I
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. R. 971
To enhance safety requirements for trains transporting hazardous materials,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY4, 2025
Mrs. S
YKES(for herself, Mr. RULLI, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. BROWN, Ms. KAPTUR,
and Mr. L
ANDSMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
To enhance safety requirements for trains transporting
hazardous materials, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3
(a) S
HORTTITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4
‘‘Reducing Accidents In Locomotives Act’’ or the ‘‘RAIL 5
Act’’. 6
(b) T
ABLE OFCONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7
this Act is as follows: 8
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Defined term.
Sec. 3. Recommendations for safety.
Sec. 4. Inspections.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2
•HR 971 IH
Sec. 5. Defect detectors.
Sec. 6. Increasing maximum civil penalties for violations of rail safety regula-
tions.
Sec. 7. Safer tank cars.
Sec. 8. Hazardous materials training for first responders.
Sec. 9. Freight train crew size safety standards.
SEC. 2. DEFINED TERM.
1
In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec-2
retary of Transportation. 3
SEC. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SAFETY. 4
(a) R
ULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after the 5
date on which the National Transportation Safety Board 6
issues the report on the East Palestine, Ohio crash, the 7
Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the 8
Federal Railroad Administration, shall issue regulations, 9
or modify existing regulations, based on such report estab-10
lishing safety requirements, in accordance with subsection 11
(b), with which a rail carrier operating a train trans-12
porting hazardous materials that is not subject to the re-13
quirements for a high-hazard flammable train under sec-14
tion 174.310 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, 15
shall comply with respect to the operation of each such 16
train and the maintenance of specification tank cars. 17
(b) R
EQUIREMENTS.—The regulations issued pursu-18
ant to subsection (a) shall require rail carriers— 19
(1) to provide advance notification and informa-20
tion regarding the transportation of hazardous mate-21
rials described in subsection (a) to each State emer-22
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3
•HR 971 IH
gency response commissioner, the tribal emergency 1
response commission, or any other State or tribal 2
agency responsible for receiving the information no-3
tification for emergency response planning informa-4
tion; 5
(2) to include, in the notification provided pur-6
suant to paragraph (1), a written gas discharge plan 7
with respect to the applicable hazardous materials 8
being transported; and 9
(3) to reduce or eliminate blocked crossings re-10
sulting from delays in train movements. 11
(c) A
DDITIONALREQUIREMENTS.—In developing the 12
regulations required under subsection (a), the Secretary 13
shall include requirements regarding— 14
(1) train length and weight; 15
(2) train consist; 16
(3) route analysis and selection; 17
(4) speed restrictions; 18
(5) track standards; 19
(6) track, bridge, and rail car maintenance; 20
(7) signaling and train control; and 21
(8) response plans. 22
SEC. 4. INSPECTIONS. 23
(a) T
IMEAVAILABLE FORINSPECTION.— 24
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4
•HR 971 IH
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 1
201 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 2
adding at the end the following: 3
‘‘§ 20172. Time available for inspection 4
‘‘(a) I
NGENERAL.—No railroad may limit the time 5
required for an employee to complete a railcar, locomotive, 6
or brake inspection to ensure that each railcar, locomotive, 7
and brake system complies with safety laws and regula-8
tions. 9
‘‘(b) R
EQUIREMENT.—Employees shall perform their 10
inspection duties promptly and shall not delay other than 11
for reasons related to safety.’’. 12
(2) C
LERICAL AMENDMENT .—The analysis for 13
subchapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United 14
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 15
following: 16
‘‘20172. Time available for inspection.’’.
(b) PRE-DEPARTURERAILCARINSPECTIONS.—Not 17
later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of 18
this Act, the Secretary shall amend the pre-departure in-19
spection requirements for Class I railroads under part 215 20
of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (as written on 21
such date of enactment)— 22
(1) to ensure that after initial consultation with 23
the Federal Railroad Administration, and after each 24
subsequent annual consultation, each railroad identi-25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5
•HR 971 IH
fies inspection locations and, at such locations, has 1
inspectors designated under part 215 available for 2
the purpose of inspecting freight cars; 3
(2) to ensure that all freight cars are inspected 4
by an inspector designated under part 215 at a des-5
ignated inspection location in the direction of travel 6
as soon as practicable; and 7
(3) to require each railroad that operates rail-8
road freight cars to which such part 215 applies to 9
designate persons qualified to inspect railroad 10
freight rail cars, subject to any existing collective 11
bargaining agreement, for compliance and deter-12
minations required under such part. 13
(c) Q
UALIFIEDLOCOMOTIVEINSPECTIONS.—Not 14
later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 15
Act, the Secretary shall review and amend, as necessary, 16
regulations under chapters 229 and 243 of title 49, Code 17
of Federal Regulations— 18
(1) to ensure appropriate training qualifications 19
and proficiency of employees, including qualified me-20
chanical inspectors, performing locomotive inspec-21
tions; and 22
(2) for locomotives in service on a Class I rail-23
road, to require an additional daily inspection to be 24
performed by a qualified mechanical inspector be-25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6
•HR 971 IH
tween the current intervals under section 1
229.23(b)(2) of title 49, Code of Federal Regula-2
tions. 3
(d) A
UDITS.— 4
(1) I
N GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 5
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 6
shall initiate audits of Federal railcar, locomotive, 7
and train brake system inspection compliance with 8
chapter II of subtitle B of title 49, Code of Federal 9
Regulations, which— 10
(A) consider whether the railroad has in 11
place procedures necessary for railcar, loco-12
motive, and train brake system inspection com-13
pliance under such chapter; 14
(B) assess the type, content, and adequacy 15
of training and performance metrics the rail-16
road provides employees who perform railcar, 17
locomotive, and train brake system inspections, 18
including the qualifications specified for such 19
employees; 20
(C) determine whether the railroad has 21
practices that would interfere with an employ-22
ee’s responsibility to perform an inspection 23
safely; 24
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7
•HR 971 IH
(D) determine whether railcars, loco-1
motives, and train brake systems are inspected 2
on the railroad’s network in accordance with 3
such chapter; 4
(E) involve proper communication of iden-5
tified defects to railroad personnel and make 6
appropriate use of remedial action reports to 7
verify that repairs are made; 8
(F) determine whether managers coerce 9
employees to sign off on any documents 10
verifying an inspection or repair of a railcar, lo-11
comotive, or train brake system; 12
(G) determine whether the railroad’s in-13
spection procedures reflect the current oper-14
ating practices of the railroad carrier; and 15
(H) ensure that railroad inspection proce-16
dures only provide for the use of persons per-17
mitted to perform each relevant inspection 18
under such chapter. 19
(2) A
UDIT SCHEDULING .—The Secretary 20
shall— 21
(A) schedule the audits required under 22
paragraph (1) to ensure that— 23
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 8
•HR 971 IH
(i) every Class I railroad is audited 1
not less frequently than once every 5 years; 2
and 3
(ii) a limited number, as determined 4
by the Secretary, of Class II and Class III 5
railroads are audited annually, provided 6
that— 7
(I) no audit of a tourist, scenic, 8
historic, or excursion operation may 9
be required under this subsection; and 10
(II) no other Class II or III rail-11
road may be audited more frequently 12
than once every 5 years; and 13
(B) conduct the audits described in sub-14
paragraph (A)(ii) in accordance with— 15
(i) the Small Business Regulatory En-16
forcement Fairness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 17
601 note); and 18
(ii) appendix C of part 209 of title 49, 19
Code of Federal Regulations. 20
(3) U
PDATES TO INSPECTION PROGRAM AND 21
PROCEDURES.—If, during an audit required under 22
this subsection, the auditor identifies a deficiency in 23
a railroad’s procedures or practices necessary to en-24
sure compliance with chapter II of subtitle B of title 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 9
•HR 971 IH
49, Code of Federal Regulations, the railroad shall 1
eliminate such deficiency, after first being provided 2
the opportunity to address whether such a deficiency 3
exists. 4
(4) C
ONSULTATION AND COOPERATION .— 5
(A) C
ONSULTATION.—In conducting any 6
audit required under this subsection, the Sec-7
retary shall consult with the railroad being au-8
dited and its employees, including any nonprofit 9
employee labor organization representing the 10
employees of the railroad that conduct railcar, 11
locomotive, or train brake system inspections. 12
(B) C
OOPERATION.—The railroad being 13
audited and its employees, including any non-14
profit employee labor organization representing 15
mechanical employees, shall fully cooperate with 16
any audit conducted pursuant to this sub-17
section— 18
(i) by providing any relevant docu-19
ments requested; and 20
(ii) by making available any employees 21
for interview without undue delay or ob-22
struction. 23
(C) F
AILURE TO COOPERATE .—If the Sec-24
retary determines that a railroad or any of its 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 10
•HR 971 IH
employees, including any nonprofit employee 1
labor organization representing mechanical em-2
ployees of the railroad is not fully cooperating 3
with an audit conducted pursuant to this sub-4
section, the Secretary shall electronically notify 5
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 6
Transportation of the Senate and the Com-7
mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 8
the House of Representatives of such non-9
cooperation. 10
(e) R
EVIEW OFREGULATIONS.—Not later than 5 11
years after the date of the enactment of this Act, and peri-12
odically thereafter, the Secretary shall determine whether 13
any update to chapters I and II of subtitle B of title 49, 14
Code of Federal Regulations, is necessary to ensure the 15
adequacy of railcar, locomotive, and train brake system 16
inspections. 17
(f) A
NNUALREPORT.—The Secretary shall publish 18
an annual report on the public website of the Federal Rail-19
road Administration that— 20
(1) summarizes the findings of the audits con-21
ducted pursuant to subsection (c) during the most 22
recently concluded fiscal year; 23
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 11
•HR 971 IH
(2) summarizes any updates made to chapter I 1
or II of subtitle B of title 49, Code of Federal Regu-2
lations, pursuant to this section; and 3
(3) excludes any confidential business informa-4
tion or sensitive security information. 5
(g) R
ULE OFCONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-6
tion may be construed— 7
(1) to provide the Secretary with any authority 8
to interpret, revise, alter, or apply a collectively bar-9
gained agreement, nor any authority over collective 10
bargaining, collectively bargained agreements, or any 11
aspect of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et 12
seq.); 13
(2) to alter the terms or interpretations of ex-14
isting collective bargaining agreements; or 15
(3) to abridge any procedural rights or rem-16
edies provided under a collectively bargained agree-17
ment. 18
SEC. 5. DEFECT DETECTORS. 19
(a) R
ULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after the 20
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 21
regulations establishing requirements for the installation, 22
repair, testing, maintenance, and operation of wayside de-23
fect detectors for each rail carrier operating a train consist 24
carrying hazardous materials. 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 12
•HR 971 IH
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations issued pursu-1
ant to subsection (a) shall include requirements regard-2
ing— 3
(1) the frequency of the placement of wayside 4
defect detectors, including a requirement that all 5
Class I railroads install a hotbox detector along 6
every 10-mile segment of rail track over which trains 7
carrying hazardous materials operate; 8
(2) performance standards for such detectors; 9
(3) the maintenance and repair requirements 10
for such detectors; 11
(4) reporting data and maintenance records of 12
such detectors; 13
(5) appropriate steps the rail carrier must take 14
when receiving an alert of a defect or failure from 15
or regarding a wayside defect detector; and 16
(6) the use of hotbox detectors to prevent 17
derailments from wheel bearing failures, including— 18
(A) the temperatures, to be specified by 19
the Secretary, at which an alert from a hotbox 20
detector is triggered to warn of a potential 21
wheel bearing failure; and 22
(B) any actions that shall be taken by a 23
rail carrier upon receiving an alert from a hot-24
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 13
•HR 971 IH
box detector of a potential wheel bearing fail-1
ure. 2
(c) D
EFECT ANDFAILUREIDENTIFICATION.—The 3
Secretary shall specify the categories of defects and fail-4
ures that wayside defect detectors covered by regulations 5
issued pursuant to subsection (a) shall address, includ-6
ing— 7
(1) axles; 8
(2) wheel bearings; 9
(3) brakes; 10
(4) signals; 11
(5) wheel impacts; and 12
(6) other defects or failures specified by the 13
Secretary. 14
(d) S
AFETYPLACARDS.— 15
(1) I
N GENERAL.—In issuing regulations under 16
subsection (a), the Secretary shall require that plac-17
ards covered under section 172.519 of title 49, Code 18
of Federal Regulations, be able to withstand heat in 19
excess of 180 degrees. 20
(2) U
PDATE BASED ON RECOMMENDATIONS .— 21
The Secretary may, upon recommendation from the 22
National Transportation Safety Board, issue such 23
regulations as are necessary to increase the heat 24
threshold described in paragraph (1). 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 14
•HR 971 IH
SEC. 6. INCREASING MAXIMUM CIVIL PENALTIES FOR VIO-1
LATIONS OF RAIL SAFETY REGULATIONS. 2
(a) C
IVILPENALTIESRELATED TOTRANSPORTING 3
H
AZARDOUSMATERIALS.—Section 5123(a) of title 49, 4
United States Code, is amended— 5
(1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 6
subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘$75,000’’ and insert-7
ing ‘‘the greater of 0.5 percent of the person’s an-8
nual income or annual operating income or 9
$750,000’’; and 10
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘$175,000’’ 11
and inserting ‘‘the greater of 1 percent of the per-12
son’s annual income or annual operating income or 13
$1,750,000’’. 14
(b) G
ENERALVIOLATIONS OFCHAPTER201.—Sec-15
tion 21301(a)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is 16
amended— 17
(1) by striking ‘‘$25,000.’’ and inserting ‘‘the 18
greater of 0.5 percent of the person’s annual income 19
or annual operating income or $250,000’’; and 20
(2) by striking ‘‘$100,000.’’ and inserting ‘‘the 21
greater of 1 percent of the person’s annual income 22
or annual operating income or $1,000,000’’. 23
(c) A
CCIDENT ANDINCIDENTVIOLATIONS OFCHAP-24
TER201; VIOLATIONS OF CHAPTERS203 THROUGH 25
209.—Section 21302(a) is amended— 26
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 15
•HR 971 IH
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘203–209’’ 1
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘203 through 2
209’’; and 3
(2) in paragraph (2)— 4
(A) by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and inserting 5
‘‘the greater of 0.5 percent of the person’s an-6
nual income or annual operating income or 7
$250,000’’; and 8
(B) by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ and inserting 9
‘‘the greater of 1 percent of the person’s annual 10
income or annual operating income or 11
$1,000,000’’. 12
(d) V
IOLATIONS OF CHAPTER 211.—Section 13
21303(a)(2) is amended— 14
(1) by striking ‘‘$25,000.’’ and inserting ‘‘the 15
greater of 0.5 percent of the person’s annual income 16
or annual operating income or $250,000’’; and 17
(2) by striking ‘‘$100,000.’’ and inserting ‘‘the 18
greater of 1 percent of the person’s annual income 19
or annual operating income or $1,000,000’’. 20
SEC. 7. SAFER TANK CARS. 21
(a) P
HASE-OUTSCHEDULE.—Beginning on May 1, 22
2030, a rail carrier may not use DOT–111 specification 23
railroad tank cars that do not comply with DOT–117, 24
DOT–117P, or DOT–117R specification requirements, as 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 16
•HR 971 IH
in effect on the date of enactment of this Act, to transport 1
Class 3 flammable liquids regardless of the composition 2
of the train consist. 3
(b) C
ONFORMINGREGULATORYAMENDMENTS.— 4
(1) I
N GENERAL.—The Secretary— 5
(A) shall immediately remove or revise the 6
date-specific deadlines in any applicable regula-7
tions or orders to the extent necessary to con-8
form with the requirement under subsection (a); 9
and 10
(B) may not enforce any date-specific 11
deadlines or requirements that are inconsistent 12
with the requirement under subsection (a). 13
(2) R
ULE OF CONSTRUCTION .—Except as re-14
quired under paragraph (1), nothing in this section 15
may be construed to require the Secretary to issue 16
regulations to implement this section. 17
SEC. 8. HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TRAINING FOR FIRST RE-18
SPONDERS. 19
(a) A
NNUALREGISTRATIONFEE.—Section 5108(g) 20
of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at 21
the end the following: 22
‘‘(4) A
DDITIONAL FEE FOR CLASS I RAIL CAR -23
RIERS.—In addition to the fees collected pursuant to 24
paragraphs (1) and (2), the Secretary shall establish 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 17
•HR 971 IH
and annually impose and collect from each Class I 1
rail carrier a fee in an amount equal to 2
$1,000,000.’’. 3
(b) A
SSISTANCE FORLOCALEMERGENCYRESPONSE 4
T
RAINING.—Section 5116(j)(1)(A) of title 49, United 5
States Code, is amended— 6
(1) by striking ‘‘liquids’’ and inserting ‘‘mate-7
rials’’; and 8
(2) in paragraph (3), by amending subpara-9
graph (A) to read as follows: 10
‘‘(A) I
N GENERAL.—To carry out the 11
grant program established pursuant to para-12
graph (1), the Secretary may expend, during 13
each fiscal year— 14
‘‘(i) the amounts collected pursuant to 15
section 5108(g)(4); and 16
‘‘(ii) any amounts recovered during 17
such fiscal year from grants awarded 18
under this section during a prior fiscal 19
year.’’. 20
(c) S
UPPLEMENTAL TRAININGGRANTS.—Section 21
5128(b)(4) of title 49, United States Code is amended by 22
striking ‘‘$2,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$4,000,000’’. 23
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 18
•HR 971 IH
SEC. 9. FREIGHT TRAIN CREW SIZE SAFETY STANDARDS. 1
(a) F
REIGHTTRAINCREWSIZE.—Subchapter II of 2
chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 3
by inserting after section 20153 the following: 4
‘‘§ 20154. Freight train crew size safety standards 5
‘‘(a) M
INIMUMCREWSIZE.—Except as provided in 6
subsection (b), no Class I railroad carrier may operate a 7
freight train without a 2-person crew consisting of at least 8
1 appropriately qualified and certified conductor and 1 ap-9
propriately qualified and certified locomotive engineer. 10
‘‘(b) E
XCEPTIONS.— 11
‘‘(1) I
N GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-12
graph (2), the requirement under subsection (a) 13
shall not apply with respect to— 14
‘‘(A) train operations on track that is not 15
main line track; 16
‘‘(B) locomotives performing assistance to 17
a train that has incurred mechanical failure or 18
lacks the power to traverse difficult terrain, in-19
cluding traveling to or from the location where 20
assistance is provided; 21
‘‘(C) locomotives that— 22
‘‘(i) are not attached to any equip-23
ment or are attached only to a caboose; 24
and 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 19
•HR 971 IH
‘‘(ii) travel not farther than 50 miles 1
from the point of origin of such locomotive; 2
and 3
‘‘(D) train operations staffed with fewer 4
than a 2-person crew at least 1 year before the 5
date of the enactment of the Safe Freight Act 6
of 2024, except if the Secretary determines that 7
such operations do not achieve an equivalent 8
level of safety as would result from compliance 9
with the requirement under subsection (a). 10
‘‘(2) T
RAINS INELIGIBLE FOR EXCEPTION .— 11
The exceptions under paragraph (2) shall not apply 12
with respect to— 13
‘‘(A) a high-hazard train; or 14
‘‘(B) a train with a total length of at least 15
7,500 feet. 16
‘‘(c) W
AIVER.—A railroad carrier may seek a waiver 17
of the requirements under subsection (a) in accordance 18
with section 20103(d). 19
‘‘(d) D
EFINITIONS.—In this section: 20
‘‘(1) H
IGH-HAZARD TRAIN.—The term ‘high- 21
hazard train’ means a single train transporting, 22
throughout the train consist— 23
‘‘(A) not fewer than 20 tank cars loaded 24
with a flammable liquid (Class 3) (as such term 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 20
•HR 971 IH
is defined in section 173.120 of title 49, Code 1
of Federal Regulations, or successor regula-2
tions); 3
‘‘(B) not fewer than 1 tank car or inter-4
modal portable tank load with a material poi-5
sonous by inhalation or a material toxic by in-6
halation (as such term is defined in section 7
171.8 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, 8
or successor regulations); 9
‘‘(C) not fewer than 1 car loaded with a 10
type B package or a fissile material package (as 11
such terms are defined in section 173.403 of 12
title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, or suc-13
cessor regulations); 14
‘‘(D) not fewer than 10 cars loaded with 15
Class 1 explosives categorized under section 16
173.50 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations 17
(or successor regulations) as being in division 18
1.1, 1.2, or 1.3; 19
‘‘(E) not fewer than 5 tank cars loaded 20
with a flammable gas (as such term is defined 21
in section 173.115(a) of title 49, Code of Fed-22
eral Regulations, or successor regulations); or 23
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 21
•HR 971 IH
‘‘(F) not fewer than 20 cars loaded with 1
any combination of flammable liquids, flam-2
mable gases, or explosives. 3
‘‘(2) M
AIN LINE TRACK.—The term ‘main line 4
track’ means— 5
‘‘(A) a segment or route of railroad 6
tracks— 7
‘‘(i) over which 5,000,000 or more 8
gross tons of railroad traffic is transported 9
annually; and 10
‘‘(ii) that has a maximum authorized 11
speed for freight trains in excess of 25 12
miles per hours; and 13
‘‘(B) intercity rail passenger transportation 14
or commuter rail passenger transportation 15
routes or segments over which high-hazard 16
trains operate.’’. 17
(b) C
LERICALAMENDMENT.—The analysis for sub-18
chapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, 19
is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 20
20153 the following: 21
‘‘20154. Freight train crew size safety standards.’’.
(c) PRESERVATION OF AUTHORITY OF SEC-22
RETARY.—Nothing in section 20154 of title 49, United 23
States Code, as added by this section, shall be construed 24
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 22
•HR 971 IH
to limit the authority of the Secretary under any other 1
provision of law. 2
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Mar 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS