What are a railroad’s options regarding FRA-type track defects?
Railroads are required to comply with class of track by making sure the conditions are acceptable for the speeds they desire to operate. If a track does not meet the intended class, a railroad has three basic options: 1) repair the defect; 2) slow the trains to the next lowest class that meets the threshold of the condition; or 3) remove the track from operation.
Are railroad tracks inside industrial plants subject to the Federal Track Safety Standards?
The Federal regulations for track safety are contained in Part 213 of Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. The applicability section of those regulations (Sec. 213.3) specifically excludes track “located inside an installation which is not part of the general railroad system of transportation.” However, this section must be read in conjunction with 49 C.F.R. Part 209, Appendix A , which explains that the owner of any plant railroad trackage over which a general system railroad operates is responsible for the condition of the track used by the general system railroad. Appendix A is not meant to imply that all of the requirements of Part 213, including inspection frequencies and record keeping, become applicable to a plant railroad once a general system railroad enters the property. Rather, it is a statement meant to convey FRA’s intent that plants should maintain in safe condition that portion of their trackage used by a general system railroad.
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FRA does not have the manpower or resources to regularly inspect trackage within industrial installations, nor does it currently see the need. However, since the enactment of the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970, FRA has had at its disposal statutory authority to issue emergency orders to repair or discontinue use of industrial or plant trackage should the agency find that conditions of the track pose a hazard of death or injury. In other words, if FRA learns that a particular plant is using trackage that is in such disrepair that it poses a threat of death or injury to a plant employee, a railroad employee, or the public at large, FRA will inspect that track. If FRA finds that the allegations are true, the agency may issue an emergency order ordering the plant to discontinue using the track until specified repairs are made. It is FRA’s opinion that this emergency-order authority is sufficient power to ensure track safety within plants. If conditions or events in the future tend to demonstrate that track safety within plants or installations should be more specifically regulated, FRA will seek to change the track safety regulations accordingly.
In June 1998, FRA issued a final rule revising the Federal Track Safety Standards. The preamble to the rule discussed FRA’s exercise of jurisdiction over plant railroads and the relationship between the Track Safety Standards in Part 213 and the language in Appendix A of Part 209.
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