Rail · United States

A 24/7 railway runs on well-rested people.

Drivers, signallers and controllers work 24/7 rotating rosters with early starts and nights. A fatigue lapse can mean a signal passed at danger, a collision or a derailment.

Regulation changed Jul 14, 2026

See your workforce snapshot

Who this page covers

Light rail and trams
Mining company railways (also see Mining & Resources)
Passenger rail - metro, suburban and intercity
Rail freight - heavy haul and intermodal
Rail infrastructure managers and track maintenance
Rolling stock maintenance depots
Short line and regional railroads

Reg Watch

What’s changed, and what’s coming

Regulatory change that affects how you manage fatigue in rail: what has changed in the last 12 months, and what is on the way.

Recent changeFrom July 14, 2026

Specific to rail

From 14 July 2026 FRA's Part 243 training rule lets employees test out of refresher training and gives small railroads until 31 December 2026. Your fatigue training duties under Parts 270 and 271 are unchanged.

Read the change

Regulatory changes checked as at October 1, 2026.

Regulation

Who regulates it, and what they expect

Rail is one of the most tightly regulated US industries when it comes to fatigue, shaped directly by past accidents. The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 brought stronger hours-of-service limits and technology mandates; the 2013 Metro-North derailment, caused by an engineer's undiagnosed sleep apnea, pushed for greater sleep-disorder awareness industry-wide. Federal law requires Class I railroads, intercity and commuter passenger carriers, and any railroad the FRA finds to have inadequate safety performance to run a formal Fatigue Risk Management Program and update it at least every two years. The program must analyze medical conditions affecting alertness across the workforce, and must consider offering opportunities for the identification, diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders. Crew hours are governed by federal law, not just internal policy.

Who regulates it

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is the primary safety regulator for rail fatigue and hours-of-service rules. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigates accidents and issues safety recommendations. General OSHA rules step back for rail-specific operating conditions, which FRA governs instead.

Your obligations

Train crews may work no more than 12 consecutive hours and must have at least 10 consecutive hours off duty within the preceding 24, plus mandated days off and a combined monthly duty limit. Signal employees work to the same 12-and-10 pattern; train dispatchers to their own daily limits. Class I railroads, intercity and commuter passenger carriers, and railroads found to have inadequate safety performance must run a formal Fatigue Risk Management Program: the plan is filed with and approved by the FRA, its contents must be consulted on in good faith with your employees and their unions, and it must be updated at least every two years. Commuter and intercity operators must also analyze train-crew rosters using an FRA-approved fatigue model. There is no federal requirement to screen employees for sleep apnea - a proposed rule was withdrawn in 2017 and never replaced.

Consequences

Railroads face federal civil penalties for hours-of-service violations, and - unusually - an individual employee or supervisor can be personally penalised for a willful violation, with criminal exposure for knowingly falsifying hours records. Safety investigators can issue formal recommendations after a serious incident, which carry real reputational weight even without a penalty. Injury claims run under a fault-based federal law, FELA, rather than no-fault workers' compensation: assumption of risk does not apply, and the railroad is liable where its negligence played any part, even the slightest, in producing the injury. That makes what you document consequential in both directions. Federal law offers one specific protection: information compiled solely to plan, implement or evaluate your risk reduction program is not discoverable and not admissible in injury litigation. That protection turns on the word 'solely', so how a fatigue investigation is commissioned, held and used matters as much as what it finds.

Penalties

Federal rail safety penalties currently run from roughly $1,114 minimum to $36,439 for an ordinary violation, and up to $145,754 for the most serious cases. These are 2025 levels and they remain current: the government-wide inflation adjustment for 2026 was cancelled, so no 2026 increase applies.

Sources: Federal Railroad Administration hours-of-service regulations; Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008; National Transportation Safety Board accident findings; Federal Employers' Liability Act; FRA civil penalty schedules.

Fatigue-critical roles

Where fatigue matters most in rail

The roles where a fatigued worker is most likely to cause serious harm, the tasks that carry the risk, and why fatigue builds up in them.

Role	Risk	High-risk tasks	Why fatigue builds
Locomotive engineer Rules Regulatory designation Train employee (49 U.S.C. 21101(5)) in covered service; certified locomotive engineer (49 CFR Part 240); covered employee (49 CFR Part 219) Hours and rest 49 U.S.C. 21103: max 12 h on duty, 10 h off in prior 24, 276 h/month, 48 h off after 6 days (72 h after 7)	Critical risk	Operating long freight trains under PTC after an unscheduled call; train handling on grades; signal and crossing vigilance through 02:00-06:00	Freight pool service called on about 2 h notice, unpredictable start times, away-from-home terminal rest
Train dispatcher Rules Regulatory designation Dispatching service employee (49 U.S.C. 21101(1)); covered service Hours and rest 49 U.S.C. 21105: 9 h in 24 where two or more shifts are worked; 12 h where one shift	Critical risk	Issuing track warrants and bulletins; granting roadway worker foul time; routing trains on CTC territory overnight	12 h night shifts in 24/7 signal boxes and control centers; low-traffic vigilance overnight then morning peak
Roadway worker in charge (RWIC); watchman/lookout Rules Regulatory designation Roadway worker (49 CFR 214.7) - not in covered service Hours and rest None federal: maintenance-of-way roadway workers sit outside the hours of service laws	Critical risk	Establishing track protection or lookout working for track gangs; calling workers clear of approaching trains; handing back possessions on time	Night and weekend possessions, back-to-back shutdown shifts, travel to remote worksites, drive home after nights
Conductor Rules Regulatory designation Train employee (49 U.S.C. 21101(5)) in covered service; certified conductor (49 CFR Part 242) Hours and rest 49 U.S.C. 21103: max 12 h on duty, 10 h off in prior 24, 276 h/month, 48 h off after 6 days (72 h after 7)	Critical risk	In charge of a freight train: switching, hazmat documents, protecting the train, walking the train at night after an emergency stop	Freight pool on-call on short notice, unpredictable starts, away-from-home rest
Roadway maintenance machine operator Rules Regulatory designation Roadway worker (49 CFR 214.7) - not in covered service Hours and rest None federal for maintenance-of-way	High risk	Operating tampers, ballast regulators and road-rail vehicles in night possessions; working near live lines; machine travel to and from site	Night possessions, long shutdown shifts, remote work and travel, drive home after nights
Yard conductor; switchman; remote control operator (RCO) Rules Regulatory designation Train employee (49 U.S.C. 21101(5)) in covered service Hours and rest 49 U.S.C. 21103: max 12 h on duty, 10 h off in prior 24, 276 h/month, 48 h off after 6 days (72 h after 7)	High risk	Coupling and uncoupling, riding and controlling moves in yards at night; remote-control locomotive operation; hand points	24/7 yard shifts, night work, short-notice overtime, outdoor work in all weather

Stories

When fatigue made the record

Published findings and prosecutions from regulators, courts and investigators in the United States.

Mar 2022 · California, United States
Fatigued track-protection supervisor lifts protection too early; commuter train hits work vehicles at 63 mph, 14 hurt
- Safety
A commuter railroad passenger train traveling at 63 mph struck three maintenance vehicles being used by a contractor crew, setting fire to the first passenger car. The FRA found the probable cause was an inadequate job briefing and the roadway worker in charge releasing track protection without telling the crew, and found that worker's fatigue was a significant contributing factor, with a peak fatigue score of 108 on the day. Twelve passengers, a crew member and a contractor were injured.
Case US-rail-21Report an issue
Feb 2022 · Massachusetts, United States
Rail grinder crew just switched from days to nights strikes stopped freight train; FRA finds excessive fatigue
- Safety
A contractor's rail grinder working under track authority struck the rear locomotive of a stopped freight train at 21 mph shortly after midnight, seriously injuring the grinder operator and the railroad's pilot. The FRA found the main cause was the freight railroad's failure to ensure on-track safety rules were followed, and found excessive fatigue risk in both the operator's and the pilot's work schedules, both of whom had switched from day to night shifts the day before. The FRA concluded there was a strong likelihood that fatigue contributed.
Case US-rail-20Report an issue
Apr 2019 · Texas, United States
Railroad wins injury suit by roadmaster who blamed a fall on 40 hours' work in three days
- Safety
- Legal
A railroad roadmaster with 26 years' experience slipped from a hi-rail truck's running board and injured his arm after working 16.5 hours one day and 13 hours the next during a federal inspection - about 40 hours over three days. He sued under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, saying the railroad made him work beyond his physical capacity. The state appeals court upheld judgment for the railroad: his complaints about long hours did not tell the employer he was dangerously exhausted. The case shows how fatigue claims turn on what the employer was told and recorded.
Case US-rail-14Report an issue
May 2018 · Texas, United States
Brakeman with probable fatigue on a night yard job leaves 41 cars without hand brakes; runaway cars derail and hit a utility pole, cutting power
- Safety
During a freight railroad's night switching job at a rail yard in Texas, 41 cars were left with no hand brakes applied and rolled about 0.8 mile out of the yard at about 10 mph. Eighteen cars derailed, and one crossed a highway and struck a utility pole, cutting power to a two-block area. The Federal Railroad Administration found the failure to apply hand brakes was the probable cause and named the brakeman's probable fatigue as a possible contributing factor; its fatigue model showed he was 4.2 times more likely to suffer a lapse than a fully rested person. No one was injured; damage was $453,479.
Case US-rail-23Report an issue
Jan 2017 · New York, United States
Commuter train hits buffer at terminal after engineer falls asleep
- Safety
- Financial
A commuter railroad train struck the end-of-track bumping post at a New York terminal, injuring 108 people and causing about $5.3 million in damage. The NTSB found the engineer fell asleep from chronic fatigue linked to severe undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea, and that neither the railroad nor federal rules required sleep disorder screening.
Case US-rail-07Report an issue
Jan 2017 · Pennsylvania, United States
Trolley operator impaired by fatigue and antihistamine hits stopped trolley
- Safety
A city transit agency's trolley struck a stopped trolley in a Pennsylvania city. The NTSB found the operator failed to slow and stop because he was impaired by fatigue and the sedating effects of repeated doses of an over-the-counter antihistamine. His fatigue followed recent illness and five nights of poor sleep.
Case US-rail-08Report an issue
Sep 2016 · New Jersey, United States
Commuter train crashes into terminal; engineer had severe OSA
- Safety
A state commuter railroad's train failed to stop and struck the end of the track at a New Jersey terminal, killing a person on the platform and injuring more than 100. The NTSB found the engineer was fatigued from undiagnosed severe obstructive sleep apnea, and that he and two crew colleagues met the railroad's own criteria for sleep testing but had never been referred.
Case US-rail-06Report an issue
Jun 2016 · Texas, United States
Engineer with untreated sleep apnea disengages and runs signals; freight head-on collision kills three
- Safety
Two freight trains of a freight railroad collided head-on at about 8:21 am, starting a significant fire and killing the engineer and conductor of the striking train and the conductor of the other train. The NTSB found the striking crew failed to comply with signals, citing the engineer's disengagement possibly due to fatigue from untreated obstructive sleep apnea and insufficient sleep the night before, and the conductor's disengagement possibly due to two sedating medications. The engineer had been prescribed a breathing device in 2007 but reportedly stopped using it.
Case US-rail-19Report an issue
Apr 2015 · New Mexico, United States
Fatigued conductor leaves switch misaligned; two freight trains collide
- Safety
Two trains on a short-line railroad collided in New Mexico after a switch was left set for a siding. The NTSB found the conductor of the earlier local train failed to return the switch for main-track movement because he was fatigued. He reported feeling tired on the drive from the work site.
Case US-rail-05Report an issue
Aug 2014 · Arkansas, United States
Engineer with poorly treated sleep apnea and irregular-shift conductor fall asleep; two killed
- Safety
At 2:28 am a southbound freight train failed to slow and stop for signals and collided with a northbound freight train, killing the southbound engineer and conductor and seriously injuring the other crew. The National Transportation Safety Board found both southbound crew members were fatigued and had fallen asleep: the engineer because of diagnosed but inadequately treated moderate obstructive sleep apnea, and the conductor because of highly variable shift start times. It also found the railroad's medical rules did not require employees to report a sleep disorder or ensure treatment was working.
Case US-rail-10Report an issue
Mar 2014 · Illinois, United States
City transit train operator falls asleep and rides up airport station escalator; 34 hurt, $11.2 million damage
- Safety
A city transit agency train failed to stop at an airport station at about 2:49 am, struck the bumping post and climbed an escalator. The NTSB found the operator fell asleep as a result of fatigue from shiftwork, circadian factors and acute sleep loss, and that the transit agency failed to manage her work schedule to mitigate fatigue risk; it had not limited weekly overtime and allowed returns to work after 8 or fewer hours off. Thirty-three passengers and the operator were taken to hospital.
Case US-rail-18Report an issue
Dec 2013 · New York, United States
Commuter train derails at 82 mph after engineer falls asleep
- Safety
A commuter railroad's passenger train entered a 30-mph curve at 82 mph and derailed, killing four passengers and injuring 61. The NTSB found the engineer had fallen asleep because of undiagnosed severe obstructive sleep apnea, made worse by a recent shift change in his work schedule. No screening for sleep disorders was required at the time.
Case US-rail-04Report an issue
Dec 2013 · New York, United States
No criminal charges for engineer whose undiagnosed sleep apnea led to fatal derailment
- Safety
- Legal
A commuter train entered a 30 mph curve at 82 mph and derailed after its engineer nodded off, killing four people and injuring more than 70. Safety investigators found his sleepiness came from undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea combined with a recent sharp change in his work schedule, and that the railroad had no sleep-disorder screening. The local district attorney decided not to bring criminal charges, finding no criminality, leaving the legal and financial consequences to the railroad and civil claims.
Case US-rail-13Report an issue
May 2013 · Missouri, United States
Fatigued freight crew, engineer with likely undiagnosed sleep apnea, pass signals; collision brings down highway bridge
- Safety
A freight train struck another railroad's freight train at an interlocking at about 2:30 am, and the wreckage brought down a highway overpass that two vehicles then drove into. The NTSB found the crew failed to comply with signals because of fatigue-induced disengagement, citing variable work schedules, the circadian low and the engineer's likely undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea, which had been missed at at least a dozen screening opportunities. The FRA's own investigation also found fatigue probable for both crew members and recorded it as a contributing cause.
Case US-rail-17Report an issue
Apr 2011 · Iowa, United States
Coal train crew asleep before rear-end collision; both crew killed
- Safety
A coal train ran into the rear of a stopped train in Iowa, killing both crew members of the striking train. The NTSB found the crew had fallen asleep because of fatigue from their irregular work schedules and their medical conditions. The crash happened at 6.55am, in the circadian low.
Case US-rail-03Report an issue
Sep 2010 · Minnesota, United States
Fatigued freight crew, conductor with under 4 hours' sleep opportunity, leave siding before opposing train passes; collision injures five, $8.1 million damage
- Safety
Two freight trains of the same railroad collided in Minnesota after the southbound crew left a siding before the northbound train had passed. The National Transportation Safety Board found crew fatigue contributed: the conductor had about 3 hours 45 minutes of sleep opportunity the day before, the crew had been awake 13 to 14 hours, and the engineer's start times had shifted, disrupting his circadian rhythm. All five crew members were injured and damage was estimated at $8.1 million.
Case US-rail-22Report an issue
May 2008 · Massachusetts, United States
Light-rail operator in likely micro-sleep before fatal collision
- Safety
A city transit agency's light-rail train ran a red signal and struck a stopped train in Massachusetts, killing the operator and injuring others. The NTSB found the operator most likely had a micro-sleep episode, noted she was at high risk of undiagnosed sleep apnea, and named the lack of OSA screening for rail transit operators as a safety issue.
Case US-rail-02Report an issue
Jul 2005 · Mississippi, United States
Sleep-deprived night crew misses stop signal; head-on collision kills four
- Safety
- Financial
At about 4:15 am a northbound freight train failed to stop at a signal and collided head-on with a southbound freight train, killing all four crew members in the collision and fire; the southbound train carried tank cars of hydrogen cyanide. The National Transportation Safety Board found the northbound crew had been working about 11.5-hour night shifts and sleeping only about 5.5 hours a night for at least three days, building a sleep debt that most likely reduced their attention to the signals.
Case US-rail-09Report an issue
Jun 2004 · Texas, United States
Fatigued freight crew passes signals; chlorine release kills three
- Safety
A freight train ran past signals and struck another railroad's train in Texas, rupturing a chlorine tank car; three people died. The NTSB found the cause was train crew fatigue, and that the crew's sleep before duty was cut short by ineffective use of off-duty time and the railroad's crew-scheduling practices, which inverted their work and rest periods.
Case US-rail-01Report an issue
Jan 2004 · Michigan, United States
Yardmaster who fell asleep driving home after 16-hour double shift can take railroad to trial under federal rail liability law
- Safety
- Legal
A railroad yardmaster worked a 16-hour double shift and then allegedly fell asleep at the wheel driving home, suffering back injuries in the crash. He sued the railroad under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, alleging negligence. A federal court refused the railroad's request to dismiss the claim, holding that following the hours allowed by a union agreement does not by itself show the employer took reasonable care to provide a safe workplace.
Case US-rail-12Report an issue
Apr 1994 · United States
$500,000 verdict for railroad manager's sleep disruption from rotating 12-hour shifts overturned: schedule not a 'physical peril' under federal railroad injury law
- Legal
- Financial
After a reorganization, a long-serving freight railroad employee was moved onto a rotating pattern of three 12-hour day shifts, three days off and three 12-hour night shifts. He developed sleep problems and other health effects, argued his circadian sleep rhythms had been destroyed, and won a $500,000 jury verdict (halved for his own negligence). The federal appeals court reversed, holding that injuries flowing from a disrupted sleep cycle were emotional injuries outside the federal railroad liability law because the shift schedule did not expose him to a physical impact.
Case US-rail-16Report an issue
Nov 1990 · California, United States
Freight engineer awake almost 27 hours falls asleep and runs stop signal; head-on collision kills four
- Safety
Two freight trains of a freight railroad collided head-on at about 4:11 am, killing all three crew of one train and a brakeman on the other. The NTSB found the engineer failed to stop at the stop signal because he was asleep, after chronic sleep deprivation from an irregular, unpredictable work schedule; the other crew members probably were also asleep. The Board also cited the railroad's lack of a procedure to remove unfit crew from service and inadequate federal hours-of-service rules.
Case US-rail-15Report an issue
Oct 1978 · West Virginia, United States
Railroad that kept a track laborer working about 27 hours at a derailment, then sent him off to drive 50 miles home, can be liable for his fall-asleep crash
- Safety
- Legal
A young section laborer for a railroad in West Virginia worked through the night clearing a derailment, repeatedly saying he was tired and wanted to go home, but was told he could not and was sent back to work until he was released after about 27 hours. The railroad drove him to his car 50 miles from home, although it offered to drive the rest of the crew to their homes; he fell asleep on that ride with a lit cigarette in his hand. Driving home, he hit the rear of another car and said he must have fallen asleep. The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals reversed a directed verdict for the railroad, holding that it could reasonably have foreseen the risk to other motorists and that duty and causation were for a jury.
Case US-rail-11Report an issue

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How the suite fits

How each product connects to your obligations

Grades describe how strongly a product connects to an obligation. None discharges an obligation, and none carries a compliance warranty.

Awareness eLearning

The regulation names this step

Under 49 CFR 271.607(c)(3) your fatigue plan must consider employee education on fatigue, based on current research. Awareness eLearning supplies the content named there; the element is must-consider, and the eLearning is not a control in its own right.

About Awareness eLearning

Sleepfit

Supports a named obligation

Under 49 CFR 271.607(b)(1) your fatigue risk analysis must consider health and medical conditions affecting fatigue. Sleepfit evidences that analysis and supports the identification limb of 271.607(c)(1)(i). It screens; diagnosis and treatment stay with your clinicians.

About Sleepfit

Fatiguefit4Duty

Supports a named obligation

Evidences the mitigation strategies you must develop and implement under 49 CFR 271.607(c), and the job-category fatigue analysis at 271.607(b)(3), including risk in crews inside federal hours limits. A fitness-for-duty check, not a fitness-for-duty decision - the duty call stays with you.

About Fatiguefit4Duty

SleepWellBaby

No US rail rule reaches sleep in new-parent households, and 49 CFR 271.607 attaches to safety-related railroad employees, not to parents across your workforce. SleepWellBaby is offered as a wellbeing benefit, not a compliance step.

About SleepWellBaby

Recommended bundle

Where we’d start in rail

Every bundle is priced on prevalence: your whole cohort gets access, and you pay for the share predicted to need each product. How pricing works.

Recommended · Levels 2 and 3

Prevention Bundle

Proactive fatigue risk: assess, manage and train, with sleep screening underneath.

Alternative · Levels 2, 3 and 5

Fatigue Lifecycle Bundle

Assess, manage, investigate: from the Census to the point of duty to the post-incident review.

Why this pairing in the United States

Your fatigue plan must consider employee education under 49 CFR 271.607(c)(3); Awareness eLearning supplies it with a record. Sleepfit evidences the medical-conditions analysis at 271.607(b)(1); Fatiguefit4Duty evidences 271.607(c) mitigation. Fatigue Lifecycle adds Was It Fatigue? for 271.607(d).

See what sleep and fatigue mean for your rail workforce.

Tell us roughly how many people you employ. Your snapshot models how many are likely sleeping poorly and what it costs, from published research for rail. Then choose who you’d cover, and we’ll take you to the right next step.