[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 7]
[Revised as of October 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR659.35]

[Page 79]
 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
CHAPTER VI--FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
 
PART 659_RAIL FIXED GUIDEWAY SYSTEMS; STATE SAFETY OVERSIGHT--Table 
of Contents
 
              Subpart C_Role of the State Oversight Agency
 
Sec. 659.35  Investigations.

    (a) The oversight agency must investigate, or cause to be 
investigated, at a minimum, any incident involving a rail transit 
vehicle or taking place on rail transit-controlled property meeting the 
notification thresholds identified in Sec. 659.33(a).
    (b) The oversight agency must use its own investigation procedures 
or those that have been formally adopted from the rail transit agency 
and that have been submitted to FTA.
    (c) In the event the oversight agency authorizes the rail transit 
agency to conduct investigations on its behalf, it must do so formally 
and require the rail transit agency to use investigation procedures that 
have been formally approved by the oversight agency.
    (d) Each investigation must be documented in a final report that 
includes a description of investigation activities, identified causal 
and contributing factors, and a corrective action plan.
    (e) A final investigation report must be formally adopted by the 
oversight agency for each accident investigation.
    (1) If the oversight agency has conducted the investigation, it must 
formally transmit its final investigation report to the rail transit 
agency.
    (2) If the oversight agency has authorized an entity other than 
itself (including the rail transit agency) to conduct the accident 
investigation on its behalf, the oversight agency must review and 
formally adopt the final investigation report.
    (3) If the oversight agency does not concur with the findings of the 
rail transit agency investigation report, it must either:
    (i) Conduct its own investigation according to paragraphs (b), (d) 
and (e)(1) of this section; or
    (ii) Formally transmit its dissent to the findings of the accident 
investigation, report its dissent to the rail transit agency, and 
negotiate with the rail transit agency until a resolution on the 
findings is reached.
    (f) The oversight agency shall have the authority to require 
periodic status reports that document investigation activities and 
findings in a time frame determined by the oversight agency.