49 U.S.C. § 20102 — Definitions

submitted 32 years ago by Pub. L. 103-272 to r/title-49-TRANSPORTATION · 330 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

This section defines key railroad-safety terms, including "railroad," "railroad carrier," and classes of railroad by revenue. It also defines "safety-related railroad employee" to cover several categories of rail workers whose jobs affect safety.

(1) "Class I railroad," "Class II railroad," and "Class III railroad" mean railroad carriers whose yearly operating revenue meets the threshold the Surface Transportation Board sets for that class, under its regulations. (2) "Railroad" (A) means any form of non-highway ground transportation that runs on rails or electromagnetic guideways, including commuter or other short-haul railroad passenger service in a metropolitan or suburban area (including commuter service the Consolidated Rail Corporation was running on January 1, 1979), and high-speed ground transportation systems connecting metropolitan areas, whether or not they use new technology; but (B) does not include urban rapid-transit operations that aren't connected to the general railroad transportation system. (3) "Railroad carrier" means a person providing railroad transportation — except that, if a group of commonly controlled railroad carriers petitions and the Secretary determines they operate within the United States as a single, integrated rail system, the Secretary can by order treat that group as a single railroad carrier for some rules and regulations, subject to any appropriate conditions the Secretary sets. (4) "Safety-related railroad employee" means: (A) a railroad employee covered by chapter 211 (the hours-of-service law); (B) another operating railroad employee not covered by chapter 211; (C) an employee who maintains a railroad's right of way; (D) a hazmat employee (as separately defined) of a railroad carrier; (E) an employee who inspects, repairs, or maintains locomotives, passenger cars, or freight cars; and (F) any other employee of a railroad carrier whom the Secretary determines directly affects railroad safety.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

In this part—

(1)

“Class I railroad”, “Class II railroad”, and “Class III railroad” mean railroad carriers that have annual carrier operating revenues that meet the threshold amount for Class I carriers, Class II carriers, and Class III carriers, respectively, as determined by the Surface Transportation Board under section 1201.1–1 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations.

(2)

“railroad”—

(A)

means any form of nonhighway ground transportation that runs on rails or electromagnetic guideways, including—

(i)

commuter or other short-haul railroad passenger service in a metropolitan or suburban area and commuter railroad service that was operated by the Consolidated Rail Corporation on January 1, 1979; and

(ii)

high speed ground transportation systems that connect metropolitan areas, without regard to whether those systems use new technologies not associated with traditional railroads; but

(B)

does not include rapid transit operations in an urban area that are not connected to the general railroad system of transportation.

(3)

“railroad carrier” means a person providing railroad transportation, except that, upon petition by a group of commonly controlled railroad carriers that the Secretary determines is operating within the United States as a single, integrated rail system, the Secretary may by order treat the group of railroad carriers as a single railroad carrier for purposes of one or more provisions of part A, subtitle V of this title and implementing regulations and order, subject to any appropriate conditions that the Secretary may impose.

(4)

“safety-related railroad employee” means—

(A)

a railroad employee who is subject to chapter 211;

(B)

another operating railroad employee who is not subject to chapter 211;

(C)

an employee who maintains the right of way of a railroad;

(D)

an employee of a railroad carrier who is a hazmat employee as defined in section 5102(3) of this title;

(E)

an employee who inspects, repairs, or maintains locomotives, passenger cars, or freight cars; and

(F)

any other employee of a railroad carrier who directly affects railroad safety, as determined by the Secretary.

Source credit: (Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 863; Pub. L. 110–432, div. A, § 2(b), title IV, § 407, Oct. 16, 2008, 122 Stat. 4850, 4886.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1994Enacted · Pub. L. 103-272 · 108 Stat. 863
2008Amended · Pub. L. 110-432 · 122 Stat. 4850, 4886

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 103-272 on 1994-07-05.

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