Surface Transportation Security Training

TSA’s applicability criteria for freight railroads, public transportation/passenger rail (PTPR), OTRB and certain business operations are as follows:

Freight Rail (49 CFR § 1580.101):

• (a) Class I freight railroads (as described in §1580.1(a)(1))
• (b) Each freight railroad carrier (as described in § 1580.1(a)(1)) that transports one or more categories of Rail Security Sensitive Material (RSSM) in an High Threat Urban Area (HTUA) as defined in the rule.
• (c) Railroads (as described in § 1580.1(a)(4)) that serves as a host railroad to a freight railroad described in paragraph (a) of (b) of this section or a passenger operation described in § 1582.101 of the regulation.

Public Transportation and Passenger Railroads (PTPR) (49 CFR § 1582.101):

A public transportation agency (including rail mass transit and bus systems) or passenger railroad must provide security training if it is (a) one of the 46 identified PTPR systems listed in 49 CFR part 1582, Appendix A; (b) Amtrak; or (c) hosts a higher-risk freight railroad.

Over-the-Road Bus (OTRB) (49 CFR § 1584.101):

An OTRB owner/operator must provide security training if it provides fixed-route service to, through or from any of ten areas identified in 49 CFR part 1584, Appendix A.

Owner/operators required to notify TSA whether the rule applies to their agency/company must provide this information to TSA by October 21, 2020.

1. Owner/Operators may notify TSA via the following email address: SecurityTrainingPolicy@tsa.dhs.gov.
2. Include in the subject line of your email: Security Training Rule Applicability - (Agency or Company Name)
3. Include the following information in the body of the email:
   • a. Mode of transportation (e.g. Freight Rail, Passenger Rail, Public Transportation, OTRB)
   • b. Owner/operator corporate name
   • c. Doing business as (DBA) name
   • d. Corporate address
   • e. Contact name, email address and phone number

See 49 CFR § 1570.105 for information regarding an owner/operator’s responsibility for determining whether the rule applies to the agency/company.

Questions: Contact TSA at (571) 227-5563

TSA will provide security plan submission instructions to covered parties after they have notified TSA in accordance with 49 CFR § 1570.105.

Owner/operators required to appoint security coordinators for the first time (e.g., higher-risk bus-only public transportation agencies and over-the-road bus companies) under this rule must provide this information to TSA by October 28, 2020. [Note: Regulated parties previously covered under 49 CFR §§ 1580.101 and 1580.201 (Rail Security Coordinator) must ensure the information requested below has been provided and is updated as appropriate.]

1. Owner/Operators may notify TSA in the following manner:

   1. Via the following email address: TSA.seccoord@tsa.dhs.gov
      1. Include in the subject line of your email: Security Coordinator Contact Info - (Agency or Company Name)
      2. Include the following information in the body of the email:
         1.  Security Coordinator
            1.  First and last name
            2.  Title
            3.  Office and mobile phone number
            4.  Email address
            5.  U.S. citizenship status
            6.  Corporate address (optional)
            7.  Shipping/mailing address (optional)
         2.  Alternate Security Coordinator
            1.  First and last name
            2. Title
            3. Office and mobile phone number
            4. Email address
            5. U.S. citizenship status
            6. Corporate address (optional)
            7. Shipping/mailing address (optional)
   2. By U.S. mail or package delivery service
      1. Include the following information on company letterhead:
         1. Security Coordinator
            1. First and last name
            2. Title
            3. Office and mobile phone number
            4. Email address
            5. U.S. citizenship status
            6. Corporate address (optional)
            7. Shipping/mailing address (optional)
         2. Alternate Security Coordinator
            1. First and last name
            2. Title
            3. Office and mobile phone number
            4. Email address
            5. U.S. citizenship status
      2. Send letter to the following address:
         Transportation Security Administration
         Attention: OS/PPE/Surface Division
         TSA-28
         601 S. 12th Street
         Arlington, VA 20598-6028

[Note: Please allow 14 days for shipping and mail screening to ensure letter arrives before the regulatory deadline.]

See 49 CFR § 1570.201 for further information about the roles and responsibilities of security coordinators.

The Security Training for Surface Transportation Employees Final Rule includes four major requirements:

1. Each covered party must notify TSA of applicability per 49 CFR § 1570.105 
2. Each covered party must designate security coordinators and alternates per 49 CFR § 1570.201.
3. Each covered party must report significant security concerns to TSA per 49 CFR § 1570.203. Significant security concerns must be reported telephonically to the Transportations Security Operations Center at 1-866-615-5150.
4. Owner/operators must provide training to security-sensitive employees addressing how to prepare, observe, assess and respond to terrorist-related threats and/or incidents in accordance with 49 CFR Sections 1580.113, 1582.113, and 1584.113 as appropriate. 

For a description of the mode-specific security-sensitive job functions see the mode-specific appendices: 

• Freight Railroads – Appendix B to 49 CFR part 1580 
• Public Transportation and Passenger Railroads – Appendix B to 49 CFR part 1582 
• Over-the-Road Bus – Appendix B to 49 CFR part 1584