49 CFR Part 224 — Reflectorization of Rail Freight Rolling Stock

PART 224—REFLECTORIZATION OF RAIL FREIGHT ROLLING STOCK Authority: 49 U.S.C. 20103, 20107, 20148 and 21301; 28 U.S.C. 2461 note; and 49 CFR 1.89. Source: 70 FR 62176, Oct. 28, 2005, unless otherwise noted. Subpart A—General § 224.1 Purpose and scope. (a) The purpose of this part is to reduce highway-rail grade crossing accidents and deaths, injuries, and property damage resulting from those accidents, by enhancing the conspicuity of rail freight rolling stock so as to increase its detectability by motor vehicle operators at night and under conditions of poor visibility. (b) In order to achieve cost-effective mitigation of collision risk at highway-rail grade crossings, this part establishes the duties of freight rolling stock owners (including those who manage maintenance of freight rolling stock, supply freight rolling stock for transportation, or offer freight rolling stock in transportation) and railroads to progressively apply retroreflective material to freight rolling stock, and to periodically inspect and maintain that material. Freight rolling stock owners, however, are under no duty to install, clean or otherwise maintain, or repair reflective material except as specified in this part. (c) This part establishes a schedule for the application of retroreflective material to rail freight rolling stock and prescribes standards for the application, inspection, and maintenance of retroreflective material to rail freight rolling stock for the purpose of enhancing its detectability at highway-rail grade crossings. This part does not restrict a freight rolling stock owner or railroad from applying retroreflective material to freight rolling stock for other purposes if not inconsistent with the recognizable pattern required by this part. § 224.3 Applicability. This part applies to all railroad freight cars and locomotives that operate over a public or private highway-rail grade crossing and are used for revenue or work train service, except: (a) Freight rolling stock that operates only on track inside an installation that is not part of the general railroad system of transportation; (b) Rapid transit operations in an urban area that are not connected to the general railroad system of transportation; (c) Locomotives and passenger cars used exclusively in passenger service; (d) Freight rolling stock that is subject to a reflectorization requirement promulgated by another Federal agency; or (e) Freight rolling stock used for only for tourist, historic, excursion, educational, recreational, or private purposes, except for incidental freight service. [70 FR 62176, Oct. 28, 2005, as amended at 91 FR 3391, Jan. 27, 2026] § 224.5 Definitions. Administrator Associate Administrator Damaged Flat car Freight rolling stock means: (1) Any locomotive subject to part 229 of this chapter used to haul or switch freight cars (whether in revenue or work train service); and (2) Any railroad freight car (whether used in revenue or work train service). Freight rolling stock owner Locomotive Obscured Person Railroad Railroad freight car Tank car Universal Machine Language Equipment Register Unqualified Retroreflective Sheeting Work train [70 FR 62176, Oct. 28, 2005, as amended at 90 FR 28126, July 1, 2025] § 224.7 Waivers. (a) Any person subject to a requirement of this part may petition the Administrator for a waiver of compliance with such requirement. The filing of such a petition does not affect that person's responsibility for compliance with that requirement while the petition is being considered. (b) Each petition for waiver under this section shall be filed in the manner and contain the information required by part 211 of this chapter. (c) If the Administrator finds that a waiver of compliance is in the public interest and is consistent with railroad safety, the Administrator may grant the waiver subject to any conditions that the Administrator deems necessary. § 224.9 Responsibility for compliance. (a) Freight rolling stock owners, railroads, and (with respect to certification of material) manufacturers of retroreflective material, are primarily responsible for compliance with this part. However, any person that performs any function or task required by this part (including any employee, agent, or contractor of the aforementioned), must perform that function in accordance with this part. (b) Any person performing any function or task required by this part shall be deemed to have consented to FRA inspection of the person's facilities and records to the extent necessary to determine whether the function or task is being performed in accordance with the requirements of this part. § 224.11 Penalties. (a) Any person who violates any requirement of this part or causes the violation of any such requirement is subject to a civil penalty of at least the minimum civil monetary penalty and not more than the ordinary maximum civil monetary penalty per violation. However, penalties may be assessed against individuals only for willful violations, and a penalty not to exceed the aggravated maximum civil monetary penalty per violation may be assessed, where: (1) A grossly negligent violation, or a pattern of repeated violations, has created an imminent hazard of death or injury to persons; or (2) A death or injury has occurred. See 49 CFR part 209, appendix A. Each day a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense. FRA's website at https://railroads.dot.gov/ (b) Any person who knowingly and willfully falsifies a record or report required by this part is subject to criminal penalties under 49 U.S.C. 21311. [70 FR 62176, Oct. 28, 2005, as amended at 72 FR 51197, Sept. 6, 2007; 73 FR 79702, Dec. 30, 2008; 77 FR 24420, Apr. 24, 2012; 81 FR 43110, July 1, 2016; 82 FR 16133, Apr. 3, 2017; 83 FR 60747, Nov. 27, 2018; 84 FR 23735, May 23, 2019; 84 FR 37073, July 31, 2019; 86 FR 1758, Jan. 11, 2021; 86 FR 23254, May 3, 2021; 87 FR 15868, Mar. 21, 2022; 88 FR 1127, Jan. 6, 2023; 88 FR 89562, Dec. 28, 2023; 89 FR 106296, Dec. 30, 2024; 90 FR 28156, July 1, 2025] § 224.13 Preemptive effect. Under 49 U.S.C. 20106, issuance of this part preempts any State law, rule, regulation, or order covering the same subject matter, except an additional or more stringent law, rule, regulation, or order that is necessary to eliminate or reduce an essentially local safety hazard; that is not incompatible with a law, rule, regulation, or order of the United States Government; and that does not unreasonably burden interstate commerce. § 224.15 Special approval procedures. (a) General. (b) Petitions. (i) The name, title, address, and telephone number of the primary person to be contacted with regard to the petition; (ii) The alternative proposed, in detail, to be substituted for the particular requirements of this part; and (iii) Appropriate data and analysis establishing that the alternative will provide at least an equivalent level of safety and meet the requirements of § 224.103(e). (2) Each petition for special approval of an alternative standard shall be submitted to the Docket Clerk, Office of Chief Counsel, Federal Railroad Administration, RCC-10, Mail Stop 10, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. (c) Notice. Federal Register (d) Public comment. Federal Register (1) Each comment shall set forth specifically the basis upon which it is made, and contain a concise statement of the interest of the commenter in the proceeding. (2) Each comment shall be submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations (M-30), West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, and shall contain the assigned docket number which appears in the Federal Register http://www.regulations.gov. (3) In the event FRA determines that it requires additional information to appropriately consider the petition, FRA will conduct a hearing on the petition in accordance with the procedures provided in § 211.25 of this chapter. (e) Disposition of petitions. (2) If FRA finds that the petition does not comply with the requirements of this section, or that the proposed alternative standard is not acceptable or that the proposed changes are not justified, or both, the petition will be denied, normally within 90 days of its receipt. (3) When FRA grants or denies a petition, or reopens consideration of a petition, written notice is sent to the petitioner and other interested parties and a copy of the notice is placed in the electronic docket of the proceeding. [70 FR 62176, Oct. 28, 2005, as amended at 74 FR 25173, May 27, 2009] Subpart B—Application, Inspection, and Maintenance of Retroreflective Material § 224.101 General requirements. All rail freight rolling stock subject to this part shall be equipped with retroreflective sheeting that conforms to the requirements of this part. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the application, inspection, and maintenance of that sheeting shall be conducted in accordance with this subpart or in accordance with an alternative standard providing at least an equivalent level of safety after special approval of FRA under § 224.15. § 224.103 Characteristics of retroreflective sheeting. (a) Construction. (b) Color. http://www.astm.org. http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html. (c) Performance. [70 FR 62176, Oct. 28, 2005, as amended at 74 FR 25173, May 27, 2009] Table 1 to Subpart B of Part 224—Minimum Coefficient of Retroreflection (R A 2 Entrance angle Observation angle 0.2 Degree 0.5 Degree Yellow or fluorescent yellow White Yellow or fluorescent yellow White −4° 400 600 100 160 30° 220 350 45 75 (d) Certification. (e) Alternative standards. § 224.105 Sheeting dimensions and quantity. Retroreflective sheeting shall be applied along the length of each railroad freight car and locomotive side as described in § 224.106. Unless otherwise specified, retroreflective sheeting applied under this part shall be applied in strips 4 inches wide and 18 or 36 inches long, as practicable. The amount of retroreflective sheeting to be applied to each car or locomotive subject to this part is dependent on the length of the car or locomotive and the color of the sheeting. For purposes of this part, the length of a railroad freight car or locomotive is measured from endsill to endsill, exclusive of the coupler and draft gear. Each side of a railroad freight car subject to this part, including each unit of multi-unit cars, and each side of a locomotive subject to this part must be equipped with at least the minimum amount of retroreflective sheeting specified in Table 2 of this subpart. Table 2 to Subpart B of Part 224—Minimum Quantity Requirement for Retroreflective Sheeting on Freight Rolling Stock Freight car or locomotive length Minimum area of retroreflective sheeting required (per car/locomotive side)—yellow 2 Minimum area of retroreflective sheeting required (per car/locomotive side)—white sheeting (ft 2 Less than 50 ft. 3.5 4.0 Over 50 ft. to 60 ft. 4.0 5.0 Over 60 ft. to 70 ft. 4.5 5.5 Over 70 ft. to 80 ft. 5.0 6.0 Over 80 ft. to 90 ft. 5.5 7.0 Over 90 ft. to 100 ft. 1 6.0 7.5 1 § 224.106 Location of retroreflective sheeting. (a) Railroad freight cars. (1) General rule. (i) Vertical application. See (ii) Horizontal application. See (2) Tank cars. See (3) Flat cars. See (4) Cars of special construction. (b) Locomotives. § 224.107 [Reserved] Table 3 to Subpart B of Part 224—Alternative Schedule for Application of Retroreflective Material to Freight Cars per § 224.107( a ii (A) 1 (B) November 28, 2007 20 November 28, 2008 30 November 28, 2009 40 November 28, 2010 50 November 28, 2011 60 November 28, 2012 70 November 28, 2013 80 November 28, 2014 90 November 28, 2015 100 1 Thereafter, (A) The designated fleet shall be equipped with retroreflective sheeting according to the schedule specified in Table 3 of this section; (B) No later than January 28, 2008, the freight rolling stock owner shall submit to FRA an updated Reflectorization Implementation Compliance Report showing which cars of the fleet subject to this part were equipped with retroreflective sheeting as required by this part during the initial 24-month implementation period. Thereafter, updated Reflectorization Implementation Compliance Reports shall be submitted annually, no later than December 31 of each year for the duration of the 10-year implementation period. See (C) If, following the conclusion of the initial 24-month period or any 12-month period thereafter, the percentage requirements of this section have not been met— ( 1 ( 2 ( 3 ( 4 (D) Cars to be retired shall be included in the fleet total until they are retired. (3) Existing cars with retroreflective sheeting. See (b) Locomotives. (1) New locomotives. (2) Existing locomotives without retroreflective sheeting. (i) If as of October 28, 2005 a locomotive subject to this part is not equipped with the minimum amount of retroreflective sheeting specified in paragraph (b)(3) of this section, retroreflective sheeting conforming to this part must be applied to the locomotive not later than nine months after the first biennial inspection performed pursuant to 49 CFR 229.29 occurring after November 28, 2005. (ii) A freight rolling stock owner may elect not to follow the schedule in paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section, if not later than January 26, 2006, the freight rolling stock owner submits to FRA a Reflectorization Implementation Compliance Report certifying that the locomotives in the owner's fleet subject to this part will be equipped with retroreflective sheeting as required by this part in accordance with the schedule specified in Table 4 of this section. See Table 4 to Subpart B of Part 224—Alternative Schedule for Application of Retroreflective Material to Locomotives per § 224.107( b ii (A) 1 (B) November 28, 2007 40 November 28, 2008 60 November 28, 2009 80 November 28, 2010 100 1 Thereafter, (A) The designated locomotive fleet shall be equipped with retroreflective sheeting according to the requirements of this paragraph (b)(2)(ii); (B) No later than January 28, 2008, the freight rolling stock owner shall submit to FRA an updated Reflectorization Implementation Compliance Report showing which locomotives of the fleet subject to this part were equipped with retroreflective sheeting as required by this part during the initial 24 month implementation period. Updated Reflectorization Implementation Compliance Reports shall be submitted annually, no later than December 31 of each year, for the duration of the 5-year implementation period. See (C) If, following the conclusion of the initial 24-month period or any 12-month period thereafter, the percentage requirements of this section have not been met— ( 1 ( 2 ( 3 ( 4 (D) Locomotives to be retired shall be included in the fleet total until they are retired. (3) Existing locomotives with retroreflective sheeting. See See (4) Each railroad that has fewer than 400,000 annual employee work hours as of the end of calendar year 2004, and does not share locomotive power with another railroad with 400,000 or more annual employee work hours, may bring its locomotive fleet into compliance according to the following schedule: fifty percent of the railroad's locomotives must be retrofitted pursuant to § 224.106(b) by October 28, 2010, and one hundred percent must be retrofitted pursuant to § 224.106(b) by October 28, 2015. If a railroad with fewer than 400,000 annual employee work hours shares locomotive power with a railroad with 400,000 or more annual employee work hours, the smaller railroad must comply with the requirements of paragraphs (b)(2) and (3) of this section. § 224.109 Inspection and replacement of missing, damaged, or obscured retroreflective sheeting. (a) Railroad freight cars. (b) Locomotives. [91 FR 3391, Jan. 27, 2026] § 224.111 Evaluation and replacement of 10-year-old or underperforming retroreflective sheeting. (a) Replacement process. (b) 10-year replacement cycle. (c) Replacement based on retroreflective comparator panel. (1) Retroreflective comparator panel specifications Retroreflectivity. (ii) Color. (iii) Construction. (iv) Labeling. 2 Table 1 to § 224.111( c iv [Retroreflective Comparator Panel Requirements] Color Required retroreflectivity 2 Required retroreflectivity 2 Minimum Maximum Minimum White 250 285 60 Yellow 150 170 35 (2) Retroreflective comparator panel evaluation process and criteria. (i) Retroreflective sheeting shall be visually evaluated with the use of a light source. The light source must be of sufficient intensity to illuminate and overcome ambient lighting conditions. A brighter light source (LED) is recommended in daylight conditions. (ii) Properly trained and experienced persons may pass sheeting that they determine to be obviously compliant and fail sheeting they determine to be obviously noncompliant (including obscured) based on their initial visual inspection. Any sheeting that they do not determine to be obviously compliant or noncompliant, shall be evaluated using a retroreflective comparator panel comparison. (iii) Retroreflective comparator panels shall conform to the requirements outlined in paragraph (c)(1) of this section, and the panel's color shall match the color of the installed sheeting being evaluated. (iv) The comparator panel shall be placed directly adjacent to, or overlapping, the retroreflective sheeting being evaluated. The retroreflective sheeting shall also be cleaned, as necessary, before the evaluation begins. (v) Retroreflective sheeting and the comparator panel shall be evaluated from a position perpendicular to the installed sheeting, preferably from a distance of 15 feet from the installed sheeting and the comparator panel. In the event conducting the evaluation from 15 feet away is not practicable, the evaluation may be conducted from the next closest alternative distance that still permits effective evaluation. (vi) The light source shall be positioned adjacent to the inspector's eye (left or right) and directed at the sheeting and comparator panel, and a comparison of the reflected light intensity of the entire installed sheeting to that of the comparator panel shall be made. The installed sheeting shall pass or fail based on the following criteria: (A) If the perceived reflected light intensity of the entire installed sheeting appears brighter than that of the comparator panel, the installed sheeting passes the evaluation. (B) If the perceived reflected light intensity of the entire installed sheeting does not appear brighter than that of the comparator panel, or if it cannot be discerned if one is brighter than the other, the sheeting fails the evaluation and shall be replaced prior to the equipment returning to service. (C) Installed sheeting that is damaged, obscured, or missing, cannot be evaluated with the comparator panel and shall be replaced prior to the equipment returning to service. (3) Handheld retroreflectometers. (i) The handheld retroreflectometer shall be an annular device. A single measurement on a strip of sheeting shall suffice with an annular device, provided that the sheeting is not damaged, obscured, or missing. (ii) The handheld device shall be placed directly against the reflective sheeting, and the measurement shall be made based on the device manufacturer's recommendation. (iii) The minimum allowable retroreflective value is 150 cd/lx/m 2 2 [91 FR 3391, Jan. 27, 2026] Appendix A to Part 224 [Reserved] Appendix B to Part 224—Reflectorization Implementation Compliance Report Appendix C to Part 224—Guidelines for Electronic Submission of Reflectorization Implementation Compliance Reports

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