Railroad safety.

26LSO-0207
2026
STATE OF WYOMING
26LSO-0207
Numbered
2.0

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0114

Railroad safety.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Chestek, Posey and Styvar

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to public utilities; requiring trains to be not more than a specified length; providing operational requirements; requiring the implementation of wayside detection systems; requiring visual inspections; providing civil penalties; requiring a report; providing definitions; authorizing positions; providing an appropriation and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.

W.S. 37
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9
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1401 through 37
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9
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1404 are created to read:

ARTICLE 14
RAILROAD SAFETY

37
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1401.

Definitions

(a)

As used in this article:

(i)

"Branch line" means a secondary railroad track that branches off from a main line;

(ii)

"Defect" includes, but is not limited to, hot wheel bearings, hot wheels, deficient bearings detected through acoustic means, dragging of equipment, excessive height, excessive weight, a shifted load, a loose hose, improper rail temperature or a deficient wheel condition;

(iii)

"Director" means the director of the department of transportation;

(iv)

"Dragging equipment detector" means an electronic device or other technology that monitors a passing train to actively detect and alert operators of the train of the existence of any objects dragging from the train;

(v)

"Hot bearings detector" means an infrared detector located along railroad tracks that is designed to detect and alert the operators of a passing train about any overheating of a train's bearings, axles or wheels;

(vi)

"Main line" means as defined by 49 C.F.R. part 236 or a successor regulation;

(vii)

"Railroad" means any form of nonhighway ground transportation that runs on rails or electromagnetic guideways;

(viii)

"Siding" or "passing track" means a sidetrack with switches at both ends;

(ix)

"Train" means one (1) or more locomotives, coupled with or without cars, that require an air brake test in accordance with 49 C.F.R. part 232 or part 238;

(x)

"Wayside detector" or "wayside detector system" means an electronic device or a series of connected devices that scans passing trains, rolling stock and on
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track equipment, and their component equipment and parts, for defects.

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1402.

Train length; penalties.

(a)

In addition to other administrative or criminal remedies authorized by law, the director, after notice and opportunity for hearing, shall assess a civil penalty against a railroad company, corporation or employer as provided in this section.

(b)

No railroad company operating in the state of Wyoming shall run or permit to run any train that:

(i)

Exceeds eight thousand five hundred (8,500) feet in length;

(ii)

Exceeds the length of the shortest passing track or siding on which it travels on any main line or branch line; or

(iii)

Routinely or repeatedly blocks any highway grade crossing for periods exceeding ten (10) minutes at one (1) time.

(c)

Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, any railroad company who willfully violates paragraph (b)(i) or (ii) of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) per foot nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) per foot of the amount of a train exceeding the limitation set forth in paragraph (b)(i) or (ii) of this section.

(d)

Any railroad company who violates paragraph (b)(iii) of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) and not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) per violation. In assessing a penalty under this subsection, the director shall consider the factors specified in subsection (f) of this section.

(e)

Any railroad company that commits a grossly negligent violation of subsection (b) of this section or that has a pattern of repeated violations of subsection (b) of this section and the violation caused an imminent threat of death or injury to any person or caused death or injury to any person shall be subject to a one (1) time civil penalty not to exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000.00).

(f)

In determining the amount of any civil penalty under this section the director shall consider:

(i)

The nature, circumstances, extent and gravity of the violation;

(ii)

The degree of culpability, history of violations, ability to pay and any effect on the violator's ability to continue to do business;

(iii)

Any other matters that justice requires.

(g)

At the request of the director, the attorney general may initiate a civil action to collect any civil penalty imposed pursuant to this section. The attorney general may bring a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction. A civil action under this section shall be commenced within three (3) years of the date of the violation or within three (3) years of the latest violation if a repeated offense is alleged.

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1403.

Wayside detection systems; report.

(a)

A railroad company operating a train in Wyoming shall install and maintain wayside detectors at intervals of not less than every ten (10) miles on every main line it operates in Wyoming. The wayside detectors shall be capable of detecting defects as defined in W.S. 37
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9
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1401(a)(ii) and of providing alerts directly to the cab of the train as it passes the detector. Each wayside detector shall provide a signal to the operator of a passing train that either no defect was found or a report of any defect that was found. The wayside detector system shall be fully operational at all times when trains are being operated on the line.

(b)

Each railroad company operating trains in Wyoming shall provide adequate training for all train operators on the proper use of wayside detectors, including remediation procedures to be followed when a wayside detector sends an alert to the cab of a train they are operating. The remediation procedures shall be specified in the railroad company's instruction manual.

(c)

At the end of the shift of any train operator in Wyoming, the train operator shall file a report with the railroad company and with a local labor safety representative describing any of the following that occurred during the shift of the train operator:

(i)

Each alert received from a wayside detector during the shift, including the nature of the alert and how the operator responded to the alert;

(ii)

If the train passed a wayside detector that was not operational, the location of the wayside detector that was not operational.

(d)

On or before January 31, 2027, and on or before January 31 of each year thereafter, a railroad operating a main line in Wyoming and a person recognized by a labor organization representing employees of the railroad as a local labor safety representative shall submit a report to the department that includes, at minimum, the following information:

(i)

An overview of the types of, general locations of and spacing between wayside detectors on main lines in Wyoming;

(ii)

Any improvements or upgrades to the wayside detector system that the railroad implemented during the year covered by the report;

(iii)

A summary of:

(A)

The number of alerts reported by train operators during the year, categorized by the type of alert reported;

(B)

The responses to the alerts, categorized by the type of response;

(C)

The number of reports of wayside detectors that were not operational at the time the train passed the detector; and

(D)

The number of derailments that occurred on the main line of the railroad company, categorized by the cause of the derailment.

(e)

Each report submitted under this section shall be a public record.

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1404.

Visual track inspections.

(a)

Each railroad company shall ensure that all main line track designated within Wyoming for operation at class 3 speeds or higher under 49 C.F.R. part 213 is subject to human visual inspection not less than two times each week. Not less than one (1) calendar day shall elapse between visual inspections under this subsection. The inspector under this section shall be a person who is designated as a qualified person under 49 C.F.R. part 213.

(b)

Any defect or unsafe condition on a main line track that is identified by an inspection under subsection (a) of this section or by any other inspection, detection or monitoring method shall be corrected, protected or removed from service immediately upon detection, consistent with the requirements of 49 C.F.R. part 213.

(c)

If a person conducting an inspection under subsection (a) of this section finds any deviation from the requirements of 49 C.F.R. part 213, the person shall:

(i)

Immediately initiate remedial action; and

(ii)

Have sole authority to authorize any subsequent movements to facilitate repairs on track that is out of service.

(d)

Any railroad company who violates subsection (a) of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) and not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) for each week in which the required visual inspections did not occur.

Section 2.

(a)

The department of transportation is authorized up to two (2) full
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time positions for the period beginning July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2028 for the purposes of implementing this act. It is the intent of the legislature that the department of transportation include these full
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time positions in its standard budget for the immediately succeeding fiscal biennium.

(b)

There is appropriated three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000.00) from the general fund to the department of transportation to be expended only for the purpose of funding the positions authorized in subsection (a) of this section. This appropriation shall not be transferred or expended for any other purpose and any unexpended, unobligated funds remaining from this appropriation shall revert as provided by law on June 30, 2028. It is the intent of the legislature that this appropriation be included in the standard budget for the department of transportation for the immediately succeeding fiscal biennium.

Section 3
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This act is effective July 1, 2026
.

(END)

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HB0114