Section 7662 Of Article 7. Operation From California Public Utilities Code >> Division 4. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 7.
7662
. (a) (1) A railroad corporation shall place appropriate
signage to notify an engineer of an approaching grade crossing,
consistent with federal law.
(2) Whistle post signs shall be deemed to satisfy this
requirement.
(b) (1) Whenever a railroad issues written or verbal instructions
to employees that may restrict or stop train movements because of
track conditions, structures, persons, or equipment working,
appropriate flags that are readily visible and easily recognizable to
the crews on both passenger and freight trains shall be displayed as
quickly as practicable. Yellow flags shall be used for temporary
speed restrictions, consistent with paragraphs (2) and (3).
Yellow-red flags shall be used, consistent with paragraphs (4) and
(5), when a train may be required to stop.
(2) Yellow flags shall be used to warn trains to restrict movement
because of track conditions or structures. Except as provided in
paragraph (3), a yellow flag shall be displayed two miles before the
restricted area in order to ensure that train movement is restricted
at the proper location.
(3) When the restricted area is close to a terminal, junction, or
another area, the yellow flag may be displayed less than two miles
before the restricted area. This information shall be included in the
written instructions to employees issued pursuant to paragraph (1).
(4) Yellow-red flags shall be used to warn trains to be prepared
to stop because of persons or equipment working. A yellow-red flag
shall be displayed two miles before the restricted area in order to
ensure that the train is prepared to stop at the proper location.
(5) When the restricted area is close to a terminal, junction, or
other area, the yellow-red flag may be displayed less than two miles
before the restricted area. This information shall be included in the
written instructions to employees issued pursuant to paragraph (1).
(6) Flags shall be displayed only on the track affected and shall
be displayed to the right side of the track as viewed from the
approaching train. The flags shall be displayed to protect all
possible access to the restricted area.
(c) A railroad corporation shall provide milepost markers to train
crews at accurate one-mile intervals. The markers shall be readily
visible to the locomotive engineer within the locomotive cab, and
shall be kept in good repair and replaced when necessary.
(d) A railroad corporation shall place whistle signs to the right
of the main track in the direction of approach, exactly one-quarter
mile from the entrance to any grade crossing as a point of reference
for locomotive engineers who blow the whistle and ring the bell for
these grade crossings as a warning to the public. The signs, which
shall consist of an "X" or "W" or other identifiable mark or symbol
on a square plate mounted on a post, shall be readily visible to a
locomotive engineer within the locomotive cab, shall be kept in good
repair, and shall be replaced when necessary.
(e) A railroad corporation shall place permanent speed signs to
the right of the track in the direction of approach, two miles in
advance of the point where the speed is either increased or decreased
for both passenger and freight trains. The signs shall be readily
visible to a locomotive engineer within the locomotive cab, shall be
kept in good repair, and shall be replaced when necessary.
(f) A railroad corporation shall notify the commission and the
collective bargaining representative of any affected employee of any
new utilization of remote control locomotives in the state, on or
after January 1, 2007.
(g) A railroad corporation shall provide immediate notification to
the Office of Emergency Services of accidents, incidents, and other
events, concurrent with those provided to the Federal Railroad
Administration's National Response Center, as required by Part 225.9
of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations.