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CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS PLANS

On October 16, 2008, the Rail Safety Improvement Act (RSIA) was enacted. Section 410 of the RSIA mandated that the Secretary of Transportation require ‘‘each Class I railroad carrier, each intercity passenger railroad carrier, and each commuter railroad carrier to develop and submit for approval to the Secretary a critical incident stress plan that provides for debriefing, counseling, guidance, and other appropriate support services to be offered to an employee affected by a critical incident.’’ (See Section 410(a) below.)

RSIA mandates that the plans include provisions for relieving employees who are involved in, or who witness, critical incidents from their tours of duty, and for providing leave for such employees from their normal duties as may be necessary and reasonable to receive preventive services and treatment related to the critical incident. BMWED was integral in getting these provisions enacted.

49 CFR PART 272 - CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS PLANS 
Subpart A - General
§ 272.1 Purpose.


(a) The purpose of this part is to promote the safety of railroad operations and the health and safety of railroad employees, especially those who are directly involved in a critical incident by requiring that the employing railroad offers and provides appropriate support services, including appropriate relief, to the directly-involved employees following that critical incident. 


Here, collected for your reference, are the Critical Incident Stress Plans for the following railroads. Although we hope that you will never need them, it is important that you are aware of them and that you can seek out the assistance needed in the event you are ever involved in or witness a critical incident. You have the right to support services should you ever require them.