Appendix B to Part 240 - Procedures for Submission and Approval of Locomotive Engineer Qualification Programs
49:4.1.1.1.34.7.137.1.94 : Appendix B
Appendix B to Part 240 - Procedures for Submission and Approval of
Locomotive Engineer Qualification Programs
This appendix establishes procedures for the submission and
approval of a railroad's program concerning the training, testing,
and evaluating of persons seeking certification or recertification
as a locomotive engineer in accordance with the requirements of
this part (see §§ 240.101, 240.103, 240.105, 240.107,
240.123, 240.125, 240.127, and 240.129). It also contains guidance
on how FRA will exercise its review and approval
responsibilities.
Submission by a Railroad
As provided for in § 240.101, each railroad must have a program
for determining the certification of each person it permits or
requires to operate a locomotive. In designing its program, a
railroad must take into account the trackage and terrain over which
it operates, the system(s) for train control that are employed, and
the operational design characteristics of the track and equipment
being operated including train length, train makeup, and train
speeds. Each railroad must submit its individual program to FRA for
approval as provided for in § 240.103. Each program must be
accompanied by a request for approval organized in accordance with
this appendix. Requests for approval must contain appropriate
references to the relevant portion of the program being discussed.
Requests can be in letter or narrative format. The primary method
for a railroad's submission is by email to
[email protected]. For a railroad that is unable to send
the program by email, the program shall be sent to the Associate
Administrator for Railroad Safety/Chief Safety Officer, Federal
Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC
20590. Simultaneous with its filing with FRA, each railroad must
provide a copy of its submission to the president of each labor
organization that represents the railroad's employees subject to
this part.
A railroad that electronically submits an initial program or new
portions or revisions to an approved program required by this part
shall be considered to have provided its consent to receive
approval or disapproval notices from FRA by email. FRA may
electronically store any materials required by this part regardless
of whether the railroad that submits the materials does so by
delivering the written materials to the Associate Administrator and
opts not to submit the materials electronically. A railroad that
opts not to submit the materials required by this part
electronically, but provides one or more email addresses in its
submission, shall be considered to have provided its consent to
receive approval or disapproval notices from FRA by email or
mail.
Organization of the Submission
Each request should be organized to present the required
information in the following standardized manner. Each section must
begin by giving the name, title, telephone number, and email and
mailing addresses of the person to be contacted concerning the
matters addressed by that section. If a person is identified in a
prior section, it is sufficient merely to repeat the person's name
in a subsequent section.
Section 1 of the Submission: General Information and Elections
The first section of the request must contain the name of the
railroad, the person to be contacted concerning the request
(including the person's name, title, telephone number, and email
and mailing addresses) and a statement electing either to accept
responsibility for educating previously untrained persons to be
qualified locomotive engineers or recertify only engineers
previously certified by other railroads. § 240.103(b).
If a railroad elects not to provide initial locomotive engineer
training, the railroad is obligated to state so in its submission.
A railroad that makes this election will be limited to recertifying
persons initially certified by another railroad. A railroad that
makes this election can rescind it by obtaining FRA approval of a
modification of its program. § 240.103(e).
If a railroad elects to accept responsibility for training
persons not previously trained to be locomotive engineers, the
railroad is obligated to submit information on how such persons
will be trained but has no duty to conduct such training. A
railroad that elects to accept the responsibility for the training
of such persons may authorize another railroad or a non-railroad
entity to perform the actual training effort. The electing railroad
remains responsible for assuring that such other training providers
adhere to the training program the railroad submits.
This section must also state which class or classes of service
the railroad will employ. § 240.107.
Section 2 of the Submission: Selection of Supervisors of Locomotive
Engineers
The second section of the request must contain information
concerning the railroad's procedure for selecting the person or
persons it will rely on to evaluate the knowledge, skill, and
ability of persons seeking certification or recertification. As
provided for in § 240.105, each railroad must have a procedure for
selecting supervisors of locomotive engineers which assures that
persons so designated can appropriately test and evaluate the
knowledge, skill, and ability of individuals seeking certification
or recertification.
Section 240.105 provides a railroad latitude to select the
criteria and evaluation methodology it will rely on to determine
which person or persons have the required capacity to perform as a
supervisor of locomotive engineers. The railroad must describe in
this section how it will use that latitude and evaluate those it
designates as supervisors of locomotive engineers so as to comply
with the performance standard set forth in § 240.105(b). The
railroad must identify, in sufficient detail to permit effective
review by FRA, the criteria for evaluation it has selected. For
example, if a railroad intends to rely on one or more of the
following, a minimum level of prior experience as an engineer,
successful completion of a course of study, or successful passage
of a standardized testing program, the submission must state which
criteria it will employ.
Section 3 of the Submission: Training Persons Previously Certified
The third section of the request must contain information
concerning the railroad's program for training previously certified
locomotive engineers. As provided for in § 240.123(b) each railroad
must have a program for the ongoing education of its locomotive
engineers to assure that they maintain the necessary knowledge
concerning personal safety, operating rules and practices,
mechanical condition of equipment, methods of safe train handling
(including familiarity with physical characteristics), and relevant
Federal safety rules.
Section 240.123(b) provides a railroad latitude to select the
specific subject matter to be covered, duration of the training,
method of presenting the information, and the frequency with which
the training will be provided. The railroad must describe in this
section how it will use that latitude to assure that its engineers
remain knowledgeable concerning the safe discharge of their train
operation responsibilities so as to comply with the performance
standard set forth in § 240.123(b). This section must contain
sufficient detail to permit effective evaluation of the railroad's
training program in terms of the subject matter covered, the
frequency and duration of the training sessions, the type of formal
training employed (including, but not limited to, classroom,
computer-based, correspondence, OJT, simulator, or laboratory
training) and which aspects of the program are voluntary or
mandatory.
Without assistance from automation, safe train handling involves
both abstract knowledge about the appropriate use of engine
controls and the application of that knowledge to trains of
differing composition traversing varying terrain. Time and
circumstances have the capacity to diminish both abstract knowledge
and the proper application of that knowledge to discrete events.
Time and circumstances also have the capacity to alter the value of
previously obtained knowledge and the application of that
knowledge. In formulating how it will use the discretion being
afforded, each railroad must design its program to address both
loss of retention of knowledge and changed circumstances, and this
section of the submission to FRA must address these matters.
For example, locomotive engineers need to have their fundamental
knowledge of train operations refreshed periodically. Each railroad
needs to advise FRA how that need is satisfied in terms of the
interval between attendance at such training, the nature of the
training being provided, and methods for conducting the training. A
matter of particular concern to FRA is how each railroad acts to
ensure that engineers remain knowledgeable about safe train
handling procedures if the territory over which a locomotive
engineer is authorized to operate is territory from which the
engineer has been absent. The railroad must have a plan for the
familiarization training that addresses the question of how long a
person can be absent before needing more education and, once that
threshold is reached, how the person will acquire the needed
education. Similarly, the program must address how the railroad
responds to changes such as the introduction of new technology, new
operating rule books, or significant changes in operations
including alteration in the territory engineers are authorized to
operate over.
Section 4 of the Submission: Testing and Evaluating Persons
Previously Certified
The fourth section of the request must contain information
concerning the railroad's program for testing and evaluating
previously certified locomotive engineers. As provided for in §§
240.125 and 240.127, each railroad must have a program for the
ongoing testing and evaluating of its locomotive engineers to
ensure that they have the necessary knowledge and skills concerning
personal safety, operating rules and practices, mechanical
condition of equipment, methods of safe train handling (including
familiarity with physical characteristics), and relevant Federal
safety rules. Similarly, each railroad must have a program for
ongoing testing and evaluating to ensure that its locomotive
engineers have the necessary vision and hearing acuity as provided
for in § 240.121.
Sections 240.125 and 240.127 require that a railroad rely on
written procedures for determining that each person can demonstrate
his or her knowledge of the railroad's rules and practices and
skill at applying those rules and practices for the safe operation
of a locomotive or train. Section 240.125 directs that, when
seeking a demonstration of the person's knowledge, a railroad must
employ a written test that contains objective questions and answers
and covers the following subject matters: (i) Personal safety
practices; (ii) operating practices; (iii) equipment inspection
practices; (iv) train handling practices (including familiarity
with the physical characteristics of the territory); and (v)
compliance with relevant Federal safety rules. The test must
accurately measure the person's knowledge of all of these
areas.
Section 240.125 provides a railroad latitude in selecting the
design of its own testing policies (including the number of
questions each test will contain, how each required subject matter
will be covered, weighting (if any) to be given to particular
subject matter responses, selection of passing scores, and the
manner of presenting the test information). The railroad must
describe in this section how it will use that latitude to ensure
that its engineers will demonstrate their knowledge concerning the
safe discharge of their train operation responsibilities so as to
comply with the performance standard set forth in § 240.125.
Section 240.127 directs that, when seeking a demonstration of
the person's skill, a railroad must employ a test and evaluation
procedure conducted by a designated supervisor of locomotive
engineers that contains an objective evaluation of the person's
skills at applying the railroad's rules and practices for the safe
operation of trains. The test and evaluation procedure must examine
the person's skills in terms of all of the following subject
matters: (i) Operating practices; (ii) equipment inspection
practices; (iii) train handling practices (including familiarity
with the physical characteristics of the territory); and (iv)
compliance with relevant Federal safety rules. The test must be
sufficient to examine effectively the person's skills while
operating a train in the most demanding type of service which the
person is likely to encounter in the normal course of events once
he or she is deemed qualified.
Section 240.127 provides a railroad latitude in selecting the
design of its own testing and evaluation procedures (including the
duration of the evaluation process, how each required subject
matter will be covered, weighing (if any) to be given to particular
subject matter response, selection of passing scores, and the
manner of presenting the test information). However, the railroad
must describe the scoring system used by the railroad during a
skills test administered in accordance with the procedures required
under § 240.211. The description shall include the skills to be
tested and the weight or possible score that each skill will be
given. The section should also provide information concerning the
procedures which the railroad will follow that achieve the
objectives described in FRA's recommended practices (see
appendix E to this part) for conducting skill performance testing.
The section also gives a railroad the latitude to employ either a
Type 1 or a Type 2 simulator (properly programmed) to conduct the
test and evaluation procedure. A railroad must describe in this
section how it will use that latitude to assure that its engineers
will demonstrate their skills concerning the safe discharge of
their train operation responsibilities so as to comply with the
performance standard set forth in § 240.127.
Section 240.121 provides a railroad latitude to rely on the
professional medical opinion of the railroad's medical examiner
concerning the ability of a person with substandard acuity to
operate a locomotive safely. The railroad must describe in this
section how it will ensure that its medical examiner has sufficient
information concerning the railroad's operations to make
appropriate conclusions about the ability of a particular
individual to operate a train safely.
Section 5 of the Submission: Training, Testing, and Evaluating
Persons Not Previously Certified
Unless a railroad has made an election not to accept
responsibility for conducting the initial training of persons to be
locomotive engineers, the fifth section of the request must contain
information concerning the railroad's program for educating,
testing, and evaluating persons not previously trained as
locomotive engineers. As provided for in § 240.123(c), a railroad
that is issuing an initial certification to a person to be a
locomotive engineer must have a program for the training, testing,
and evaluating of its locomotive engineers to ensure that they
acquire the necessary knowledge and skills concerning personal
safety, operating rules and practices, mechanical condition of
equipment, methods of safe train handling (including familiarity
with physical characteristics), and relevant Federal safety
rules.
Section 240.123 establishes a performance standard and gives a
railroad latitude in selecting how it will meet that standard. A
railroad must describe in this section how it will use that
latitude to ensure that its engineers will acquire sufficient
knowledge and skill and demonstrate their knowledge and skills
concerning the safe discharge of their train operation
responsibilities. This section must contain the same level of
detail concerning initial training programs as that described for
each of the components of the overall program contained in sections
2 through 4 of this appendix. A railroad that plans to accept
responsibility for the initial training of locomotive engineers may
authorize a non-railroad entity to perform the actual training
effort as long as the other entity complies with the requirements
for training organizations and learning institutions in § 243.111
of this chapter. The authorizing railroad may submit a training
program developed by that authorized trainer but the authorizing
railroad remains responsible for ensuring that such other training
providers adhere to the training program submitted. Railroads that
elect to rely on other entities, to conduct training away from the
railroad's own territory, must indicate how the student will be
provided with the required familiarization with the physical
characteristics for its territory.
Section 6 of the Submission: Monitoring Operational Performance by
Certified Engineers
The final section of the request must contain information
concerning the railroad's program for monitoring the operation of
its certified locomotive engineers. As provided for in § 240.129,
each railroad must have a program for the ongoing monitoring of its
locomotive engineers to ensure that they operate their locomotives
in conformity with the railroad's operating rules and practices
including methods of safe train handling and relevant Federal
safety rules.
Section 240.129 requires that a railroad annually observe each
locomotive engineer demonstrating his or her knowledge of the
railroad's rules and practices and skill at applying those rules
and practices for the safe operation of a locomotive or train.
Section 240.129 directs that the observation be conducted by a
designated supervisor of locomotive engineers but provides a
railroad latitude in selecting the design of its own observation
procedures (including the duration of the observation process,
reliance on event recorder downloads that record the specifics of
train operation, and the specific aspects of the engineer's
performance to be covered). The section also gives a railroad the
latitude to employ either a Type 1 or a Type 2 simulator (properly
programmed) to conduct monitoring observations. A railroad must
describe in this section how it will use that latitude to assure
that the railroad is monitoring that its engineers demonstrate
their skills concerning the safe discharge of their train operation
responsibilities. A railroad must also describe the scoring system
used by the railroad during an operational monitoring observation
or unannounced compliance test administered in accordance with the
procedures required under § 240.303. A railroad that intends to
employ train operation event recorder tapes to comply with this
monitoring requirement shall indicate in this section how it
anticipates determining what person was at the controls and what
signal indications or other operational constraints, if any, were
applicable to the train's movement.
Section 7 of the Submission: Procedures for Routine Administration
of the Engineer Certification Program
The final section of the request must contain a summary of how
the railroad's program and procedures will implement the various
specific aspects of the regulatory provisions that relate to
routine administration of its certification program for locomotive
engineers. At a minimum, this section needs to address the
procedural aspects of the rule's provisions identified in the
following paragraph.
Section 240.109 provides that each railroad must have procedures
for review and comment on adverse prior safety conduct, but allows
the railroad to devise its own system within generalized
parameters. Sections 240.115, 240.117 and 240.119 require a
railroad to have procedures for evaluating data concerning prior
safety conduct as a motor vehicle operator and as railroad workers,
yet leave selection of many details to the railroad. Sections
240.203, 240.217, and 240.219 place a duty on the railroad to make
a series of determinations but allow the railroad to select what
procedures it will employ to assure that all of the necessary
determinations have been made in a timely fashion; who will be
authorized to conclude that person is or is not qualified; and how
it will communicate adverse decisions. Documentation of the factual
basis the railroad relied on in making determinations under §§
240.205, 240.207, 240.209, 240.211, and 240.213 is required, but
these sections permit the railroad to select the procedures it will
employ to accomplish compliance with these provisions. Sections
240.225 and 240.227 permit reliance on qualification determinations
made by other entities and permit a railroad latitude in selecting
the procedures it will employ to ensure compliance with these
provisions. Similarly, § 240.229 permits use of railroad selected
procedures to meet the requirements for certification of engineers
performing service in joint operations territory. Sections 240.301
and 240.307 allow a railroad a certain degree of discretion in
complying with the requirements for replacing lost certificates or
the conduct of certification revocation proceedings.
This section of the request should outline in summary fashion
the manner in which the railroad will implement its program so as
to comply with the specific aspects of each of the rule's
provisions described in the preceding paragraph.
FRA Review
The submissions made in conformity with this appendix will be
deemed approved within 30 days after the required filing date or
the actual filing date whichever is later. No formal approval
document will be issued by FRA. The brief interval for review
reflects FRA's judgment that railroads generally already have
existing programs that will meet the requirements of this part. FRA
has taken the responsibility for notifying a railroad when it
detects problems with the railroad's program. FRA retains the right
to disapprove a program that has obtained approval due to the
passage of time as provided for in section § 240.103.
Rather than establish rigid requirements for each element of the
program, FRA has given railroads discretion to select the design of
their individual programs within a specified context for each
element. The rule, however, provides a good guide to the
considerations that should be addressed in designing a program that
will meet the performance standards of this rule. In reviewing
program submissions, FRA will focus on the degree to which a
particular program deviates from the norms set out in its rule. To
the degree that a particular program submission materially deviates
from the norms set out in its rule, FRA's review and approval
process will be focused on determining the validity of the
reasoning relied on by a railroad for selecting its alternative
approach and the degree to which the alternative approach is likely
to be effective in producing locomotive engineers who have the
knowledge, skill, and ability to operate trains safely.
[85 FR 81320, Dec. 15, 2020]