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(a) Duty to equip and record. Except as provided in paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, a train operated faster than 30 miles per hour shall have an in-service event recorder, of the type described in paragraph (b) of this section, in the lead locomotive. The presence of the event recorder shall be noted on Form FRA F6180-49A (by writing the make and model of event recorder with which the locomotive is equipped) under the REMARKS section, except that an event recorder designed to allow the locomotive to assume the lead position only if the recorder is properly functioning is not required to have its presence noted on Form FRA F6180-49A. For the purpose of this section, “train” includes a locomotive or group of locomotives with or without cars. The duty to equip the lead locomotive may be met with an event recorder located elsewhere than the lead locomotive provided that such event recorder monitors and records the required data as though it were located in the lead locomotive. The event recorder shall record the most recent 48 hours of operation of the electrical system of the locomotive on which it is installed.

(xxv) Safety-critical train control data routed to the locomotive engineer's display with which the engineer is required to comply, specifically including text messages conveying mandatory directives and maximum authorized speed. The format, content, and proposed duration for retention of such data shall be specified in the Product Safety Plan or PTC Safety Plan submitted for the train control system under subparts H or I, respectively, of part 236 of this chapter, subject to FRA approval under this paragraph. If it can be calibrated against other data required by this part, such train control data may, at the election of the railroad, be retained in a separate certified crashworthy memory module.

(4) A DMU locomotive and an MU locomotive originally ordered on or after October 1, 2006 or placed in service on or after October 1, 2009, shall be equipped with an event recorder with a certified crashworthy event recorder memory module that meets the requirements of Appendix D of this part. The certified event recorder memory module shall be mounted for its maximum protection. (Although other mounting standards may meet this standard, an event recorder memory module mounted behind the collision posts and above the platform level is deemed to be mounted “for its maximum protection.”) The event recorder shall record, and the certified crashworthy event recorder memory module shall retain, the following data elements:

(xxi) Safety-critical train control data routed to the locomotive engineer's display with which the engineer is required to comply, specifically including text messages conveying mandatory directives and maximum authorized speed. The format, content, and proposed duration for retention of such data shall be specified in the Product Safety Plan or PTC Safety Plan submitted for the train control system under subparts H or I, respectively, of part 236 of this chapter, subject to FRA approval under this paragraph. If it can be calibrated against other data required by this part, such train control data may, at the election of the railroad, be retained in a separate certified crashworthy memory module.

(5) A locomotive equipped with an event recorder that is remanufactured, as defined in this part, on or after October 1, 2007, shall be equipped with an event recorder with a certified crashworthy event recorder memory module that meets the requirements of appendix D to this part and is capable of recording, at a minimum, the same data as the recorder that was on the locomotive before it was remanufactured.

(d) Response to defective equipment. Notwithstanding the duty established in paragraph (a) of this section to equip certain locomotives with an in-service event recorder, a locomotive on which the event recorder has been taken out of service as provided in paragraph (c) of this section may remain as the lead locomotive only until the next calendar-day inspection. A locomotive with an inoperative event recorder is not deemed to be in improper condition, unsafe to operate, or a non-complying locomotive under §§ 229.7 and 229.9, and, other than the requirements of Appendix D of this part, the inspection, maintenance, and testing of event recorders are limited to the requirements set forth in §§ 229.25(e) and 229.27(d).

(e) Preserving accident data. If any locomotive equipped with an event recorder, or any other locomotive-mounted recording device or devices designed to record information concerning the functioning of a locomotive or train, is involved in an accident/incident that is required to be reported to FRA under part 225 of this chapter, the railroad that was using the locomotive at the time of the accident shall, to the extent possible, and to the extent consistent with the safety of life and property, preserve the data recorded by each such device for analysis by FRA. This preservation requirement permits the railroad to extract and analyze such data, provided the original downloaded data file, or an unanalyzed exact copy of it, shall be retained in secure custody and shall not be utilized for analysis or any other purpose except by direction of FRA or the National Transportation Safety Board. This preservation requirement shall expire one (1) year after the date of the accident unless FRA or the Board notifies the railroad in writing that the data are desired for analysis.

(f) Relationship to other laws. Nothing in this section is intended to alter the legal authority of law enforcement officials investigating potential violation(s) of State criminal law(s), and nothing in this chapter is intended to alter in any way the priority of National Transportation Safety Board investigations under 49 U.S.C. 1131 and 1134, nor the authority of the Secretary of Transportation to investigate railroad accidents under 49 U.S.C. 5121, 5122, 20107, 20111, 20112, 20505, 20702, 20703, and 20902.

(g) Disabling event recorders. Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, any individual who willfully disables an event recorder is subject to civil penalty and to disqualification from performing safety-sensitive functions on a railroad as provided in § 218.55 of this chapter, and any individual who tampers with or alters the data recorded by such a device is subject to a civil penalty as provided in appendix B of part 218 of this chapter and to disqualification from performing safety-sensitive functions on a railroad if found unfit for such duties under the procedures in part 209 of this chapter.