49 CFR Chapter II — Federal Railroad Administration Regulations (eCFR)

Scope

The consolidated body of US federal railroad safety regulations issued by the Federal Railroad Administration under 49 CFR Chapter II, covering track safety (Part 213), signal and train control (Part 236), locomotive and equipment safety (Parts 229-238), operating practices, and hours of service. It is the primary compliance reference for railroads, contractors, and regulators operating in the United States, kept current via the official electronic Code of Federal Regulations.

49 CFR Chapter II is the consolidated body of United States federal railroad safety regulations issued by the Federal Railroad Administration, covering track safety standards (Part 213), signal and train control systems (Part 236), locomotive and other equipment safety standards (Parts 229 through 238), railroad operating practices, and hours-of-service requirements for railroad employees. As a regulatory chapter of the Code of Federal Regulations rather than a single act, it is organised into numbered parts each addressing a distinct technical or operational area, allowing railroads, contractors and FRA inspectors to reference the specific part relevant to a given compliance question. It is kept current through the official electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), which consolidates all amendments into a single continuously updated online text rather than requiring users to track individual amending rules separately. Railroads, railroad contractors, equipment manufacturers and FRA inspectors use it as the primary compliance reference for federal railroad safety requirements in the United States, playing a role broadly comparable to the EU's TSIs and safety directives combined, though structured according to the US regulatory system rather than the EU's directive-and-regulation model. Because the eCFR is continuously updated, the version accessed at any time reflects all amendments in force as of that date rather than a fixed historical edition.