FRA: Comment Period Extended Again for Proposed Dispatcher, Signal Employee Certification Regs
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
Under FRA’s proposed rule for dispatcher certification, railroads would be required to have “formal processes for training prospective dispatchers, as well as verifying that each dispatcher has the requisite knowledge, skills, safety record, and abilities to safely perform all of the safety-related dispatcher duties mandated by federal laws and regulations, prior to certification.” (Union Pacific Photograph)
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) on June 21 reported filing petitions with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requesting a 60-day extension of the comment period for two proposals that would require freight railroads, Amtrak and commuter railroads to develop certification programs for network dispatchers and signal employees. FRA on July 5 and again on Aug. 22 extended the comment period by 30 days and 15 days, respectively.
FRA on July 5 reported in the Federal Register that it was extending the comment period by 30 days— until Aug. 30, 2023—as “ASLRRA stated it needs additional time to thoroughly obtain and review feedback from its member railroads and provide FRA with data for the NPRM’s regulatory flexibility analysis.”
On Aug. 22, FRA extended the comment period again, partially granting an ASLRRA request. This extension is for 15 days—until Sept. 14. The agency explained that on July 24, it “provided information in the rulemaking docket about the accidents that were analyzed by FRA in the regulatory impact analysis,” and ASLRRA in an Aug. 5 petition requested a 30-day comment period extension “to analyze the information and its impact on ASLRRA’s member railroads.”
In both petitions ASLRRA said it noted “the potentially significant impact the proposed rules could have on small railroads. An extended comment period would allow ASLRRA to gather and review adequate feedback from member railroads to respond to the NPRMs’ assumptions and provide FRA with data to perform a meaningful regulatory flexibility analysis as required by the Small Business Regulatory Fairness Act.”
The NPRMs would require railroads to develop certification programs for signal employees and dispatchers and submit those programs to the FRA for approval prior to implementation. According to the FRA’s NPRM for signal employees, railroads would be required to “verify and document that each signal employee has the requisite knowledge, skills, safety record, and abilities to safely perform all of the safety-related signal employee duties mandated by federal laws and regulations, prior to certification,” according to FRA. Railroads would also need formal processes to revoke certification if necessary. The dispatcher NPRM outlines similar requirements. Railroads would be required to have “formal processes for training prospective dispatchers, as well as verifying that each dispatcher has the requisite knowledge, skills, safety record, and abilities to safely perform all of the safety-related dispatcher duties mandated by federal laws and regulations, prior to certification,” according to the FRA, which noted that railroads would also be required to have formal processes for revoking certification (either temporarily or permanently) for dispatchers who violate specified minimum requirements.
