximately 64,000 calls annually to
the ENS concerning highway-rail grade
crossings, and an average of 2,000 calls
annually to the ENS concerning
pathway crossings. Accordingly, FRA
adjusted the paperwork requirements
for remedial actions in response to
reports of unsafe conditions at highwayrail and pathway grade crossings.
• Under § 234.306, which establishes
procedures for multiple dispatching or
maintaining railroads with respect to
the same highway-rail or pathway grade
crossing and appointment of the
responsible railroad, FRA made burden
estimate adjustments to accurately
reflect that appointment discussions
have no timeline or end date.
Consequently, these appointment
discussions would only need to take
place when a new appointment is made,
or an appointment is changed.
• Under § 234.311, which contains
requirements for ENS sign placement
and maintenance, FRA determined that
the previous submission underestimated
the annual responses for this paperwork
requirement. Accordingly, FRA adjusted
the burden estimates to accurately
reflect the number of hours and
estimated average time required for
railroads to replace and repair ENS
signs. FRA determined that there are
approximately 200,000 highway-rail
grade crossings, with two signs at each
crossing, for an estimated total of
400,000 ENS signs. FRA estimates that
approximately 10 percent of these signs
(40,000) are being replaced annually,
causing the burden estimate for this
regulatory requirement to increase by
9,000 hours.
Type of Request: Extension without
change (with changes in estimates) of a
currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Businesses.
Form(s): N/A.
Respondent Universe: 607 railroads.
Frequency of Submission: On
occasion.
REPORTING BURDEN
Respondent
universe
CFR section (49 CFR part 234, subpart E)
234.303
Total annual
responses
Average time
per response
Total annual
burden hours
Wage rate
Total cost
equivalent
(A)
(B)
(C) = A * B
(D) 2
(E) = C * D
Emergency notification systems for telephonic reporting of unsafe conditions at highway-rail and pathway grade crossings.
—(a), (c), (d), (e) Reportable calls from the public of
unsafe conditions at highway-rail grade crossings
and pathway grade crossings.
234.305
607 railroads ...
66,000 calls .....
1 minute ..........
1,100
$47.20
$51,920
Remedial actions in response to reports of unsafe conditions at highway-rail and pathway grade crossings.
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
(a) General rule on response to credible report of warning system malfunction at a highway-rail grade crossing.
—(1) Dispatching responsibility and maintenance responsibility; dispatching railroad’s prompt notification
of malfunction to all trains authorized to operate
through the highway-rail grade crossing.
—Contact law enforcement as required by subpart C
of this part.
—(2) Dispatching responsibility but not maintenance
responsibility; dispatching railroad’s prompt notification of malfunction to all trains authorized to operate
through the highway-rail grade crossing.
546 railroads ...
1,000 contacts
1 minute ..........
16.67
89.13
1,485.80
546 Railroads ..
1,000 contacts
1 minute ..........
16.67
89.13
1,485.80
61 railroads .....
100 contacts ....
1 minute ..........
1.67
80.38
133.97
1 Section 205(a) of the Rail Safety Improvement
Act of 2008 (RSIA), Public Law 110–432, Div. A
(Oct. 16, 2008), codified at 49 U.S.C. 20152.
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REPORTING BURDEN—Continued
Respondent
universe
CFR section (49 CFR part 234, subpart E)
—(2) Dispatching railroad prompt report of malfunction
to the railroad that has maintenance responsibility.
—Contact law enforcement as required by subpart C
of this part.
Total annual
responses
Average time
per response
Total annual
burden hours
Wage rate
Total cost
equivalent
(A)
(B)
(C) = A * B
(D) 2
(E) = C * D
61 railroads .....
100 contacts ....
1 minute ..........
1.67
89.13
148.85
61 Railroads ....
100 Contacts ...
1 minute ..........
1.67
89.13
148.85
(b) General rule on response to public report of warning system malfunction at a highway-rail grade crossing.
—(1) Railroad has maintenance responsibility for
warning system; prompt contact by railroad to all
trains that are authorized to operate through the
highway-rail grade crossing.
—Prompt notification to law enforcement agency with
jurisdiction over the highway-rail grade crossing.
—(2) Railroad does not have maintenance responsibility for warning system; prompt contact to all trains
that are authorized to operate through the highwayrail grade crossing.
—Contact law enforcement ...........................................
—Contact the maintaining railroad ................................
546 railroads ...
1,000 contacts
1 minute ..........
16.67
80.38
1,339.67
546 railroads ...
1,000 contacts
1 minute ..........
16.67
89.13
1,485.80
61 railroads .....
100 contacts ....
1 minute ..........
1.67
89.13
148.85
61 railroads .....
61 railroads .....
100 contacts ....
100 contacts ....
1 minute ..........
1 minute ..........
1.67
1.67
89.13
89.13
148.55
148.55
(c) General rule on response to public report of warning system failure at a pathway grade crossing.
—(1) Railroad has maintenance responsibility for
warning system; prompt contact by railroad to all
trains that are authorized to operate through pathway grade crossing.
—Contact law enforcement ...........................................
—(2) Railroad does not have maintenance responsibility for warning system; prompt contact by railroad
to all trains that are authorized to operate through
pathway grade crossing.
—Contact law enforcement ...........................................
—Contact maintaining railroad ......................................
546 railroads ...
20 contacts ......
1 minute ..........
0.33
89.13
29.41
546 railroads ...
61 railroads .....
20 contacts ......
2 contacts ........
1 minute ..........
1 minute ..........
0.20
0.03
89.13
89.13
29.41
2.67
61 railroads .....
61 railroads .....
2 contacts ........
2 contacts ........
1 minute ..........
1 minute ..........
0.03
0.03
89.13
89.13
2.67
2.67
(d) General rule on response to report of a disabled vehicle or other obstruction blocking a railroad track at a highway-rail or pathway grade crossing.
—(1) Railroad has maintenance responsibility for the
crossing; prompt contact by railroad to all trains that
are authorized to operate through pathway grade
crossing.
—Contact law enforcement ...........................................
—(2) Railroad does not have maintenance responsibility for crossing; prompt contact by railroad to all
trains that are authorized to operate through pathway grade crossing.
—Contact law enforcement ...........................................
—Contact maintaining railroad ......................................
—(e) Special rule on contacting a train that is not required to have communication equipment.
7,500 contacts
1 minute ..........
1.25
89.13
11,141.25
546 railroads ...
61 railroads .....
750 contacts ....
750 contacts ....
1 minute ..........
1 minute ..........
12.50
12.50
89.13
80.38
1,114.13
1,114.13
61 railroads .....
61 railroads .....
10 railroads .....
750 contacts ....
750 contacts ....
2 contacts ........
1 minute ..........
1 minute ..........
1 minute ..........
12.50
12.50
0.03
89.13
89.13
89.13
1,114.13
1,114.13
2.67
—(f) General rule on response to report of an obstruction of view at a highway-rail or pathway grade
crossing.
The estimated paperwork burden for this requirement is covered under § 234.305(a) through (d).
—(g) General rule on response to report of other unsafe condition at a highway-rail or pathway grade
crossing.
The estimated paperwork burden for this requirement is covered under § 234.305(a) through (d).
—(h)(1) Maintaining railroad’s requirement to provide
dispatching railroad sufficient contact information.
61 railroads .....
—(h)(2) Exceptions for use of a third-party telephone
service and answering machine by a maintaining
railroad.
The estimated paperwork burden for this requirement is covered under § 234.307.
234.306
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
546 railroads ...
12 contacts ......
1 minute ..........
0.20
80.38
16.08
Multiple dispatching or maintaining railroads with respect to the same highway-rail or pathway grade crossing; appointment of responsible
railroad.
—(a) Duty of multiple dispatching railroads to appoint
a primary dispatching railroad for the crossing.
—(b) Duty of multiple maintaining railroads to appoint
a railroad responsible for the placement and maintenance of the ENS sign(s).
61 railroads .....
—(c) Duty of multiple maintaining railroads with respect to remedial action at the crossing.
The estimated paperwork burden for this requirement is covered under § 234.305(a)(1), (b)(1), (c)(1), and
(d)(1). The recordkeeping requirements are covered under § 234.313.
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15 appointment
discussions.
15 appointment
discussions.
Fmt 4703
1 hour ..............
15
89.13
1,336.95
1 hour ..............
15
89.13
1,336.95
Sfmt 4703
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REPORTING BURDEN—Continued
Respondent
universe
CFR section (49 CFR part 234, subpart E)
234.307
Total annual
responses
Average time
per response
Total annual
burden hours
Wage rate
Total cost
equivalent
Use of third-party telephone service by dispatching and maintaining railroads.
—(b) General use of a third-party telephone service by
a maintaining railroad.
The estimated paperwork burden for this requirement is covered under § 234.307(d)(1).
—(c) Duties of third-party telephone service in contacting dispatching and maintaining railroads.
The estimated paperwork burden for this requirement is covered under
§ 234.303 or § 234.305.
—(d)(1) Duties of railroad using third-party telephone
service—Providing third-party telephone service with
contact information.
FRA anticipates zero submissions over the next three-year period.
—(d)(2) Written notice to FRA of intent to use thirdparty service.
FRA anticipates zero submissions over the next three-year period.
—(d)(3) Duties of railroad using third-party telephone
service—Informing FRA of any changes in use or
discontinuance of third-party service.
FRA anticipates zero submissions over the next three-year period.
—(e) Third-party telephone service and railroad responsibilities.
The estimated paperwork burden for recordkeeping is covered under § 234.313.
234.309
—(a) Provision of telephone number to maintaining
railroad that is to be displayed on the ENS sign at
the crossing.
61 railroads .....
—(c) Repair or replacement of ENS sign .....................
546 railroads ...
234.311
ENS signs in general.
12 contacts ......
10 minutes .......
2.00
89.13
178.26
10,000
69.79
69,790.00
ENS sign placement and maintenance.
40,000 signs ....
234.313
15 minutes .......
Recordkeeping
—(a) through (d) Recordkeeping, including electronic
recordkeeping under § 234.315.
607 railroads ...
66,000 records
10 minutes .......
11,000
89.13
980,430.00
Total 3 .....................................................................
607 railroads ...
187,202 responses.
N/A ..................
22,385 hours
N/A
1,755,460.17
Total Estimated Annual Responses:
Total Estimated Annual Responses:
187,202.
Estimated Annual Burden: 22,385.
Estimated Annual Burden Hour
Dollar Cost Equivalent: $1,755,460.17.
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 that does
not display a currently valid OMB
control number.
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
2 For
public respondents, FRA used an hourly
rate of $47.20 per hour for the value of the public’s
time, which includes an overhead cost of 31.1
percent. FRA obtained this data from the U.S.
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
employer costs for employee compensation wages
for December 2024. Additionally, for railroad
respondents, the dollar equivalent cost is derived
from the Surface Transportation Board’s 2023 Full
Year Wage A&B data series for railroad workers
plus a 75-percent overhead charge. FRA calculates
the average hourly wage rate for professional/
administrative staff at $89.13 per hour, for
maintenance of way/structures employees at $69.79
per hour, and for transportation employees (other
than train and engine) at $80.38 per hour.
3 Totals may not add up due to rounding.
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(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520.)
Christopher S. Van Nostrand,
Deputy Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2025–15055 Filed 8–7–25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA–2025–0008]
Proposed Agency Information
Collection Activities; Comment
Request
Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:
Under the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its
implementing regulations, FRA seeks
approval of the Information Collection
Request (ICR) summarized below.
Before submitting this ICR to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) for
SUMMARY:
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approval, FRA is soliciting public
comment on specific aspects of the
activities identified in the ICR.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before October
7, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed ICR
should be submitted on
www.regulations.gov to the docket,
Docket No. FRA–2025–0008. All
comments received will be posted
without change to the docket, including
any personal information provided.
Please refer to the assigned OMB control
number (2130–0509) in any
correspondence submitted. FRA will
summarize comments received in
response to this notice in a subsequent
notice, made available to the public, and
include them in its information
collection submission to OMB for
approval.
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Arlette Mussington, Information
Collection Clearance Officer, at email:
[email protected] or
telephone: (571) 609–1285 or Ms.
Joanne Swafford, Information Collection
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Clearance Officer, at email:
[email protected] or telephone:
(757) 897–9908.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The PRA,
44 U.S.C. 3501–3520, and its
implementing regulations, 5 CFR part
1320, require Federal agencies to
provide 60 days’ notice to the public to
allow comment on information
collection activities before seeking OMB
approval of the activities. See 44 U.S.C.
3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.8 through
1320.12. Specifically, FRA invites
interested parties to comment on the
following ICR regarding: (1) whether the
information collection activities are
necessary for FRA to properly execute
its functions, including whether the
activities will have practical utility; (2)
the accuracy of FRA’s estimates of the
burden of the information collection
activities, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used to
determine the estimates; (3) ways for
FRA to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information being
collected; and (4) ways for FRA to
minimize the burden of information
collection activities on the public,
including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology. See 44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A); 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1).
FRA believes that soliciting public
comment may reduce the administrative
and paperwork burdens associated with
the collection of information that
Federal regulations mandate. In
summary, comments received will
advance three objectives: (1) reduce
reporting burdens; (2) organize
information collection requirements in a
‘‘user-friendly’’ format to improve the
use of such information; and (3)
accurately assess the resources
expended to retrieve and produce
information requested. See 44 U.S.C.
3501.
The summary below describes the ICR
that FRA will submit for OMB clearance
as the PRA requires:
Title: State Safety Participation
Regulations and Reporting of Remedial
Actions.
OMB Control Number: 2130–0509.
Abstract: Title 49 CFR part 212
requires qualified State inspectors to
provide various reports to FRA for
monitoring and enforcement purposes
concerning State investigative,
inspection, and surveillance activities
related to railroad compliance with
Federal railroad safety laws and
regulations. Additionally, under 49 CFR
part 209, subpart E, railroads are
required to report to FRA actions taken
to remedy certain alleged violations of
law.
In this 60-day notice, FRA shows
updated burden estimates for each
information collection requirement
under part 212. FRA previously
combined the burden estimates for
several sections and reported the
combined burden under 49 U.S.C.
20105, the statute that authorizes part
212. Updated estimates are now
provided on a section-by-section basis.
In addition, § 212.109 has been
removed from this ICR because it was
recently repealed by FRA.1 Because it
was obsolete, removing § 212.109 from
this ICR does not affect the overall PRA
burden under part 212. It required no
actual information collection even
before it was repealed.
Estimated burden hours under this
ICR have been reduced from 11,958 to
9,851 hours, and the number of
responses from 24,066 to 23,225. This
decrease, after a thorough review, is the
result of the changes described in the
following sections summarized below:
• FRA reduced the estimated number
of annual violation reports submitted by
State inspectors in various disciplines
from 1,154 to 690 violation reports.
Accordingly, the estimated burden
hours for these reports were decreased
by 1,856.
• Under § 209.405(b), FRA adjusted
the estimated number of violation report
challenges from 240 to 50 annually.
This adjustment more accurately reflects
the estimated number of burden hours,
decreasing the burden by 143.
• Under § 209.407, FRA decreased the
estimated number of delayed reports
from 240 to 50 annually, reducing the
reported burden by 143 hours.
These revised estimates contributed to
an overall reduction of 2,107 burden
hours.
Type of Request: Extension without
change (with changes in estimates) of a
currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Businesses.
Form(s): FRA F 6180.33/61/67/96/
96A/109/110/111/112.
Respondent Universe: States and
railroads.
Frequency of Submission: On
occasion.
REPORTING BURDEN
Respondent
universe
Title 49, CFR section
Total annual
responses
Avg. time per
response
Total annual
burden hours
Wage rate 2
Total cost equivalent U.S.D.
(A)
(B)
(A * B = C)
(D)
(E = C * D)
212.105 Agreements
—Railroad Safety State Participation Agreement
(SPA) Annual updates, technical training plans and
revised schedules to existing agreements.
—New State Participation Agreement, including opinion of counsel and schedule of current participation.
—State Inspector travel planning and reimbursement ..
34 States .........
34 updates ......
1 hour ..............
34
$88.36
$3,004.24
15 States .........
1 agreement ....
32 hours ..........
32
88.36
2,827.52
600 vouchers ...
1.5 hours .........
900
88.36
I
34 States .........
212.107
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
—State to file annual certification in the event that
FRA and the State agency do not agree on terms
for the participation under § 212.105.
1 90
FR 28130 (July 1, 2025).
State respondents, the dollar equivalent cost
is derived from the May 2024 Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) data for management occupations,
NAICS 999100—State Government, excluding
schools and hospitals. https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/
2 For
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I
I
79,524.00
Certification
FRA anticipates zero submissions for this paperwork requirement over the next three-year period.
industry/999200. To calculate the hourly wage of
$88.36 for this category of workers, FRA included
a 75-percent charge for overhead costs (50.49 × 1.75
= 88.36). The dollar equivalent cost for railroad
respondents is derived from the Surface
Transportation Board’s 2024 Full Year Wage A&B
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data series using employee group 200 (Professional
& Administrative) hourly wage rate $50.93. The
total burden wage rate (straight time plus 75
percent) used in the table is $89.13 ($50.93 × 1.75
= $89.13).
3 Totals may not add up due to rounding.
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| File Type | application/pdf |
| File Modified | 2025-08-08 |
| File Created | 2025-08-08 |