Title 49

SECTION 240.125

240.125 Knowledge testing.

§ 240.125 Knowledge testing.

(a) Each railroad shall adopt and comply with a program that meets the requirements of this section. When any person, including, but not limited to, each railroad, railroad officer, supervisor, and employee, violates any requirement of a program that complies with the requirements of this section, that person shall be considered to have violated the requirements of this section.

(b) A railroad shall have procedures for testing a person being evaluated for qualification as a locomotive engineer in either train or locomotive service to determine that the person has sufficient knowledge of the railroad's rules and practices for the safe operation of trains.

(c) The testing methods selected by the railroad shall be:

(1) Designed to examine a person's knowledge of the railroad's rules and practices for the safe operation of trains;

(2) Objective in nature;

(3) Administered in written form;

(4) Cover the following subjects:

(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 Federal railroad safety laws, regulations, and orders;

(5) Sufficient to accurately measure the person's knowledge of the covered subjects; and

(6) Conducted without open reference books or other materials except to the degree the person is being tested on his or her ability to use such reference books or materials.

(d) The conduct of the test shall be documented in writing and the documentation shall contain sufficient information to identify the relevant facts relied on for evaluation purposes.

(e) For purposes of paragraph (c) of this section, the railroad must provide the person(s) being tested with an opportunity to consult with a supervisory employee, who possesses territorial qualifications for the territory, to explain a question.

(f) The documentation shall indicate whether the person passed or failed the test.

(g) If a person fails to pass the test, no railroad shall permit or require that person to function as a locomotive engineer prior to that person's achieving a passing score during a reexamination of the person's knowledge.

[56 FR 28254, June 19, 1991, as amended at 85 FR 81313, Dec. 15, 2020]

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