Hours of Service Regulations

The collection of information is mandatory, and is associated with FRA's rule 49 CFR part 228. Entities required to respond include Class I, Class II, and Class III railroads as well as 40 signal employee contractors. The collection of information includes occasional reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Covered employers are required to keep Hours of Duty records of their employees, and must produce them upon request to FRA representatives. The Hours of Service Act specifies the maximum hours and conditions of proper rest for employees engaged in one or more critical categories of work. FRA uses the information collected to both monitor compliance with and to enforce these safety regulations. This revised rule is part of FRA’s broader initiative to reduce the paperwork burden of its regulations on small railroads/contractors while still supporting compliance with the Federal Hours of Service laws and regulations. Current regulations require employees covered by those laws or regulations (covered service employees) to create and retain Hours of Service records by hand (paper) or certify the record using a compliant computerized system with program logic (electronic system). This rule and associated information collection provides a simplified method of computerized recordkeeping (an automated system) for eligible smaller railroads (and eligible contractors and subcontractors) to reduce burden. Reporting and recordkeeping Information is collected on occasion, monthly, and annually. Besides Hours of Duty data, railroads must also provide reports of excess service to FRA and employee training information.

The latest form for Hours of Service Regulations expires 2021-10-31 and can be found here.