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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Qualifications for Locomotive Engineers

Notice of proposed rulemaking.

In January 1997, FRA convened a working group comprised of rail industry and labor representatives to recommend revisions to FRA's requirements for the qualification and certification of locomotive engineers (49 CFR Part 240). The working group examined data, discussed the successes and failures of the current rule, and debated how to improve the regulations over a ten month period. This notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) contains miscellaneous proposed amendments derived from those working group meetings. In particular, the FRA proposes to: Improve the decertification process; clarify when certified locomotive engineers are required to operate service vehicles; and address the concern that some designated supervisors of locomotive engineers are insufficiently qualified to properly supervise, train, or test locomotive engineers.

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