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Arkansas House Bill HB2004

Arkansas 2025 Regular Session

Arkansas House Bill HB2004 Compare Versions

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11 Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
22 *ZRC133* 04/09/2025 9:44:10 PM ZRC133
33 State of Arkansas 1
44 95th General Assembly A Bill 2
55 Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 2004 3
66 4
77 By: Representative D. Whitaker 5
88 6
99 7
1010 For An Act To Be Entitled 8
1111 AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE OPERATION AND 9
1212 MAINTENANCE OF RAILROADS; TO CREATE STANDARD 10
1313 REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING RAILROAD TRAIN DEFECT 11
1414 DETECTORS AND TRENDING DEFECT DETECTOR TECHNOLOGY; TO 12
1515 REQUIRE CERTAIN INFORMATION TO BE PUBLISHED REGARDING 13
1616 DEFECT DETECTORS AND TRENDING DEFECT DETECTOR 14
1717 TECHNOLOGY; TO CREATE A PROCEDURE FOR THE DETECTION 15
1818 OF A DISCREPANCY IN THE NUMBER OF AXLES ON A RAILROAD 16
1919 TRAIN BY A DEFECT DETECTOR; TO CREATE CIVIL 17
2020 PENALTIES; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 18
2121 19
2222 20
2323 Subtitle 21
2424 TO CREATE STANDARD REQUIREMENTS 22
2525 CONCERNING RAILROAD TRAIN DEFECT 23
2626 DETECTORS AND TRENDING DEFECT DETECTOR 24
2727 TECHNOLOGY. 25
2828 26
2929 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 27
3030 28
3131 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 23, Chapter 12, is amended to add an 29
3232 additional subchapter to read as follows: 30
3333 Subchapter 11 — Train Defect Detector Safety 31
3434 32
3535 23-12-1101. Legislative findings and intent. 33
3636 (a) The General Assembly finds that in light of the February 2023 34
3737 railroad train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and in light of the 35
3838 absence of any federal regulation of train defect detectors, the continuing 36 HB2004
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4141 operation of railroad corporations with no oversight or regulation of hot box 1
4242 detectors operating within the state on a main railroad line or branch 2
4343 railroad line exposes the public to unnecessary dangers and disruptions of 3
4444 commerce. 4
4545 (b) The General assembly intends for this act to eliminate unnecessary 5
4646 dangers and disruptions of commerce imposed on communities and residents of 6
4747 Arkansas. 7
4848 8
4949 23-12-1102. Definitions. 9
5050 As used in this subchapter: 10
5151 (1)(A) "Defect detector" means an integrated or standalone 11
5252 electronic device that scans passing railroad trains or equipment for a 12
5353 defect, including without limitation: 13
5454 (i) A hot wheel bearing; 14
5555 (ii) A hot wheel; 15
5656 (iii) A shipment that has an excessive height or 16
5757 width; 17
5858 (iv) Shifted lading; and 18
5959 (v) Dragging equipment. 19
6060 (B) "Defect detector" includes without limitation: 20
6161 (i) An acoustic bearing detector; 21
6262 (ii) A dragging equipment detector; and 22
6363 (iii) A wheel impact detector; 23
6464 (2)(A) “Railroad” means non -highway ground transportation that 24
6565 runs on rails or electromagnetic guideways in this state. 25
6666 (B) "Railroad" includes without limitation a: 26
6767 (i) Commuter railroad service or other short -haul 27
6868 railroad passenger service in a metropolitan or suburban area; and 28
6969 (ii) High-speed ground transportation system that 29
7070 connects metropolitan areas without regard to whether the high -speed ground 30
7171 transportation system uses new technologies not associated with traditional 31
7272 railroads. 32
7373 (C) "Railroad" does not include a rapid transit operation 33
7474 in an urban area that is not connected to the general railroad system of 34
7575 transportation; 35
7676 (3) "Railroad corporation" means a corporation, company, or 36 HB2004
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7979 individual that owns or operates a railroad in this state as an owner, 1
8080 lessee, mortgagee, trustee, assignee, or receiver; 2
8181 (4)(A) “Railroad train" means a locomotive, multiple locomotives 3
8282 coupled together, or one (1) or more locomotives coupled with one (1) or more 4
8383 cars that require an air brake test under 49 C.F.R. Part 232, as it existed 5
8484 on January 1, 2025, or 49 C.F.R. Part 238, as it existed on January 1, 2025. 6
8585 (B) "Railroad train" does not include: 7
8686 (i) A locomotive or car during switching operations; 8
8787 or 9
8888 (ii) A locomotive or car is that operated to 10
8989 classify and assemble cars within a railroad yard for the purpose of making 11
9090 or breaking up railroad trains; 12
9191 (5) "Restricted speed" means a speed that: 13
9292 (A) Permits a railroad train to stop within one -half (1/2) 14
9393 of the range of vision; and 15
9494 (B) Does not exceed twenty miles per hour (20 m.p.h.); and 16
9595 (6)(A) "Trending defect detector technology" means an algorithm -17
9696 based technology applied to a defect detector that allows for communication 18
9797 from one (1) defect detector to another defect detector in order to predict 19
9898 or detect a defect of a railroad train. 20
9999 (B) "Trending defect detector technology" includes without 21
100100 limitation the communication between defect detectors of information 22
101101 concerning: 23
102102 (i) The changing temperature of wheel bearings on a 24
103103 railroad; 25
104104 (ii) Acoustic information; and 26
105105 (iii) Other data that would lead to the discovery of 27
106106 a failure of rolling equipment. 28
107107 29
108108 23-12-1103. Defect detector — Minimum requirements. 30
109109 (a) A defect detector shall be equipped with: 31
110110 (1) A hot box detector; 32
111111 (2) A hot wheel detector; and 33
112112 (3) Dragging equipment detector technology. 34
113113 (b)(1) A defect detector shall be equipped with an audible alarm that 35
114114 broadcasts on a radio channel frequency assigned to the specific territory in 36 HB2004
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117117 which the defect detector is located by the Association of American 1
118118 Railroads. 2
119119 (2) If a defect is detected, a defect detector shall be equipped 3
120120 to: 4
121121 (A) Sound an alarm over the assigned radio channel 5
122122 frequency three (3) consecutive times for no longer than five (5) seconds and 6
123123 with five (5) seconds of silence in between each sounding of the alarm; and 7
124124 (B) Repeat an audible message three (3) times with twenty 8
125125 (20) seconds of silence between each broadcast of the audible message stating 9
126126 the following information: 10
127127 (i) The defect detector location milepost and name; 11
128128 (ii) The track number if the defect detector is 12
129129 located in multiple track territory; 13
130130 (iii) The total number of axles in the railroad 14
131131 train, including motive power; and 15
132132 (iv) The location of defects within the railroad 16
133133 train or equipment. 17
134134 (3) If a defect is not detected, the defect detector shall be 18
135135 equipped to provide an audible message that states the following: 19
136136 (A) The location of the defect detector milepost and name; 20
137137 (B) The track number in multiple track territory; 21
138138 (C) The total number of axles in the railroad train, 22
139139 including motive power; 23
140140 (D) The speed of the railroad train; and 24
141141 (E) A statement that no defect was detected, including the 25
142142 phrase, "repeat no defects, out". 26
143143 27
144144 23-12-1104. Trending defect detector technology. 28
145145 (a) A defect detector equipped with trending defect detector 29
146146 technology or similar technology shall: 30
147147 (1) Not have a silent alarm; and 31
148148 (2) Be listed to all operating crew who operate equipment on the 32
149149 railroad track on which the defect detector is located. 33
150150 (b) If a railroad train passes a defect detector equipped with 34
151151 trending defect detector technology and a trending defect issue is detected: 35
152152 (1) The operating crew of the railroad train shall stop in 36 HB2004
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155155 accordance with safe railroad train handling procedures issued by the 1
156156 railroad corporation that owns or operates the railroad train; 2
157157 (2) An inspection of the railroad train shall be made by the 3
158158 operating crew from a position on the ground; 4
159159 (3) The railroad train inspection results shall be noted by the 5
160160 operating crew and presented to the appropriate officer of the railroad 6
161161 corporation, the dispatcher, or another qualified person; and 7
162162 (4) If the inspection under subdivision (b)(2) of this section 8
163163 finds that the railroad train is safe to move, the railroad train may proceed 9
164164 at a speed that does not exceed: 10
165165 (A) Ten miles per hour (10 m.p.h.) if the railroad train 11
166166 is carrying hazardous materials; or 12
167167 (B) Thirty miles per hour (30 m.p.h.) if the railroad 13
168168 train is not carrying hazardous materials. 14
169169 (c) If a railroad train that has a trending defect issue detected 15
170170 under subsection (b) of this section passes another defect detector equipped 16
171171 with trending defect detector technology and a trending defect issue is 17
172172 detected a second time: 18
173173 (1) The operating crew of the railroad train shall stop in 19
174174 accordance with safe railroad train handling procedures issued by the 20
175175 railroad corporation that owns or operates the railroad train; 21
176176 (2) The railroad train or equipment shall be inspected by the 22
177177 operating crew from a position on the ground; 23
178178 (3) A determination shall be made by a qualified person whether 24
179179 the railroad train is safe to move based on the inspection required under 25
180180 subdivision (c)(2) of this section; 26
181181 (4) After the inspection required under subdivision (c)(2) of 27
182182 this section, the railroad train or equipment shall be set out immediately by 28
183183 the operating crew at the nearest siding, spur, or designated repair track; 29
184184 and 30
185185 (5) The railroad train or equipment shall not be moved unless a 31
186186 qualified person has thoroughly inspected and repaired the railroad train or 32
187187 equipment. 33
188188 34
189189 23-12-1105. Defect detector — Requirements. 35
190190 (a) An installed defect detector shall remain on with all audible 36 HB2004
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193193 alarms set to a volume high enough for an operating crew to hear reporting 1
194194 from the defect detector. 2
195195 (b) A defect detector that is equipped with a hot wheel bearing 3
196196 detector shall have a sensitivity level no higher than one hundred ten 4
197197 degrees Fahrenheit (110°F). 5
198198 (c)(1) If the repair of a defect detector is required, the railroad 6
199199 corporation that owns the defect detector shall notify the Arkansas 7
200200 Department of Transportation. 8
201201 (2) A railroad train operating on a railroad around a defect 9
202202 detector that requires repair: 10
203203 (A) Shall not exceed the restricted speed; and 11
204204 (B) May resume timetable speed if the next defect detector 12
205205 on the railroad indicates that the railroad train has no defects. 13
206206 14
207207 23-12-1106. Information required to be published. 15
208208 A railroad corporation shall publish and make known to all operating 16
209209 crews that operate railroad trains over railroad tracks equipped with defect 17
210210 detectors that: 18
211211 (1) An operating crew of a railroad train that receives an alarm 19
212212 from a defect detector or a defect detector equipped with trending defect 20
213213 detector technology shall reduce the speed of the railroad train in 21
214214 accordance with the railroad corporation's operating rules until the defect 22
215215 detector is cleared; 23
216216 (2) After receiving a defect detector message indicating a 24
217217 defect, the operating crew of the railroad train shall stop in accordance 25
218218 with the railroad corporation's operating rules and inspect the railroad 26
219219 train from a position on the ground; 27
220220 (3) An operating crew of a railroad train receiving a defect 28
221221 message of dragging equipment or a similar message from a defect detector 29
222222 shall stop immediately in accordance with the railroad corporation's 30
223223 operating rules and inspect the railroad train from a position on the ground; 31
224224 (4) If defects are found, the railroad train shall be inspected 32
225225 by the operating crew based on the industry standard of twenty (20) axles 33
226226 before and after the reported defect on both sides of the railroad train; 34
227227 (5) An inspection of a railroad train that is required based on 35
228228 a report from a defect detector shall not be made from a vehicle or any other 36 HB2004
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231231 form of transportation; and 1
232232 (6) A person shall not relieve a railroad train operating crew 2
233233 or an operator of a railroad train or equipment from an inspection under this 3
234234 section while operating the railroad train or equipment within the state. 4
235235 5
236236 23-12-1107. Discrepancy in number of axles detected by defect 6
237237 detector. 7
238238 (a) If a defect detector detects that a railroad train has at least 8
239239 two (2) fewer axles than the number of axles known to be in the railroad 9
240240 train, the discrepancy shall be reported to the proper railroad authority 10
241241 governing railroad train movement in the territory. 11
242242 (b) If an axle count provided by a defect detector is at least two (2) 12
243243 or more axles than the number of axles known to be in the railroad train: 13
244244 (1) The proper railroad authority governing railroad train 14
245245 movement in the territory shall be notified; 15
246246 (2) The extra equipment or extra railroad train car shall be 16
247247 identified within five (5) miles of the location where the defect detector 17
248248 reported the defect; 18
249249 (3) If communication is not established with the proper railroad 19
250250 authority, all movement of the railroad train shall stop within five (5) 20
251251 miles of the location where the defect detector reported the defect; 21
252252 (4) The railroad train shall not proceed unless the extra 22
253253 equipment or extra railroad train has been identified; 23
254254 (5) If the extra equipment is known to be hazardous, the 24
255255 railroad train shall not proceed without a radio waybill or proper 25
256256 documentation; and 26
257257 (6) Operating crew at the operating controls of a moving 27
258258 railroad train or equipment shall not be permitted to copy or repeat radio 28
259259 waybill information. 29
260260 30
261261 23-12-1108. Civil penalty. 31
262262 (a)(1) A person or railroad corporation who violates this subchapter 32
263263 is subject to a civil penalty of at least ten thousand dollars ($10,000) but 33
264264 not more than twenty -five thousand dollars ($25,000) for each day that the 34
265265 violation continues. 35
266266 (2) A person or railroad corporation that violates this 36 HB2004
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269269 subchapter is subject to a one -time civil penalty of five hundred thousand 1
270270 dollars ($500,000) if the Director of the State Highways and Transportation 2
271271 finds: 3
272272 (A) The violation to be grossly negligent; or 4
273273 (B) That a pattern of repeated violations has caused: 5
274274 (i) An imminent hazard of death or injury to an 6
275275 individual; or 7
276276 (ii) Death or injury to an individual. 8
277277 (b) A civil penalty collected under this section shall be deposited 9
278278 into the State Highway and Transportation Department Fund to be used for the 10
279279 maintenance, repair, and construction of the state highway system. 11
280280 (c) If a violation of this subchapter results in a railroad train 12
281281 derailment in the vicinity of a municipality and a civil penalty is assessed 13
282282 under subdivision (a)(2) of this section, one -half (1/2) of the civil penalty 14
283283 shall be remitted to the Arkansas Department of Transportation and one -half 15
284284 (1/2) of the civil penalty shall be remitted to the affected municipality. 16
285285 (d) The director shall determine the amount of a civil penalty imposed 17
286286 under subsection (a) of this section based on: 18
287287 (1) The nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the 19
288288 violation; 20
289289 (2) With respect to the violator, the: 21
290290 (A) Degree of the violator's culpability; 22
291291 (B) Violator's history of violations; 23
292292 (C) Violator's ability to pay; and 24
293293 (D) Effect on the violator's ability to continue to do 25
294294 business; and 26
295295 (3) Any other factors required by law. 27
296296 28
297297 SECTION 2. DO NOT CODIFY. Compliance. 29
298298 A railroad corporation operating within this state has twelve (12) 30
299299 months from the effective date of this act to retune all defect detectors 31
300300 within the state to ensure compliance with this act. 32
301301 33
302302 34
303303 35
304304 36