I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2683
To authorize activities under the Federal railroad safety laws for fiscal years
2000 through 2003, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AUGUST 3, 1999
Mr. SHUSTER (for himself, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. PETRI, and Mr. RAHALL) (by
request) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
To authorize activities under the Federal railroad safety laws
for fiscal years 2000 through 2003, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Railroad Safe-
ty Enhancement Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds and declares the following:
(1) Consistent with the purposes of the Govern-
ment Performance and Results Act of 1993, the
Federal Railroad Administration has reshaped the
regulatory and compliance components of the Fed-
eral railroad safety program to ensure that the en-
tire program is squarely focused on achieving de-
monstrable results, i.e., reducing the number of
deaths and injuries associated with railroading in
the United States. The foundation of the program is
its emphasis on inclusion of all interested parties—
railroad employees and labor unions, railroad man-
agement, manufacturers, State government groups,
and public associations—in identifying safety prob-
lems and implementing solutions. This emphasis on
safety partnership has helped begin a transformation
of key aspects of the corporate culture of the Na-
tion’s railroads, a transformation that is producing
safety and business benefits.
(2) The Safety Assurance and Compliance Pro-
gram is an approach to safety that emphasizes the
active partnership of the Federal Railroad Adminis-
tration, rail labor representatives, and railroad man-
agement in identifying current safety problems and
jointly developing effective solutions to those prob-
lems. One fundamental principle of this approach is
tracing a safety problem to its root cause and at-
tacking that cause rather than only its symptoms.
Where a problem is determined to be system-wide,
this approach calls for a system-wide solution.
Under this approach, the Federal Railroad Adminis-
tration seeks to focus its inspection and enforcement
resources on the most serious safety problems. This
approach has demonstrated significant capacity for
identifying and eliminating the root cause of system-
wide safety problems by enlisting those most directly
affected by such problems—railroad employees and
managers—in a partnership effort. Used together
with the Federal Railroad Administration’s regular
inspections and enforcement tools, this approach
provides a firm basis for addressing the safety chal-
lenges facing the changing railroad industry and ad-
vancing toward the safety program’s ultimate goal of
zero tolerance for any safety hazard in the railroad
industry.
(3) The Railroad Safety Advisory Committee,
which was established by the Federal Railroad Ad-
ministration under the Federal Advisory Committee
Act (5 U.S.C. App. 2), is proving to be an effective
means of involving interested members of the rail-
road community, including the staff of the National
Transportation Safety Board, in the development of
railroad safety rules issued by the Federal Railroad
Administration. The Congress strongly encourages
the continued use of this collaborative method of de-
veloping safety regulations, which is more likely to
produce rules that are based on an industry con-
sensus and, accordingly, more readily understood
and more consistently complied with, than rules pro-
duced under more traditional methods.
(4) A critical element for the sustained success
of any company’s safety program is the establish-
ment and growth of a clearly defined, positive safety
culture. The safety culture of a company encom-
passes the beliefs, values, attitudes, and practices
shared by employees and company officials and in-
cludes such matters as how decisions are made, who
makes them, how rewards and discipline are distrib-
uted, who is promoted, and how people are treated.
Many of today’s most successful organizations recog-
nize that people are their most important assets;
they have come to realize that it is important for
managers and employees to share a common vision
and work in concert to pursue common goals. By ex-
ploring innovative concepts involving employee em-
powerment, coaching, counseling, and enhanced
training—often through joint partnerships involving
rail labor, railroad management, and the Federal
Railroad Administration—some railroads are seeking
new and better methods to promote compliance with
company and Federal safety rules and to promote
the free flow of safety-related information to better
identify safety hazards and prevent injuries and ac-
cidents. The improvements in the industry’s safety
culture that have resulted from these initiatives hold
the promise of increasing railroad safety to historic
levels and moving toward the ultimate goal of zero
tolerance for safety hazards. The Congress strongly
endorses efforts by the Federal Railroad Administra-
tion, rail labor, and individual railroads to build
meaningful safety partnerships that foster positive
safety cultures on the Nation’s railroads. The Fed-
eral Railroad Administration has committed to re-
port regularly to the Congress on the continuing evo-
lution of the railroad industry’s safety culture.
(5) Although advances have been made in the
industry’s safety culture and rail safety trends are
generally favorable, in terms of total fatalities, em-
ployee and other injuries, and grade crossing inci-
dents, nevertheless, too many of these accidents and
incidents still occur, as illustrated by recent fatalities
related to railroading. In 1998, eight railroad em-
ployees were killed in switching-related incidents,
and one was killed in a train collision. In the same
year, hundreds of motorists, their passengers, and
others lost their lives in grade crossing accidents and
incidents, the vast majority of which are attributable
to human factors involving the motorists. More re-
cently, in March 1999, 11 Amtrak passengers died
in a truck-train grade crossing collision at Bourbon-
nais, Illinois. Furthermore, each year approximately
a third of all train accidents are caused by human
factors. Clearly, there is a need for changes in the
law to prevent deaths and accidents such as these
by finding remedies to the kinds of conditions and
behaviors that permitted these tragedies to occur;
therefore, we enact the following statute, which deals
with the critical human factor issues of fatigue and
safety culture in the railroad industry, with grade
crossing safety, and with other important rail safety
issues.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENT OF TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE.
Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in
this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms
of an amendment to, or a repeal of, a section or other
provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to
a section or other provision of title 49, United States
Code.
SEC. 4. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Amendment of title 49, United States Code.
Sec. 4. Table of contents.
TITLE I—HOURS OF SERVICE
Sec. 101. Definitions.
Sec. 102. Limitations on duty hours of train employees.
Sec. 103. Limitations on duty hours of signal employees.
Sec. 104. Limitations on duty hours of dispatching service employees.
Sec. 105. Conforming amendments regarding hours of service violations.
Sec. 106. Fatigue management plans.
Sec. 107. Joint submission of waiver petitions.
Sec. 108. Employee sleeping quarters.
TITLE II—MONITORING OF RAILROAD RADIO COMMUNICATIONS
Sec. 201. Enhanced inspection and investigation authority under the Federal
railroad safety laws.
Sec. 202. Exception to chapter 119, title 18, United States Code.
TITLE III—RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
Sec. 301. Railroad accident and incident reporting.
Sec. 302. High-speed rail noise regulation.
TITLE IV—WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION
Sec. 401. Expansion of employee protections.
TITLE V—GRADE CROSSING SAFETY
Sec. 501. Emergency notification of grade crossing problems.
Sec. 502. Grade crossing signal violations.
Sec. 503. National highway-rail crossing inventory.
TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Sec. 601. Technical amendments regarding adjustment of civil penalties for in-
flation.
Sec. 602. Revision of special preemption provision.
Sec. 603. Railroad safety inspection user fees.
Sec. 604. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE I—HOURS OF SERVICE
SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.
Section 21101 is amended—
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘employed by
a railroad carrier’’; and
(2) by inserting the following new paragraphs:
‘‘(6) ‘dually employed’ means being at the same
time in the employ of two or more railroad carriers,
of two or more railroad contractors, or of both one
or more railroad carriers and one or more railroad
contractors.
‘‘(7) ‘railroad contractor’ or, in context, ‘con-
tractor’ means an independent contractor to a rail-
road carrier or a subcontractor to an independent
contractor to a railroad carrier.’’.
SEC. 102. LIMITATIONS ON DUTY HOURS OF TRAIN EM-
PLOYEES.
(a) Section 21103(a) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘officers’’ and inserting ‘‘man-
agers, supervisors, officers,’’;
(2) by redesignating the text of the subsection
as paragraph (1) of the subsection, and redesig-
nating paragraphs (1) and (2) as subparagraphs (A)
and (B), respectively, of the paragraph; and
(3) by inserting the following at the end:
‘‘(2) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this sec-
tion, a railroad carrier and its managers, supervisors, offi-
cers, and agents and a railroad contractor and the con-
tractor’s managers, supervisors, officers, and agents may
not, if the railroad carrier or railroad contractor has ac-
tual knowledge that a train employee is dually employed
and actual knowledge of the individual’s schedule for the
time period in question, require or allow the dually em-
ployed train employee to remain or go on duty, nor may
a dually employed train employee remain or go on duty—
‘‘(A) unless that employee has had at least 8
consecutive hours off duty during the prior 24
hours; or
‘‘(B) after that employee has been on duty for
12 consecutive hours, until that employee has had at
least 10 consecutive hours off duty.’’.
(b) Section 21103 is amended by adding the following
at the end:
‘‘(d) NOTICE
ABOUT
DUAL
EMPLOYMENT
AND
SCHEDULE.—
‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION DUTIES OF RAILROAD CAR-
RIERS
AND
RAILROAD
CONTRACTORS.—Not later
than January 31 each year, a railroad carrier and
a railroad contractor shall inform each of its train
employees in writing—
‘‘(A) that all time spent performing aggre-
gate duty on one or more railroad carriers or
one or more railroad contractors or a combina-
tion thereof counts towards the limitations on
duty hours of this section;
‘‘(B) about the employee’s responsibilities
under paragraph (2) of this subsection; and
‘‘(C) about the penalties under section
21303 of this title applicable to a failure to
comply with paragraph (2) of this subsection.
‘‘(2) DUTIES
OF
EMPLOYEES.—A dually em-
ployed train employee—
‘‘(A) shall inform each of his or her rail-
road carrier employers and railroad contractor
employers in writing within 5 days of estab-
lishing an employee-employer relationship that
results in the employee’s becoming dually em-
ployed; and
‘‘(B) shall ensure that each of his or her
railroad carrier employers and railroad con-
tractor employers is kept informed about the
employee’s current work schedule with each of
his or her other employing railroad carriers and
railroad contractors. The notification shall state
which portions of that service are likely to be
in covered service.
‘‘(3) RECORD RETENTION DUTIES OF RAILROAD
CARRIERS AND RAILROAD CONTRACTORS.—Upon re-
ceiving written notification of dual employment, a
railroad carrier and a railroad contractor shall—
‘‘(A) retain at the carrier’s system and di-
vision headquarters or at the contractor’s head-
quarters one copy of the notification for a pe-
riod of 2 years after termination of such dual
employment status; and
‘‘(B) make the record available to rep-
resentatives of the Secretary for inspection and
copying during normal business hours.’’.
SEC. 103. LIMITATIONS ON DUTY HOURS OF SIGNAL EM-
PLOYEES.
(a) Section 21104(a)(2) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘officers’’ and inserting ‘‘man-
agers, supervisors, officers,’’;
(2) by redesignating the text of the paragraph
as subparagraph (A) of the paragraph, and redesig-
nating subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) as clauses
(i), (ii), and (iii), respectively, of the subparagraph;
and
(3) by inserting the following at the end:
‘‘(B) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this sec-
tion, a railroad carrier and its managers, supervisors, offi-
cers, and agents and a railroad contractor and the con-
tractor’s managers, supervisors, officers, and agents may
not, if the railroad carrier or railroad contractor has ac-
tual knowledge that a signal employee is dually employed
and actual knowledge of the individual’s schedule for the
time period in question, require or allow the dually em-
ployed signal employee to remain or go on duty, nor may
a dually employed signal employee remain or go on duty—
‘‘(i) unless that employee has had at least 8
consecutive hours off duty during the prior 24
hours;
‘‘(ii) after that employee has been on duty for
12 consecutive hours, until that employee has had at
least 10 consecutive hours off duty; or
‘‘(iii) after that employee has been on duty a
total of 12 hours during a 24-hour period, or after
the end of that 24-hour period, whichever occurs
first, until that employee has had at least 8 consecu-
tive hours off duty.’’.
(b) Section 21104(b) is amended in paragraph (3),
by striking ‘‘, except that up to one hour of that time
spent returning from the final trouble call of a period of
continuous or broken service is time off duty’’.
(c) Section 21104 is amended by adding the following
at the end:
‘‘(d) NOTICE
ABOUT
DUAL
EMPLOYMENT
AND
SCHEDULE.—
‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION DUTIES OF RAILROAD CAR-
RIERS
AND
RAILROAD
CONTRACTORS.—Not later
than January 31 each year, a railroad carrier and
a railroad contractor shall inform each of its signal
employees in writing—
‘‘(A) that all time spent performing aggre-
gate duty on one or more railroad carriers or
one or more railroad contractors or a combina-
tion thereof counts towards the limitations on
duty hours of this section;
‘‘(B) about the employee’s responsibilities
under paragraph (2) of this subsection; and
‘‘(C) about the penalties under section
21303 of this title applicable to a failure to
comply with paragraph (2) of this subsection.
‘‘(2) DUTIES
OF
EMPLOYEES.—A dually em-
ployed signal employee—
‘‘(A) shall inform each of his or her rail-
road carrier employers and railroad contractor
employers in writing within 5 days of estab-
lishing an employee-employer relationship that
results in the employee’s becoming dually em-
ployed; and
‘‘(B) shall ensure that each of his or her
railroad carrier employers and railroad con-
tractor employers is kept informed about the
employee’s current work schedule with each of
the other employing railroad carriers and rail-
road contractors. The notification shall state
which portions of that service are likely to be in
covered service.
‘‘(3) RECORD RETENTION DUTIES OF RAILROAD
CARRIERS AND RAILROAD CONTRACTORS.—Upon re-
ceiving written notification of dual employment, a
railroad carrier and railroad contractor shall—
‘‘(A) retain at the carrier’s system and di-
vision headquarters or at the contractor’s head-
quarters one copy of the notification for a pe-
riod of 2 years after termination of such dual
employment status; and
‘‘(B) make the record available to rep-
resentatives of the Secretary for inspection and
copying during normal business hours.’’.
SEC. 104. LIMITATIONS ON DUTY HOURS OF DISPATCHING
SERVICE EMPLOYEES.
(a) Section 21105(b) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘or allowed’’ and inserting ‘‘or
allowed by a railroad carrier or its managers, super-
visors, officers, and agents’’;
(2) by redesignating the text of the subsection
as paragraph (1) of the subsection, and redesig-
nating paragraphs (1) and (2) as subparagraphs (A)
and (B), respectively, of the paragraph; and
(3) by inserting the following at the end:
‘‘(2) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this sec-
tion, a railroad carrier and its managers, supervisors, offi-
cers, and agents and a railroad contractor and the con-
tractor’s managers, supervisors, officers, and agents may
not, if the railroad carrier or railroad contractor has ac-
tual knowledge that a dispatching service employee is du-
ally employed and actual knowledge of the individual’s
schedule for the time period in question, require or allow
the dually employed dispatching service employee to re-
main or go on duty, nor may a dually employed dis-
patching service employee remain or go on duty, for more
than—
‘‘(A) a total of 9 hours during a 24-hour period
in a tower, office, station, or place at which at least
2 shifts are employed; or
‘‘(B) a total of 12 hours during a 24-hour pe-
riod in a tower, office, station, or place at which only
one shift is employed.’’.
(b) Section 21105(c) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(c) DETERMINING TIME ON DUTY.—In determining
under subsection (b) of this section the time a dispatching
service employee is on or off duty, the following rules
apply:
‘‘(1) Time spent performing any other service
for one or more railroad carriers or one or more rail-
road contractors or a combination thereof during a
24-hour period in which the employee is on duty in
a tower, office, station, or other place is time on
duty in that tower, office, station, or place, and
counts toward the employee’s aggregate time on
duty.
‘‘(2) If during a 24-hour period an employee
performs the duties of a dispatching service em-
ployee for more than one railroad carrier or railroad
contractor or for a railroad carrier and a railroad
contractor, and at least one of those tours of duty
is in a tower, office, station, or other place at which
at least 2 shifts are employed, then the duty limits
of subsection (b)(1) of this section apply.
‘‘(3) All time on duty by the employee for any
railroad carrier or railroad contractor shall be in-
cluded.’’.
(c) Section 21105 is amended by adding the following
at the end:
‘‘(e) NOTICE
ABOUT
DUAL
EMPLOYMENT
AND
SCHEDULE.—
‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION DUTIES OF RAILROAD CAR-
RIERS
AND
RAILROAD
CONTRACTORS.—Not later
than January 31 each year, a railroad carrier and
a railroad contractor shall inform each of its dis-
patching service employees in writing—
‘‘(A) that all time spent performing aggre-
gate duty on one or more railroad carriers or
railroad contractors or a combination thereof
counts towards the limitations on duty hours of
this section;
‘‘(B) about the employee’s responsibilities
under paragraph (2) of this subsection; and
‘‘(C) about the penalties under section
21303 of this title applicable to a failure to
comply with paragraph (2) of this subsection.
‘‘(2) DUTIES
OF
EMPLOYEES.—A dually em-
ployed dispatching service employee—
‘‘(A) shall inform each of his or her rail-
road carrier employers and railroad contractor
employers in writing within 5 days of estab-
lishing an employee-employer relationship that
results in the employee’s becoming dually em-
ployed; and
‘‘(B) shall ensure that each of his or her
railroad carrier employers and railroad con-
tractor employers is kept informed about the
employee’s current work schedule with each of
his or her other employing railroad carriers and
railroad contractors. The notification shall state
which portions of that service are likely to be in
covered service.
‘‘(3) RECORD RETENTION DUTIES OF RAILROAD
CARRIERS AND RAILROAD CONTRACTORS.—Upon re-
ceiving written notification of dual employment, a
railroad carrier and a railroad contractor shall—
‘‘(A) retain at the carrier’s system and di-
vision headquarters or at the railroad contrac-
tor’s headquarters one copy of the notification
for a period of 2 years after termination of such
dual employment status; and
‘‘(B) make the record available to rep-
resentatives of the Secretary for inspection and
copying during normal business hours.’’.
SEC. 105. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS REGARDING HOURS
OF SERVICE VIOLATIONS.
(a) Section 21106 is amended by striking ‘‘officers’’
and inserting ‘‘managers, supervisors, officers,’’.
(b) Section 21303(c) is amended by striking ‘‘offi-
cers’’ and inserting ‘‘managers, supervisors, officers,’’.
SEC. 106. FATIGUE MANAGEMENT PLANS.
(a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 211 is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new section:
‘‘§ 21109. Fatigue management plans
‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF PLANS AND AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Each Class I and Class II railroad carrier, each rail-
road carrier providing intercity railroad passenger service,
and each railroad carrier providing commuter or other
short-haul railroad passenger service in a metropolitan or
suburban area, shall submit to the Secretary of Transpor-
tation a fatigue management plan that is designed to re-
duce the fatigue experienced by railroad employees (as de-
fined by section 21101 of this chapter) covered by the
hours of service laws and railroad employees who con-
struct or maintain track, and to reduce the likelihood of
accidents and injuries caused by fatigue. The plan shall
discuss each of the elements set forth in subsection (b)
of this section and shall be submitted not more than one
year after enactment of this section, or not less than 45
days prior to commencing railroad operations, whichever
is later. However, with respect to any group of directly
affected employees, a carrier may submit its plan within
two years of enactment if, within one year of enactment,
it submits to the Secretary a letter signed by the labor
organization representing those employees stating that the
carrier is actively involved in negotiating a fatigue man-
agement plan with that organization. A carrier shall file
any amendment to its plan with the Secretary.
‘‘(2) Each Class III railroad carrier that operates on
the track of a carrier subject to paragraph (1) of this sub-
section (or otherwise engages in joint operations with a
carrier subject to paragraph (1) of this subsection), except
as necessary for purposes of interchange, shall submit to
the Secretary a fatigue management plan that is designed
to reduce the fatigue experienced by train employees (as
defined by section 21101 of this chapter) covered by the
hours of service laws and to reduce the likelihood of acci-
dents and injuries caused by fatigue. However, the plan
submitted by each affected Class III railroad carrier need
not discuss employees who are not engaged in or connected
with the movement of a train over the track of a carrier
subject to paragraph (1) of this subsection (or otherwise
engage in joint operations with a carrier subject to para-
graph (1) of this subsection) except as necessary for the
purpose of interchange. The plan shall discuss the ele-
ments set forth in subsection (b) of this section and shall
be submitted not more than three years after enactment
of this section, or not less than 60 days prior to com-
mencing railroad operations, whichever is later.
‘‘(3) Each railroad carrier subject to paragraph (1)
or (2) of this subsection shall implement its plan and any
amendment to that plan no later than 90 days after the
date of its submission to the Secretary. If the plan fails
to contain a discussion of any required element, the Sec-
retary shall notify the carrier as to the specific element
or elements that were omitted. The carrier shall then sub-
mit an amended plan within 90 days of such notification.
‘‘(4)(A) Each railroad carrier subject to paragraph
(1) or (2) of this subsection shall employ good faith and
use its best efforts to reach agreement by consensus with
all of its directly affected employee groups (including each
labor organization representing a class or craft of directly
affected employees of the railroad carrier (as applicable))
on the contents of the fatigue management plan and
amendments to the plan, and, wherever possible, the car-
rier and those employee groups shall jointly submit the
plan and each amendment to the Secretary.
‘‘(B) If the carrier and its employees cannot reach
consensus on the contents of the plan or an amendment
to the plan, then—
‘‘(i) the carrier shall file the plan or amendment
with the Secretary as required by subsection (a) of
this section; and
‘‘(ii) each directly affected employee group (as
applicable), may include in the plan or an amend-
ment to a plan a statement explaining its views on
the plan or amendment on which consensus was not
reached.
‘‘(b) ELEMENTS
OF
THE FATIGUE MANAGEMENT
PLAN.—
‘‘(1) GENERAL FACTORS.—The fatigue manage-
ment plan and each amendment shall—
‘‘(A) be based upon scientific knowledge
and literature relating to fatigue;
‘‘(B) describe the methods and measures
the carrier will utilize to determine the effec-
tiveness of each fatigue countermeasure;
‘‘(C) take into account the varying cir-
cumstances of operations by the railroad carrier
on different parts of its system, and what vari-
ations in fatigue countermeasures are appro-
priate to address those varying circumstances;
and
‘‘(D) to the extent that implementation of
the plan is connected in any way to a waiver re-
quest submitted under section 21108 of this
chapter, discuss that connection.
‘‘(2) SUBJECTS THAT CONCERN ALL DIRECTLY
AFFECTED
EMPLOYEES.—With respect to directly
affected employees, whether working in scheduled or
nonscheduled service, the plan shall discuss the fol-
lowing subjects:
‘‘(A) Education and training on the phys-
iological and other human factors that affect fa-
tigue, as well as strategies to counter fatigue.
‘‘(B) Joint labor/management initiatives
concerning the identification, diagnosis, and
treatment of sleep disorders that could con-
tribute to fatigue.
‘‘(C) Methods of avoiding increased fatigue
due to the need to respond to emergency situa-
tions, such as derailments and natural disas-
ters.
‘‘(D) Scheduling practices that improve
work/rest cycles and minimize cumulative sleep
loss and fatigue.
‘‘(E) Methods used to determine that cur-
rent and future staffing levels are adequate to
ensure that current and anticipated workloads
can be handled without exacerbating fatigue on
the part of affected employees.
‘‘(F) Alertness strategies to address acute
sleepiness and fatigue while an employee is on
duty.
‘‘(G) Opportunities to obtain restful sleep
at lodging facilities.
‘‘(H) How to minimize disturbances of the
employee’s rest within the carrier’s control dur-
ing rest periods.
‘‘(3) SUBJECTS THAT CONCERN DIRECTLY AF-
FECTED EMPLOYEES IN NONSCHEDULED SERVICE.—
With respect to directly affected employees working
in nonscheduled service, the plan shall also discuss
the following subjects:
‘‘(A) Methods of affording greater sched-
uling predictability to allow an employee to bet-
ter plan personal activities, sleep, and prepara-
tion for work during the off-duty period.
‘‘(B) How to provide employees with op-
portunities to take days off from work on a
scheduled basis.
‘‘(C) How to avoid abrupt changes in rest
cycles for employees returning to duty after an
extended absence due to circumstances includ-
ing illness, injury, or vacation.
‘‘(D) Ways to minimize the amount of time
that employees spend awaiting the arrival of
deadhead transportation to their points of final
release, and to mitigate the fatigue con-
sequences of excessive waiting time.
‘‘(E) How to maximize the amount of rest
time given at the employee’s home terminal.
‘‘(c) REPORTS TO THE SECRETARY ON EFFECTIVE-
NESS OF COUNTERMEASURES.—(1) Each railroad carrier
required by paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this section
to submit a fatigue management plan shall also submit
to the Secretary by June 30 of the years 2000 through
2003, an annual report on the effectiveness of each fatigue
countermeasure that it has employed, including a descrip-
tion of the methods and measures employed by the carrier
to determine the effectiveness of these countermeasures
and any problems encountered in implementing them. In
preparing each report, a carrier shall consult with the
labor organizations that represent the classes or crafts of
directly affected employees of the railroad carrier; each re-
port shall include any comments these organizations have
on the report.
‘‘(2) Each railroad carrier required by paragraph (2)
of subsection (a) of this section to submit a fatigue man-
agement plan for its affected train employees shall also
submit to the Secretary by June 30, 2003, a report on
the effectiveness of each fatigue countermeasure that it
has employed, including a description of the methods and
measures employed by the carrier to determine the effec-
tiveness of these countermeasures and any problems en-
countered in implementing them. In preparing the report,
a carrier shall consult with the labor organizations that
represent the affected train employees of the carrier, and
each report shall include any comments these organiza-
tions have on the report.
‘‘(d) SECRETARY’S ASSESSMENT OF FATIGUE COUN-
TERMEASURES.—The Secretary shall, at least once every
fiscal year for the fiscal years 2000 through 2003, provide
to the committees of jurisdiction a current assessment
(which may be in letter form) of fatigue mitigation efforts
by railroad carriers and their directly affected employees,
a summary of any regulatory or other action the Secretary
intends to take regarding fatigue mitigation, and any rec-
ommendations for legislative action concerning fatigue. In
making such recommendations, the Secretary shall con-
sider whether, in the interest of railroad safety, additional
categories or classes of railroad carriers should be required
to submit fatigue management plans, including whether
additional categories or classes of carrier employees should
be covered.
‘‘(e) ENFORCEMENT.—(1) It shall be a violation of
this section for a railroad carrier subject to this section
to—
‘‘(A) fail to submit to the Secretary a fatigue
management plan or, in any, an amendment to a fa-
tigue management plan, by the required date;
‘‘(B) submit a fatigue management plan that
fails to contain a discussion of the elements required
to be included under subsection (b) of this section,
unless the carrier submits a properly amended plan
within the time provided under subsection (a)(3) of
this section;
‘‘(C) fail to implement substantially its fatigue
management plan by the required date;
‘‘(D) fail to submit to the Secretary a report
under subsection (c) of this section by the required
date; or
‘‘(E) submit a report under subsection (c) of
this section that fails to contain a discussion of the
elements required to be included.
‘‘(2) Every day that a violation continues constitutes
a separate violation.
‘‘(3) In addition to other enforcement actions avail-
able with regard to violations of this section, the Secretary
may, with regard to violations listed in subparagraphs
(1)(A) and (C) of this subsection, issue an order under
section 20111 of this part, directing the carrier to imple-
ment whatever fatigue mitigation measures the Secretary
finds to be appropriate to deal with the lack of a plan
or lack of substantial implementation of one or more ele-
ments of a plan, which may include restrictions on max-
imum on-duty hours or minimum off-duty periods, or
both, that are more stringent than the restrictions of this
chapter, such as minimum periods of advance notice of
reporting times, minimum periods of undisturbed rest, a
specified number of days off in a week or month, longer
periods off duty, and shorter periods on duty.
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) DIRECTLY
AFFECTED
EMPLOYEE.—The
term ‘directly affected employee’ means—
‘‘(A) with respect to a Class I or II rail-
road carrier or a railroad carrier providing
intercity railroad passenger service or commuter
or other short-haul railroad passenger service in
a metropolitan or suburban area, an employee
of that carrier covered by the hours of service
laws and an employee of that carrier who con-
structs or maintains track and is therefore cov-
ered by the terms of the plan; and
‘‘(B) with respect to a Class III railroad
carrier, a train employee (as defined by section
21101 of this chapter) covered by the hours of
service laws who is engaged in or connected
with the movement of a train over the track of
a carrier subject to subsection (a)(1) of this
section (or otherwise engaged in joint oper-
ations with a carrier subject to subsection
(a)(1) of this section) except as necessary for
purposes of interchange.
‘‘(2) EMPLOYEE
IN
NONSCHEDULED
SERV-
ICE.—The term ‘employee in nonscheduled service’
means a directly affected employee who is assigned
to work a tour of duty without regular and predict-
able starting and stopping times.
‘‘(g) 
CONSULTATION
WITH
KNOWLEDGEABLE
GROUPS.—In carrying out duties under this section, the
Secretary may consult with and receive advice and rec-
ommendations from any group comprised of labor and
management representatives with relevant expertise, in-
cluding the North American Rail Alertness Partnership,
or technical experts. Such consultation is not subject to
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).’’.
(b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of
sections for chapter 211 is amended by adding at the end
the following new item:
‘‘21109. Fatigue management plans.’’.
SEC. 107. JOINT SUBMISSION OF WAIVER PETITIONS.
(a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 211 is amended by strik-
ing section 21108 and inserting the following:
‘‘§ 21108. Joint submission of waiver petitions
‘‘(a) WAIVER.—
‘‘(1) PETITION.—A railroad carrier (including a
Class III railroad carrier) and all labor organizations
representing any class or craft of directly affected
employees of the railroad carrier may jointly petition
the Secretary of Transportation for approval of a
waiver, in whole or in part, of compliance with this
chapter, in order to implement alternatives to the
strict application of the requirements of this chapter
to such class or crafts of employees, including re-
quirements concerning maximum on-duty and min-
imum off-duty periods. If the petition has any con-
nection to a fatigue management plan that has been
or will be submitted under section 21109 of this
chapter, the petition shall explain the relationship
between the waiver being sought and any specific
provisions of that plan.
‘‘(2) AUTHORITY TO WAIVE.—Based on such a
joint petition under paragraph (1) or paragraph (3)
of this subsection, the Secretary may, after notice
and opportunity for comment, waive in whole or in
part compliance with this chapter for any specified
time period, if the Secretary determines that such a
waiver of compliance is in the public interest and
consistent with railroad safety. A waiver is con-
sistent with railroad safety if it is demonstrated that
the employees involved will perform their job func-
tions at a level of safety at least functionally equiva-
lent to that afforded by the provision or provisions
of this chapter sought to be waived. A notice of any
petition under this section and an explanation of any
waiver granted under this section shall be published
in the Federal Register.
‘‘(3) 
WHEN
EMPLOYEES
ARE
NOT
REP-
RESENTED
BY
LABOR
ORGANIZATIONS.—In the
event that labor organizations do not represent
classes or crafts of directly affected employees of a
railroad carrier, the carrier may, after consulting
with all of its directly affected employee groups in
drafting the waiver request, request the waiver of
any provisions of this chapter, subject to the same
conditions and procedures as a request made under
paragraph (1) of this subsection.
‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘directly
affected employee’ means an employee covered by the
hours of service laws to whose hours of service the terms
of the waiver petitioned for specifically apply.’’.
(b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The item
relating to section 21108 in the table of sections for chap-
ter 211 is amended to read as follows:
‘‘21108. Joint submission of waiver petitions.’’.
SEC. 108. EMPLOYEE SLEEPING QUARTERS.
Section 21106 is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) SLEEPING QUARTERS.—’’
before ‘‘A railroad carrier and its’’;
(2) by striking the word ‘‘and’’ at the end of
paragraph (1);
(3) by striking the word ‘‘performed’’ at the
end of paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘performed;
and’’;
(4) by inserting the following new paragraph
after paragraph (2):
‘‘(3) may not, after January 1, 2002, provide
sleeping quarters (including crew quarters, camp or
bunk cars, and trailers) for employees, and any indi-
viduals employed to maintain the right of way of a
railroad carrier in an area or in the immediate vicin-
ity of an area in which railroad switching or hump-
ing operations are performed.’’; and
(5) by inserting the following at the end:
‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In subsection (a)(3) of this sec-
tion, the term ‘immediate vicinity’ means the area within
one-half mile (2,640 feet) (804 meters) of switching or
humping operations as measured from the nearest rail of
the nearest trackage where switching or humping oper-
ations are performed to the exterior wall of the structure
housing the sleeping quarters that is closest to such oper-
ations.’’.
TITLE II—MONITORING OF RAIL-
ROAD 
RADIO 
COMMUNICA-
TIONS
SEC. 201. ENHANCED INSPECTION AND INVESTIGATION AU-
THORITY UNDER THE FEDERAL RAILROAD
SAFETY LAWS.
Section 20107 is amended by inserting at the end the
following new subsections:
‘‘(c) RAILROAD RADIO COMMUNICATIONS.—(1) To
carry out the Secretary’s responsibilities under this part,
officers, employees, or agents of the Secretary are author-
ized to conduct the following kinds of inspection and inves-
tigative activities at reasonable times:
‘‘(A) To listen to a radio communication that is
broadcast or transmitted over a frequency author-
ized by the Federal Communications Commission to
a railroad carrier, with or without making their
presence known to the sender or other receivers of
the communication and with or without obtaining
the consent of the sender or other receivers of the
communication.
‘‘(B) To communicate the existence, contents,
substance, purport, effect, or meaning of the com-
munication, subject to the restrictions in paragraph
(3) of this subsection.
‘‘(C) To receive or assist in receiving the com-
munication (or any information therein contained).
‘‘(D) Having received the communication or
having become acquainted with the contents, sub-
stance, purport, effect, or meaning of the commu-
nication (or any part thereof), to disclose the con-
tents, substance, purport, effect, or meaning of the
communication (or any part thereof of such commu-
nication) or use the communication (or any informa-
tion contained therein), subject to the restrictions in
paragraph (3) of this subsection.
‘‘(E) To record the communication by any
means, including writing and tape recording.
‘‘(2) The purposes for which officers, employees, or
agents of the Secretary are permitted to engage in the
activities set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection in-
clude rulemaking, accident investigation, and acquiring
general information as to railroad operations.
‘‘(3) Information obtained in compliance with para-
graphs (1) and (2) of this subsection may not be used
as evidence for the assessment or collection of civil pen-
alties or for the implementation of other enforcement
mechanisms provided in sections 20702(b), 20111, 20112,
20113, or 20114 of this title and may not be conveyed
to a railroad carrier, but may be used as background for
further investigation which might lead to the discovery of
other useful evidence.
‘‘(4) The authority granted by this subsection shall
be an exception to the general prohibitions of section 605
of title 47, United States Code, and chapter 119 of title
18, United States Code.
‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘at rea-
sonable times’ means at any time that the railroad carrier
being inspected or investigated is performing its rail trans-
portation business.’’.
SEC. 202. EXCEPTION TO CHAPTER 119, TITLE 18, UNITED
STATES CODE.
Section 2511(2) of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding after paragraph (h) the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
chapter or section 605 of title 47, United States Code,
officers, employees, or agents of the Secretary of Trans-
portation in the normal course of employment and in fur-
therance of the Federal railroad safety laws at subtitle V,
part A, of title 49 may intercept radio communications
broadcast or transmitted over a frequency authorized by
the Federal Communications Commission to a railroad
carrier and may disclose or use the information thereby
obtained, for the purposes and to the extent permitted by
section 20107(c) of title 49.’’.
TITLE III—RULEMAKING
AUTHORITY
SEC. 301. RAILROAD ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT REPORTING.
Section 20901(a) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(a) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—On a periodic basis
not less often than monthly or, if no qualifying accident
or incident occurs, on a periodic basis not less often than
quarterly, as specified by the Secretary of Transportation,
a railroad carrier shall file a report with the Secretary on
all accidents and incidents resulting in injury or death to
an individual or damage to equipment or a roadbed arising
from the carrier’s operations during that month or other
applicable period. The report shall state the nature, cause,
and circumstances of each reported accident or incident.
If a railroad carrier assigns human error as a cause, the
report shall include, at the option of each employee whose
error is alleged, a statement by the employee explaining
any factors the employee alleges contributed to the acci-
dent or incident.’’.
SEC. 302. HIGH-SPEED RAIL NOISE REGULATION.
(a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 201 is amended by add-
ing a new section at the end as follows:
‘‘§ 20154. High-speed rail noise regulation
‘‘The Secretary of Transportation, with the concur-
rence of the Administrator of the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency, shall prescribe regulations governing noise
emissions from high-speed rail systems, including mag-
netic levitation systems, when operating at speeds greater
than 150 miles per hour. Railroad-related noise regula-
tions issued pursuant to the Noise Control Act of 1972
(42 U.S.C. 4916(a)) shall govern noise emissions from lo-
comotives, cars, and consists of locomotives and cars,
when operating at speeds equal to or less than 150 miles
per hour.’’.
(b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of
sections of subchapter II of chapter 201 is amended by
adding at the end the following new item:
‘‘20154. High-speed rail noise regulation.’’.
TITLE IV—WHISTLEBLOWER
PROTECTION
SEC. 401. EXPANSION OF EMPLOYEE PROTECTIONS.
(a) Section 20109(a) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘AND TESTIFYING’’ in the sub-
section heading and inserting the following: ‘‘, TES-
TIFYING, REPORTING, INJURIES
AND ILLNESSES,
AND
COOPERATING
WITH
SAFETY
INVESTIGA-
TIONS’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘or’’ following the semicolon in
paragraph (1); and
(3) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (2) and inserting a semicolon and the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(3) notified, or attempted to notify, the rail-
road carrier of a work-related personal injury or
work-related illness of an employee; or
‘‘(4) cooperated with a safety investigation by
the Secretary of Transportation or the National
Transportation Safety Board.’’.
(b) Section 20109(b) is amended—
(1) by striking the subsection heading and in-
serting ‘‘HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS.—’’;
(2) by inserting in paragraph (1) ‘‘or against
an employee responsible for the inspection or repair
of safety-related equipment, track, or structures for
refusing to authorize the use of such equipment,
track, or structures when the employee believes that
the equipment, track, or structures are in a haz-
ardous condition and that the use of the equipment,
track, or structures would endanger human life,’’
after ‘‘performance of the employee’s duties,’’; and
(3) by striking subparagraph (C) and sub-
stituting the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(C) the employee, where possible, has notified
the carrier of the existence of the hazardous condi-
tion and the intention not to perform further work
or not to authorize the use of the hazardous equip-
ment, track, or structures, unless the condition is
corrected immediately or the equipment, track, or
structures are repaired properly or replaced.’’.
(c) Section 20109(c) is amended by striking the sub-
section and inserting the following:
‘‘(c) DISPUTE RESOLUTION.—.
nated against in violation of subsection (a) or (b) of
this section, the Board division, delegate, or other
board of adjustment or the court, as applicable—
‘‘(A) may award reasonable damages, in-
cluding punitive damages sufficient to deter the
railroad carrier from such conduct in the future
up to $100,000; and
‘‘(B) shall make the employee whole, in-
cluding reinstatement, with an award of back
pay, and with all benefits and accumulated se-
niority.’’.
TITLE V—GRADE CROSSING
SAFETY
SEC. 501. EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION OF GRADE CROSSING
PROBLEMS.
Section 20152 is revised to read as follows:
‘‘§ 20152. Emergency notification of grade crossing
problems
‘‘(a) PROGRAM.—(1) The Secretary of Transpor-
tation shall promote the establishment of emergency noti-
fication systems utilizing toll-free telephone numbers that
the public can use to convey to railroad carriers, either
directly or through public safety personnel, information
about malfunctions of automated warning devices or other
safety problems at highway-rail grade crossings.
‘‘(2) To assist in encouraging widespread use of such
systems, the Secretary may provide technical assistance
and enter into cooperative agreements. Such assistance
shall include appropriate emphasis on the public safety
needs associated with operation of small railroads.
‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than 24 months following
enactment of the Federal Railroad Safety Enhancement
Act of 1999, the Secretary shall report to Congress the
status of such emergency notification systems, together
with any recommendations for further legislation that the
Secretary considers appropriate.
‘‘(c) CLARIFICATION OF TERM.—In this section, the
use of the term ‘emergency’ does not alter the cir-
cumstances under which a signal employee subject to the
hours of service law limitations in chapter 211 of this title
may be permitted to work up to 4 additional hours in a
24-hour period when an actual ‘emergency’ under section
21104(c) of this title exists and the work of that employee
is related to the emergency.’’.
SEC. 502. VIOLATION OF GRADE CROSSING SIGNALS.
(a) GENERAL.—Section 20151 is amended—
(1) by amending the section heading to read as
follows:
‘‘§ 20151. Strategy to prevent railroad trespassing and
vandalism and violation of grade crossing
signals’’;
(2) in subsection (a)—
(A) by striking ‘‘and vandalism affecting
railroad safety’’ and inserting ‘‘, vandalism af-
fecting railroad safety, and violations of high-
way-rail grade crossing signals’’;
(B) by inserting ‘‘, concerning trespassing
and vandalism,’’ after ‘‘such evaluation and re-
view’’; and
(C) by inserting ‘‘The second such evalua-
tion and review, concerning violations of high-
way-rail grade crossing signals, shall be com-
pleted not later than one year after the date of
enactment of the Federal Railroad Safety En-
hancement Act of 1999’’ after ‘‘November 2,
1994.’’;
(3) in the subsection heading of subsection (b),
by inserting ‘‘FOR TRESPASSING AND VANDALISM
PREVENTION’’ after ‘‘OUTREACH PROGRAM’’;
(4) in subsection (c)—
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and
(2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;
(B) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘MODEL LEG-
ISLATION.—’’; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(2) Not later than two years after the date of the
enactment of the Federal Railroad Safety Enhancement
Act of 1999, the Secretary, after consultation with State
and local governments and railroad carriers, shall develop
and make available to State and local governments model
State legislation providing for civil or criminal penalties,
or both, for violations of highway-rail grade crossing sig-
nals.’’; and
(5) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, ‘violation of high-
way-rail grade crossing signals’ includes any action by a
motorist, unless directed by an authorized safety officer—
‘‘(1) to drive around or through a grade cross-
ing gate in a position intended to block passage over
railroad tracks;
‘‘(2) to drive through a flashing grade crossing
signal;
‘‘(3) to drive through a grade crossing with pas-
sive warning signs without determining that the
grade crossing could be safely crossed before any
train arrived; and
‘‘(4) in the vicinity of a grade crossing, that
creates a hazard of an accident involving injury or
property damage at the grade crossing.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating
to section 20151 in the table of sections for subchapter
II of chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘20151. Strategy to prevent railroad trespassing and vandalism and violation of
grade crossing signals.’’.
SEC. 503. NATIONAL HIGHWAY-RAIL CROSSING INVENTORY.
(a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter II of chapter 201, as
amended by this Act, is further amended by adding at the
end the following new section:
‘‘§ 20155. National highway-rail crossing inventory
‘‘(a) MANDATORY INITIAL REPORTING OF CROSSING
INFORMATION.—No later than September 30, 2001, each
railroad carrier shall—
‘‘(1) report to the Secretary of Transportation
certain information, as specified by the Secretary by
rule or order issued after notice and opportunity for
public comment or by guidelines, concerning each
highway-rail crossing through which the carrier op-
erates; or
‘‘(2) otherwise ensure that the information has
been reported to the Secretary by that date.