• About F & S
  • Our Attorneys
  • Practice Areas
      • litigateLitigation Services
      • REGRegulatory Matters
      • Commercial Transactions
      • Labor & Employment
      • General Counsel Service
      • Government & Passenger Rail
    • Close
  • Our Clients
  • Alerts & Analysis
  • About F & S
  • Our Attorneys
  • Practice Areas
      • litigateLitigation Services
      • REGRegulatory Matters
      • Commercial Transactions
      • Labor & Employment
      • General Counsel Service
      • Government & Passenger Rail
    • Close
  • Our Clients
  • Alerts & Analysis
FRA Rule Amendments on Glazing

FRA Rule Amendments on Glazing

  • On November 17, 2022

By: Michael Barron Jr.

In today’s Federal Register, the FRA published a final rule, effective immediately, amending its glazing requirements for exterior windows.

The amendments codify longstanding waivers, add a new testing option to improve consistency of glazing testing, and revise outdated section headings. The changes update and clarify existing requirements to maintain and, in some cases, enhance safety, and reduce unnecessary costs.

The amendments codify many long-standing waivers that have provided certain older railroad equipment relief from FRA’s glazing requirements. In particular, this final rule excludes from compliance with part 223 all locomotives, cabooses, and passenger cars built or rebuilt prior to July 1, 1980, that are operated at speeds not exceeding 30 mph, and are used only where the risk of propelled or fouling objects striking the equipment is low. This reduces the regulatory burden on the railroad industry by eliminating the need to continue to use the waiver process for relief, while providing the railroad industry with regulatory certainty as to the applicability of part 223 to certain older equipment.

This rule also revises appendix A to allow the use of a steel ball as an alternative to a cinder block for conducting the large object impact test required by appendix A. Appendix A contains the performance criteria and the testing methodology for required glazing materials. Specifically, appendix A requires glazing materials to be subjected to two tests: ballistic impact and large object impact. Historically, the large object impact test in appendix A has required the use of a 24-lb cinder block of specific dimensions. As noted in the NPRM, in the early 2000s, FRA became aware that cinder blocks of the weight and dimensions appendix A requires were no longer being manufactured and accordingly were becoming harder for the glazing manufacturing and railroad industries to find. Because the steel ball test is at least equivalent to the existing cinder block test appendix A has historically required, safety will be maintained, and in some respects, enhanced, by the standardization the steel ball test provides.

In the NPRM FRA proposed to incorporate by reference two American Society for Testing and Materials  (ASTM) specifications to ensure proper cement construction and integrity of the blocks. Upon further review and consideration, FRA recognizes that other concrete compositions can be used to construct structurally sound cinder blocks. Accordingly, FRA is not adopting the NPRM’s proposal to incorporate by reference the two ASTM standards, which would have required cinder blocks to meet those standards to be used for testing under appendix A. Instead, FRA is revising appendix A to make clear that any structurally sound cinder blocks may be used to meet the testing requirements of appendix A and ASTM specifications are merely examples of compositions known to be structurally sound.

Finally, FRA is revising several section headings in part 223 to replace terms that have become outdated. As noted in the NPRM, since 1979, when FRA first published part 223, use of the terms ‘‘new’’ and ‘‘existing’’ in various section headings has become confusing. Accordingly, for clarity, FRA is amending the section headings to refer to the relevant compliance dates for each section.

A link to the rule is provided. FRA Glazing Rule 

Please contact Michael Barron Jr.  MBarron@fletcher-sippel.com if you have questions.

 
Our Recent Blog Post
  • FRA ISSUES FINAL CREW SIZE RULE
  • The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act: Proceed at Restricted Speed
  • ORAL FLUID TESTING:  A HEADS UP TO REVIEW YOUR POLICIES!!!
  • Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act: Congress’ New Rule on Work-Place Accommodations for Pregnant Workers
  • PHMSA is proposing new rules on train consist and emergency response information
  • FRA PROPOSED RULES FOR CERTIFICATION OF RAILROAD DISPATCHERS AND SIGNAL EMPLOYEES
  • Final Rule on Oral specimen drug testing
  • Emergency Escape Breathing Apparatus NPRM
  • FLETCHER & SIPPEL ADDS AND PROMOTES ATTORNEYS
  • FRA Rule Amendments on Glazing
  • BNSF Loses Illinois Biometric Privacy Lawsuit, Jury’s Verdict Exposes Railroad to up to $228 Million in Damages
  • Bill Sippel
  • NPRM on reflectorization
  • USDOT Solicits Applicants for Crossing Safety Enhancement Grants
  • BNSF California Embargo

BNSF Loses Illinois Biometric Privacy Lawsuit, Jury’s Verdict Exposes Railroad to up to $228 Million in Damages

Previous thumb

FLETCHER & SIPPEL ADDS AND PROMOTES ATTORNEYS

Next thumb
Scroll

Chicago, Il
29 North Wacker Dr, Suite 800
Chicago, IL 60606-3208

(312) 252-1500 (Main)
(312) 252-2400 (Fax)

Jackson, MS
4400 Old Canton Road, Suite 220,
Jackson, MS 39211-5982

(601) 414-6009 (Main)
(601) 414-6016 (Fax)



Privacy Policy

©2023 Fletcher & Sippel LLC.  Branding & Designed by Menagery, Inc.
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}