(a) Pursuant to any application under this part, a prehearing conference will be held if found necessary or desirable by the Administrator.

(b) Pursuant to any application under this part, an oral hearing will be held if required by statute or if found necessary or desirable by the Administrator.

(c) Hearings shall be conducted by a panel designated by the Administrator, consisting of three FRA employees, including the Chief Counsel or a member of his or her staff who shall serve as chairman of the panel and the Associate Administrator for Intercity Programs or his or her delegate.

(d) Hearings shall be informal fact-finding proceedings, limited to the issues identified by the panel. Sections 556 and 557 of title 5, U.S.C., shall not apply.

(e) All direct evidence shall be reduced to writing and submitted to the Docket Clerk thirty days in advance of the hearing unless this requirement is expressly waived by the panel. Copies shall be furnished to all parties concurrently with the submission to the Docket Clerk.

(f) The panel may provide for oral presentations and cross-examination, and shall apply rules of evidence as it finds necessary.

(g) To the extent deemed appropriate by the panel, interested persons, including members of the public, may participate in the hearings through the submission of written data, oral presentations, or arguments.