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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Federal Railroad Administration

Notice.

The Research and Special Programs Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the Transportation Security Administration are publishing this document to describe the application of Federal laws to the transportation of explosives by rail. In particular, this document explains that, in light of the extensive regulation of the rail transportation of hazardous materials, including explosives, by the Department of Transportation, the protections inherent in railroad operations against improper use of those materials by railroad employees, and the security safeguards taken by the railroads, the transportation of explosives via rail by certain persons described under the Safe Explosives Act does not pose a sufficient security risk warranting further regulation at this time. Based on the determinations made by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Transportation that are detailed in this document, certain federal criminal provisions described below do not apply to persons while they are engaged in the commercial transportation of explosives by rail.

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