WASHINGTON - The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today announced that it is holding three stakeholder educational seminars to discuss two FRA regulations.  Specifically, the day long sessions will focus on June 2017 amendments to 49 CFR Part 219 - Control of Alcohol and Drug Use, and the implementation requirements of 49 CFR Part 243 - Training, Qualification and Oversight for Safety-Related Railroad Employees.  Both regulations were issued in response to statutory requirements set forth in the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA).

The events are free to the public, but attendee pre-registration is required because the venues can only accommodate approximately 100 individuals.  The dates and locations of the seminars are as follows:

The Part 219 presentation will address the expanded scope of FRA’s drug and alcohol control regulations to cover maintenance of way employees.  Other issues will be discussed, including codification of guidance from FRA compliance manuals, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendations, and additional changes arising from FRA’s retrospective regulatory review-based amendments of the rule.  The Part 243 presentation will provide an overview of program compliance requirements and address significant upcoming implementation deadlines.  Sufficient time will be allotted after each presentation for questions and answers. Interested individuals can register here.