Federal Railroad Administration October 31, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

To carry out a 2008 Congressional rulemaking mandate, FRA is creating regulations prescribing minimum safety and health requirements for camp cars that a railroad provides as sleeping quarters to any of its train employees, signal employees, and dispatching service employees (covered-service employees) and individuals employed to maintain its right of way. Under separate but related statutory authority, FRA is also amending its regulations regarding construction of employee sleeping quarters. In particular, FRA's existing guidelines with respect to the location, in relation to switching or humping of hazardous material, of a camp car that is occupied exclusively by individuals employed to maintain a railroad's right of way are being replaced with regulatory amendments prohibiting a railroad from positioning such a camp car in the immediate vicinity of the switching or humping of hazardous material. Finally, FRA is making miscellaneous changes clarifying its provision on applicability, removing an existing provision on the preemptive effect of the regulations as unnecessary, and moving, without changing, an existing provision on penalties for violation.