The U.S. Department of Transportation issued a final rule limiting the number
of consecutive hours passenger railroad workers can be on the job. The new
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regulation will differentiate between
freight and passenger service.

This rule recognizes the difference between work during daylight hours and work
during nighttime hours when fatigue is most likely to occur. The final rule
includes:

Maximum on-duty periods and minimum off-duty periods for passenger train
employees including locomotive engineers, and conductors.

• - Requirements for railroads to identify schedule-specific risks of fatigue using an approved, scientifically validated, and calibrated bio-mathematical model of human performance and fatigue.


• - Requirements for railroads to develop and carry out plans to mitigate fatigue risks before safety may be compromised. The final rule also requires railroads to submit certain work schedules of their passenger train employees and fatigue mitigation plans to FRA for approval, and to provide fatigue training.

More info

AplusA-online.de - Source: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work