49 C.F.R. § 299.439 – Event recorders.

(a) Duty to equip and record. Each trainset shall be equipped with an operative event recorder that monitors and records as a minimum all safety data required by paragraph (b) of this section. The event recorder shall record the most recent 48 hours of operational data of the trainset on which it is installed.
(b) Equipment requirements. Event recorders shall monitor and record data elements or information needed to support the data elements required by paragraph (c) of this section. The data shall be recorded with at least the accuracy required of the indicators displaying any of the required data elements to the driver.
(c) Data elements. The event recorder shall be equipped with a certified crashworthy event recorder memory module that meets the requirements of appendix A to this part. The certified event recorder memory module shall 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 or information needed to support the data elements:
1. (1) Trainset speed;
2. (2) Selected direction of motion;
3. (3) Date and time;
4. (4) Distance traveled;
5. (5) Throttle position;
6. (6) Applications and operations of the trainset brake system, including urgent and emergency applications. The system shall record, or provide a means of determining, that a brake application or release resulted from manipulation of brake controls at the position normally occupied by the driver. In the case of a brake application or release that is responsive to a command originating from or executed by an on-board computer (e.g., electronic braking system controller, controlling cab electronic control system, or trainset control computer), the system shall record, or provide a means of determining, the involvement of any such computer;
7. (7) Applications and operations of the regenerative brake;
8. (8) Cab signal aspect(s);
9. (9) Urgent brake application(s);
10. (10) Passenger brake alarm request;
11. (11) Wheel slip/slide alarm activation (with a property-specific minimum duration);
12. (12) Trainset number;
13. (13) Trainset tractive effort (positive and negative);
14. (14) Trainset brake cylinder pressures;
15. (15) Cruise control on/off, if so equipped and used;
16. (16) Bogie vibration detection;
17. (17) Door status opened/closed; and
18. (18) Safety-critical trainset control data routed to the controlling driver's display with which the driver is required to comply, specifically including text messages conveying mandatory directives and maximum authorized speed. The specific information format, content, and proposed duration for retention of such data shall be specified in the PTC Safety Plan submitted for the trainset control system under subpart B, subject to FRA approval. If it can be calibrated against other data required by this part, such trainset control data may, at the election of the railroad, be retained in a separate certified crashworthy memory module.
(d) Response to defective equipment. A trainset on which the event recorder has been taken out of service may remain in-service only until the next pre-service inspection. A trainset with an inoperative event recorder is not deemed to be in improper condition, unsafe to operate, or a non-complying trainset under § 299.447.
(e) Annual tests.
1. (1) The railroad's inspection, testing, and maintenance program under subpart G of this part shall require annual testing of the event recorder. All testing under this section shall be performed at intervals that do not exceed 368 calendar days.
2. (2) A microprocessor-based event recorder with a self-monitoring feature equipped to verify that all data elements required by this part are recorded, requires further maintenance and testing only if either of the following conditions exist:
  1. (i) The self-monitoring feature displays an indication of a failure. If a failure is displayed, further maintenance and testing must be performed until a subsequent test is successful. When a successful test is accomplished, a record, in any medium, shall be made of that fact and of any maintenance work necessary to achieve the successful result. This record shall be available at the location where the trainset is maintained until a record of a subsequent successful test is filed; or
  2. (ii) A download of the event recorder, taken within the preceding 30 days and reviewed for the previous 48 hours of trainset operation, reveals a failure to record a regularly recurring data element or reveals that any required data element is not representative of the actual operations of the trainset during this time period. If the review is not successful, further maintenance and testing shall be performed until a subsequent test is successful. When a successful test is accomplished, a record, in any medium, shall be made of that fact and of any maintenance work necessary to achieve the successful result. This record shall be kept at the location where the trainset is maintained until a record of a subsequent successful test is filed. The download shall be taken from information stored in the certified crashworthy crash hardened event recorder memory module.
(f) Preserving accident data. If any trainset equipped with an event recorder, or any other trainset mounted recording device or devices designed to record information concerning the functioning of a trainset, is involved in an accident/incident that is required to be reported to FRA under part 225 of this chapter, the railroad 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 in accordance with § 299.11. 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/incident unless FRA or the Board notifies the railroad in writing that the data are desired for analysis.
(g) Relationship to other laws. Nothing in this section is intended to alter the legal authority of law enforcement officials investigating potential violation(s) of Federal or 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.
(h) Disabling event recorders. Any individual who willfully disables an event recorder, or who tampers with or alters the data recorded by such a device is subject to civil penalty as provided in part 218 of this chapter, and to disqualification from performing safety-sensitive functions on a railroad under subpart D of part 209 of this chapter.