Railway Accountability Act
This bill addresses safety requirements for rail carriers.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) must review existing regulations relating to the practices regarding the establishment of a train consist (i.e., the contents and location of each rail car in a train). The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) must issue regulations requiring each railroad to submit an updated Risk Reduction Program Plan that (1) documents the railroad's standards for train consist and safety protocol for trains in the switchyard, and (2) strives to balance derailment risk and rail yard employee safety.
DOT must issue a regulation that prohibits conducting train brake inspections while a train is in motion and requires the mechanical inspector assigned to inspect a locomotive or rail car to be the official who signs off on the inspection.
The FRA must amend regulations to require (1) more frequent communication checks between a head-of-train device and an end-of-train device, and (2) repetition of the emergency brake signal transmission until it is received by the end-of-train device.
Class I railroads must join the Confidential Close Call Reporting System if they have been ordered to pay the maximum civil penalty for specific rail safety regulation violations.
Further, the FRA must (1) study and submit a report to Congress on broken rim derailments and proposed regulations to reduce the frequency; and (2) post on the FRA public website a list of specific active Class I railroad safety waivers, including those relating to brake procedures and brake inspection requirements.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1044 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1044
To improve rail safety practices and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 29, 2023
Mr. Schumer (for Mr. Fetterman (for himself, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Casey))
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve rail safety practices and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Railway Accountability Act''.
SEC. 2. BROKEN RIM DERAILMENTS.
(a) Study.--The Administrator of the Federal Railroad
Administration shall conduct a study of--
(1) broken rim derailments, particularly vertical split rim
failures, including--
(A) the causes of such derailments and failures;
(B) the effectiveness of current mitigation
strategies; and
(C) potential new mitigation strategies;
(2) wheel impact load thresholds, including--
(A) safe kip thresholds; and
(B) potential remedial actions that address the
mechanical condition of tank cars used in high-hazard
flammable trains;
(3) the deployment of ultrasonic wheel crack detection
systems; and
(4) potential regulations that, if promulgated, would--
(A) result in fewer broken rim derailments; and
(B) improve avoidance or identification of
mechanical defects.
(b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Administrator shall submit a report to Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives
containing the results of the study conducted pursuant to subsection
(a), including any proposed regulations to reduce the frequency of
broken rim derailments.
SEC. 3. TRAIN CONSIST.
(a) Rulemaking.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall conduct a
review of existing regulations relating to the practices regarding the
establishment of a train consist.
(b) Written Switchyard Safety Protocol Plan.--The Administrator of
the Federal Railroad Administration shall issue a regulation requiring
each railroad to prepare and submit to the Administrator, not later
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, an updated
Risk Reduction Program Plan that--
(1) documents the railroad's standards for train consist
and safety protocol while trains are in the switchyard; and
(2) strives to balance derailment risk and rail yard
employee safety.
SEC. 4. BRAKE INSPECTIONS.
After completing the review required under section 3(a)(1), the
Secretary of Transportation shall issue regulations that--
(1) prohibit any train from being moved out of the
switchyard before all required brake inspections of such train
have been completed;
(2) prohibit conducting brake inspections of a train while
such train is in motion; and
(3) allow only the qualified mechanical inspector (as
defined in section 232.5 of title 49, Code of Federal
Regulations) assigned to inspect a locomotive or rail car to
sign off on--
(A) the Form FRA F6180-49A (commonly known as the
``blue card'') relating to locomotive inspections; and
(B) the satisfactory Class I brake inspection of
end-of-train device form relating to rail car
inspections.
SEC. 5. SAFETY WAIVERS.
(a) In General.--The Administrator of the Federal Railroad
Administration shall post, on a publicly accessible website, a list of
all active safety waivers granted by the Federal Railroad
Administration to Class I railroads pursuant to its authority under
section 20103(d) of title 49, United States Code, relating to brake
procedures, unequipped locomotives, brake inspection requirements, and
safety training for rail labor employees.
(b) Contents.--The Administrator shall include, on the posting
required under subsection (a), a summary of the waivers described in
subsection (a), including--
(1) the number of active waivers;
(2) the number of such waivers that have been extended
beyond their original termination date;
(3) the average duration of each such waiver; and
(4) a summary of the regulations that were so waived.
SEC. 6. PROPER FUNCTIONING OF EMERGENCY BRAKE SIGNALS.
The Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration shall
amend part 232 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to require--
(1) more frequent communication checks between a head-of-
train device and an end-of-train device; and
(2) repetition of the emergency brake signal transmission
until it is received by the end-of-train device.
SEC. 7. CONFIDENTIAL CLOSE CALL REPORTING SYSTEM.
Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this
Act, any Class I railroad that was ordered to pay the maximum civil
penalty for any violation of a rail safety regulation set forth in
section 5123(a) of title 49, United States Code, or in chapter 201,
203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, or 211 during the 15-year period
immediately preceding such date of enactment shall join and actively
participate in the Confidential Close Call Reporting System (commonly
known as ``C\3\RS'').
SEC. 8. REQUIRED WARNING EQUIPMENT AND LOOKOUTS.
All railroads shall provide warning equipment to railroad watchmen
and lookouts for roadway workers, which--
(1) may include whistles, air horns, white disks, red
flags, lanterns, and fuses; and
(2) may not include the use of verbal warnings.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line