Locomotive Voice and Video Recorder Regulations (SOR/2020-178)

General Provisions

Marginal note:Definitions

1 The following definitions apply in these Regulations.

Act

Act means the Railway Safety Act. (Loi)

conductor

conductor means an employee who is in charge of the operation of a movement of railway equipment. (chef de train)

controlling locomotive

controlling locomotive means the railway equipment from which an operating employee controls the movement of the locomotive and any other railway equipment connected to the locomotive. (locomotive de commande)

locomotive engineer

locomotive engineer means an employee who is in control of the locomotive. (mécanicien de locomotive)

LVVR system

LVVR system means a locomotive voice and video recorder system. (système d’EAVL)

operating employee

operating employee means an employee who performs the duties of a conductor or locomotive engineer. (membre du personnel de l’exploitation)

TSB

TSB means the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board. (BST)

Marginal note:Application

2 These Regulations apply to a company that meets at least one of the following criteria:

• (a) the company realized gross revenues of at least $250 million for the provision of rail services in Canada in each of the two preceding calendar years and operates controlling locomotives on five miles or more of track in Canada;

• (b) the company operates a passenger train service within a municipality or between adjacent municipalities;

• (c) the company has 15 or more operating employees, operates controlling locomotives on 20 miles or more of track in Canada, operates at least one controlling locomotive at a speed of more than 25 miles per hour, and, if the company transports freight, generates more than 10% of its gross ton miles on track in Canada.

Marginal note:Installation of LVVR system

• 3 (1) A company must ensure that an LVVR system is installed in every controlling locomotive that it operates.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (2) However, a company is not required to ensure that an LVVR system is installed in a controlling locomotive that is a

  • (a) steam locomotive;

  • (b) heritage locomotive that is used exclusively for tourist railway services that travels no further than a round trip of 150 miles at a speed of no more than 25 miles per hour;

  • (c) locomotive in yard service that is used exclusively in switching, marshalling, humping, trimming and industrial switching;

  • (d) locomotive that is being used for testing and evaluation purposes; or

  • (e) locomotive that the company intends to decommission within 18 months after the day on which these Regulations come into force.

Marginal note:Signage requirement

4 A company must ensure that the interior of every controlling locomotive fitted with an LVVR system has signage, written in both official languages of Canada and in a font that is clear and readable from the furthest point from the signage in the controlling locomotive, that

• (a) notifies persons in the controlling locomotive that they are subject to audio and video recording; and

• (b) includes the following statements: “It is prohibited by law for any person to do anything, including altering the locomotive voice and video recorder system, with the intent to prevent information from being recorded, collected or preserved.” and “Il est interdit par la loi à quiconque de prendre une quelconque mesure, notamment d’altérer le système d’enregistrement audio et vidéo de locomotive, dans l’intention d’empêcher l’enregistrement, la collecte ou la conservation de renseignements.”

Technical Requirements

Marginal note:LVVR system

5 A company must ensure that an LVVR system

• (a) is equipped with at least one crash-protected memory module;

• (b) continuously records voice and video data from the time the controlling locomotive engine is turned on until it is turned off;

• (c) does not record data when the controlling locomotive engine is turned off;

• (d) stores 48 hours of data on at least one crash-protected memory module;

• (e) automatically and permanently erases from any crash-protected memory module any data other than the most recent 48 hours of data that was stored by the LVVR system on the module;

• (f) is equipped with an alternate power supply or with a controlled shutdown feature that allows for a complete shutdown of the LVVR system in the event of a power interruption; and

• (g) restarts automatically when power is restored to the controlling locomotive engine.

Marginal note:Environmental standards

6 A company must ensure that, on installation, an LVVR system meets the environmental criteria respecting vibration, shock, bump and temperature testing set out in standard EN 50155:2017, Railway applications — Rolling stock — Electronic equipment, published by BSI Standards Limited, on October 31, 2017, as amended from time to time.

Marginal note:Crashworthiness

7 A company must ensure that a crash-protected memory module

• (a) is installed in a controlling locomotive in the location that offers the most protection; and

• (b) meets, on installation or replacement, the crashworthiness requirements set out in standard 1482.1-2013, IEEE Standard for Rail Transit Vehicle Event Recorders, published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers on March 6, 2014, as amended from time to time.

Marginal note:Microphones — voice quality

• 8 (1) A company must ensure that an LVVR system is equipped with one or more microphones that, collectively, are capable of clearly recording

  • (a) the voices of the operating employees and their communications; and

  • (b) aural warnings in the controlling locomotive, including alarms.

• Marginal note:Technical requirements

  (2) The company must ensure that every microphone

  • (a) has its own recording channel;

  • (b) if it is used to record the voices of operating employees, records frequencies from 150 Hz to 3.5 kHz; and

  • (c) if it is used to record aural warnings in the controlling locomotive, records frequencies from 150 Hz to 6 kHz.

• Marginal note:Placement of microphones

  (3) The company must ensure that the microphones are positioned in the controlling locomotive in a manner that allows the recording of

  • (a) the voice of the locomotive engineer, clearly and distinctly from the voice of the conductor;

  • (b) the voice of the conductor, clearly and distinctly from the voice of the locomotive engineer; and

  • (c) safety-related sounds and aural warnings in the controlling locomotive, including alarms.

Marginal note:Cameras — video quality

• 9 (1) A company must ensure that an LVVR system is equipped with one or more cameras that record at a minimum frame rate of 15 frames per second

  • (a) clear video in all lighting conditions;

  • (b) video with a resolution sufficient to determine the status of instrument displays in the controlling locomotive; and

  • (c) video with a resolution sufficient to determine the reactions of the operating employees, including their facial features and expressions.

• Marginal note:Placement of cameras

  (2) The company must ensure that the cameras are positioned in the controlling locomotive in a manner that allows the recording of

  • (a) the portion of the interior of the controlling locomotive where the operating employees carry out their work;

  • (b) an unobstructed view of the instruments and controls required to operate the controlling locomotive; and

  • (c) an unobstructed view of the faces and upper bodies of operating employees at a distance close enough to discern their facial features and expressions.

• Marginal note:Additional cameras

  (3) For greater certainty, a company that has satisfied the requirements set out in subsections (1) and (2) may equip an LVVR system with additional cameras that do not meet those requirements.

Marginal note:Coordinated Universal Time

• 10 (1) A company must ensure that the voice and video data recorded by an LVVR system has accurate date and time stamps that are expressed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

• Marginal note:Synchronization requirements

  (2) The company must ensure that

  • (a) the date and time stamps of the voice data that is recorded by each microphone of an LVVR system are synchronized, to the second, with the date and time stamps of the video data that is recorded by each camera of that system;

  • (b) the date and time stamps of the voice and video data recorded by an LVVR system are synchronized, to the second, with the date and time stamps of

    • (i) locomotive event recorder data,

    • (ii) global positioning system (GPS) data, if applicable, and

    • (iii) the video data recorded by any outward-facing camera.

• Marginal note:Playback synchronization

  (3) The company must ensure that the voice and video data recorded by an LVVR system is capable of being automatically synchronized on a playback system.

• Marginal note:Synchronization testing

  (4) The company must carry out a test of each LVVR system at least once every 12 months to verify compliance with the synchronization requirements set out in subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Record keeping

  (5) The company must keep a record of each test carried out under subsection (4) for a period of six years after the day of the test and provide a copy to the Minister on request.

Marginal note:Test recordings

• 11 (1) A company must ensure that test recordings are carried out for each LVVR system installed in a controlling locomotive operated by the company to demonstrate that the system meets the requirements set out in section 8, paragraphs 9(1)(b) and (c) and subsections 9(2), 10(3) and 23(1).

• Marginal note:Frequency

  (2) The test recordings must be carried out in respect of an LVVR system once per year and at each of the following times:

  • (a) on installation of the system in the controlling locomotive, if the company itself installs the system;

  • (b) prior to the company’s initial operation of the controlling locomotive, if the company itself did not install the system; and

  • (c) each time a component of the system is repaired, replaced or updated.

• Marginal note:Retention of test recordings

  (3) The company must keep the test recordings required under subsection (1) for a period of six years after the day on which they are carried out and provide a copy to the Minister on request.

Data Management Requirements

Marginal note:Policy and procedures

• 12 (1) A company must develop, implement and make available to all employees a written policy that includes

  • (a) a description of the purposes under section 17.91 of the Act for which the company intends to record, collect or preserve voice and video data;

  • (b) procedures for collecting, communicating, accessing and using voice and video data; and

  • (c) procedures for record keeping.

• Marginal note:Retention of policy

  (2) The company must keep the policy while it is in effect and for a period of six years after the day on which it is replaced and provide a copy to the Minister on request.