Senate Bill No. 406
(By Senators Wagner, Sharpe, Bailey, Withers, Humphreys,
Felton, Chafin and Blatnik)
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[Introduced March 18, 1993; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend article three, chapter twenty-four of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
one-b, relating to railroad helper units of at least two
persons.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article three, chapter twenty-four of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
one-b, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. DUTIES AND PRIVILEGES OF PUBLIC UTILITIES SUBJECT TO
REGULATIONS OF COMMISSION.
§24-3-1b. Helper units.
(a) Except for operation in its yards or terminals, a
railroad may not permit or require any crew-controlled locomotive
power unit, including helper units, that is not attached to a
train to be operated by a crew of fewer than two persons. At
least one crew member shall be a federal railroad administrationcertified and licensed locomotive engineer within the meaning of
applicable federal statutes and regulations. The second crew
member shall be utilized from either train service or engine
service personnel, subject to federal regulations and local
collective bargaining agreements.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) "Crew-controlled locomotive" means a locomotive power
unit, single or in multiple, which is operated by on-board
personnel, but does not include units controlled by radio or
other remote control by a crew on another locomotive power unit.
(2) "Helper unit" means a locomotive power unit placed at
some point in a train for the purpose of supplementing the power
available from the locomotive power unit controlling a train.
(c) It is unlawful to institute any disciplinary action or
other adverse administrative action against any person who
reports a violation or acts to enforce the provisions of this
section or this article. The person's remedies under this
section are in addition to any other remedies that may be
otherwise available to such persons.
(d) The public service commission shall, on or before the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three,
promulgate rules to implement the provisions of this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require that a train
locomotive must have a crew of at least two persons for safety
reasons.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs andunderscoring have been omitted.