§ 245.103 - FRA review of certification programs.

§ 245.103 FRA review of certification programs.

(a) Certification program submission schedule for railroads with current dispatching operations. Each railroad with current dispatching operations, as of July 22, 2024, shall submit its dispatcher certification program to FRA, in accordance with the procedures and requirements contained in § 245.107, according to the following schedule:

(1) All Class I railroads (including the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) and railroads providing commuter service shall submit their programs to FRA no later than March 17, 2025.

(2) All Class II railroads and Class III railroads (including a switching and terminal or other railroad not otherwise classified) shall submit their programs to FRA no later than November 12, 2025.

(b) Certification program submission for new dispatching railroads. For each railroad that commences dispatching operations after July 22, 2024, the railroad shall submit its written dispatcher certification program to, and obtain approval from, FRA in accordance with the procedures and requirements contained in § 245.107, prior to commencing dispatching operations.

(c) Method for submitting certification programs to FRA. Railroads must submit their written certification programs and their requests for approval (described in § 245.107(a)) by emailing the documents to [e-mail].

(d) Notification requirements. Each railroad that submits a program to FRA must:

(1) Simultaneously with its submission, provide a copy of the program and the request for approval (as described in § 245.107(a)) to the president of each labor organization that represents the railroad's dispatchers and to all of the railroad's dispatchers that are subject to this part; and

(2) Include in its submission to FRA, a statement affirming that the railroad has provided a copy of the program and the request for approval to the president of each labor organization that represents the railroad's dispatchers and to all of the railroad's dispatchers that are subject to this part, along with a list of the names and email addresses of each president of a labor organization who was provided a copy of the program.

(e) Comment period. Any designated representative of dispatchers subject to this part or any directly affected person who does not have a designated representative may comment on a railroad's program provided that:

(1) The comment is submitted no later than 60 days after the date the program was submitted to FRA;

(2) The comment includes a concise statement of the commenter's interest in the matter;

(3) The commenter affirms that a copy of the comment was provided to the railroad; and

(4) The comment was emailed to [e-mail].

(f) FRA review period. Upon receipt of a program, FRA will commence a thorough review of the program to ensure that it satisfies all of the requirements under this part.

(1) If FRA determines that the program satisfies all of the requirements under this part, FRA will issue a letter notifying the railroad that its program has been approved. Such letter will typically be issued within 120 days of the date the program was submitted to FRA.

(2) If FRA determines that the program does not satisfy all of the requirements under this part, FRA will issue a letter notifying the railroad that its program has been disapproved. Such letter will typically be issued within 120 days of the date the program was submitted to FRA and will identify the deficiencies found in the program that must be corrected before the program can be approved. After addressing these deficiencies, railroads can resubmit their programs in accordance with paragraph (h) of this section.

(3) If a railroad does not receive an approval or disapproval letter from FRA within 120 days of the date the program was submitted to FRA, FRA's decision on the program will remain pending until such time that FRA issues a letter either approving or disapproving the program. A certification program is not approved until FRA issues a letter approving the program.

(g) Material modifications. A railroad that intends to make one or more material modifications to its FRA-approved program must submit a request for approval (as described in § 245.107(a)(3)) of how it intends to modify the program and a copy of the modified program.

(1) A modification is material if it would affect the program's conformance with this part.

(2) The description of the modification and the modified program shall conform with the procedures and requirements contained in § 245.107.

(3) The process for submission and review of material modifications shall conform with paragraphs (c) through (f) of this section.

(4) A railroad shall not implement a material modification to its program until FRA issues its approval of the material modification in accordance with paragraph (f)(1) of this section.

(h) Resubmissions. If FRA disapproves a railroad's program or material modification, as described in paragraph (f)(2) of this section, the railroad can resubmit its program or material modification after addressing all of the deficiencies noted by FRA.

(1) The resubmission must conform with the procedures and requirements contained in § 245.107.

(2) The process for submission and review of resubmitted programs and resubmitted material modifications shall conform with paragraphs (c) through (f) of this section.

(3) The following deadlines apply to railroads that have their programs or material modifications disapproved by FRA:

(i) For a railroad that submitted its program pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, the railroad must resubmit its program within 30 days of the date that FRA notified the railroad of the deficiencies in its program. If a railroad fails to resubmit its program within this timeframe and it continues its dispatching operations, FRA may consider such actions to be a failure to implement a program.

(ii) For a railroad that submitted its program pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section, there is no FRA-imposed deadline for resubmitting its program. However, pursuant to § 245.105(b), the railroad cannot begin dispatching operations until its program has been approved by FRA.

(iii) For a railroad that submitted a material modification to its FRA-approved program, there is no FRA-imposed deadline for resubmitting the material modification. However, pursuant to paragraph (g)(4) of this section, the railroad cannot implement the material modification until it has been approved by FRA.

(i) Rescinding prior approval of program. FRA reserves the right to revisit its prior approval of a railroad's program at any time.

(1) If upon such review, FRA discovers deficiencies in the program such that the program does not comply with subpart B of this part, FRA shall issue the railroad a letter rescinding its prior approval of the program and notifying the railroad of the deficiencies in its program that must be addressed.

(2) Within 30 days of FRA notifying the railroad of the deficiencies in its program, the railroad must address these deficiencies and resubmit its program to FRA. The resubmitted program must conform with the procedures and requirements contained in § 245.107.

(3) The process for submission and review of resubmitted programs under this paragraph (i) shall conform with paragraphs (c) through (f) of this section.

(4) If a railroad fails to resubmit its program to FRA within the timeframe prescribed in paragraph (i)(2) of this section and the railroad continues its dispatching operations, FRA may consider such actions to be a failure to implement a program.

(5) If FRA issues a letter disapproving the railroad's resubmitted program, the railroad shall continue to resubmit its program in accordance with this paragraph (i).

(6) A program that has its approval rescinded under paragraph (i)(1) of this section may remain in effect until whichever of the following happens first:

(i) FRA approves the railroad's resubmitted program; or

(ii) FRA disapproves the railroad's second attempt at resubmitting its program.

(7) If FRA disapproves a railroad's second attempt at resubmitting its program under this paragraph (i) and the railroad continues its dispatching operations, FRA may consider such actions to be a failure to implement a program.

(j) Availability of certification program documents. The following documents will be available on FRA's website (railroads.dot.gov):

(1) A railroad's originally submitted program, a resubmission of its program, or a material modification of its program;

(2) Any comments, submitted in accordance with paragraph (e) of this section, to a railroad's originally submitted program, a resubmission of its program, or a material modification of its program; and

(3) Any approval or disapproval letter issued by FRA in response to a railroad's originally submitted program, a resubmission of its program, or a material modification of its program.