Roadway Worker Protection Rule and Resources

The Roadway Worker Protection (RWP) regulation was first implemented in 1997 and has since been updated. Many occupational hazards exist for roadway workers on or about railroad tracks. The environment can change rapidly on the railroad. Roadway workers must be focused to recognize those changes and adapt on-track protection as necessary. The FRA sets the standards and guidelines for RWP training.

The provisions of RWP are codified in FRA´s Roadway Worker Protection regulations in 49 CFR, part 214Click here for the FRA's "Track and Rail and Infrastructure Integrity Compliance Manual: Volume III - Chapter 3 - Roadway Worker Protection." For first-time users, please click "Register" if you do not have an account.

The NRC recommends the following RWP resources to its members:

STV/Ralph Whitehead Associates - Contact Lisa Stone
1000 West Morehead St.
Charlotte, NC 28208
(704) 816-2551
Lisa.Stone@STVInc.com 

Roadway Worker Training, LLC (RWT) - Contact Rick Bellew
315 West Town Place, Suite 8
St. Augustine, FL 32092
(904) 296-8088
Rick.Bellew@RailPros.com

National Railroad Safety Services, Inc. - Contact Tim Shepherd
9808 Windisch Road
Cincinnati, OH 45069
(513) 755-4910
tshepherd@nrssinc.net

Bergmann Associates - Contact Carmen Garozzo
Waterfront Village Center
40 La Riviere Drive Suite 150
Buffalo, New York 14202
office: 716.710.3932
cgarozzo@bergmannpc.com



Background information:
While RWP training is mandated by federal regulation, the implementation and oversight of RWP training is handled by each railroad in its own manner. 

Contractor employees receiving generic instruction in the RWP regulation is possible, however, FRA expects that railroads will require their contractors to adopt the on-track safety rules of the railroad upon which the contractor is working. If a contractor shows up at a railroad with a training certification card from a generic RWP course, such training generally does not provide the specific elements that the contractor employee needs to know about a particular railroad's on-track safety procedures. Since not every railroad uses the exact same rules and procedures, it is not possible for a generic RWP training course to provide knowledge on all the procedures used throughout the country.

Accordingly, contractors must contact a carrier before beginning work to determine how the railroad's specific training is to be accomplished. The regulation allows contractors to conduct their own training, but it must be understood that such training for the basic worker must have the railroad-specific elements under Sec. 214.345.

Contractors must work with their railroad customers to work out the methodology for how contractor employees are to receive their specific training from property to property. This could be in the form of basic Sec. 214.343 on-the-spot training by a railroad representative or contractors conducting their own training of individual railroad rules. However, it is incumbent on the railroads and contractors to work out these details, and contractor training must mirror the individual railroad's on-track safety rules.

The FRA expects that railroads will require their contractors to adopt the on-track safety rules of the railroad upon which the contractor is working, and the FRA expects contractors to comply with programs established by the railroads on which they are working.