Subpart B—Radio Procedures
§220.21 Railroad operating rules: radio communications.
(a) After August 1. 1977, the operating rules of each railroad with respect to radio communications shall conform with the requirements of this part.
(b) Before November 1. 1977 or 30 days before it commences to use radio communications in connection with railroad operations. whichever is later, each railroad shall file with the Federal Railroad Administrator, Washington. D C 20590, one copy of its operating rules with respect to radio communications. Each amendment to these rules shall be filed with the Federal Railroad Administrator within 30 days after it is issued.
§220.23 Publication of radio information.
Each railroad shall designate its territory where radio base stations are installed, where wayside stations may be contacted. and designate appropriate radio channels by publishing them in a timetable or special instruction. The publication shall indicate the periods during which base and wayside radio stations are attended or in operation
§ 220.25 Instruction of employees.
Each employee who is authorized to use a radio in connection with a railroad operation, shall be.
(a) Provided with a copy of the railroad's operating rules governing the use of radio communication in a railroad operation
(b) Instructed in the proper use of radio communication as part of the program of instruction prescribed in § 217.11 of this chapter
§ 220.27 Identification
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, the identification of each wayside. base or yard station shall include at least the following minimum elements, stated in the order listed:
(1) Name of railroad An abbreviated name or initial letters of the railroad may be used where the name or initials are in general usage and are understood in the railroad industry.
(2) Name of office or other unique designation of the station, and
(3) Location of the station.
(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, the identification of each mobile station shall consist of the following elements, stated in the order listed
(1) Name of the railroad. An abbreviated name or initial letters of the railroad may be used where the name or initial letters are in general usage and are understood in the railroad industry;
(2) Train name (number), if one has been assigned, or other appropriate unit designation; and
(3) The word "engine", "caboose", "motorcar", "palmet" or other word which indicates to the listener the precise mobile transmitting station, unless identical to the requirement of paragraph (b)(2) of this section
(c) If positive identification is achieved in connection with switching, classification, and similar operations wholly within a yard. fixed and mobile units may use short identification after the initial transmission and acknowledgement consistent with applicable Federal Communications Commission regulations governing "Station Identification"
§ 220.29 Statement of letters and numbers
(a) If necessary for clarity, a phonetic alphabet shall be used to pronounce any letter used as an initial, except initial letters of railroads See Appendix "A" of this part for the recommended phonetic alphabet
(b) A word which needs to be spelledfor precision or clarity shall first be pronounced. and the word shall then be spelled. If necessary, the word shall be spelled again, using a phonetic alphabet.
(c) Numbers shall be spoken by digit,except that exact multiples of hundreds and thousands may be stated as such. A decimal point shall be indicatedd by the word "decimal". (See Appendix B to this part, for a recommended guide to the pronunication of numbers.)
§ 220.31 Initiating a transmission.
Before transmitting by radio, an employee shall:
(a) Listen to insure that the channel on which he intends to transmit is not already in use;
(b) Identify his station in accordance with the requirements of §220 27, and
(c) Verify that he has made radio contact with the person or station with whom he intends to communicate by listening for an acknowledgement If the sation acknowledging his transmission fails to identify itself properly, the employee shall require a proper identification before proceeding with the transmission.
§ 220.33 Receiving a transmission.
(a) Upon receiving a radio call from another station, an employee shall promptly acknowledge the call, identifying his station in accordance with the requirements of §220 27 and stand by to receive. An employee need not attend the radio however if this would interfere with other immediate duties relating to the safety of railroad operations.
