A railroad shall adopt and implement its RRP through a written RRP plan containing the elements described in this subpart and in § 271.609. A railroad's RRP plan shall be approved by FRA according to the requirements contained in subpart D of this part.

(a) Policy statement. An RRP plan shall contain a policy statement endorsing the railroad's RRP. This statement shall be signed by the chief official at the railroad (e.g., chief executive officer).

(b) Purpose and scope. An RRP plan shall contain a statement describing the purpose and scope of the railroad's RRP. This purpose and scope statement shall describe:

(1) The railroad's safety philosophy and safety culture;

(2) How the railroad promotes improvements to its safety culture; and

(3) The roles and responsibilities of railroad personnel (including management) within the railroad's RRP.

(c) Goals. An RRP plan shall contain a statement that defines the specific goals of the RRP and describes clear strategies for reaching those goals. These goals shall be long-term, meaningful, measurable, and focused on the mitigation of risks arising from identified safety hazards.

(a) An RRP plan shall contain a description of the characteristics of the railroad's system. At a minimum, the system description shall:

(1) Support the identification of hazards by establishing a basic understanding of the scope of the railroad's system;

(2) Include components briefly describing the railroad's history, operations, scope of service, maintenance, physical plant, and system requirements;

(3) Identify all persons that enter into a contractual relationship with the railroad to either perform significant safety-related services on the railroad's behalf or to utilize significant safety-related services provided by the railroad for railroad operations purposes. For example, a railroad's RRP plan shall identify entities such as host railroads, contract operators, shared track/corridor operators, or other contractors utilizing or performing significant safety-related services. A railroad shall identify such persons even if the persons are not required to comply with this part (e.g., a railroad shall identify a tourist railroad that operates over the railroad's track even though the tourist railroad is exempt from this part pursuant to § 271.3(b)(2)); and

(4) Describe how the railroad will ensure that any persons identified pursuant to paragraph (a)(3) of this section will support and participate in the railroad's RRP. For example, the system description shall describe the extent to which such persons will, as part of the railroad's RRP, assist in identifying hazards, developing and implementing mitigation strategies, conducting internal annual assessments, or otherwise performing actions required by this part.

(b) [Reserved]

(a) General duty. (1) Each railroad required to establish an RRP under this part shall in good faith consult with, and use its best efforts to reach agreement with, all of its directly affected employees, including any non-profit labor organization representing a class or craft of directly affected employees, on the contents of the RRP plan.

(2) A railroad that consults with a non-profit employee labor organization is considered to have consulted with the directly affected employees represented by that organization. For directly affected employees represented by a non-profit employee labor organization, the primary point of contact shall be either the general chairperson of the non-profit employee labor organization or a non-profit employee labor organization primary point of contact the railroad and the non-profit employee labor organization agree on at the beginning of the consultation process.

(b) Preliminary meeting. A railroad shall have a preliminary meeting with its directly affected employees to discuss how the consultation process will proceed. A railroad is not required to discuss the substance of an RRP plan during this preliminary meeting.

(1) A Class I railroad shall meet no later than October 15, 2020 with its directly affected employees to discuss the consultation process. The Class I railroad shall notify the directly affected employees of this meeting no less than 60 days before it is scheduled.

(2) A railroad determined to have inadequate safety performance shall meet no later than 30 days following FRA's notification with its directly affected employees to discuss the consultation process. The inadequate safety performance railroad shall notify the directly affected employees of this meeting no less than 15 days before it is scheduled.

(3) A railroad that the STB reclassifies or newly classifies as a Class I railroad shall meet with its directly affected employees to discuss the consultation process no later than 30 days following the effective date of the classification or reclassification. The reclassified or newly classified Class I railroad shall notify the directly affected employees of this meeting no less than 15 days before it is scheduled.

(4) A voluntarily-compliant railroad that files a notification with FRA of its intent to file an RRP plan under § 271.301(b)(4)(i) shall meet with its directly affected employees to discuss the consultation process no later than 30 days following the date that the railroad filed the notification. The voluntarily-compliant railroad shall notify the directly affected employees of this meeting no less than 15 days before it is scheduled.

(5) Compliance with the mandatory preliminary meeting requirements of this paragraph (b) does not constitute full compliance with the consultation requirements of this section.

(c) Guidance. Appendix A to this part contains guidance on how a railroad could comply with the requirements of this section.

(d) Railroad consultation statements. A railroad required to submit an RRP plan under § 271.301 shall also submit, together with that plan, a consultation statement that includes the following information:

(1) A detailed description of the process the railroad utilized to consult with its directly affected employees;

(2) If the railroad could not reach agreement with its directly affected employees on the contents of its RRP plan, identification of any known areas of non-agreement and an explanation why it believes agreement was not reached; and

(3) A service list containing the names and contact information for each international/national president of any non-profit employee labor organization representing a class or craft of the railroad's directly affected employees, or each non-profit employee labor organization primary point of contact the railroad and the non-profit employee labor organization agree on at the beginning of the process. The service list must also contain the name and contact information for any directly affected employee who significantly participated in the consultation process independently of a non-profit employee labor organization. When a railroad submits its RRP plan and consultation statement to FRA under § 271.301, it shall also simultaneously send a copy of these documents to all individuals identified in the service list. A railroad may send the documents to the identified individuals via electronic means or other service means reasonably calculated to succeed.

(e) Statements from directly affected employees. (1) If a railroad and its directly affected employees cannot reach agreement on the proposed contents of an RRP plan, the directly affected employees may file a statement explaining their views on the plan on which agreement was not reached with the FRA Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety and Chief Safety Officer, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. The FRA Associate Administrator shall consider any such views during the plan review and approval process.

(2) A railroad's directly affected employees have 30 days following the railroad's submission of a proposed RRP plan to submit the statement described in paragraph (e)(1) of this section.

A railroad's RRP plan shall include a description of the process the railroad will use to consult with its directly affected employees on any subsequent substantive amendments to the railroad's RRP plan. The requirements of this section do not apply to non-substantive amendments (e.g., amendments that update names and addresses of railroad personnel).

(a) Risk-based hazard analysis. An RRP plan shall describe the railroad's method for conducting its risk-based hazard analysis pursuant to § 271.103(b). At a minimum, the description shall specify:

(1) The processes the railroad will use to identify hazards and the risks associated with those hazards;

(2) The sources the railroad will use to support the ongoing identification of hazards and the risks associated with those hazards; and

(3) The processes the railroad will use to compare and prioritize identified risks for mitigation purposes.

(b) Mitigation strategies. An RRP plan shall describe the railroad's processes for designing and implementing mitigation strategies pursuant to § 271.103(c). At a minimum, the description shall specify the railroad's processes for:

(1) Identifying and selecting mitigation strategies; and

(2) Monitoring an identified hazard through the mitigation of the risk associated with that hazard.

An RRP plan shall describe a railroad's processes for identifying and analyzing its safety culture pursuant to § 271.105(a), monitoring safety performance pursuant to § 271.105(b), and conducting safety assessments pursuant to § 271.105(c).

An RRP plan shall describe a railroad's processes for communicating safety information to railroad personnel and management pursuant to § 271.107.

(a) An RRP plan shall contain a description of the railroad's processes for:

(1) Conducting a technology analysis pursuant to § 271.109(b); and

(2) Developing a technology implementation plan pursuant to § 271.109(c).

(b) [Reserved]

(a) An RRP plan shall contain a training plan describing the railroad's processes, pursuant to § 271.111, for training employees with significant responsibility for implementing and supporting the RRP (including employees of a person identified pursuant to § 271.205(a)(3) as performing significant safety-related services on the railroad's behalf or utilizing significant safety-related services provided by the railroad for railroad operations purposes who have significant responsibility for implementing and supporting the railroad's RRP).

(b) The training plan shall describe the content of the RRP training for each position or job function identified pursuant to § 271.225(b)(3) as having significant responsibilities for implementing the RRP.

An RRP plan shall contain a description of the railroad's processes for involving railroad employees in the establishment and implementation of an RRP pursuant to § 271.113. If a railroad contracts out significant portions of its operations, the contractor and the contractor's employees performing the railroad's operations shall be considered employees for the purposes of this section.

(a) An RRP plan shall describe the railroad's processes for conducting an internal assessment of its RRP pursuant to subpart E of this part. At a minimum, this description shall contain the railroad's processes used to:

(1) Conduct an internal assessment of its RRP;

(2) Internally report the results of its internal assessment to railroad senior management; and

(3) Develop improvement plans, including developing and monitoring recommended improvements (including any necessary revisions or updates to the RRP plan) for fully implementing the railroad's RRP, complying with the implemented elements of the RRP plan, or achieving the goals identified in the railroad's RRP plan pursuant to § 271.203(c).

(b) [Reserved]

(a) An RRP plan shall describe how the railroad will implement its RRP. A railroad may implement its RRP in stages, so long as the railroad fully implements the entire RRP within 36 months of FRA's approval of the plan.

(b) At a minimum, a railroad's implementation plan shall:

(1) Cover the entire implementation period;

(2) Contain a timeline describing when certain implementation milestones will be achieved. Implementation milestones shall be specific and measurable;

(3) Describe the roles and responsibilities of each position or job function that has significant responsibility for implementing the railroad's RRP or any changes to the railroad's RRP (including any such positions or job functions held by a person that enters into a contractual relationship with the railroad to either perform significant safety-related services on the railroad's behalf or to utilize significant safety-related services provided by the railroad for railroad operations purposes); and

(4) Describe how significant changes to the RRP may be made.