[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: 49CFR241.11]

[Page 658-659]
 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
       CHAPTER II--FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF 
                             TRANSPORTATION
 
PART 241--UNITED STATES LOCATIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR DISPATCHING OF UNITED STATES RAIL OPERATIONS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 241.11  Prohibition against conducting a railroad operation dispatched by an extraterritorial dispatcher; exceptions.

    (a) General. Except as provided in paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) of 
this section, a railroad subject to this part shall not conduct, or 
contract for the conduct of, a railroad operation in the United States 
that is dispatched from a location outside of the United States.
    (b) Emergencies. (1) In an emergency situation, a railroad may 
conduct, or contract for the conduct of, a railroad operation in the 
United States that is dispatched from a location outside of the United 
States, provided that:
    (i) The dispatching railroad notifies the FRA Regional Administrator 
of each FRA region where the railroad operation was conducted, in 
writing as soon as practicable, of the emergency and
    (ii) The extraterritorial dispatching is limited to the duration of 
the emergency.
    (2) Written notification may be made either on paper or by 
electronic mail.
    (c) Grandfathering. A railroad may conduct, or contract for the 
conduct of, a railroad operation on a track segment in the United States 
that is dispatched from a foreign country or from a territory or 
possession of the United States if the railroad operation occurs on a 
track segment located in the United States, the operation of which track 
segment was normally controlled during the month of December 1999 by a 
dispatcher located in that foreign country or that territory or 
possession of the United States.
    (d) Fringe border operations. In order to facilitate the safety and 
efficiency of international train movements, a railroad may conduct, or 
contract for the conduct of, the dispatching of railroad operations in 
the United States from Canada or Mexico immediately adjacent to their 
borders if all of the following conditions apply:
    (1) The United States trackage being dispatched does not exceed 100 
route miles;
    (2) Except for unforeseen circumstances such as equipment failure, 
accident, casualty or incapacitation of a crew member, each train must 
be under the control of the same assigned crew for the entire trip over 
the trackage; and
    (3)(i) Train movements on the rail line both originate and terminate 
in either Canada or Mexico without the pick up, set out, or interchange 
of cars in the United States; in other words, the traffic on the rail 
line is ``bridge traffic'' only; or
    (ii) In the case of any other rail line, the rail line involved is--
    (A) Under the exclusive control of a single dispatching district 
(``desk''); and
    (B) The portion of the line being dispatched extends no farther into 
the United States than the first of any of the following locations: 
interchange point; signal control point; junction of two rail lines; 
established crew change point; yard or yard limits location; inspection 
point for U.S. Customs, Immigration and Naturalization Service, 
Department of Agriculture, or other governmental inspection; or location 
where there is a change in the method of train operations.
    (e) Liability. The Administrator may hold either the railroad that 
conducts the railroad operation or the railroad

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contractor that conducts the operation, or both, responsible for 
compliance with this section and subject to civil penalties under 
Sec. 241.17.