As used in this part—

Actual time means either the specific time of day, to the hour and minute, or the precise amount of time spent in an activity, in hours and minutes, that must be included in the hours of duty record, including, where appropriate, reference to the applicable time zone and either standard time or daylight savings time.

Administrator means the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration or any person to whom the Administrator has delegated authority in the matter concerned.

Administrative duties means any activities required by the railroad as a condition of employment, related to reporting, recording, or providing an oral or written statement related to a current, previous, or future duty tour. Such activities are considered service for the railroad, and time spent in these activities must be included in the total time on duty for any duty tour with which it may commingle.

Associate Administrator means the Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety/Chief Safety Officer, Office of Railroad Safety, Federal Railroad Administration, or any person to whom he or she has delegated authority in the matter concerned.

At the behest of the employee refers to time spent by an employee in a railroad-related activity that is not required by the railroad as a condition of employment, in which the employee voluntarily participates.

At the behest of the railroad refers to time spent by an employee in a railroad-required activity that compels an employee to perform service for the railroad as a condition of employment.

Automated recordkeeping system means a recordkeeping system that—

(1) An eligible smaller railroad, or a contractor or subcontractor to such a railroad, may use instead of a manual recordkeeping system or electronic recordkeeping system to create and maintain any records subpart B of this part requires; and

(2) Conforms to the requirements of §228.206.

Broken (aggregate) service means one or more periods of time on duty within a single duty tour separated by one or more qualifying interim releases.

Call and release occurs when an employing railroad issues an employee a report-for-duty time, and then releases the employee from the requirement to report prior to the report-for-duty time.

Camp car means a trailer and/or on-track vehicle, including an outfit, camp, bunk car, or modular home mounted on a flatcar, or any other mobile vehicle or mobile structure used to house or accommodate an employee or MOW worker. An office car, inspection car, specialized maintenance equipment, or wreck train is not included.

Carrier, common carrier, and common carrier engaged in interstate or foreign commerce by railroad mean railroad.

Commingled service means—

(1) For a train employee or a signal employee, any non-covered service at the behest of the railroad and performed for the railroad that is not separated from covered service by a qualifying statutory off-duty period of 8 or 10 hours or more. Such commingled service is counted as time on duty pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 21103(b)(3) (for train employees) or 49 U.S.C. 21104(b)(2) (for signal employees).

(2) For a dispatching service employee, any non-covered service mandated by the railroad and performed for the railroad within any 24-hour period containing covered service. Such commingled service is counted as time on duty pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 21105(c).

Commuting means—

(1) For a train employee, the time spent in travel—

(i) Between the employee's residence and the employee's regular reporting point, and

(ii) In railroad-provided or authorized transportation to and from the lodging facility at the away-from-home terminal (excluding travel for purposes of an interim release), where such time (including travel delays and room availability) does not exceed 30 minutes.

(2) For a signal employee, the time spent in travel between the employee's residence and the employee's headquarters.

(3) For a dispatching service employee, the time spent in travel between the employee's residence and any reporting point.

Consecutive service is a period of unbroken total time on duty during a duty tour.

Covered service means—

(1) For a train employee, the portion of the employee's time on duty during which the employee is engaged in, or connected with, the movement of a train.

(2) For a dispatching service employee, the portion of the employee's time on duty during which the employee, by the use of an electrical or mechanical device, dispatches, reports, transmits, receives, or delivers an order related to or affecting the movement of a train.

(3) For a signal employee, the portion of the employee's time on duty during which the employee is engaged in installing, repairing, or maintaining a signal system.

Covered service assignment means—

(1) For a train employee, each unique assignment of the employee during a period of covered service that is associated with either a specific train or a specific yard job.

(2) For a signal employee, the assigned duty hours of the employee, including overtime, or unique trouble call assignments occurring outside the employee's assigned duty hours.

(3) For a dispatching service employee, each unique assignment for the employee that occurs within any 24-hour period in which the employee, by the use of an electrical or mechanical device, dispatches, reports, transmits, receives, or delivers orders related to or affecting train movements.

Deadheading means the physical relocation of a train employee from one point to another as a result of a railroad-issued verbal or written directive.

Designated terminal means the home or away-from-home terminal for the assignment of a particular train crew.

Dispatching service employee means an operator, train dispatcher, or other train employee who by the use of an electrical or mechanical device dispatches, reports, transmits, receives, or delivers orders related to or affecting train movements.

Duty location for a signal employee is the employee's headquarters or the precise location where the employee is expected to begin performing service for the railroad as defined in 49 U.S.C. 21104(b)(1) and (2).

Duty tour means—

(1) The total of all periods of covered service and commingled service for a train employee or a signal employee occurring between two statutory off-duty periods (i.e., off-duty periods of a minimum of 8 or 10 hours); or

(2) The total of all periods of covered service and commingled service for a dispatching service employee occurring in any 24-hour period.

Electronic recordkeeping system means a recordkeeping system that—

(1) A railroad may use instead of a manual recordkeeping system or automated recordkeeping system to create and maintain any records required by subpart B of this part; and

(2) Conforms to the requirements of §§228.201-228.205.

Electronic signature means an electronic sound, symbol, or process that—

(1) Is attached to, or logically associated with, a contract or other record;

(2) Is executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record, to create either an individual's unique digital signature, or unique digitized handwritten signature; and

(3) Complies with the requirements of §228.19(g) or §228.206(a).

Eligible smaller railroad means either:

(1) A railroad that reported to FRA that it had less than 400,000 employee hours during the preceding three consecutive calendar years under §225.21(d) of this chapter on Form FRA 6180.55, Annual Railroad Reports of Employee Hours by State; or

(2) A railroad operating less than 3 consecutive calendar years that reported to FRA that it had less than 400,000 employee hours during the current calendar year under §225.21(d) of this chapter on Form FRA 6180.55, Annual Railroad Reports of Employee Hours by State.

Employee means an individual employed by a railroad or a contractor or subcontractor to a railroad who—

(1) Is actually engaged in or connected with the movement of any train, including a person who performs the duties of a hostler;

(2) Dispatches, reports, transmits, receives, or delivers an order pertaining to a train movement by the use of telegraph, telephone, radio, or any other electrical or mechanical device; or

(3) Is engaged in installing, repairing, or maintaining a signal system.

Final release is the time that a train employee or a signal employee is released from all activities at the behest of the railroad and begins his or her statutory off-duty period.

FRA means the Federal Railroad Administration.

Headquarters means the regular assigned on-duty location for signal employees, or the lodging facility or crew quarters where traveling signal gangs reside when working at various system locations.

Interim release means an off-duty period applied to train employees only, of at least 4 hours but less than the required statutory off-duty period at a designated terminal, which off-duty period temporarily suspends the accumulation of time on duty, but does not start a new duty tour.

Limbo time means a period of time treated as neither time on duty nor time off duty in 49 U.S.C. 21103 and 21104, and any other period of service for the railroad that does not qualify as either covered service or commingled service.

MOW worker means an individual employed to inspect, install, construct, repair, or maintain track, roadbed, bridges, buildings, roadway facilities, roadway maintenance machines, electric traction systems, and right of way of a railroad.

On-duty time means the actual time that an employee reports for duty to begin a covered service assignment.

Other-than-regular reporting point means any location where a train employee reports to begin or restart a duty tour, that is not the employee's regular reporting point.

Plant railroad means a plant or installation that owns or leases a locomotive, uses that locomotive to switch cars throughout the plant or installation, and is moving goods solely for use in the facility's own industrial processes. The plant or installation could include track immediately adjacent to the plant or installation if the plant railroad leases the track from the general system railroad and the lease provides for (and actual practice entails) the exclusive use of that trackage by the plant railroad and the general system railroad for purposes of moving only cars shipped to or from the plant. A plant or installation that operates a locomotive to switch or move cars for other entities, even if solely within the confines of the plant or installation, rather than for its own purposes or industrial processes, will not be considered a plant railroad because the performance of such activity makes the operation part of the general railroad system of transportation.

Prior time off means the amount of time that an employee has been off duty between identifiable periods of service at the behest of the railroad.

Program edits are filters contained in the logic of an hours of service recordkeeping program that detect identifiable reporting errors made by a reporting employee at the time of data entry, and prevent the employee from submitting a record without first correcting or explaining any identified errors or anomalies.

Quick tie-up is a data entry process used only when an employee is within 3 minutes of, or is beyond, his or her statutory maximum on-duty period, which process allows an employee to enter only the basic information necessary for the railroad to identify the beginning of an employee's statutory off-duty period, to avoid the excess service that would otherwise be incurred in completing the full record for the duty tour. The information permitted in a quick tie-up process is limited to, at a maximum:

(1) Board placement time;

(2) Relieved location, date, and time;

(3) Final release location, date, and time;

(4) Contact information for the employee during the statutory off-duty period;

(5) Request for rest in addition to the statutory minimum, if provided by collective bargaining agreement or local practice;

(6) The employee may be provided an option to enter basic payroll information, related only to the duty tour being tied up; and

(7) Employee certification of the tie-up information provided.

Railroad means a person providing railroad transportation.

Railroad transportation means any form of non-highway ground transportation that runs on rails or electromagnetic guideways, including commuter or other short-haul rail passenger service in a metropolitan or suburban area, and high speed ground transportation systems that connect metropolitan areas, without regard to whether they use new technologies not associated with traditional railroads. Such term does not include rapid transit operations within an urban area that are not connected to the general railroad system of transportation.

Regular reporting point means the permanent on-duty location of a train employee's regular assignment that is established through a job bulletin assignment (either a job award or a forced assignment) or through an employee's exercise of seniority to be placed in an assignment. The assigned regular reporting point is a single fixed location identified by the railroad, even for extra board and pool crew employees.

Release means—

(1) For a train employee,

(i) The time within the duty tour that the employee begins an interim release;

(ii) The time that an employee completes a covered service assignment and begins another covered service assignment on a different train or job, or

(iii) The time that an employee completes a covered service assignment to begin another activity that counts as time on duty (including waiting for deadhead transportation to another duty location at which the employee will perform covered service, deadheading to duty, or any other commingled service).

(2) For a signal employee, the time within a duty tour that the employee—

(i) Completes his or her regular assigned hours and begins an off-duty period of at least one hour but less than a statutory off-duty period; or

(ii) Completes his or her return travel from a trouble call or other unscheduled duty and begins an off-duty period of at least one hour, but less than a statutory off-duty period.

(3) For a dispatching service employee, when he or she stops performing covered service and commingled service within any 24-hour period and begins an off-duty period of at least one hour.

Relieved time means—

(1) The actual time that a train employee stops performing a covered service assignment or commingled service.

(2) The actual time that a signal employee:

(i) Completes his or her assigned duty hours, or stops performing covered service or commingled service, whichever is later; or

(ii) Stops performing covered service associated with a trouble call or other unscheduled duty outside of normally assigned duty hours.

Reports for duty means that an employee—

(i) Presents himself or herself at the location established by the railroad at the time the railroad established for the employee to be present; and

(ii) Is ready to perform covered service.

Report-for-duty time means—

(1) For a train employee, the actual time that the employee is required to be present at a reporting point and prepared to start a covered service assignment.

(2) For a signal employee, the assigned starting time of an employee's scheduled shift, or the time that he or she receives a trouble call or a call for any other unscheduled duty during an off-duty period.

(3) For a dispatching service employee, when the employee begins the turn-over process at or before the beginning of his or her assigned shift, or begins any other activity at the behest of the railroad during any 24-hour period in which covered service is performed.

Reporting point means any location where an employee is required to begin or restart a duty tour.

Seniority move means a repositioning at the behest of the employee, usually a repositioning from a regular assignment or extra board to a different regularly assigned position or extra board, as the result of the employee's selection of a bulletin assignment or the employee's exercise of seniority over a junior employee.

Signal employee means an individual who is engaged in installing, repairing, or maintaining signal systems.

Station, office or tower means the precise location where a dispatching service employee is expected to perform service for the railroad as defined in 49 U.S.C. 21105(b) and (c).

Statutory off-duty period means the period of 8 or 10 consecutive hours or more time, that is the minimum off-duty period required under the hours of service laws for a train employee or a signal employee to begin a new 24-hour period for the purposes of calculating his or her total time on duty.

Total off-duty period means the actual amount of time that a train employee or a signal employee is off duty between duty tours after the previous final release and before the beginning of the next duty tour. This time may differ from the expected prior time off that will be generated by the recordkeeping system, if the employee performed service at the behest of the railroad between the duty tours.

Total time on duty (TTOD) means the total accumulation of time spent in periods of covered service and commingled service between qualifying statutory off-duty periods of 8 or 10 hours or more. Mandatory activities that do not constitute covered service, such as rules classes, when they may not attach to covered service, are counted as limbo time, rather than commingled service, which limbo time is not counted toward the calculation of total time on duty.

Tourist, scenic, historic, or excursion operations that are not part of the general railroad system of transportation means a tourist, scenic, historic, or excursion operation conducted only on track used exclusively for that purpose (i.e., there is no freight, intercity passenger, or commuter passenger railroad operation on the track).

Train employee means an individual engaged in or connected with the movement of a train, including a hostler.

Travel time means—

(1) For a signal employee, the time spent in transportation between the employee's headquarters and an outlying duty point or between the employee's residence and an outlying duty point, or, between duty locations, including both on-track and on-highway vehicular travel.

(2) For a dispatching service employee, the time spent in travel between stations, offices, or towers during the employee's time on duty.

Type 1 assignment means an assignment to be worked by a train employee who is engaged in commuter or intercity rail passenger transportation that requires the employee to report for duty no earlier than 4 a.m. on a calendar day and be released from duty no later than 8 p.m. on the same calendar day, and that complies with the provisions of §228.405. For the purposes of this part, FRA considers a Type 1 assignment to present an acceptable level of risk for fatigue that does not violate the defined fatigue threshold under a scientifically valid, biomathematical model of human performance and fatigue specified by FRA at §228.407(c)(1) or approved by FRA under the procedures at §228.407(c)(2). However, a Type 1 assignment that is delayed such that the schedule actually worked includes any period of time between midnight and 4 a.m. is considered a Type 2 assignment for the purposes of compliance with §228.405.

Type 2 assignment. (1) Type 2 assignment means an assignment to be worked by a train employee who is engaged in commuter or intercity rail passenger transportation that requires the employee to be on duty for any period of time between 8:01 p.m. on a calendar day and 3:59 a.m. on the next calendar day, or that otherwise fails to qualify as a Type 1 assignment. A Type 2 assignment is considered a Type 1 assignment if—

(i) It does not violate the defined fatigue threshold under a scientifically valid biomathematical model of human performance and fatigue specified by FRA at 228.407(c)(2) or approved by FRA under the procedures at §228.407(c)(1);

(ii) It complies with the provisions of §228.405; and

(iii) It does not require the employee to be on duty for any period of time between midnight and 4 a.m.

(2) If a Type 2 assignment that would normally qualify to be treated as a Type 1 assignment is delayed so that the schedule actually worked includes any period of time between midnight and 4 a.m., the assignment is considered a Type 2 assignment for the purposes of compliance with §228.405.

[74 FR 25346, May 27, 2009, as amended at 76 FR 50396, Aug. 12, 2011; 76 FR 67087, Oct. 31, 2011; 83 FR 43997, Aug. 29, 2018]