Federal Railroad Administration March 22, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FRA is proposing to amend its hours of service recordkeeping regulations, to establish hours of service regulations, including maximum on-duty periods, minimum off-duty periods, and other limitations, for train employees (e.g., locomotive engineers and conductors) providing commuter and intercity rail passenger transportation. The proposed regulations would require that railroads employing such train employees analyze and mitigate the risks for fatigue in the schedules worked by these train employees, and that the railroads submit to FRA for its approval the relevant schedules and fatigue mitigation plans. This proposed rule would also make corresponding changes to FRA's hours of service recordkeeping regulation, to require railroads to keep hours of service records and report excess service to FRA in a manner consistent with the new requirements. This proposed regulation is authorized by the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.