Subd. 1. Caboose required.

Except as provided in subdivision 2, a railroad company may not operate a freight train 2,000 feet long or longer, if the train is handling placarded cars or is operated without block signals, unless the rear car is a caboose that is occupied by at least one member of the train crew.

Subd. 2. Exceptions.

1. (a) A defective freight car that cannot be entrained except behind the caboose may be the rear car from the point at which it is entrained, unless that point is a terminal where repairs can be made, to the first repair terminal.

2. (b) This section does not apply to:

   1. (1) a train used in terminal service two miles or less from the limits of the terminal;
   2. (2) a train operated on a short line railroad classified by the Interstate Commerce Commission as a class III line haul railroad;
   3. (3) a railroad company that operates a railway in this state and in two adjoining states, if the total trackage of the railroad company, including trackage rights, is more than 950 miles and less than 1,000 miles;
   4. (4) a unit grain train while it is transporting only grain as defined in section 17.41; or
   5. (5) a unit taconite train while it is transporting only taconite ore, tailings, or other mined mineral ore.

Subd. 3. Shortwave radio.

No railroad company may operate a caboose unless it is equipped with an operable shortwave radio with the same frequency as the shortwave radio on the lead locomotive of the train.

Subd. 4. Penalty.

A railroad company violating this section is subject to a civil penalty of $350 for each offense. The operation of a train in violation of this section constitutes a separate violation for each day or part of a day it is so operated. The penalty must be recovered in a civil action by a railway employee, a railway labor organization as defined under the Railway Labor Act, or another interested person in a court having jurisdiction in a county in or through which the railroad line runs. The civil penalty is payable to the state. The court may issue an order requiring compliance with this section. The court shall award the prevailing party in the civil action attorney fees and costs.