§ 225.6 Consolidated reporting.

(a) A parent corporation may request in writing that FRA treat its commonly controlled railroads, which operate as a single, seamless, integrated United States rail system, as a single railroad for purposes of this part.

(b) The written request must include all of the following:

(1) A list of the subsidiary railroads controlled by the parent corporation.

(2) An explanation as to how the subsidiary railroads operate as a single, seamless, integrated United States railroad system as opposed to separate and independent entities. This explanation should address factors such as:

(i) Whether all of the properties are physically connected, and by what means (i.e., is the track contiguous, are the properties connected by track rights);

(ii) Whether the parent and its subsidiaries are held out to the public as a single entity;

(iii) Whether the parent is involved in the decision-making of its subsidiaries, and to what extent;

(iv) Whether the parent or subsidiaries share officers, equipment, or other personnel;

(v) Whether the operation of trains and crews are seamless, as trains and crews move over various properties with most employees unaware that they have changed property owners;

(vi) Whether there is a single set of operating rules over all of the properties (there may be different signal and train control systems);

(vii) Whether there is a single Internal Control Plan or a single reporting or claims officer; and

(viii) Whether there is a single dispatching center.

(3) Supporting evidence or documentation, to the extent reasonably practicable, to support the parent corporation's assertion that the subsidiary railroads operate as a single, seamless, integrated railroad system. If it is not practical to submit documentation for certain factors, the parent corporation should identify the location of the supporting evidence.

(4) A point of contact at the parent corporation and all subsidiary railroads to address agency questions related to the consolidated reporting petition.

(c) The request must be sent via email to RsisAiReports@dot.gov. Each request received shall be acknowledged in writing via email and shall contain the docket number assigned to the request.

(d) FRA will notify the applicant parent corporation of the agency's decision within 60 days of receipt of the application. This deadline will be tolled pending any FRA requests to the parent corporation or subsidiary railroads for missing or additional information needed for the agency to reach a decision.

(e) If FRA approves the request, the parent corporation must enter into a written agreement with FRA specifying which subsidiaries are included in its railroad system, agreeing to assume responsibility for compliance with this part for all named subsidiaries making up the system, and consenting to guarantee any monetary penalty assessments or other liabilities owed to the United States government that are incurred by the named subsidiaries for violating Federal accident/incident reporting requirements. Any change in the subsidiaries making up the railroad system requires immediate notification to FRA and execution of an amended agreement. Executed agreements will be published in the docket for the petition.

[91 FR 55770, Aug. 31, 2026]