49 U.S.C. § 20902 — Investigations

(a) General Authority. The Secretary of Transportation, or an impartial investigator the Secretary authorizes, may investigate: (1) an accident or incident that seriously injures a person or damages railroad property on a carrier's line; and (2) an accident or incident reported under section 20505 of this title. (b) Other Duties and Powers. While investigating, the Secretary or the authorized investigator may subpoena witnesses, demand records, exhibits, and other evidence, put witnesses under oath, and take testimony. If a state commission is also investigating the same accident, the Secretary — when convenient — must investigate at the same time and coordinate with that commission. The railroad carrier whose line the accident happened on must give the Secretary reasonable facilities for the investigation. (c) Reports. When it serves the public interest, the Secretary must write a report on the investigation. It states the cause of the accident and gives any recommendations the Secretary thinks are appropriate. The Secretary publishes the report in whatever way the Secretary considers appropriate. (d) Gathering Information and Technical Expertise. (1) The Secretary must create a standard process for investigators to use during these investigations, to decide when and how to: (A) gather information about the accident from railroad carriers, their contractors or employees, employee representatives, and others the Secretary finds relevant; and (B) consult those same people for technical expertise on the facts of the accident. (2) Confidentiality. While building that process, the Secretary must find ways to keep an entity's identity confidential, if: (A) the entity asks for confidentiality; (B) the entity wasn't involved in the accident; and (C) keeping it confidential doesn't hurt the Federal Railroad Administration's investigation. (3) Applicability. This subsection does not apply to any investigation carried out by the National Transportation Safety Board.