A parent corporation may request in writing that FRA treat its commonly controlled railroad carriers, which operate as a single, seamless, integrated United States rail system, as a single railroad carrier for purposes of this part.

(a) The written request must include the following:

(1) A list of the subsidiary railroads controlled by the parent corporation; and

(2) An explanation as to how the subsidiary railroads operate as a single, seamless, integrated United States railroad system.

(b) The request must be sent to the FRA Docket Clerk, Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, RCC-10, Mail Stop 10, West Building 3rd Floor, Room W31-109, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. Each request received shall be acknowledged in writing. The acknowledgment shall contain the docket number assigned to the request and state the date the request was received.

(c) FRA will notify the applicant parent corporation of the agency's decision within 90 days of receipt of the application.

(d) If FRA approves the request, the parent corporation must enter into a written agreement with FRA specifying which subsidiaries are included in its railroad system, agreeing to assume responsibility for compliance with this part for all named subsidiaries making up the system, and consenting to guarantee any monetary penalty assessments or other liabilities owed to the United States government that are incurred by the named subsidiaries for violating Federal accident/incident reporting requirements. Any change in the subsidiaries making up the railroad system requires immediate notification to FRA and execution of an amended agreement. Executed agreements will be published in the docket.