D. Petitions for Modification
Three parties filed petitions for modification (petitions) of D.01-04-006.2
Petitioners request a blanket exemption because of health and safety issues associated with the rail transit systems' unique environment. For example, rail transit systems operating in at-grade alignments frequently utilize ballast (gravel type material) on their systems, a walking surface not conducive to evacuations of passengers in street shoes, high heels or other common mobility limiting apparel.
Petitioners explain that trains stranded between stations without traction power3 may require controlled or uncontrolled evacuation of passengers. This, in turn, may require passengers and emergency response personnel to walk on irregular ballasted surface, posing the risk of injury to passengers. Petitioners maintain that the risk of injury would be heightened in any such evacuation involving elderly passengers, passengers in wheelchairs, and in connection with another emergency such as a fire.
Although at-grade crossing warning systems are designed to lower to their "fail-safe" down position, petitioners believe that rotating outages will present an unacceptable risk to passengers on trains and to motorists. In the event of a power outage, petitioners are concerned that impatient motorists waiting at grade crossings will circumvent the lowered gates and proceed through the crossing. Petitioners are also concerned about the response time of emergency personnel due to traffic congestion at the crossings.
LCMTA also contends that federal law may prohibit imposition of rotating outages on common corridor shared grade crossings. As part of the Union Pacific system, LCMTA explains that certain crossings are regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration, which has issued rules that preempt any regulation of at-grade crossings, including any actions that have an impact on the safety or operation of them by any state agency.4
Petitioners state that rail transit systems that operate on aerial structure alignments present accessibility challenges to emergency response personnel. Any power outage that stranded trains on an aerial structure would expose passengers to the hazard of falling from the doorway of the train into the right-of-way or from overhead structures to the ground below.
Petitioners do not accept advance notification of rotating outages from the respondent utilities as an adequate mitigation measure because the respondent utilities cannot guarantee that they will be able to comply with an advance notice requirement.
Thus petitioners recommend that the Commission authorize respondent utilities to exempt all rail transit systems from rotating outages because electrical outages for rail transit systems will negatively impact the safety of passengers on rail transit systems.
2 The California Transit Association Rail Operations and Regulatory (CTA ROAR) Committee filed its petition on May 4, 2001; LACMTA filed on May 9, 2001; and, CTA ROAR Committee and four commuter rail operating agencies filed jointly on May 10, 2001. Rail transit systems represented by CTA ROAR Committee and by LACMTA filed several supplemental petitions and responses for a blanket exemption from rotating outages. Each petition seeks a blanket Category J exemption from rotating outages for the passenger rail. Rapid rail transit systems represented by CTA ROAR include BART, LACMTA, SRTD, SCVTA, SDTI, and MUNI. The four-commuter rail operating agencies consists of the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (Caltrain), San Diego Northern Railway (Coaster), San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission (ACE), and Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink). 3 Traction power is electric power supplied directly from the commercial power grid to run axle-mounted traction motors that drive the car wheels to propel trains. 4 49 CFR 234.4.
