{"operation":"document","citation":"25-0134","title":"Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2026-06-11","effective_on":null,"summary":"25-0134 response to Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services, Inc. concerning 174.14.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-25-0134.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-25-0134.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-25-0134","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/2026-06/25-0134.pdf","body":"<<>>\n\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\nJune 11, 2026\nCary Hiles\nAVP of Environmental and Hazmat Safety\nGenesee & Wyoming Railroad Services, Inc.\n13901 Sutton Park Drive S.\nJacksonville, FL 32224\nReference No. 25-0134\nDear Mr. Hiles:\nThis letter is in response to your October 24, 2025 email requesting clarification of the\nHazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the 48-hour\nforwarding rule. Is a railroad in violation of § 174.14 if it receives placarded residue/empty\nrailcars and stores them on non-private track?\nNo. Under § 174.14(a), a carrier must forward each shipment of hazardous materials promptly\nand within 48 hours after acceptance, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. However, the\noriginal intent of the 48-hour rule was to prevent shippers from sending out loaded tank cars\nwithout a billed destination and to reduce the time in transit for loaded hazardous materials rail\ncars. As established in a prior Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\n(PHMSA) interpretation,\n1 § 174.14(a) does not apply to intermodal transfer operations, highway\nshipments, or residue quantities. Because the 48-hour forwarding requirement does not cover\nresidue quantities, your railroad would not be in violation of § 174.14 when storing the described\nplacarded residue railcars on non-private track.\nI hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.\nSincerely,\nAlexander Wolcott\nActing Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n1 Earth Tech, Incorporated, Letter of Interpretation Number 08-0077, available at:\nhttps://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/interp/08-0077\n\n<<>>\n\nCajar, J.\n25-0134\nFrom: Nickels, Matthew (PHMSA)\nTo: Hazmat Interps\nCc: Baker, Yul (PHMSA)\nSubject: FW: G&W Railroads- Interpretation/Guidance Needed\nDate: Friday, October 24, 2025 11:11:01\nAttachments: 080077 - 48-hour rule..pdf\nImportance: High\nHey Yul, please process when everyone returns – email + attachment. Thank you!\nMr. Matthew B. Nickels\nActing Director, Standards & Rulemaking Division\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Safety\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nU.S. Department of Transportation\nFrom: Cary Hiles \nSent: Friday, October 24, 2025 8:38 AM\nTo: Kelley, Shane (PHMSA) ; Nickels, Matthew (PHMSA)\n\nSubject: G&W Railroads- Interpretation/Guidance Needed\nImportance: High\nCAUTION: This email originated from outside of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Do\nnot click on links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content\nis safe.\nHello,\nWe are seeking your guidance on how to interpret/comply with the requirement to place\nhazardous materials on non-private track in accordance with 49 CFR 171-174.\nSpecifically, if a railroad receives residue/empty railcars that are placarded and stores\nthem on non-private track, will the railroad be in violation of 49 CFR 174.14? The railroad\nwill have a written agreement from the customer whereby the customer represents that\nthe cars are residue/empty cars. We have been informed that Section 174.14(a) does not\napply to residue quantities in rail cars even though the regulation does not specify\nloaded or residue/empty. Further, Section I. General Information, part 3. Expediting\nHazardous Material Shipments in the US Hazmat Instructions for Rail implies that the\ninstructions are applicable to ‘loaded’ hazardous materials shipments, less “time\nsensitive” shipments. Additionally, we’re citing interpretation reference letter No. 08-\n0077 from November 21, 2009, which states “Section174.14(a) does not apply to\nintermodal transfer operations, nor does it apply to highway shipments, or residue\nquantities.”\n\n<<>>\n\nv/r\nCary Hiles\nAVP of Environmental and Hazmat Safety\nGenesee & Wyoming Railroad Services, Inc\n13901 Sutton Park Drive S.\nJacksonville, FL 32224\nCell: 904-495-9973\ncary.hiles@gwrr.com\n\n<<>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration\n1200 New Jersey Ave., SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nKG'.' 2 i\nMr. Bob Crump\nEarth Tech, Incorporated\n36 133 Schoolcraft\nLivonia, MI 48 150\nRef. No. 08-0077\nDear Mr. Crump:\nThis responds to your e-mail requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations\n(HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171 -1 80). Specifically, you ask whether the requirement in § 174.14(a) of\nthe HMR for rail carriers to forward shipments of hazardous materials within 48 hours applies to\ntransloading operations.\nThe original intent of the 48-hour rule was two-fold: (1) it was intended to prevent shippers from\nsending out loaded tank cars of hazardous materials without a billed destination and (2) it also\nwas designed to prevent rail carriers from delaying delivery so that other, higher-tariffed\ncommodities could be moved ahead of these shipments. Section 174.14 is now applied to\nachieve a broader public safety and security goal - that is, to reduce time in transit of hazardous\nmaterials rail cars, thereby reducing the risk of accidents, incidents, vandalism, or other safety or\nsecurity related problems.\nFor transloading operations from rail tank cars to cargo tank motor vehicles as described in your\nrequest, $ 1 74.14(a) does not apply. The 48-hour rule is a forwarding regulation while the\nshipment is in transport and does not cover delivery. (Delivery requirements are outlined in\n5 174.16). Section 174.14 (a) does not apply to intermodal transfer operations nor does it apply\nto highway shipments, or residue quantities.\nI hope this information is helpful. Please contact this office should you have additional\nquestions.\ni at tie L. Mitchell\nChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\n\n<<>>\n\nPage 1 of 1\nDrakeford, Carolyn \nFrom: Drakeford, Carolyn \nSent: Wednesday, October 22,2008 10:14 AM\nTo: Mclntyre, Joan \nCc: Mitchell, Hattie \nSubject: FW: Applicability of 49 CFR 171.14\nFrom: Crump, Bob [mailto:Bob.Crump@earthtech.com]\nSent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 4:01 PM\nTo: :INFOCNTR \nSubject: Applicability of 49 CFR 171.14\nInfo Center:\nIt seems very clear how storage incidental to transportation, defined in 49 CFR 171.1 applies to a\ntransloading area. The materials are in transportation and therefore, EPA requirements do not apply.\nThe material is regulated by DOT and must meet the requirements of f j 173.3 1 and f j 174.\nWhat I have been unable to determine is how the 48 hour time limit noted under 49 CFR 174.14 might\napply. I spoke with a gentleman on the Helpdesk line and he wasn't s u e that provision was even being\nenforced. Because of the size difference between the rail car and tanker trucks, customer requirements\n(industry often doesn't have stationary tanks big enough to hold more than one truckload at a time), and\nother factors, it may be difficult to expedite a rail car to truck transload in 48 hours. Does this\nsubsection apply to transloading, or have I missed something? If it does, why?\nRegards,\nBob Crump, CHMM\nt:.r~.th !ik:h, !I,<..\nOzrrori (!ffice\n.?6 133 Schnnlr-rcqi\nL~i~unic~. 1111 ;a!.50\nI:-mall- Boh C.~.mp@jE&hiech.corn","truncated":false,"body_characters":7348}