49 U.S.C. § 20153 — Audible warnings at highway-rail grade

Page 583 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 20153 § 20152. Notification of grade crossing problems (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, the Secretary of Transportation shall require each railroad car- rier to— (1) establish and maintain a toll-free tele- phone service for rights-of-way over which it dispatches trains, to directly receive calls re- porting— (A) malfunctions of signals, crossing gates, and other devices to promote safety at the grade crossing of railroad tracks on those rights-of-way and public or private roads; (B) disabled vehicles blocking railroad tracks at such grade crossings; (C) obstructions to the view of a pedestrian or a vehicle operator for a reasonable dis- tance in either direction of a train’s ap- proach; or (D) other safety information involving such grade crossings; (2) upon receiving a report pursuant to para- graph (1)(A) or (B), immediately contact trains operating near the grade crossing to warn them of the malfunction or disabled vehicle; (3) upon receiving a report pursuant to para- graph (1)(A) or (B), and after contacting trains pursuant to paragraph (2), contact, as nec- essary, appropriate public safety officials hav- ing jurisdiction over the grade crossing to pro- vide them with the information necessary for them to direct traffic, assist in the removal of the disabled vehicle, or carry out other activi- ties as appropriate; (4) upon receiving a report pursuant to para- graph (1)(C) or (D), timely investigate the re- port, remove the obstruction if possible, or correct the unsafe circumstance; and (5) ensure the placement at each grade cross- ing on rights-of-way that it owns of appro- priately located signs, on which shall appear, at a minimum— (A) a toll-free telephone number to be used for placing calls described in paragraph (1) to the railroad carrier dispatching trains on that right-of-way; (B) an explanation of the purpose of that toll-free telephone number; and (C) the grade crossing number assigned for that crossing by the National Highway-Rail Crossing Inventory established by the De- partment of Transportation. (b) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the re- quirement that the telephone service be toll-free for Class II and Class III rail carriers if the Sec- retary determines that toll-free service would be cost prohibitive or unnecessary. (Added Pub. L. 103–440, title III, § 301(a), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4626; amended Pub. L. 104–287, § 5(50), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3393; Pub. L. 110–432, div. A, title II, § 205(a), Oct. 16, 2008, 122 Stat. 4872.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The date of enactment of the Rail Safety Improve- ment Act of 2008, referred to in subsec. (a), is the date of enactment of div. A of Pub. L. 110–432, which was ap- proved Oct. 16, 2008. AMENDMENTS 2008—Pub. L. 110–432 amended section catchline and text generally. Prior to amendment, section related to a pilot program to demonstrate a system to provide emergency notification of grade crossing problems. 1996—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104–287 substituted ‘‘Novem- ber 2, 1994’’ for ‘‘the date of enactment of this section’’ and ‘‘November 2, 1994, an evaluation’’ for ‘‘that date an evaluation’’. § 20153. Audible warnings at highway-rail grade crossings (a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section— (1) the term ‘‘highway-rail grade crossing’’ includes any street or highway crossing over a line of railroad at grade; (2) the term ‘‘locomotive horn’’ refers to a train-borne audible warning device meeting standards specified by the Secretary of Trans- portation; and (3) the term ‘‘supplementary safety meas- ure’’ refers to a safety system or procedure, provided by the appropriate traffic control au- thority or law enforcement authority respon- sible for safety at the highway-rail grade crossing, that is determined by the Secretary to be an effective substitute for the loco- motive horn in the prevention of highway-rail casualties. A traffic control arrangement that prevents careless movement over the crossing (e.g., as where adequate median barriers pre- vent movement around crossing gates extend- ing over the full width of the lanes in the par- ticular direction of travel), and that conforms to standards prescribed by the Secretary under this subsection, shall be deemed to constitute a supplementary safety measure. The fol- lowing do not, individually or in combination, constitute supplementary safety measures within the meaning of this subsection: stand- ard traffic control devices or arrangements such as reflectorized crossbucks, stop signs, flashing lights, flashing lights with gates that do not completely block travel over the line of railroad, or traffic signals. (b) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor- tation shall prescribe regulations requiring that a locomotive horn shall be sounded while each train is approaching and entering upon each public highway-rail grade crossing. (c) EXCEPTION.—(1) In issuing such regulations, the Secretary may except from the requirement to sound the locomotive horn any categories of rail operations or categories of highway-rail grade crossings (by train speed or other factors specified by regulation)— (A) that the Secretary determines not to present a significant risk with respect to loss of life or serious personal injury; (B) for which use of the locomotive horn as a warning measure is impractical; or (C) for which, in the judgment of the Sec- retary, supplementary safety measures fully compensate for the absence of the warning provided by the locomotive horn. (2) In order to provide for safety and the quiet of communities affected by train operations, the Secretary may specify in such regulations that Page 584 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION [§ 20154 any supplementary safety measures must be ap- plied to all highway-rail grade crossings within a specified distance along the railroad in order to be excepted from the requirement of this sec- tion. (d) APPLICATION FOR WAIVER OR EXEMPTION.— Notwithstanding any other provision of this sub- chapter, the Secretary may not entertain an ap- plication for waiver or exemption of the regula- tions issued under this section unless such appli- cation shall have been submitted jointly by the railroad carrier owning, or controlling oper- ations over, the crossing and by the appropriate traffic control authority or law enforcement au- thority. The Secretary shall not grant any such application unless, in the judgment of the Sec- retary, the application demonstrates that the safety of highway users will not be diminished. (e) DEVELOPMENT OF SUPPLEMENTARY SAFETY MEASURES.—(1) In order to promote the quiet of communities affected by rail operations and the development of innovative safety measures at highway-rail grade crossings, the Secretary may, in connection with demonstration of pro- posed new supplementary safety measures, order railroad carriers operating over one or more crossings to cease temporarily the sounding of locomotive horns at such crossings. Any such measures shall have been subject to testing and evaluation and deemed necessary by the Sec- retary prior to actual use in lieu of the loco- motive horn. (2) The Secretary may include in regulations issued under this subsection special procedures for approval of new supplementary safety meas- ures meeting the requirements of subsection (c)(1) of this section following successful dem- onstration of those measures. (f) SPECIFIC RULES.—The Secretary may, by regulation, provide that the following crossings over railroad lines shall be subject, in whole or in part, to the regulations required under this section: (1) Private highway-rail grade crossings. (2) Pedestrian crossings. (3) Crossings utilized primarily by non- motorized vehicles and other special vehicles. Regulations issued under this subsection shall not apply to any location where persons are not authorized to cross the railroad. (g) ISSUANCE.—The Secretary shall issue regu- lations required by this section pertaining to categories of highway-rail grade crossings that in the judgment of the Secretary pose the great- est safety hazard to rail and highway users not later than 24 months following November 2, 1994. The Secretary shall issue regulations pertaining to any other categories of crossings not later than 48 months following November 2, 1994. (h) IMPACT OF REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall include in regulations prescribed under this section a concise statement of the impact of such regulations with respect to the operation of section 20106 of this title (national uniformity of regulation). (i) REGULATIONS.—In issuing regulations under this section, the Secretary— (1) shall take into account the interest of communities that— (A) have in effect restrictions on the sounding of a locomotive horn at highway- rail grade crossings; or (B) have not been subject to the routine (as defined by the Secretary) sounding of a locomotive horn at highway-rail grade cross- ings; (2) shall work in partnership with affected communities to provide technical assistance and shall provide a reasonable amount of time for local communities to install supple- mentary safety measures, taking into account local safety initiatives (such as public aware- ness initiatives and highway-rail grade cross- ing traffic law enforcement programs) subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary deems necessary, to protect public safety; and (3) may waive (in whole or in part) any re- quirement of this section (other than a re- quirement of this subsection or subsection (j)) that the Secretary determines is not likely to contribute significantly to public safety. (j) EFFECTIVE DATE OF REGULATIONS.—Any reg- ulations under this section shall not take effect before the 365th day following the date of publi- cation of the final rule. (Added Pub. L. 103–440, title III, § 302(a), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4626; amended Pub. L. 104–264, title XII, § 1218(a), Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3285; Pub. L. 104–287, § 5(51), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3393.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1996—Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 104–287 substituted ‘‘Novem- ber 2, 1994’’ for ‘‘the date of enactment of this section’’ in two places. Subsecs. (i), (j). Pub. L. 104–264 added subsecs. (i) and (j). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT Except as otherwise specifically provided, amend- ment by Pub. L. 104–264 applicable only to fiscal years beginning after Sept. 30, 1996, and not to be construed as affecting funds made available for a fiscal year end- ing before Oct. 1, 1996, see section 3 of Pub. L. 104–264, set out as a note under section 106 of this title. [§ 20154. Repealed. Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title XI, § 11301(c)(1), Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1648] Section, Pub. L. 109–59, title IX, § 9002(a)(1), Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1919, related to capital grants for rail line relocation projects. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF REPEAL Repeal by Pub. L. 114–94 effective Oct. 1, 2015, see sec- tion 1003 of Pub. L. 114–94, set out as an Effective Date of 2015 Amendment note under section 5313 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. REGULATIONS Pub. L. 109–59, title IX, § 9002(b), Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1921, required Secretary of Transportation to issue temporary regulations to implement grant pro- gram under this section by April 1, 2006, and to issue final regulations by October 1, 2006. § 20155. Tank cars (a) STANDARDS.—The Federal Railroad Admin- istration shall—