Q&A for New Hours of Service Regulations Affecting Passenger Conductors, Engineers, Hostlers and Assistant Conductors.

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Q&A for New Hours of Service Regulations Affecting Passenger Conductors, Engineers, Hostlers and Assistant Conductors."

Eileen Fields
8 years ago
Views:

1 To: All ACRE Members From: Paul Holland, Sec. Local 1 Q&A for New Hours of Service Regulations Affecting Passenger Conductors, Engineers, Hostlers and Assistant Conductors. Do these new Hours of Service regulations replace our current Hours of Service rules? No. The current Hours of Service regulations remain in effect. These new regulations are in addition to the current rules. When do these new regulations go into effect? Thursday, April 12, 2012 Who instituted these changes? The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) What is the purpose of these changes? The FRA instituted these changes in an effort to minimize the fatigue factor for train and engine service employees.

Do these new Hours of Service regulations replace our current Hours of Service rules? No. The current Hours of Service regulations remain in effect.

2 Why did the FRA believe changes were necessary? The train and engine service employees on our nation s freight railroads were being forced to work incredible amounts of overtime with minimal rest. The FRA recognized the danger in overburdening these railroaders. Upon instituting the new regulations the FRA decided to mandate the rules so as to cover all train and engine service employees both in freight and passenger service. Do passenger employees have the same new regulations as freight employees? Initially the rules were identical. However the unions as well as the passenger railroads appealed to the FRA to provide different rules for passenger rail employees. While neither our union nor Metro North are pleased with these new regulations, they are much less onerous than those imposed on freight railroads and their employees. As an example freight service conductors and engineers will be required to have 10 hours of uninterrupted rest daily and they will be limited to a maximum number of hours worked per month. Do these rules only affect ACRE members and Metro North? No. All passenger railroads in America and all of their covered train and engine service employees are subject to these same rules. Is it possible to get these changes rescinded? These changes will in all likelihood be permanent. We have however been successful in modifying the interpretation of certain aspects of the regulations. Did these new regulations affect the runs in our April 1st crewbook? Yes. A few runs needed to be changed because they failed the parameters established by the FRA in regard to being considered overly burdensome. In addition, the railroad changed several runs that had both Type I and Type II days in an effort to have runs be all Type I or all Type II. We are protesting many of these changes and will keep you posted.

Upon instituting the new regulations the FRA decided to mandate the rules so as to cover all train and engine service employees both in freight and passenger service.

3 Are the nation's yardmasters and rail traffic controllers governed by these new regulations? No. These particular additions to the Hours of Service regulations only cover the country's conductors, engineers, hostlers and assistant conductors. What constitutes "covered service"? Covered service are those runs that fall under these new regulations. All passenger runs, work trains and yard jobs involve the movement of a train and are therefore considered covered service. What service is not considered covered service? Flag jobs, substitute bus in lieu of train jobs, company business (book of rules, physicals, etc.) and gate collecting jobs that don't include working aboard trains. If I don t work my rest days am I affected by these new regulations? You will only be affected if you change rest days. However you must still abide with the regulations by properly filing the new hours of service forms. How will I know if I am on a Type I or Type II assignment? Our April 1st crewbook will show the Type I or Type II designation for each run. Therefore you will know prior to choosing a run whether you will be picking a Type I or Type II assignment. If a run is designated Type II but I cover it off the extra list or relief day list on a day that it works Type I hours do I show it as a Type I or Type II? Originally the FRA mandated that once a run is designated Type II you must show Type II regardless of the hours worked. However, at our request they are modifying the interpretation of that rule so that if you cover a Type II run off

Covered service are those runs that fall under these new regulations. All passenger runs, work trains and yard jobs involve the movement of a train and are therefore considered covered service.

4 the extra list or relief day list on a day that it works Type I hours you will show Type I. I know Type II runs work anytime between the hours of 8:01 p.m. and 3:59 a.m. If I cover a Type I run and the last train arrives late, arriving after 8:01 p.m. must I show it as Type II service? As long as the delayed train does not arrive between the hours of midnight and 3:59 a.m. you can still show it as a Type I assignment. Are all runs that work between the hours of 8:01 p.m. and 3:59 a.m. designated Type II? The FRA has agreed to allow some leeway in designating the runs as reflected in our April crewbook. However, all runs that work between the hours of midnight and 3:59 a.m. must be designated as Type II. If I double does that count as initiating two tours of duty in the same day? No. You will only show yourself as initiating one tour of duty on that date for the purpose of counting tours of duty. Will the Hours of Service forms change? Yes. You will now need to show your fourteen day series and whether or not you initiated tours of duty on those fourteen days. When will my fourteen day series begin? Your first fourteen day series will commence on the first day you initiate a tour of duty on or after April 12th. Your fourteen day series will reset after you have two days where you did not initiate a tour of duty.

As long as the delayed train does not arrive between the hours of midnight and 3:59 a.m. you can still show it as a Type I assignment. Are all runs that work between the hours of 8:01 p.m. and 3:59 a.m. designated Type II?

5 To abide by the new regulations I am required to have two calendar days within a fourteen day series where I do not initiate a tour of duty. Do these days have to be consecutive? The required two days only need to be consecutive if they fall at the end of your fourteen day series. As an example: If you work 13 consecutive days, you may not perform covered service on days 14 and 15. If you work 14 consecutive days you may not perform covered service on days 15 and 16. If I cover a flag job or other non covered assignment do those days count toward the two day requirement for not initiating a tour of duty? Yes. Days where you perform non-covered service count toward the two day requirement. If however you work fourteen consecutive days and then perform non-covered service (flag job, company business, etc) you will still need to have two days off when you return to work covered service. If I work six consecutive days in a row and one or more days is a Type II assignment I must take 24 hours off. Will the 24 hours off count as a day where I did not initiate a tour of duty? Usually. However, it is possible to start your required 24 hours off in the p.m. after having initiated a tour of duty earlier in the day. Upon completing your 24 hours off on the next day you could be called to work an evening run. In that scenario you initiated a tour of duty on both days despite the 24 hours off so neither day would count as a day not initiating a tour of duty despite your 24 hours off. Will I be paid Hours of Service claims if I work 14 days in a row (both sets of rest days) and then require two days off on my regular run? If the crew calls you on your rest day and offers to allow you to cover an assignment that triggers rest requirements on your regular work days you will be paid for your regular assignment. However, under our current agreement, the railroad has the right to bypass you on the relief day list if it causes you to be not rested for your regular assignment. They could conceivably bypass you on both your rest days if it triggers two

As an example: If you work 13 consecutive days, you may not perform covered service on days 14 and 15. If you work 14 consecutive days you may not perform covered service on days 15 and 16.

6 day rest requirements. When will I be paid hours of service? There are many issues that still need to be resolved. However it is expected that if you change assignments voluntarily you will not be paid hours of service. Voluntary moves often include bidding a new assignment, job holddowns and vacation holddowns. If I initiate a tour of duty on a run that starts at 10:00 p.m. and finishes at 3:00 a.m. the next day, do I need to show myself initiating a tour of duty both days? No. You will only show yourself initiating a tour of duty for the day you first go on duty. If my run works Sunday through Thursday but the last day of my work week (Thursday) finishes after midnight what are the two days that I did not initiate a tour of duty? Friday and Saturday assuming you did not work covered service on those two days. Does a guarantee day (G Day) initiate a Tour of Duty? No. A G Day does not count as initiating a Tour of Duty. If I start a new fourteen day series and the first day is a G Day is that my first day not initiating a tour of duty? If the first day or days of your fourteen day series is a G Day this will delay the start of your fourteen day series until you perform covered service. Does called and not used initiate a Tour of Duty?

If I initiate a tour of duty on a run that starts at 10:00 p.m. and finishes at 3:00 a.m. the next day, do I need to show myself initiating a tour of duty both days? No.

7 If you report prior to your on duty time and the regular person is present, you can notify the crew dispatcher and you will be paid "called and not used (not covered service)". This will not initiate a tour of duty. If you contact the crew after your reporting time to inform them that the regular person is present you will be paid "called and not used (covered service)". This will initiate a tour of duty

If you contact the crew after your reporting time to inform them that the regular person is present you will be paid "called and

49 CFR Part 228 Passenger Hours of Service

49 CFR Part 228 Passenger Hours of Service COVERED EMPLOYEES PROVISIONS CARRIED OVER FROM THE OLD LAW TO THE NEW REGULATIONS NEW REQUIREMENTS TYPE I AND TYPE II ASSIGNMENTS FATIGUE ANALYSIS OF WORK SCHEDULES