FRA F 6180.144 State Rail Safety Accident Investigation Participation A

OMB No. 2130-0509

State Rail Safety Accident Investigation Participation Agreement

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) encourages State rail safety contributions beyond assumption of responsibility for routine compliance inspections. To promote enhanced State investigative and surveillance capability, FRA agrees to offer training to State Inspectors that would qualify them to participate with FRA in railroad accident/incident investigations. FRA agrees to pay tuition costs associated with State Inspector accident/incident investigation training and to reimburse all or an agreed share of subsistence and travel expenses incurred by State Inspectors attending such training classes.

In return for FRA’s commitment to enhance State Inspectors’ skills and level of participation in an accident

investigation, the (State Agency) agrees to the following conditions:

I To be eligible to participate or continue participating in FRA rail accident investigations, State Inspectors must successfully complete GN 202 – Investigative Skills Fundamentals, and GN 207 – Accident Investigation Fundamentals courses, and any other training sessions prescribed by FRA’s Safety Improvement and Development Team Staff Director.

II State and FRA Inspectors who participate in FRA rail accident investigations shall work under the authority, guidance, and direction of an FRA-designated Inspector-In-Charge or team leader.

III State Inspectors or other persons associated with the State Agency must not release, or otherwise reveal, any information concerning an open or a pending railroad accident investigation to the public, media, or to persons or organizations outside of the State Agency. The State Agency will receive a copy of the final accident report from the Region as soon as the report is available.

IV The State Agency must require State Inspectors eligible to participate in FRA rail accident investigations to make every reasonable effort to respond as soon as practicable to railroad accidents. State Inspectors eligible to participate in railroad accident investigations must respond to railroad accidents seven days per week, twenty-four hours per day. FRA and the State Agency shall agree on a coordination protocol for dispatching State inspectors to accident sites and assigning State inspectors to accident investigation teams.

V The State Program Manager will advise the Regional Administrator when a State Inspector has completed required training and is available to participate in accident investigations.

Agency _____________________________________________________________________________________

By _________________________________________________________________________________________

Title Date

Federal Railroad Administration

By _________________________________________________________________________________________

Title Date ___________________________

Form FRA F 6180.144 (2-10)

Public reporting burden for this information collection is estimated to average 2.5 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Please note that a federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 2130-0509, and the expiration date is February 28, 2012. All responses to this collection of information are mandatory.