[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 49, Volume 4]

[Revised as of October 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 49CFR241.7]



[Page 793-795]

 

                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION

 

       CHAPTER II--FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF 

                             TRANSPORTATION

 

PART 241_UNITED STATES LOCATIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR DISPATCHING OF UNITED 

 

Sec.  241.7  Waivers.



    (a) General. (1) A person subject to a requirement of this part may 

petition the Administrator for a waiver of compliance with such 

requirement. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, the 

filing of such a petition does not affect that person's responsibility 

for compliance with that requirement while the petition is being 

considered.

    (2) (i) Each petition for waiver under this section shall be filed 

in the manner and contain the information required by part 211 of this 

chapter.

    (ii) Petitions seeking approval to conduct fringe border operations 

shall



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also comply with the requirements of paragraph (c) of this section.

    (iii) Petitioners not filing under paragraph (c) of this section 

should review the guidelines at 66 FR 63942 (Dec. 11, 2001), and frame 

their petitions to address the safety and security concerns articulated 

in the preamble, or contact the Office of the Chief Counsel, RCC-12, 

FRA, 1120 Vermont Avenue, NW., Stop 10, Washington, DC 20590, for a copy 

of the guidelines.

    (3) If the Administrator finds that a waiver of compliance is in the 

public interest and is consistent with railroad safety, the 

Administrator may grant the waiver subject to any conditions that the 

Administrator deems necessary.

    (b) Special dispensation for existing extraterritorial dispatching. 

(1) A railroad that files a waiver request seeking to continue 

extraterritorial dispatch of an operation that it has dispatched from 

Canada or Mexico pursuant to regulations contained in 49 CFR part 241, 

revised as of October 1, 2002, may continue extraterritorial dispatching 

of that operation until the railroad's waiver request is acted upon by 

FRA if the petition is filed no later than April 11, 2003.

    (2) If the waiver request is for an operation not listed in appendix 

A to this part, the waiver request must describe when the 

extraterritorial dispatching of the operation commenced and how the 

dispatching was authorized by regulations contained in 49 CFR part 241, 

revised as of October 1, 2002. FRA will notify the railroad if FRA 

determines that the operation was not permitted by the terms of those 

regulations.

    (c) Fringe border dispatching. (1) A waiver request to have a 

railroad employee located in Canada or in Mexico dispatch a railroad 

operation in the United States immediately adjacent to the border of the 

country in which the dispatcher conducts the dispatching will generally 

be approved by FRA, subject to any conditions imposed by FRA, if the 

waiver request meets all of the terms of paragraphs (c)(2) and (3) of 

this section. A proponent of a waiver request may seek relief from the 

terms of paragraphs (c)(2) and (3) of this section.

    (2) The railroad proposing to conduct the fringe border dispatching 

shall supply the following documents as part of the waiver request:

    (i) A description, by railroad division, applicable subdivision(s), 

and mileposts, of the line proposed to be dispatched;

    (ii) A copy of the operating rules of the railroad that would apply 

to the proposed fringe border dispatching, including hours of service 

limitations, and the railroad's program for testing the dispatchers in 

accordance with these operating rules and for ensuring that the 

dispatchers do not work in excess of the hours of service restrictions;

    (iii) A copy of the railroad's drug and alcohol abuse prevention 

program that applies to the fringe border dispatchers. The program 

shall, to the extent permitted by the laws of the country where the 

dispatching occurs, contain the following:

    (A) Preemployment drug testing;

    (B) A general prohibition on possession and use of alcohol and drugs 

while on duty;

    (C) Reasonable cause alcohol and drug testing;

    (D) A policy dealing with co-worker and self-reporting of alcohol 

and drug abuse problems;

    (E) Post-accident testing; and

    (F) Random drug testing;

    (iv) The steps the railroad has taken to ensure the security of the 

dispatch center where the fringe border dispatching will take place;

    (v) The railroad's plans for complying with the requirements of 

paragraph (c)(3) of this section; and

    (vi) A verification from a government agency in the country where 

the dispatching will occur that the agency has safety jurisdiction over 

the railroad and the proposed dispatching, and that the railroad's 

safety programs referenced in paragraphs (c)(2)(ii) and (iii) of this 

section meet the safety requirements established by the agency or, in 

the absence of established safety requirements, that the programs are 

satisfactory to the agency.

    (3) Except as otherwise approved by FRA, fringe border dispatching 

must comply with the following requirements:



[[Page 795]]



    (i) The trackage in the United States being extraterritorially 

dispatched shall not exceed the following route miles, measured from the 

point that the trackage crosses the United States border:

    (A) For operations conducted pursuant to the regulations contained 

in 49 CFR part 241, revised as of October 1, 2002, the route miles shall 

be the miles normally operated by the railroad in conducting the 

operation; and

    (B) For all other operations, the route miles shall not exceed five 

miles.

    (ii) Except for unforeseen circumstances such as equipment failure, 

accident, casualty, or incapacitation of a crew member, each 

extraterritorially dispatched train shall be under the control of the 

same assigned crew for the entire trip over the extraterritorially 

dispatched trackage.

    (iii) The fringe border dispatcher shall communicate instructions to 

the train crew and maintenance of way employees working on the line in 

the English language and, when referencing units of measurement, shall 

use English units of measurement.

    (iv) The rail line shall be under the exclusive control of a single 

dispatching district or desk; and

    (v) The dispatching of the train shall be transferred from the 

fringe border dispatcher to a dispatcher located in the United States at 

one of the following locations within the mileage limits mandated in 

paragraph (c)(3)(i) of this section:

    (A) Interchange point;

    (B) Signal control point;

    (C) Junction of two rail lines;

    (D) Established crew change point;

    (E) Yard or yard limits location;

    (F) Inspection point for U.S. Customs, Immigration and 

Naturalization Service, Department of Agriculture, or other governmental 

inspection; or

    (G) Location where there is a change in the method of train 

operations.