The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) published its Final Rule requiring Certification for railroad conductors in today's Federal Register. The effective date of the rule is January 1, 2012.
The new conductor certification program, mandated by the Rail Safety Improvement Act (RSIA), parallels the existing regulations for certifying locomotive engineers under Part 240 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Like engineer certification, railroads must submit their proposed certification program to the FRA for approval. Also similar to engineer certifications, individual railroads will certify its conductors, under criteria required by the FRA, and under the program of the railroad approved by the FRA.
At the effective date of the Final Rule (1/1/12), Class I railroads are required to designate as certified conductors all of their personnel authorized to perform the duties of a conductor (49 CFR 242.105). Each designated conductor of a Class I railroad would then need to be certified within 36 months under the procedures for testing and evaluation required by the Rule.
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