ASLRRA in 2024 called on the FRA to expand the regulatory relief granted in Docket Number FRA-2009-0078 to include the Railserve, Inc. facility in Pasadena, Tex.; Patriot Rail’s Golden Triangle Railroad (GTRA); and Watco’s Jaxport Terminal Railroad (JXPT) as parties to the waiver, according to the FRA letter from Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety and Chief Safety Officer Karl Alexy (download below, courtesy of ASLRRA; the letter also lists all participating railroads). The addition, he wrote, “is in the public interest and consistent with railroad safety.”
“The existing waiver provides relief from the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 21103(a)(4), which, in part, require a train employee to receive 48 hours off-duty after initiating an on-duty period, each day, for 6 consecutive days,” Alexy wrote. “The existing waiver allows employees, working for railroads that are subject to the waiver, to receive 24 hours off-duty after initiating an on-duty period, each day, for 6 consecutive days. FRA notes that ASLRRA expressed in its request that the three above-referenced railroads sought employee input concerning the waiver request, and that the affected employees at each railroad support the waiver. ASLRRA also expressed that employee input concerning the waiver had been documented and will be made available to FRA upon request. Accordingly, FRA has determined that the three above-referenced railroads have met the joint filing requirement of the hours-of-service laws.”
Alexy also reported that the FRA is removing the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad from the list of railroads using the relief in this docket, per the request of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, since the railroad employees there “wish to cease participation in this waiver.” He noted that FRA added a condition to the waiver “to clarify the removal process for unionized railroads.”
The waiver, he reported, expires Feb. 9, 2027.
According to Alexy, FRA “reserves the right to extend the waiver if the Petitioner has made a written request for an extension at least 6 months prior to the expiration date, and if conditions warrant.” Any extension request, he noted, “must (1) demonstrate the Petitioner’s compliance with the … identified conditions; (2) comply with the requirements of § 211.7, Filing requirements, and § 211.9, Content of rulemaking and waiver petitions; and (3) be submitted via email to FRAWaivers@dot.gov.” Additionally, he said, “FRA reserves the right to modify or rescind this waiver upon receipt of information pertaining to the safety of railroad operations or in the event of noncompliance with any condition of this waiver,” and “reserves the right to take enforcement action under 49 U.S.C. 20111 for noncompliance with any condition of this waiver or applicable Federal regulations.”
