Regulations on Safety Integration Plans Governing Railroad Consolidations, Mergers, and Acquisitions of Control

On March 15, 2002, the Federal Railroad Administration ("FRA") and the Surface Transportation Board ("STB" or "Board") published joint final rules on regulations on safety integration plans ("SIPs" or "plans") governing railroad mergers, consolidations, and acquisitions of control, and procedures governing the STB's consideration of SIPs in cases involving these type of transactions. Two interested parties filed petitions for reconsideration of FRA's final rule, addressing certain issues and concerns relating to the agency's rule text or regulatory impact statement. (The Board received no petitions for reconsideration of its final rule.) In this document, FRA responds to the petitions and clarifies and amends discrete provisions of the final rule, where appropriate.