§ 218.129 - Conditional exceptions based on compliance dates for Class II and III legacy freight train operations, certain other Class II and III freight railroad train operations, work train operations, helper service train operations, and lite locomotive train operations staffed with a one-person train crew.

§ 218.129 Conditional exceptions based on compliance dates for Class II and III legacy freight train operations, certain other Class II and III freight railroad train operations, work train operations, helper service train operations, and lite locomotive train operations staffed with a one-person train crew.

(a) Application of this section. A railroad is not required to comply with the requirements in this section for each one-person train crew operation subject to an exception covered by § 218.125 or § 218.127. The following train operations may be operated with a one-person train crew subject to the requirements in this subpart:

(1) Each Class II or III railroad's legacy one-person train crew freight operation that has been established for at least two years before June 10, 2024, may continue to operate with a one-person train crew, including continuing to transport hazardous materials of the types or quantities specified in § 218.123(c), if:

(i) No later than September 6, 2024, the railroad:

(A) Provides FRA with written notice, as specified by the requirements in paragraph (b) of this section; and

(B) Complies with the additional requirements in paragraphs (c)(1) and (2) of this section; and

(ii) No later than June 9, 2026, the railroad complies with the additional requirements in paragraph (c)(3) of this section.

(2) Each Class II or III freight railroad seeking to initiate a train operation staffed with a one-person train crew not transporting hazardous materials of the types or quantities specified in § 218.123(c) shall:

(i) Provide FRA with written notice, as specified by the requirements in paragraph (b) of this section before commencing the operation; and

(ii) Comply with the additional requirements in paragraph (c) of this section.

(3) Each railroad seeking to continue or initiate work train operations with a one-person train crew, including operations involving a work train traveling to or from a work site, shall:

(i) Limit this type of non-revenue service train that is used for the administration and upkeep service of the railroad so that it does not exceed 4,000 trailing tons;

(ii) No later than September 6, 2024, comply with the additional requirements in paragraphs (c)(1) and (2) of this section; and

(iii) No later than June 9, 2026, comply with the additional requirements in paragraph (c)(3) of this section.

(4) Each railroad seeking to continue or initiate helper service train operations with a one-person train crew, including operations involving a helper service train traveling to or from a work site, shall:

(i) No later than September 6, 2024, comply with the additional requirements in paragraphs (c)(1) and (2) of this section; and

(ii) No later than June 9, 2026, comply with the additional requirements in paragraph (c)(3) of this section.

(5) Each railroad seeking to continue or initiate a lite locomotive train operation staffed with a one-person train crew, excluding an MU locomotive operation, shall:

(i) No later than September 6, 2024, comply with the additional requirements in paragraphs (c)(1) and (2) of this section; and

(ii) No later than June 9, 2026, comply with the additional requirements in paragraph (c)(3) of this section.

(b) Written notice requirements. The written notice shall be submitted by email to [e-mail] and, at a minimum, include the following:

(1) The name, title, address, telephone number, and email address of the primary person(s) to be contacted regarding the written notice and the operation;

(2) The location of the operation, with as much specificity as can be provided, as to the characteristics of the geographic area through which the trains will operate (e.g., population density and proximity to environmentally sensitive areas), the terrain over which the trains will be operated, industries or communities served, and track segments, territories, divisions, or subdivisions operated over. For each legacy one-person train crew freight operation under paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the written notice must include business records or other written documents supporting that the legacy operation was established for at least two years before June 10, 2024. To establish a legacy one-person train crew freight operation, the railroad must provide evidence that the operation occurred at regular intervals under a set of defined procedures or conditions;

(3) The class(es) of track operated over, the method of operation, a list of the signal and train control systems, devices, and appliances installed and in operation, and a list of all active and passive highway-rail grade crossings, including crossing numbers;

(4) The locations of any track where the average grade of any segment of the track operated over is 1 percent or more over 3 continuous miles or 2 percent or more over 2 continuous miles;

(5) The maximum authorized speed of the operation;

(6) The approximate average number of miles and hours a one-person train crew will operate in a single tour of duty;

(7) The number and frequency of the trains involved, and the maximum number of cars and tonnage set for the operation, if any;

(8) Whether the one-person train crew operation is permitted to haul hazardous materials of any quantity and type, and the approximate percentage of carload traffic in the one-person train crew operation that is hazardous materials;

(9) Whether any limitations are placed on a person operating as a one-person train crew. Such limitations may include, but are not limited to, a maximum number of miles or hours during a single tour of duty, or limitations placed on a person in coordination with a fatigue mitigation plan;

(10) Information regarding other operations traveling on the same track as the one-person train operation or that travel on an adjacent track. Such information shall include, but is not limited to, the volume of traffic and the types of opposing moves (e.g., passenger trains or freight trains hauling hazardous materials);

(11) A detailed description of any technology that is used to perform tasks typically performed by a second crewmember, or that prevents or mitigates the consequences of accidents or incidents;

(12) A copy of any railroad rule or practice that applies to the one-person train crew operation, but does not apply to train crew operations with two or more crewmembers;

(13) For each railroad seeking to continue a legacy freight train operation staffed with a one-person train crew as permitted by paragraph (a)(1) of this section, five (5) years of accident and incident data, as required by part 225 of this chapter, for the operation identified or, for operations established less than five (5) years before June 10, 2024, accident and incident data for the operation from the date the operation was established; and

(14) Any other information describing protections provided in lieu of a second train crewmember, or relevant data or analysis, or both, that the railroad can provide about its one-person train crew operation and how that operation is as safe or safer than a two-person minimum train crew operation.

(c) Additional requirements. Each railroad with an applicable one-person train crew operation shall:

(1) Adopt and comply with an operating rule that satisfies the requirements of this paragraph to ensure rail employees can take mitigation measures that provide a level of safety that is as safe or safer than a two-person train crew operation to address certain situations with the one-person train crew operation.

(i) At a minimum, the operating rule shall address the following types of situations:

(A) An accidental or non-accidental release of any hazardous material;

(B) An accident/incident regardless of whether it is required to be reported to FRA under part 225 of this chapter;

(C) A request from an emergency responder to unblock a highway-rail grade crossing in response to a potentially life-threatening situation;

(D) A train or on-track equipment derailment;

(E) A disabled train; and

(F) An illness, injury, or other incapacitation of the one-person train crewmember.

(ii) At a minimum, the operating rule shall:

(A) Describe the role and responsibilities of the one-person train crewmember and any other railroad employees, including supervisors, with responsibility to address a situation described in paragraph (c)(1)(i) of this section; and

(B) Describe any logistics and the railroad's expected response time(s).

(2) Adopt and comply with an operating rule that satisfies the requirements of this paragraph to ensure radio or wireless communications with a one-person train crew is as safe or safer than a two-person train crew for train operations and crewmember safety. At a minimum, the operating rule shall require that:

(i) The one-person train crew have a working radio or working wireless communications on the controlling locomotive appropriate for railroad communications as defined in § 220.5 of this chapter, even if not otherwise required in § 220.9 of this chapter;

(ii) The train dispatcher or operator must confirm with a one-person train crewmember that the train is stopped before conveying a mandatory directive by radio transmission as required in § 220.61 of this chapter;

(iii) A one-person train crewmember must contact a railroad employee, typically a dispatcher, a supervisor or manager, or an intermittently assisting crewmember, whenever it can be anticipated that radio or wireless communication could be lost, e.g., before the train enters a tunnel, unless technology or a different protocol is established to monitor the train's real-time progress; and

(iv) Procedures that establish when search-and-rescue operations shall be initiated if all radio or wireless communication is lost with a one-person train crewmember.

(3) Adopt and comply with an operating rule that satisfies the requirements of this paragraph to ensure:

(i) A one-person train crew's controlling locomotive is equipped with a functioning alerter that is operating as intended as defined in § 229.5 of this chapter. For each railroad that limits the one-person train crew's operation to a maximum authorized speed of 25 miles per hour and is not required to have an alerter on the locomotive that is equipped per the requirements in § 229.140 of this chapter, any functioning alerter that is operating as intended will be acceptable if it has a manual reset and will result in a penalty brake application that brings the locomotive or train to a stop if not properly acknowledged; and

(ii) That a one-person train crewmember must test that alerter to confirm it is functioning before departure from each initial terminal, or prior to being coupled as the lead locomotive in a locomotive consist.