(a) A person subject to a requirement of this part may petition the FRA for a waiver of compliance with such requirement.

(b) Each petition for waiver under this section must be filed in a manner and contain the information required by part 211 of this chapter. A petition for waiver of the part 40 prohibition against stand down of an employee before the Medical Review Officer has completed the verification must also comply with §40.21 of this title.

(c) If the FRA Administrator finds that waiver of compliance is in the public interest and is consistent with railroad safety, the Administrator may grant the waiver subject to any necessary conditions.

(d) Special dispensation for employees performing train or dispatching service on existing cross-border operations. If a foreign railroad requests a waiver not later than August 10, 2004, for an existing cross-border operation, subparts E, F, and G of this part shall not apply to train or dispatching service on that operation in the United States performed by an employee of a foreign railroad whose primary reporting point is outside the United States, until the railroad's waiver request is acted upon by FRA.

(e) Waiver requests for employees performing train or dispatching service on new or expanded cross-border operations. A foreign railroad seeking a waiver from subparts E, F, and G of this part for its employees performing train or dispatching service on a new cross-border operation that proceeds more than 10 route miles into the United States, or a formerly excepted cross-border operation that expands beyond the 10 mile limited haul exception in paragraph (d) of this section, must file a petition not later than 90 days before commencing the subject operation. FRA will attempt to decide on such petitions within 90 days. If no action is taken on the petition within 90 days, the petition remains pending for decision and the cross-border crew assignments on the operation covered by the petition will be subject to subparts E, F, and G until FRA grants the petition should the petitioner commence the proposed operation.

[66 FR 41973, Aug. 9, 2001, as amended at 69 FR 19287, Apr. 12, 2004]