§ 218.133 - Risk assessment content and procedures.

§ 218.133 Risk assessment content and procedures.

(a) General. A risk assessment submitted under this subpart must meet the following requirements:

(1) Contain a list and descriptions of all functions, duties, and tasks associated with the proposed operation to be performed by the one-person train crewmember, other railroad employee(s), or equipment, including, at a minimum, any function performed:

(i) To prepare a train for operation (including, but not limited to, pre-departure inspections, obtaining track bulletins, orders, or manifests, managing the train consist, including train makeup, obtaining and ensuring the accuracy of the train consist, arming and testing the end-of-train device, and performing brake tests);

(ii) To operate a train (including, but not limited to, operating and controlling the train, interacting with non-crewmembers such as the dispatcher or roadway workers, and responding to emergencies or unexpected events); and

(iii) To ensure safety once a train has stopped moving (e.g., including, but not limited to, securing the train).

(2) Describe the allocation of all functions, duties, and tasks to the one-person train crewmember, other railroad employee(s), or equipment.

(3) Contain a risk-based hazard analysis for the proposed train operation's functions, duties, and tasks, that shall:

(i) Identify any new hazards, changes to existing hazards and/or changes to the risk of an existing hazard associated with the proposed train operation, as compared to a two-person minimum train crew operation, taking account of all aspects of the railroad's system, including, at a minimum, infrastructure, equipment, technology, work schedules, mode of operation, operating rules and practices, training and other areas impacting railroad safety;

(ii) Calculate and/or update each risk, quantitatively or qualitatively, or both, by assessing each new hazard, change to an existing hazard and/or change to the risk of a hazard, in terms of the severity and likelihood of a mishap;

(iii) Recalculate each risk mitigated in accordance with § 218.131(b)(15), quantitatively or qualitatively, or both, by assessing each new hazard, change to an existing hazard and/or change to the risk of a hazard and the level of mitigation (elimination or reduction), in terms of the severity and likelihood of a mishap; and

(iv) Provide a statement with supporting evidence that the one-person train crew operation with a fully implemented mitigation plan is as safe or safer than a two-person minimum train crew operation.

(4) Contain a mitigation plan that documents the design and implementation timeline of the sustained mitigation strategies to eliminate or reduce the overall risk to a level such that the one-person train crew operation is as safe or safer than a two-person minimum train crew operation, considering, at a minimum, the following:

(i) The design of the system, equipment, and components, including equipment reliability and the necessary functions to be performed, in both a normal operation and in a degraded or failed state; and

(ii) The human factors associated with the processes and tasks to be performed, including the required skills and capabilities, the operating environment, and existing or potential impairments.

(b) Alternative standard. A railroad may petition the Associate Administrator for Safety for approval to use alternative methodologies or procedures, or both, other than those required by paragraph (a) of this section to assess the risk associated with an operation proposed under this section. If, after providing public notice of the request for approval and an opportunity for public comment on the request, the Associate Administrator for Safety finds that any such petition demonstrates that the alternative proposed methodology or procedures, or both, will provide an accurate assessment of the risk associated with the operation, the Associate Administrator for Safety may approve the use of the proposed alternative(s).