Sec. 9509. Freight train crew size safety standards
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Subchapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: No freight train may be operated unless such train has a crew of at least one appropriately qualified and certified conductor and one appropriately qualified and certified engineer. Except as provided in subsection (d), the prohibition in subsection
(a)shall not apply in any of the following circumstances: Train operations within a rail yard or terminal area or on auxiliary or industry tracks. A train operated— by a railroad carrier that has fewer than 400,000 total employee work hours annually and less than $40,000,000 annual revenue (adjusted for inflation as measured by the Surface Transportation Board Railroad Inflation-Adjusted Index); at a speed of not more than 25 miles per hour; and on a track with an average track grade of less than 2 percent for any segment of track that is at least 2 continuous miles. Locomotives performing assistance to a train that has incurred mechanical failure or lacks the power to traverse difficult terrain, including traveling to or from the location where assistance is provided. Locomotives that— are not attached to any equipment or attached only to a caboose; and do not travel farther than 30 miles from a rail yard. Train operations staffed with fewer than a two-person crew at least 1 year prior to the date of enactment of this section, if the Secretary determines that the operation achieves an equivalent level of safety. The exceptions under subsection
(b)may not be applied to— a train transporting 1 or more loaded cars carrying material toxic by inhalation, as defined in section 171.8 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations; a train carrying 20 or more loaded tank cars of a Class 2 material or a Class 3 flammable liquid in a continuous block or a single train carrying 35 or more loaded tank cars of a Class 2 material or a Class 3 flammable liquid throughout the train consist; and a train with a total length of 7,500 feet or greater. A railroad carrier may seek a waiver of the requirements of this section pursuant to section 20103(d). . The analysis for subchapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 20169. Freight train crew size safety standards. .