Title 49, TransportationRelease 119-102

§11144 Records: Form; Inspection; Preservation

Title 49 › SUBTITLE IV — INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION › PART A — RAIL › CHAPTER 111 — OPERATIONS › SUBCHAPTER III — REPORTS AND RECORDS › § 11144

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Board can set the exact format for records that rail carriers, lessors, and companies that supply rail cars must make. That includes records about traffic movement, money received and spent, and documents tied to cars or the car service. Board staff who show proper ID can inspect land, buildings, equipment, and look at or copy relevant records of carriers, lessors, related companies, or car suppliers. The Board also sets how long operating, accounting, and financial records must be kept.

Full Legal Text

Title 49, §11144

Transportation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Board may prescribe the form of records required to be prepared or compiled under this subchapter—
(1)by rail carriers and lessors, including records related to movement of traffic and receipts and expenditures of money; and
(2)by persons furnishing cars to or for a rail carrier providing transportation subject to the jurisdiction of the Board under this part to the extent related to those cars or that service.
(b)The Board, or an employee designated by the Board, may on demand and display of proper credentials—
(1)inspect and examine the lands, buildings, and equipment of a rail carrier or lessor; and
(2)inspect and copy any record of—
(A)a rail carrier, lessor, or association;
(B)a person controlling, controlled by, or under common control with a rail carrier if the Board considers inspection relevant to that person’s relation to, or transaction with, that rail carrier; and
(C)a person furnishing cars to or for a rail carrier if the Board prescribed the form of that record.
(c)The Board may prescribe the time period during which operating, accounting, and financial records must be preserved by rail carriers, lessors, and persons furnishing cars.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 11144, Pub. L. 95–473, Oct. 17, 1978, 92 Stat. 1426; Pub. L. 96–296, § 24(c), July 1, 1980, 94 Stat. 816, related to form, inspection, and preservation of records, prior to the general amendment of this subtitle by Pub. L. 104–88, § 102(a). See section 11144, 14122, and 15722 of this title.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Jan. 1, 1996, except as otherwise provided in Pub. L. 104–88, see section 2 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as a note under section 1301 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

49 U.S.C. § 11144

Title 49, Transportation

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102