REAUTHORIZATION GETS UNDERWAY

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is formally requesting legislative proposals from stakeholders as the Committee begins efforts to reauthorize the surface transportation programs.

CRC participated in a stakeholder meeting earlier this month to present the association’s wish list for reauthorization, and will be submitting legislative language in support of these requests.

Coalition members are urged to submit legislative proposals to the Committee by emailing TI.Rail.Reauthorization@mail.house.gov no later than 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 30, 2025.

As noted at the spring meeting, we have seen very little in the way of regulatory activity for the US passenger rail industry within the first quarter of 2025. This should come as no surprise as the administration transition continues, although we do expect to see more activity in the coming months as key policy roles gradually get filled. Provided in this update are a few of the more recent regulatory notices, with a couple of housekeeping notes and considerations, particularly for our member roads.

RECENT REGULATORY ACTIVITIES

• Dispatcher & Signal Employee Certification (Part 245/6) – FRA Follow-up Response

  Those of you who attended the spring meeting in Salt Lake City (special thanks to UTA) will recall the discussion regarding FRA’s initial response to the industry’s petitions for reconsideration regarding the Final Rules for Parts 245 and 246, and the timely response that was received at the conclusion of that meeting. For those of you who have not yet seen FRA’s follow-up letter, you can find the full letter on either rulemaking docket, or via the following link: FRA Follow-up Response to Petitions for Reconsideration.

  In its March 14th letter, FRA affirmed that it will exercise enforcement discretion and will not take enforcement action regarding the current deadlines and will initiate a rulemaking “to extend the deadlines found in §§ 245.103(a), 245.105(c)-(e), 246.103(a), and 246.105(c)-(e) by one year.” This would modify the deadline for the submission of commuter railroad’s Dispatcher and Signal Employee Certification programs to March 17, 2026, at the earliest. Additionally, FRA has noted that, as part of this effort, it will seek comments on the “other matters” raised in the petitions (e.g., application to contracted employees, etc.). In doing so, FRA may attempt to resolve some of these issues as part of this same, or a separate more protracted, rulemaking effort. We expect to hear more from FRA on this matter in the coming months and will keep you posted on any developments.

• U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Regulatory Reform Request for Information (RFI)

  On April 3rd, USDOT published an RFI seeking input from the pubic and regulated community under the title “Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementation of the President's ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Deregulatory Agenda.” The Federal Register notice can be found on the docket at: DOT-OST-2025-0026-0001. If there are any regulatory obligations that you think should be considered and submitted as part of a CRC comment to the docket, please let us know soon. Comments are due on or before May 5th, 2025.

OTHER MATTERS:

• Emergency Preparedness (Part 239) – New Contact

  There will be a new contact for matters pertaining to your Passenger Train Emergency Preparedness (EPREP) plans under 49 CFR Part 239. Michael Hunter, Executive Staff Director for the Office of Railroad Systems & Technology, will now be the primary contact regarding the approval and execution of these plans. He will likely reach out to many of our member railroads in the coming months as he takes over these responsibilities. If you haven’t taken a look at your railroad’s 239 plan, now is a good opportunity to ensure that it is being executed effectively. Frequently, most of the focus is given to the emergency simulation aspect of a railroad’s EPREP, but there are a lot of other important elements that also need to be effectively implemented.

  While the emergency drills attract a lot of attention and often require significant internal resources, this is just one tool to ensuring that railroad employees are well trained and prepared for emergency scenarios. All too often, so much effort can go into putting together emergency drills (especially large-scale ones) that the other important elements of the program can go overlooked. Quality debriefing and critiques (49 CFR 239.105) and effective operational testing and inspection programs (49 CFR 239.301) are also critical tools to ensuring operational readiness in emergency situations. It is also important to consider and practice different types of scenarios, including ones focused on new or emerging hazards, such as those that might be identified under the railroad’s system safety program (49 CFR Part 270). One example of this is the potential for on-board fires caused by high-capacity batteries commonly used on electric scooters and e-bikes. Leveraging these two programs can help a railroad stay focused on both the conventional and evolving risks it is trying to manage and mitigate to keep its operations safe.

• Waiver Renewals

  A number of railroads and industry organizations have recently had issues with the renewal of waivers issued under 49 CFR Part 211. In several cases these waivers have either expired or come close enough to the expiration date that there has not been sufficient time for railroads to follow the process for renewal. While FRA will generally work with railroads seeking renewals, and occasionally exercise enforcement discretion for expired waivers under extenuating circumstances, it is the petitioner’s responsibility to submit requests for waiver renewals or extensions in appropriate time, and with adequate information to support a timely review and approval by the safety board. Keep in mind, these requests will typically require posting in the Federal Register for public comments prior to consideration by the Railroad Safety Board – all of which adds time to the process. As a rule of thumb, FRA has generally used 6-months as minimum time period in which a petition for renewal should be submitted prior to an existing waiver expiring. Please make sure you are tracking and aware of what waivers you currently have in effect, and ensure your teams are submitting petitions for renewal within the 6-month minimum time frame, and with data and information to support the petition. Again, if you have any questions you can always reach out to your FRA contact, or CRC for guidance.

INTERESTING RECENT PUBLICATIONS:

• Letter for Signal Employee Vehicle Operators – On April 7th, FRA republished a 2009 letter from its Chief Counsel making it clear that railroad signal employees operating motor vehicles are only subject to the hours of service requirements of 49 U.S.C. chapter 211, and not those of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), including its requirements under 49 CFR § 395.8. This letter can be carried by railroad signal employees in the event such information is requested of them.

• FAMES Alert – On March 28th FRA published a FAMES alert for an incident on January 7, 2025 involving a passenger train striking a roadway worker.

WASHINGTON ROUND-UP

• The House and Senate return Monday from a two-week recess.

• Drew Feeley has been appointed FRA deputy administrator and will serve as acting administrator until the president’s nominee is confirmed. Feeley was most recently staff director at the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.

• Following a second “fork in the road” offer of deferred resignation, 4,000 or more DOT employees are said to be leaving the agency. Given the high number of voluntary separations, FTA Executive Director Matt Welbes has said that additional layoffs may not be necessary, according to Politico. Indeed, some of those who elected to take the deferred resignation may be asked to stay on.

• Secretary Duffy sent a letter this week to all recipients of US DOT funding regarding compliance with Federal laws and regulations. The letter outlines the Administration's interpretation of the legal obligations and expectations for recipients of US Department of Transportation funding regarding the Executive Orders issued by President Trump dealing with DEI and immigration.

  In short, noncompliance with Federal laws jeopardizes continued funding, and DOT may try to claw back funding if there is a breach of these requirements. Recipients are required to cooperate with Federal authorities, including ICE, in enforcing immigration laws.

  This doesn't expressly include or exclude formula dollars, but some of the language speaks to discretionary grants – which is where the Department likely has the most leverage. (H/T John Cline)

• DOT has demanded an end to the congestion pricing scheme that has reduced car traffic in the busiest parts of Manhattan while providing much needed funding for NY MTA operations. This week lawyers at the Justice Department posted to the docket a letter it had sent to DOT questioning the legal grounds for DOT’s attempt to end congestion pricing.

LOS ANGELES – Last month, Metrolink, the region’s six-county passenger rail provider, recorded the highest number of weekend customer boardings in agency history. The new single-month benchmark of 122,693 boardings, established in March, eclipsed the previous record of 117,348 set in September 2018. This is the first time that Metrolink ridership has exceeded a pre-pandemic milestone following a steep decline in the spring of 2020 when COVID-19 mitigation measures fundamentally changed how Southern Californians travel and interact with public transportation systems.

March weekend ridership was bolstered by several high-profile events taking place across Southern California, including the International Women’s Day Protest and Rally March 8 in Downtown Los Angeles, the Swallows Day Parade March 22 in San Juan Capistrano and the Beyond Wonderland festival March 28-29 in San Bernardino.

INFORMATIONAL WEBINAR:
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WHAT WE’RE READING

• Study Shows Dramatic Drop In Pollution Following Switch To Electric Trains (CleanTechnica)

• Metra to conduct 40 'safety blitzes' at rail stations in 2025 (Progressive Railroading)

• US: Lawsuits take aim at voter-approved transit projects worth billions (Mass Transit)

• Lawsuits take aim at voter-approved transit projects worth billions (State Line)

• Defunding DART would derail Dallas future development (North Texas Daily)

• Deep Dive: How Will Sean Duffy Fix Penn Station? (Streets Blog NYC)

• Many have tried to fix Penn Station. Can Trump get the job done? (New York Times)

• Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak, backed by the USDOT and Trump administration, will now oversee Penn Station project (The Architect’s Newspaper)

• Delaware County officials sound alarm about proposed SEPTA cuts (6 ABC Action News)

• The transit-first (no, really) games (Torched)

• CT: Connecticut DOT wants you to 'drive less' (and you could get $500 for it) (Mass Transit)