Title 49

SECTION 232.305

232.305 Single car air brake tests.

§ 232.305 Single car air brake tests.

(a) Single car air brake tests must be performed by a qualified person in accordance with either Section 3.0, “Tests-Standard Freight Brake Equipment,” and Section 4.0, “Special Tests,” AAR Standard S-486-18; Section 3.0, “Single-Car Test Requirements,” Section 4.0, “Special Tests,” and Section 13.0 “4-Pressure Single-Car Test Requirements,” AAR Standard S-4027-18; an alternative procedure approved by FRA pursuant to § 232.17; or a modified procedure approved in accordance with the provisions contained in § 232.307.

(b) Except as provided in § 232.303(e), a railroad shall perform a single car air brake test on a car when:

(1) A car has its brakes cut-out or inoperative when removed from a train or when placed on a shop or repair track, as defined in § 232.303(a);

(2) A car is on a shop or repair track, as defined in § 232.303(a), for any reason and has not received either:

(i) A manual single car air brake test (AAR Standard S-486) within the previous 12-month period;

(ii) An automated single car air brake test (AAR Standard S-4027 §§ 3.0 and 4.0) within the previous 24-month period;

(iii) Or a 4-pressure single car air brake test (AAR Standard S-4027 § 13.0) within the previous 48-month period;

(3) A car is found with missing or incomplete single car air brake test information;

(4) One or more of the following conventional air brake equipment items is removed, repaired, or replaced:

(i) Brake reservoir;

(ii) Control valve mounting gasket;

(iii) Pipe bracket stud;

(iv) Service portion;

(v) Emergency portion; or

(vi) Pipe bracket.

(5) A car is found with one or more of the following wheel defects:

(i) Built-up tread, unless known to be caused by hand brake left applied;

(ii) Slid flat wheel, unless known to be caused by hand brake left applied; or

(iii) Thermal cracks.

(c) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, each car shall receive a single car air brake test no less than every 5 years.

(d) Each car shall receive a single car air brake test no less than 8 years from the date the car was built or rebuilt.

(e) A single car air brake test shall be performed on each new or rebuilt car prior to placing or using the car in revenue service.

(f) The Director of the Federal Register approves the incorporation by reference of the standards required in this section into this section in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. You may inspect a copy of the material at the Federal Railroad Administration, Docket Clerk, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: 855-368-4200). You may also inspect the material at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, email [email protected], or go to: www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html. You may obtain the material from the following source(s):

(1) Association of American Railroads (AAR), 425 Third Street SW, Washington, DC 20024, telephone: (202) 639-2345, email: [email protected], website: https://aarpublications.com.

(i) AAR Standard S-486, “Code of Air Brake System Tests for Freight Equipment - Single Car Test,” Revised 2018 (contained in AAR Manual of Standards and Recommended Practices, Brakes and Brake Equipment), also referred to as AAR Standard S-486-18.

(ii) AAR Standard S-4027, “Automated Single-Car Test Equipment, Conventional Brake Equipment - Design and Performance Requirements,” Revised 2018 (contained in AAR Manual of Standards and Recommended Practices, Brakes and Brake Equipment), also referred to as AAR Standard S-4027-18.

(2) [Reserved]

[66 FR 39688, Aug. 1, 2001, as amended at 73 FR 61553, Oct. 16, 2008; 74 FR 25174, May 27, 2009; 85 FR 80573, Dec. 11, 2020]

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