Remote Control Locomotives Safety Improvement Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9409 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9409

 To prohibit certain operations of remote control locomotives, and for
                            other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 23, 2026

  Mr. Kennedy of New York (for himself and Mr. Lawler) introduced the
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation
                           and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To prohibit certain operations of remote control locomotives, and for
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Remote Control Locomotives Safety
Improvement Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON REMOTE CONTROL LOCOMOTIVES.

    (a) Prohibitions.--A railroad carrier may not--
            (1) operate a train outside a yard without a human
        locomotive engineer physically located inside the cab of the
        lead locomotive who has the ability to take control of the
        operation of the train; or
            (2) operate a remote control locomotive on a main line.
    (b) Requirement for Operation on a Main Line.--
            (1) Certified locomotive engineer.--A railroad carrier may
        not operate a train on a main line unless such train has a lead
        locomotive with a locomotive cab operated by a locomotive
        engineer certified under part 240 of title 49, Code of Federal
        Regulations, who is physically located inside the locomotive
        cab.
            (2) Statutory construction.--Nothing in this subsection
        shall be construed to allow a locomotive engineer or conductor
        solely certified under part 240 of title 49, Code of Federal
        Regulations, as a remote-control operator to operate a train
        described in paragraph (1).
    (c) Waiver Process.--Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal
law or regulation, the Secretary may not waive the requirements of this
section for--
            (1) a class I railroad;
            (2) a class II railroad; or
            (3) any train operating on track classified as class 1 or
        above, as described in part 213 of title 49, Code of Federal
        Regulations.
    (d) Applicability.--
            (1) Rulemaking requirements.--The requirements of section
        553 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to this
        section.
            (2) Effective date.--This section shall take effect on the
        date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. AUDITS AND INSPECTIONS.

    The Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration shall--
            (1) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
        this Act--
                    (A) carry out an audit and inspection of each class
                I railroad; and
                    (B) take any necessary actions to ensure each such
                class I railroad is complying with the requirements of
                this Act; and
            (2) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
        this Act, carry out unscheduled audits and inspections, as
        necessary, on any rail carrier covered by this Act that is not
        a class I railroad to ensure compliance with the requirements
        of this Act.

SEC. 4. REGULATORY AUTHORITY.

    Except as provided for in section 2(d), the Secretary of
Transportation shall issue such regulations as are necessary to carry
out this Act, including any updates or conforming changes to part
229.15 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations.

SEC. 5. FINES FOR VIOLATIONS.

    (a) Penalty.--Subject to section 21304 of title 49, United States
Code, a person violating this Act or a regulation or an order issued by
the Secretary pursuant to this Act is liable to the United States
Government for a civil penalty. A separate violation occurs for each
day the violation continues.
    (b) Amount.--The amount of the penalty shall be the greater of 1
percent of the person's annual income or annual operating income or
$1,000,000.
    (c) Process.--The requirements in subsections (a)(3), (a)(4), (b),
and (c) of section 21301 of title 49, United States Code, shall apply
to any penalty imposed by the Secretary pursuant to this section.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Class i, ii, and iii railroads; railroad carrier.--The
        terms ``class I railroad'', ``class II railroad'', ``class III
        railroad'', and ``railroad carrier'' have the meanings given
        such terms in section 20102 of title 49, United States Code.
            (2) Lead locomotive.--The term ``lead locomotive'' means
        the first locomotive proceeding in the direction of movement.
            (3) Locomotive cab.--The term ``locomotive cab'' means the
        compartment or space on board a locomotive where the control
        stand is located and which is normally occupied by the engineer
        when the locomotive is operated.
            (4) Main line.--The term ``main line'' means a segment or
        route of railroad tracks over which 5,000,000 or more gross
        tons of railroad traffic is transported annually.
            (5) Remote control locomotive.--The term ``remote control
        locomotive''--
                    (A) means a remote control locomotive that, through
                use of a radio link, can be operated by a person not
                physically within the locomotive cab; and
                    (B) does not include a locomotive or group of
                locomotives remotely controlled from the lead
                locomotive of a train, as in a distributed power
                arrangement.
            (6) Remote control operator.--The term ``remote control
        operator'' means a locomotive engineer, as defined in section
        240.7 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, certified by a
        railroad to operate remote control locomotives pursuant to
        section 240.107 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations.
            (7) Train.--The term ``train'' means 1 or more locomotives
        coupled with or without cars, except during switching service.
            (8) Yard.--The term ``yard'' means a system of tracks, not
        including main tracks and sidings, used for classifying cars,
        making-up and inspecting trains, or storing cars and equipment.
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