Federal regulators renew railroad hours exemption through 2030, listing Alaska Railroad

Drivers for 231 railroads, including the Alaska Railroad Corporation, may keep driving as late as the 17th hour after coming on duty to reach a main-track derailment, bridge strike, collision or storm damage, under a renewed federal exemption that took effect Tuesday, Oct. 20. The 11-hour driving cap remains unchanged.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration listed the state-owned railroad in its final decision, published Wednesday. The agency found the modified exemption is likely to match or exceed the safety of normal hours-of-service rules.

Federal rules normally bar driving after 14 hours on duty. Covered drivers may extend that to 17 hours and add up to 6 hours to the 60- and 70-hour weekly caps, within 300 air miles of their normal work-reporting location or terminal. Time spent restoring track counts as on-duty time, not driving time. Normal limits apply again on the trip home.

Those two limits do not apply to drivers in Alaska. Under federal rules, a driver in the state may not drive more than 15 hours after 10 hours off duty, or after being on duty 20 hours, with weekly caps of 70 or 80 hours. The federal notice does not say whether the Alaska Railroad has used the exemption. While it is in effect, no state may enforce a conflicting law for a covered carrier or driver, according to the decision.

The agency narrowed qualifying events to those affecting the main track, aligning the list with Federal Railroad Administration emergency rules for train crews. Qualifying weather includes blizzards, rock and mudslides, track washouts, earthquakes and wildfires.

The exemption dates to December 2020. The Association of American Railroads and the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association sought five more years in their December 2025 application, saying it covered about 20,000 drivers and 11,000 commercial motor vehicles. The agency provisionally renewed it for six months, then for four more while it gathered carrier lists, usage data and crash records. The associations submitted 257 carriers in August; 26 had inactive federal registration numbers.

Drivers must first complete two fatigue-management training modules. Carriers must log each use, and the associations must report any accident involving a covered vehicle within five business days.

The exemption expires Oct. 18, 2030. The agency says it will revoke it sooner if safety slips or the terms are broken.