[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 4]
[Revised as of October 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR240.123]

[Page 622-623]
 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
       CHAPTER II--FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF 
                             TRANSPORTATION
 
PART 240--QUALIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS--Table of Contents
 
       Subpart B--Component Elements of the Certification Process
 
Sec. 240.123  Criteria for initial and continuing education.

    (a) Each railroad's program shall include criteria and procedures 
for implementing this section.
    (b) A railroad shall provide for the continuing education of 
certified locomotive engineers to ensure that each engineer maintains 
the necessary knowledge, skill and ability concerning personal safety, 
operating rules and practices, mechanical condition of equipment, 
methods of safe train handling (including familiarity with physical 
characteristics as determined by a

[[Page 623]]

qualified Designated Supervisor of Locomotive Engineers), and relevant 
Federal safety rules.
    (c) A railroad that elects to train a previously untrained person to 
be a locomotive engineer shall provide initial training which, at a 
minimum:
    (1) Is composed of classroom, skill performance, and familiarization 
with physical characteristics components;
    (2) Includes both knowledge and performance skill testing;
    (3) Is conducted under the supervision of a qualified class 
instructor;
    (4) Is subdivided into segments or periods of appropriate duration 
to effectively cover the following subject matter areas:
    (i) Personal safety,
    (ii) Railroad operating rules,
    (iii) Mechanical condition of equipment,
    (iv) Train handling procedures (including use of locomotive and 
train brake systems),
    (v) Familiarization with physical characteristics including train 
handling, and
    (vi) Compliance with Federal regulations;
    (5) Is conducted so that the performance skill component shall
    (i) Be under the supervision of a qualified instructor engineer 
located in the same control compartment whenever possible;
    (ii) Place the student engineer at the controls of a locomotive for 
a significant portion of the time; and
    (iii) Permit the student to experience whatever variety of types of 
trains are normally operated by the railroad.
    (d) Pursuant to paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, a person may 
acquire familiarity with the physical characteristics of a territory 
through the following methods if the specific conditions included in the 
description of each method are met. The methods used by a railroad for 
familiarizing its engineers with new territory while starting up a new 
railroad, starting operations over newly acquired rail lines, or 
reopening of a long unused route, shall be described in the railroad's 
locomotive engineer qualification program required under this part and 
submitted according to the procedures described in Appendix B to this 
part.
    (1) If ownership of a railroad is being transferred from one company 
to another, the engineer(s) of the acquiring company may receive 
familiarization training from the selling company prior to the acquiring 
railroad commencing operation; or
    (2) Failing to obtain familiarization training from the previous 
owner, opening a new rail line, or reopening an unused route would 
require that the engineer(s) obtain familiarization through other 
methods. Acceptable methods of obtaining familiarization include using 
hyrail trips or initial lite locomotive trips in compliance with what is 
specified in the railroad's locomotive engineer qualification program 
required under this part and submitted according to the procedures 
described in Appendix B to this part.

[56 FR 28254, June 19, 1991, as amended at 64 FR 60992, Nov. 8, 1999]