HBA-EVB S.B. 1098 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1098
By: Cain
Transportation
5/21/1999
Engrossed



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law requires a full crew, consisting of a specified number of
persons,  for passenger, freight, gravel, or construction trains and light
engines.  S.B. 1098 changes crew requirements for freight, gravel, and
construction trains and makes those requirements also applicable to mixed
trains and work trains.  S.B. 1098 also requires a qualified engineer to
operate a control locomotive at any time the locomotive is in motion. This
bill authorizes a qualified railroad conductor to dismount the train to
perform necessary job duties. This bill also establishes the qualifications
for a qualified engineer and a qualified railroad conductor. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Article 6380, V.T.C.S., as follows:

Art. 6380. FULL CREW. (a) Establishes criteria for a qualified engineer or
a qualified railroad conductor for the purposes of this article. 

(b)  Prohibits any railroad company or receiver of any railroad company
doing business in this state from running over its road, or part of its
road, outside of the yard limits, any freight train, gravel train, mixed
train, work train, or construction train with less than a two-person crew,
including one qualified railroad conductor and one qualified engineer,
rather than one engineer, one fireman, one conductor, and two brakemen.
Prohibits any railroad company or receiver of any railroad company doing
business in this state from running over its road, or part of its road,
outside of the yard limits, any light engine with less than a full crew
consisting of two persons: one qualified engineer and one qualified
railroad conductor, rather than three persons: one engineer, one fireman,
and one conductor. Makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes. 

(c)  Prohibits the provisions of this article from applying to a designated
service or repair track when that repair track is protected by switch
locks, blue flags, and derails and the movement will not consist of
occupying a main track.  Deletes text that prohibits the application of the
provisions of this article to any railroad company or receiver thereof, of
a railroad line in this state, less than twenty miles in length; and
prohibits the application of this article in case of a passenger train,
freight train, gravel train, or construction train crew disability while
out on the road between division terminals, or to switching crews in charge
of yard engines, or which may be required to push trains out of yard
limits. 

(d)  Requires a qualified engineer to operate the control locomotive of a
moving freight train, gravel train, mixed train, work train, or
construction train at any time the locomotive is in motion. Authorizes a
qualified railroad conductor on such a train to dismount the train to
perform necessary job duties, including rail switching activities. 

 (e)  Prohibits anything in this article from preventing the railroads from
operating with crews consisting of more than two persons. 

(f)  Provides that this article applies to all trains operated in this
state to the extent that it does not conflict with federal law. 

(g)  Creates this subsection from existing text.

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.