(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 which complies with the requirements of this section, that person shall be considered to have violated the requirements of this section.

(b) Each railroad shall have a program to monitor the conduct of its certified conductors by performing unannounced operating rules compliance tests. The program shall include procedures to address the testing of certified conductors who are not given an unannounced compliance test in a calendar year pursuant to paragraph (f) of this section. At a minimum, such procedures shall include the following:

(1) A requirement that an unannounced compliance test must be conducted within 30 days of a return to conductor service; and

(2) The railroad must retain a written record indicating the date that the conductor stopped performing service that requires certification pursuant to this part, the date that the conductor returned to performing service that requires certification pursuant to this part, and the date that the unannounced compliance test was performed.

(c) Except as provided in paragraph (f) of this section, each conductor shall be given at least one unannounced compliance test in each calendar year by a railroad officer who meets the requirements of §217.9(b)(1) of this chapter.

(d) The unannounced test program shall:

(1) Test those persons certified as a conductor pursuant to §242.107(b)(1) for compliance with one or more operational tests in accordance with the provisions of §217.9 of this chapter; and one or more provisions of §§218.99 through 218.109 of this chapter; and

(2) Test those persons certified as a passenger conductor pursuant to §242.107(b)(2) for compliance with one or more operational tests in accordance with the provisions of §217.9 of this chapter.

(i) For persons certified as passenger conductors pursuant to §242.107(b)(2) who do not require compliance with part 218, subpart F of this chapter except under emergency circumstances, the requirement for an annual, unannounced test on the requirements of part 218, subpart F may be satisfied by annual training.

(ii) [Reserved]

(e) Each railroad's program shall indicate the action the railroad will take in the event that it finds deficiencies with a conductor's performance during an unannounced compliance test administered in accordance with this section.

(f) A certified conductor who is not performing a service that requires certification pursuant to this part need not be given an unannounced compliance test. However, when the certified conductor returns to a service that requires certification pursuant to this part, that certified conductor must be tested pursuant to this section within 30 days of his or her return.