Title 49 — TransportationRelease 119-73
§20302 General requirements
Title 49 › Subtitle SUBTITLE V— - RAIL PROGRAMS › Part PART A— - SAFETY › Chapter CHAPTER 203— - SAFETY APPLIANCES › § 20302
Summary
Railroads must only use cars and locomotives that have certain safety gear. Cars need automatic couplers that lock on impact and can be uncoupled without someone going between the cars, secure steps and working hand brakes, and ladders or running boards plus roof handholds when the Secretary of Transportation requires them. Cars must also have grab irons or handholds on the ends and sides (unless the Secretary says otherwise) and meet the standard drawbar height. Locomotives must have a power-driving wheel brake and the equipment to run the train’s brake system. A train must have enough cars with power or train brakes so the engineer can control speed without using common hand brakes, and at least 50 percent of the cars must have and use those power brakes. A railroad that meets the brake rule can refuse cars from another railroad or a shipper if their brakes won’t work and interchange with the receiving railroad’s brakes. When cars are linked to haul long loads, only one car needs hand brakes during loading and hauling. The Secretary of Transportation can change how safety gear is sized, placed, or applied for good cause and after a full hearing, can change brake installation and maintenance rules to improve safety, can raise the 50 percent requirement after a hearing, and may use the services of the Association of American Railroads.
Full Legal Text
Title 49, §20302
Transportation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section and section 20303 of this title, a railroad carrier may use or allow to be used on any of its railroad lines—
(1)a vehicle only if it is equipped with—
(A)couplers coupling automatically by impact, and capable of being uncoupled, without the necessity of individuals going between the ends of the vehicles;
(B)secure sill steps and efficient hand brakes; and
(C)secure ladders and running boards when required by the Secretary of Transportation, and, if ladders are required, secure handholds or grab irons on its roof at the top of each ladder;
(2)except as otherwise ordered by the Secretary, a vehicle only if it is equipped with secure grab irons or handholds on its ends and sides for greater security to individuals in coupling and uncoupling vehicles;
(3)a vehicle only if it complies with the standard height of drawbars required by regulations prescribed by the Secretary;
(4)a locomotive only if it is equipped with a power-driving wheel brake and appliances for operating the train-brake system; and
(5)a train only if—
(A)enough of the vehicles in the train are equipped with power or train brakes so that the engineer on the locomotive hauling the train can control the train’s speed without the necessity of brake operators using the common hand brakes for that purpose; and
(B)at least 50 percent of the vehicles in the train are equipped with power or train brakes and the engineer is using the power or train brakes on those vehicles and on all other vehicles equipped with them that are associated with those vehicles in the train.
(b)A railroad carrier complying with subsection (a)(5)(A) of this section may refuse to receive from a railroad line of a connecting railroad carrier or a shipper a vehicle that is not equipped with power or train brakes that will work and readily interchange with the power or train brakes in use on the vehicles of the complying railroad carrier.
(c)Notwithstanding subsection (a)(1)(B) of this section, when vehicles are combined to load and haul long commodities, only one of the vehicles must have hand brakes during the loading and hauling.
(d)The Secretary may—
(1)change the number, dimensions, locations, and manner of application prescribed by the Secretary for safety appliances required by subsection (a)(1)(B) and (C) and (2) of this section only for good cause and after providing an opportunity for a full hearing;
(2)amend regulations for installing, inspecting, maintaining, and repairing power and train brakes only for the purpose of achieving safety; and
(3)increase, after an opportunity for a full hearing, the minimum percentage of vehicles in a train that are required by subsection (a)(5)(B) of this section to be equipped and used with power or train brakes.
(e)In carrying out subsection (d)(2) and (3) of this section, the Secretary may use the services of the Association of American Railroads.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 20302(a) (1)(A)45:2.Mar. 2, 1893, ch. 196, §§ 1–4, 27 Stat. 531; June 22, 1988, Pub. L. 100–342, § 13(1)(A)– (D), 102 Stat. 630. 45:8 (words before 16th comma).Mar. 2, 1903, ch. 976, § 1 (words before 23d comma), 32 Stat. 943; June 22, 1988, Pub. L. 100–342, § 13(2)(A), 102 Stat. 631. 20302(a) (1)(B)45:11 (words before proviso related to sill steps and hand brakes).Apr. 14, 1910, ch. 160, § 2, 36 Stat. 298; June 22, 1988, Pub. L. 100–342, § 13(3)(A), 102 Stat. 631. 20302(a) (1)(C)45:8 (words before 16th comma). 45:11 (words before proviso related to ladders, running boards, grab irons, and handholds). 20302(a)(2)45:4. 45:8 (words before 16th comma). 49 App.:1655(e)(1)(C).Oct. 15, 1966, Pub. L. 89–670, § 6(e)(1)(A)–(C), 80 Stat. 939. 20302(a)(3)45:8 (words before 16th comma). 45:12 (last sentence).Apr. 14, 1910, ch. 160, § 3 (1st sentence words before semicolon, proviso, last sentence), 36 Stat. 298; June 22, 1988, Pub. L. 100–342, § 13(3)(B), 102 Stat. 631. 49 App.:1655(e)(1)(A). 20302(a)(4)45:1 (related to locomotives). 45:8 (words before 16th comma). 20302(a) (5)(A)45:1 (related to trains). 20302(a) (5)(B)45:9 (1st sentence words before last semicolon).Mar. 2, 1903, ch. 976, § 2 (1st sentence), 32 Stat. 943; Apr. 11, 1958, Pub. L. 85–375, § 1(b)(1), (2), 72 Stat. 86. 45:9 (3d sentence).Mar. 2, 1903, ch. 976, 32 Stat. 943, § 2 (2d–5th sentences); added Apr. 11, 1958, Pub. L. 85–375, § 1(b)(3), 72 Stat. 86; June 22, 1988, Pub. L. 100–342, § 13(2)(B), 102 Stat. 631. 20302(b)45:3. 45:8 (words before 16th comma). 20302(c)45:11 (proviso). 20302(d)(1)45:12 (1st sentence words before semicolon). 49 App.:1655(e)(1)(C). 20302(d)(2)45:9 (2d sentence). 49 App.:1655(e)(1)(B). 20302(d)(3)45:9 (1st sentence words after last semicolon). 49 App.:1655(e)(1)(B). 20302(e)45:9 (4th sentence). 49 App.:1655(e)(1)(B). In subsection (a), before clause (1), the words “Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section and section 20303 of this title” are added to alert the reader to the exceptions restated in subsection (c) and section 20303. The words “use or allow to be used” are substituted for “haul or permit to be hauled or used” in 45:2 and 11, “use” in 45:4 and 12, “use” and “run” in 45:1, “operated” and “used, hauled, or permitted to be used or hauled” in 45:9, “using . . . running . . . hauling or permitting to be hauled or used” in 45:6, and “used” in 45:8 for consistency in this section and to eliminate unnecessary words. See United States v. St. Louis Southwestern Ry. Co. of Texas, 184 F. 28, 32 (5th Cir., 1910); United States v. Chicago, M. & St. P. Ry. Co., 149 F. 486, 488 (D.S.D. Iowa, 1906). The words “That from and after the first day of January, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight”, “That on and after the first day of January, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight”, and “That from and after the first day of July, eighteen hundred and ninety-five” in section 1, 2, and 4, respectively, of the Act of March 2, 1893 (ch. 196, 27 Stat. 531), are omitted as obsolete. The words “a railroad carrier . . . on any of its railroad lines” are substituted for “any railroad . . . on its line” in 45:1, “any such railroad . . . on its line” in 45:2, “any railroad company” in 45:4, “railroads in the Territories and the District of Columbia . . . used on any railroad, and in the Territories and the District of Columbia” in 45:8, “Whenever, as provided in sections 1 to 7 of this title” and “any railroad” in 45:9, and “any railroad subject to the provisions of sections 11 to 16 of this title . . . on its line” in 45:11 for clarity, for consistency in the revised title, to eliminate unnecessary words, and because of the definition of “railroad carrier” in section 20102 of the revised title. See Southern Ry. Co. v. United States, 222 U.S. 20, 26 (1911). In clauses (1)–(3), the word “vehicle” is substituted for “any car” in 45:2, “car” in 45:4, “all trains, locomotives, tenders, cars, and similar vehicles used on . . . all other locomotives, tenders, cars, and similar vehicles used in connection therewith” in 45:8, and “any car subject to the provisions of said sections . . . to wit: All cars” in 45:11, and “any car or vehicle” in 45:12 for clarity, for consistency in the revised title, to eliminate unnecessary words, and because of the definition of “vehicle” in section 20301 of the revised title. In clause (1)(A), a comma is placed after the word “uncoupled” for clarity. See Johnson v. Southern Pacific Co., 196 U.S. 1, 18 (1904). In clause (1)(C), the words “by the Secretary of Transportation” are added for clarity because of 45:12. In clause (3), the words “required by
Regulations
prescribed by the Secretary” are substituted for “the standard now fixed or the standard so prescribed . . . the standard so prescribed by the Secretary” in 45:12 for clarity and to eliminate unnecessary words. The words “Said Secretary is given authority, after hearing, to modify or change, and to prescribe the standard height of drawbars and to fix the time within which such modification or change shall become effective and obligatory” are omitted as surplus because of 49:322(a). The words “and prior to the time so fixed . . . and after the time so fixed” are omitted as surplus. In clause (4), the word “locomotive” is substituted for “any locomotive engine” in 45:1 and “all trains, locomotives, tenders, cars, and similar vehicles used on . . . all other locomotives, tenders, cars, and similar vehicles used in connection therewith” in 45:8 for clarity and to eliminate unnecessary words. In clause (5)(B), the words “the engineer is using the power or train brakes on those vehicles and on all other vehicles equipped with them that are associated with those vehicles in the train” are substituted for “their brakes used and operated by the engineer of the locomotive drawing such train; and all power-braked cars in such train which are associated together with said 50 per centum shall have their brakes so used and operated” and “all . . . locomotives, tenders, cars, and similar vehicles” for clarity and consistency in this section. The text of section 2 (2d sentence) of the Act of
March 2, 1903 (ch. 976, 32 Stat. 943), as added by section (1)(b) of the Power or Train Brakes Safety Appliance Act of 1958 (Public Law 85–375, 72 Stat. 86), is omitted as executed. In subsection (b), the words “A railroad carrier complying with subsection (a)(5)(A) of this section” are substituted for “any railroad shall have equipped a sufficient number of its cars so as to comply with the provisions of section 1 of this title” in 45:3 and “The provisions and requirements of sections 1 to 7 of this title shall be held to apply to railroads in the Territories and the District of Columbia” in 45:8 for clarity, for consistency in this section, and because of the definition of “railroad carrier” in section 20102 of the revised title. The words “a vehicle that is not equipped with power or train brakes that will work and readily interchange with the power or train brakes in use on the vehicles of the complying railroad carrier” are substituted for “any cars not equipped sufficiently, in accordance with said section, with such power or train brakes as will work and readily interchange with the brakes in use on its own cars, as required by sections 1 to 7 of this title” in 45:3 for clarity and to eliminate unnecessary words. In subsection (c), the words “Notwithstanding subsection (a)(1)(B) of this section” are added for clarity. In subsection (d)(1), the words “change . . . only for . . . and after” are substituted for “shall remain as the standards of equipment to be used on all cars subject to the provisions of sections 11 to 16 of this title, unless changed by an order of said Secretary of Transportation to be made after . . . and for” for clarity and to eliminate unnecessary words. The text of section 3 (proviso) of the Act of
April 14, 1910 (ch. 160, 36 Stat. 298), is omitted as obsolete. In subsection (d)(2), the text of 45:9 (2d sentence words before proviso) is omitted as executed. In subsection (d)(3), the words “to more fully carry into effect the objects of said sections” and “from time to time” are omitted as surplus. The words “an opportunity for” are added for clarity and consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the Code. The words “equipped and used” are substituted for “operated” for consistency in this section. In subsection (e), the words “and may avail himself of the advice and assistance of any department, commission, or board of the United States Government, and of State governments” are omitted as unnecessary because of 49:301(6) and (7) and 322(c). The words “but no official or employee of the United States shall receive any additional compensation for such service except as now permitted by law” are omitted as surplus because of 5:5533.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
49 U.S.C. § 20302
Title 49 — Transportation
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73