FRA Publishes Train Securement Final Rule

Today the DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) published a final rule in the Federal Register (80 FR 47349-47386) to amend the brake system safety standards (49 CFR 232) for freight and other non-passenger trains and equipment to strengthen the requirements relating to the securement of unattended equipment. This is the same rule that FRA announced a week ago. The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for this rule was published in September of last year.

Definitions

This rule makes changes to §232.5 by adding a new term, moving a definition into this section, and changing a term without changing the definition. Those three terms are respectively

∙ Mechanical securement device;

∙ Unattended equipment {from §232.103(n)};

∙ Yard {from yard limits also defined in §218.35(a) with a conflicting definition}.

Rule Coverage

A minor change in wording from the NPRM was made in the new §232.103(n)(6); the term ‘loaded tank car’ is used instead of ‘loaded freight car’. With this new wording, the new changes in securement requirements now applies to {new §232.103(n)(6)(i)}:

∙ Any loaded tank car containing PIH material, including anhydrous ammonia and ammonia solutions; or

∙ Twenty (20) or more loaded tank cars or loaded intermodal portable tanks of any one or any combination of PIH materials (including anhydrous ammonia and ammonia solutions), or any flammable gas, flammable or combustible liquid, explosives, or a hazardous substance listed at §173.31(f)(2) of this title.

For purposes of this rule rail cars containing a residue will not be considered in determining if a freight train is covered under the rule.

The Plan

The new rule includes basically the same plan requirements found in Emergency Order #28 which this rule supersedes. Railroads are still required to have the required plan in place before they can secure and leave unattended a covered train outside of a yard. There is only one change in the plan requirements:

The final rule allows a railroad to leave a train or equipment unattended on mainline track that is running through a yard or on mainline track that is adjacent to the yard without covering the location in the railroad's plan.

FRA still reserves the right to review such plans and direct changes in them when necessary. They still will not require the plans to be approved by FRA prior to their use.

Securement

There are some differences in the securement requirements in this rule and in the Emergency Order #28. The FRA has removed the specific requirement for railroads to “review, verify, and adjust, as necessary” the securement procedures to be employed in support of this rule. The FRA is also discontinuing the requirement from EO #28 of preparing a written verification of the securement procedure used on each unattended train.

A couple of changes were made from the proposed wording in the NPRM. One change is found in the revised §232.103(n)(1); The new language now makes it clear that at least one hand brake must be set on unattended trains. A change to §232.103(n)(2) removes the words ‘on a grade’ from the description of areas where air brakes cannot be relied upon to hold standing unattended equipment.

The discussion in the preamble seeks to clarify that the final rule requires all unattended covered trains to be secured in accordance with the new §232.103(n)(8). The exception for trains left unattended in yards or on mainlines adjacent to yards only applies to the plan requirements of the new §232.103(n)(7).

Effective Dates

The effective date for the requirements of this new rule is October 5^th, 2015. Emergency Order #28 is rescinded on October 5^th, 2015. Petitions for reconsideration must be received by September 25^th, 2015. 

FRA Announces Final Rule for Securement of Unattended Equipment

Yesterday the DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration announced that it had submitted their final rule for the securement of unattended equipment to the Federal Register for publication. The announcement also included a link to download a copy [.PDF download] of the rule submitted to the FR. This rule will supersede and modify the provisions of FRA Emergency Order #28 issued after the Lac-Megantic Railroad disaster.

I will not be doing a detailed review of this rule today since the copy available is not the ‘official’ copy of the rule. This means that I cannot provide links to specific portions of the rule in my discussion nor will I be able to give specific dates for the bills effective and compliance dates. It is not currently scheduled to be published in tomorrow’s FR, so I expect that it will be published sometime next week.

The notice of proposed rulemaking was published for this rule in September of last year. Nine public comments were submitted in response to the NPMR.

NOTE: This final rule was not submitted to OMB for review, neither was the NPRM.

New FRA-PHMSA Railroad Safety Advisory

Today the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a new Joint Safety Advisory in the Federal Register (78 FR 69745-69746) concerning safety and security plans for shipping Class 3 (flammable/combustible) hazardous materials by rail. This is a follow-up advisory to the one issued in July and the FRA Emergency Order 28 that was issued as a result of the “catastrophic railroad accident [that] occurred in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada” on July 6th.

Reiterate Old Guidance

There is really no new guidance offered in this Advisory. The FRA and PHMSA are reiterating the requirements for:

• The proper characterization, classification, and selection of a hazardous materials packing group as required by the Federal hazardous materials law (49 U.S.C. 5101-5128) and Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 171-177); and

• The requirement that offerors of hazardous materials by rail and rail carriers should have reviewed and revised, as appropriate, their safety and security plans required under Subpart I of Part 172 of the HMR, including the required risk assessments, to address the safety and security issues identified in EO 28 and the First Joint Advisory.

Compliance Auditing

The only new information in this advisory is in the final paragraph describing the enforcement activities that FRA and PHMSA are undertaking in support of this and the earlier safety advisory and Emergency Order. Those activities include:

• ‘Operation Classification’ - unannounced inspections and testing by PHMSA and FRA to verify the material classification and packing group assignments selected and certified by offerors of petroleum crude oil;

• PHMSA-FRA joint audits to evaluate safety and security plans and to determine whether the plans address vulnerabilities highlighted in EO 28 and the First Joint Advisory; and

• FRA inspections to determine compliance with EO 28.

Ignores Alabama Derailment

It is interesting that there is no mention in this Advisory of the FRA investigation into the recent derailment of a crude oil unit train in Alabama. While that accident did not result in the loss of life or the destruction of non-railroad property seen in Canadian derailment, it is the first such incident being actively investigated by FRA. Or at least should be being investigated by FRA, there has been no public announcement of any such investigation.