49 U.s.c. 20103

Page 405

TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES

Revised
Section
20102(1) ......

Source (U.S. Code)
45:16.

45:22.

45:38 (last sentence).

45:61(a).

45:61(b)(1).

45:431(e).

49:App.:26(a).

20102(2) ......

Source (Statutes at Large)
Apr. 14, 1910, ch. 160, § 1, 36
Stat. 298; restated June
22, 1988, Pub. L. 100–342,
§ 13(3)(E), 102 Stat. 632.
Feb. 17, 1911, ch. 103, § 1, 36
Stat. 913; June 7, 1924, ch.
355, § 1, 43 Stat. 659; restated June 22, 1988, Pub.
L. 100–342, § 14(1), 102 Stat.
632.
May 6, 1910, ch. 208, 36 Stat.
350, § 1 (last sentence);
added June 22, 1988, Pub.
L. 100–342, § 15(1)(C), 102
Stat. 633.
Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2939, § 1(a),
34 Stat. 1415; Dec. 26, 1969,
Pub. L. 91–169, § 1, 83 Stat.
463; restated Nov. 2, 1978,
Pub. L. 95–574, § 5, 92 Stat.
2461; June 22, 1988, Pub. L.
100–342, § 16(1)(A), 102 Stat.
634.
Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2939,
§ 1(b)(1), 34 Stat. 1415; restated Dec. 26, 1969, Pub.
L. 91–169, § 1, 83 Stat. 463;
June 22, 1988, Pub. L.
100–342, § 16(1)(B), 102 Stat.
634.
Oct. 16, 1970, Pub. L. 91–458,
§ 202(e), 84 Stat. 971; restated June 22, 1988, Pub.
L. 100–342, § 7(a), 102 Stat.
628.
Feb. 4, 1887, ch. 104, 24 Stat.
379, § 25(a); added Feb. 28,
1920, ch. 91, § 441, 41 Stat.
498; Aug. 26, 1937, ch. 818,
50 Stat. 835; Sept. 18, 1940,
ch. 722, § 14(b), 54 Stat. 919;
restated June 22, 1988,
Pub. L. 100–342, § 17(1), 102
Stat. 635.

(no source).

Clause (1) is substituted for the source provisions to
avoid repeating the definition of ‘‘railroad’’ in each
chapter in this part.
Clause (2) is added to distinguish between railroad
transportation and the entity providing railroad transportation.
AMENDMENTS
2008—Pub. L. 110–432, § 2(b), added pars. (1) and (4) and
redesignated former pars. (1) and (2) as (2) and (3), respectively.
Par. (3). Pub. L. 110–432, § 407, amended par. (3) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘ ‘railroad carrier’ means a person providing railroad transportation.’’
DEFINITIONS APPLICABLE TO DIVISION A OF PUB. L.
110–432
Pub. L. 110–432, div. A, § 2(a), Oct. 16, 2008, 122 Stat.
4849, provided that: ‘‘In this division [see Short Title of
2008 Amendment note set out under section 20101 of this
title]:
‘‘(1) CROSSING.—The term ‘crossing’ means a location within a State, other than a location where one
or more railroad tracks cross one or more railroad
tracks at grade[,] where—
‘‘(A) a public highway, road, or street, or a private roadway, including associated sidewalks and
pathways, crosses one or more railroad tracks either at grade or grade-separated; or
‘‘(B) a pathway explicitly authorized by a public
authority or a railroad carrier that is dedicated for
the use of nonvehicular traffic, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and others, that is not associated
with a public highway, road, or street, or a private
roadway, crosses one or more railroad tracks either
at grade or grade-separated.
‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘Department’ means
the Department of Transportation.
‘‘(3) RAILROAD.—The term ‘railroad’ has the meaning given that term by section 20102 of title 49, United
States Code.

§ 20103

‘‘(4) RAILROAD CARRIER.—The term ‘railroad carrier’
has the meaning given that term by section 20102 of
title 49, United States Code.
‘‘(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means the
Secretary of Transportation.
‘‘(6) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means a State of the
United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.’’

§ 20103. General authority
(a) REGULATIONS AND ORDERS.—The Secretary
of Transportation, as necessary, shall prescribe
regulations and issue orders for every area of
railroad safety supplementing laws and regulations in effect on October 16, 1970. When prescribing a security regulation or issuing a security order that affects the safety of railroad operations, the Secretary of Homeland Security
shall consult with the Secretary.
(b) REGULATIONS OF PRACTICE FOR PROCEEDINGS.—The Secretary shall prescribe regulations
of practice applicable to each proceeding under
this chapter. The regulations shall reflect the
varying nature of the proceedings and include
time limits for disposition of the proceedings.
The time limit for disposition of a proceeding
may not be more than 12 months after the date
it begins.
(c) CONSIDERATION OF INFORMATION AND STANDARDS.—In prescribing regulations and issuing orders under this section, the Secretary shall consider existing relevant safety information and
standards.
(d) NONEMERGENCY WAIVERS.—The Secretary
may waive compliance with any part of a regulation prescribed or order issued under this
chapter if the waiver is in the public interest
and consistent with railroad safety. The Secretary shall make public the reasons for granting the waiver.
(e) HEARINGS.—The Secretary shall conduct a
hearing as provided by section 553 of title 5 when
prescribing a regulation or issuing an order
under this part, including a regulation or order
establishing, amending, or providing a waiver,
described in subsection (d), of compliance with a
railroad safety regulation prescribed or order issued under this part. An opportunity for an oral
presentation shall be provided.
(f) TOURIST RAILROAD CARRIERS.—In prescribing regulations that pertain to railroad safety
that affect tourist, historic, scenic, or excursion
railroad carriers, the Secretary of Transportation shall take into consideration any financial, operational, or other factors that may be
unique to such railroad carriers. The Secretary
shall submit a report to Congress not later than
September 30, 1995, on actions taken under this
subsection.
(g) EMERGENCY WAIVERS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may waive
compliance with any part of a regulation prescribed or order issued under this part without
prior notice and comment if the Secretary determines that—
(A) it is in the public interest to grant the
waiver;
(B) the waiver is not inconsistent with
railroad safety; and
(C) the waiver is necessary to address an
actual or impending emergency situation or
emergency event.

§ 20103

TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION

(2) PERIOD OF WAIVER.—A waiver under this
subsection may be issued for a period of not
more than 60 days and may be renewed upon
application to the Secretary only after notice
and an opportunity for a hearing on the waiver. The Secretary shall immediately revoke
the waiver if continuation of the waiver would
not be consistent with the goals and objectives
of this part.
(3) STATEMENT OF REASONS.—The Secretary
shall state in the decision issued under this
subsection the reasons for granting the waiver.
(4) CONSULTATION.—In granting a waiver
under this subsection, the Secretary shall consult and coordinate with other Federal agencies, as appropriate, for matters that may impact such agencies.
SITUATION;
EMERGENCY
(5)
EMERGENCY
EVENT.—In this subsection, the terms ‘‘emergency situation’’ and ‘‘emergency event’’
mean a natural or manmade disaster, such as
a hurricane, flood, earthquake, mudslide, forest fire, snowstorm, terrorist act, biological
outbreak, release of a dangerous radiological,
chemical, explosive, or biological material, or
a war-related activity, that poses a risk of
death, serious illness, severe injury, or substantial property damage. The disaster may be
local, regional, or national in scope.
(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 863;
Pub. L. 103–440, title II, § 217, Nov. 2, 1994, 108
Stat. 4624; Pub. L. 107–296, title XVII, § 1710(b),
Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2319; Pub. L. 110–432, div.
A, title III, § 308, Oct. 16, 2008, 122 Stat. 4881.)
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
Revised
Section

Source (U.S. Code)

20103(a) ......

45:431(a) (1st sentence cl. (1)).

20103(b) ......

45:431(d) (21st–last
words).

20103(c) ......

45:431(d) (1st–20th
words).
45:431(c).
45:431(b).

20103(d) ......
20103(e) ......

Source (Statutes at Large)
Oct. 16, 1970, Pub. L. 91–458,
§ 202(a) (1st sentence cl.
(1)), (b), (c), 84 Stat. 971.
Oct. 16, 1970, Pub. L. 91–458,
§ 202(d), 84 Stat. 971; restated July 8, 1976, Pub. L.
94–348, § 5(a), 90 Stat. 819.

In this part, the word ‘‘rule’’ is omitted as being synonymous with ‘‘regulation’’. The word ‘‘standard’’ is
omitted as being included in ‘‘regulation’’.
In subsection (a), the words ‘‘(hereafter in this subchapter referred to as the ‘Secretary’)’’ in 45:431(a) (1st
sentence cl. (1)) are omitted as surplus because the
complete name of the Secretary of Transportation is
used the first time the term appears in a section.
In subsection (b), the words ‘‘within 180 days after
July 8, 1976’’ are omitted as expired. The word ‘‘prescribe’’ is substituted for ‘‘take such action as may be
necessary to develop and publish’’ for consistency in
the revised title and with other titles of the United
States Code and to eliminate unnecessary words.
In subsection (d), the words ‘‘after hearing in accordance with subsection (b) of this section’’ are omitted as
surplus because of the language restated in subsection
(e) of this section.
AMENDMENTS
2008—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 110–432, § 308(1), substituted
‘‘Nonemergency Waivers’’ for ‘‘Waivers’’ in heading.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 110–432, § 308(2), added subsec. (e)
and struck out former subsec. (e). Prior to amendment,
text read as follows: ‘‘The Secretary shall conduct a

Page 406

hearing as provided by section 553 of title 5 when prescribing a regulation or issuing an order under this
chapter, including a regulation or order establishing,
amending, or waiving compliance with a railroad safety
regulation prescribed or order issued under this chapter. An opportunity for an oral presentation shall be
provided.’’
Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 110–432, § 308(3), added subsec. (g).
2002—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–296 inserted at end
‘‘When prescribing a security regulation or issuing a security order that affects the safety of railroad operations, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall consult with the Secretary.’’
1994—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 103–440 added subsec. (f).
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2002 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 107–296 effective 60 days after
Nov. 25, 2002, see section 4 of Pub. L. 107–296, set out as
an Effective Date note under section 101 of Title 6, Domestic Security.
REGULATIONS
Section 4(t) of Pub. L. 103–272 provided that:
‘‘(1) Not later than March 3, 1995, the Secretary of
Transportation shall complete a regulatory proceeding
to consider prescribing regulations to improve the safety and working conditions of locomotive cabs. The proceeding shall assess—
‘‘(A) the adequacy of Locomotive Crashworthiness
Requirements Standard S–580, or any successor
standard, adopted by the Association of American
Railroads in 1989 in improving the safety of locomotive cabs; and
‘‘(B) the extent to which environmental, sanitary,
and other working conditions in locomotive cabs affect productivity, health, and the safe operation of locomotives.
‘‘(2) SUPPORTING RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS.—In support
of the proceeding required under paragraph (1) of this
subsection, the Secretary shall conduct research and
analysis, including computer modeling and full-scale
crash testing, as appropriate, to consider—
‘‘(A) the costs and benefits associated with equipping locomotives with—
‘‘(i) braced collision posts;
‘‘(ii) rollover protection devices;
‘‘(iii) deflection plates;
‘‘(iv) shatterproof windows;
‘‘(v) readily accessible crash refuges;
‘‘(vi) uniform sill heights;
‘‘(vii) anticlimbers, or other equipment designed
to prevent overrides resulting from head-on locomotive collisions;
‘‘(viii) equipment to deter post-collision entry of
flammable liquids into locomotive cabs;
‘‘(ix) any other devices intended to provide crash
protection for occupants of locomotive cabs; and
‘‘(x) functioning and regularly maintained sanitary facilities; and
‘‘(B) the effects on train crews of the presence of asbestos in locomotive components.
‘‘(3) REPORT.—If, on the basis of the proceeding required under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Secretary decides not to prescribe regulations, the Secretary shall report to Congress on the reasons for that
decision.’’
LOCOMOTIVE CAB STUDIES
Pub. L. 110–432, div. A, title IV, § 405, Oct. 16, 2008, 122
Stat. 4885, provided that:
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 16, 2008], the Secretary, through the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee if the Secretary makes such a request, shall complete a study on the safety impact of the use of personal electronic devices, including cell phones, video
games, and other distracting devices, by safety-related
railroad employees (as defined in section 20102(4) of
title 49, United States Code), during the performance of

Page 407

TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION

such employees’ duties. The study shall consider the
prevalence of the use of such devices.
‘‘(b) LOCOMOTIVE CAB ENVIRONMENT.—The Secretary
may also study other elements of the locomotive cab
environment and their effect on an employee’s health
and safety.
‘‘(c) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the completion of any study under this section, the Secretary
shall issue a report on the study to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the
House of Representatives Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure.
‘‘(d) AUTHORITY.—Based on the conclusions of the
study required under (a), the Secretary of Transportation may prohibit the use of personal electronic devices, such as cell phones, video games, or other electronic devices that may distract employees from safely
performing their duties, unless those devices are being
used according to railroad operating rules or for other
work purposes. Based on the conclusions of other studies conducted under subsection (b), the Secretary may
prescribe regulations to improve elements of the cab
environment to protect an employee’s health and safety.’’
[For definitions of ‘‘Secretary’’ and ‘‘railroad’’, as
used in section 405 of Pub. L. 110–432, set out above, see
section 2(a) of Pub. L. 110–432, set out as a note under
section 20102 of this title.]
TUNNEL INFORMATION
Pub. L. 110–432, div. A, title IV, § 414, Oct. 16, 2008, 122
Stat. 4889, provided that: ‘‘Not later than 120 days after
the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 16, 2008], each
railroad carrier shall, with respect to each of its tunnels which—
‘‘(1) are longer than 1000 feet and located under a
city with a population of 400,000 or greater; or
‘‘(2) carry 5 or more scheduled passenger trains per
day, or 500 or more carloads of poison- or toxic-by-inhalation hazardous materials (as defined in parts
[probably should be ‘‘sections’’] 171.8, 173.115, and
173.132 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations) per
year,
maintain, for at least two years, historical documentation of structural inspection and maintenance activities for such tunnels, including information on the
methods of ingress and egress into and out of the tunnel, the types of cargos typically transported through
the tunnel, and schematics or blueprints for the tunnel,
when available. Upon request, a railroad carrier shall
provide periodic briefings on such information to the
governments of the local jurisdiction in which the tunnel is located, including updates whenever a repair or
rehabilitation project substantially alters the methods
of ingress and egress. Such governments shall use appropriate means to protect and restrict the distribution
of any security sensitive information (as defined in
part [probably should be ‘‘section’’] 1520.5 of title 49,
Code of Federal Regulations) provided by the railroad
carrier under this section, consistent with national security interests.’’
[For definition of ‘‘railroad carrier’’, as used in section 414 of Pub. L. 110–432, set out above, see section
2(a) of Pub. L. 110–432, set out as a note under section
20102 of this title.]
RAILROAD BRIDGE SAFETY ASSURANCE
Pub. L. 110–432, div. A, title IV, § 417, Oct. 16, 2008, 122
Stat. 4890, provided that:
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months after the
date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 16, 2008], the Secretary shall promulgate a regulation requiring owners
of track carried on one or more railroad bridges to
adopt a bridge safety management program to prevent
the deterioration of railroad bridges and reduce the
risk of human casualties, environmental damage, and
disruption to the Nation’s railroad transportation system that would result from a catastrophic bridge failure.

§ 20104

‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations shall, at a minimum, require each track owner to [sic]—
‘‘(1) to develop and maintain an accurate inventory
of its railroad bridges, which shall identify the location of each bridge, its configuration, type of construction, number of spans, span lengths, and all
other information necessary to provide for the safe
management of the bridges;
‘‘(2) to ensure that a professional engineer competent in the field of railroad bridge engineering, or
a qualified person under the supervision of the track
owner, determines bridge capacity;
‘‘(3) to maintain, and update as appropriate, a
record of the safe capacity of each bridge which carries its track and, if available, maintain the original
design documents of each bridge and a documentation
of all repairs, modifications, and inspections of the
bridge;
‘‘(4) to develop, maintain, and enforce a written
procedure that will ensure that its bridges are not
loaded beyond their capacities;
‘‘(5) to conduct regular comprehensive inspections
of each bridge, at least once every year, and maintain
records of those inspections that include the date on
which the inspection was performed, the precise identification of the bridge inspected, the items inspected, an accurate description of the condition of
those items, and a narrative of any inspection item
that is found by the inspector to be a potential problem;
‘‘(6) to ensure that the level of detail and the inspection procedures are appropriate to the configuration of the bridge, conditions found during previous
inspections, and the nature of the railroad traffic
moved over the bridge, including car weights, train
frequency and length, levels of passenger and hazardous materials traffic, and vulnerability of the bridge
to damage;
‘‘(7) to ensure that an engineer who is competent in
the field of railroad bridge engineering—
‘‘(A) is responsible for the development of all inspection procedures;
‘‘(B) reviews all inspection reports; and
‘‘(C) determines whether bridges are being inspected according to the applicable procedures and
frequency, and reviews any items noted by an inspector as exceptions; and
‘‘(8) to designate qualified bridge inspectors or
maintenance personnel to authorize the operation of
trains on bridges following repairs, damage, or indications of potential structural problems.
‘‘(c) USE OF BRIDGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall instruct bridge experts to
obtain copies of the most recent bridge management
programs of each railroad within the expert’s areas of
responsibility, and require that experts use those programs when conducting bridge observations.
‘‘(d) REVIEW OF DATA.—The Secretary shall establish
a program to periodically review bridge inspection and
maintenance data from railroad carrier bridge inspectors and Federal Railroad Administration bridge experts.’’
[For definitions of ‘‘Secretary’’, ‘‘railroad’’, and
‘‘railroad carrier’’, as used in section 417 of Pub. L.
110–432, set out above, see section 2(a) of Pub. L. 110–432,
set out as a note under section 20102 of this title.]

§ 20104. Emergency authority
(a) ORDERING RESTRICTIONS AND PROHIBITIONS.—(1) If, through testing, inspection, investigation, or research carried out under this
chapter, the Secretary of Transportation decides
that an unsafe condition or practice, or a combination of unsafe conditions and practices, causes
an emergency situation involving a hazard of
death, personal injury, or significant harm to
the environment, the Secretary immediately
may order restrictions and prohibitions, without