(a) A railroad shall not certify or recertify a person as a qualified locomotive engineer in any class of train or engine service, if the railroad is making:

(1) A determination concerning eligibility and the eligibility data being relied on were furnished more than 366 days before the date of the railroad's certification decision;

(2) A determination concerning visual and hearing acuity and the medical examination being relied on was conducted more than 366 days before the date of the railroad's recertification decision;

(3) A determination concerning demonstrated knowledge and the knowledge examination being relied on was conducted more than 366 days before the date of the railroad's certification decision; or

(4) A determination concerning demonstrated performance skills and the performance skill testing being relied on was conducted more than 366 days before the date of the railroad's certification decision;

(b) The time limitations of paragraph (a) of this section do not apply to a railroad that is making a certification decision in reliance on determinations made by another railroad in accordance with paragraph (c)(2) of this section, §240.227, or §240.229.

(c) Except as provided in §240.201 concerning implementation dates for initial certification decisions and paragraph (b) of this section, no railroad shall:

(1) Certify a person as a qualified locomotive engineer for an interval of more than 36 months; or

(2) Rely on a certification issued by another railroad that is more than 36 months old.

(d) Except as provided for in §240.201 concerning initial implementation of the program, a railroad shall issue each person designated as a certified locomotive engineer a certificate that complies with §240.223 no later than 30 days from the date of its decision to certify or recertify that person.

[56 FR 28254, June 19, 1991, as amended at 58 FR 19003, Apr. 9, 1993; 60 FR 53137, Oct. 12, 1995; 64 FR 60992, Nov. 8, 1999; 74 FR 68184, Dec. 23, 2009]