About AAR Circular Letters
Circular letter summaries are produced monthly by Greenbrier Management Services Group.
AAR circular letters provide information of general applicability to the railroad industry, including proposed and final rules, revisions, standards and recommended practices, and calls for comments. These summaries provide the main points of circular letters issued in the prior month, as well as important implementation deadlines.
For access to the complete circular letter, please go to my.aar.org/circulars. Circular letters are a fee-based service provided by the AAR’s Transportation Technology Center Incorporated (TTCI). You may subscribe online at publications@aar.com or call 719.584.0538.
Implementation Circulars
C-14405
Implementation of Revisions to Figures 128-B, 154-A and 154-B – Section 2 of the AAR Open Top Loading Rules Manual (OTLR)
Issued: August 7, 2024
Effective: August 7, 2024
The AAR’s Open Top Loading Rules Committee (OTLRC) has approved revisions to Section 2 OTLR manual for Figures 128-B, 154-A and 154-B. See circular for details.
The implementation of these revisions to Section 2 is effective immediately and will be included in the next edition of the AAR’s OTLR manual. In the interim, please insert the circular attachment for Figures 128-B, 154-A and 154-B in your copy of Section 2 and be governed accordingly.
Carriers are asked to ensure that copies of this circular letter are distributed to all concerned shippers and railroad personnel for their attention and guidance.
C-14406
Implementation of Revisions to Figures 108, 109 and 120 – Section 2 of the AAR Open Top Loading Rules Manual (OTLR)
Issued: August 7, 2024
Effective: August 7, 2024
The AAR’s Open Top Loading Rules Committee (OTLRC) has approved revisions to Section 2 OTLR manual for Figures 108, 109 and 120. See circular for details.
The implementation of these revisions to Section 2 is effective immediately and will be included in the next edition of the AAR’s OTLR manual. In the interim, please insert the circular attachment for Figures 108, 109 and 120 in your copy of Section 2 and be governed accordingly.
Carriers are asked to ensure that copies of this circular letter are distributed to all concerned shippers and railroad personnel for their attention and guidance.
C-14407
Notice of Implementation to Archive the loading Figures 25, 27-A, 28 and 29 from Section 2 of the AAR Open Top Loading Rules Manual (OTLR)
Issued: August 7, 2024
Effective: August 7, 2024
The AAR’s Open Top Loading Rules Committee (OTLRC) has archived loading Figures 25, 27-A, 28 and 29 from Section 2 of the AAR Open Top Loading Rules (OTLR) Manual. See circular for the list of figures that the committee has archived into Section 4 of the OTLR manual.
Section 4 addresses the Archiving of Rules and Figures from Sections 1 through 7 of the OTLR manuals. Figures in Section 4 have been withdrawn by the OTLRC from their original Section for various reasons, such as non-use, no longer applicable due to car structure, etc. These archived figures are no longer intended for publication unless re-instated by the Open Top Loading Rules Committee.
These changes to Sections 2, and 4 OTLR are effective immediately and will be included in the next edition of the AAR’s OTLR Manual. In the interim, please insert the circular attachment for Figures 25, 27-A, 28 and 29 in your copy of Section 2 and be governed accordingly.
Carriers are asked to ensure that copies of this circular letter are distributed to all concerned shippers and railroad personnel for their attention and guidance.
C-14408
Implementation of Revisions to Figures 9-F, 14 and 40-A – Section 2 of the AAR Open Top Loading Rules Manual (OTLR)
Issued: August 7, 2024
Effective: August 7, 2024
The AAR’s Open Top Loading Rules Committee (OTLRC) has approved revisions to Section 2 OTLR manual for Figures 9-F, 14 and 40-A. See circular for details.
The implementation of these revisions to Section 2 is effective immediately and will be included in the next edition of the AAR’s OTLR manual. In the interim, please insert the circular attachment for Figures 9-F, 14 and 40-A in your copy of Section 2 and be governed accordingly.
Carriers are asked to ensure that copies of this circular letter are distributed to all concerned shippers and railroad personnel for their attention and guidance.
C-14411
Implementation of Revisions to MSRP Section C, CAR CONSTRUCTION FUNDAMENTALS AND DETAILS, Specification M-968, Design Requirements for Rigid Open-Top Freight Car Covers, implementation of new specification
Issued: August 8, 2024
Effective: August 8, 2024
The purpose of this circular letter is to notify the industry of revisions to Section C, CAR CONSTRUCTION FUNDAMENTALS AND DETAILS, with implementation of Specification M-968 Design Requirements for Rigid Open-Top Freight Car Covers. This new specification defines the minimum requirements for rigid covers applied to open-top freight cars by a new car builder or as a retrofit. A copy of the specification is attached to the circular.
Specification M-968 is now implemented and effective immediately. This modification will be incorporated in the next issue of the Manual of Standards and Recommended Practices, Section C. Please update your library and be governed accordingly.
C-14410
Implementation of Revisions to MSRP Section B, FREIGHT CAR DRAFT COMPONENTS, New Publications M-902 End-of-Car Energy Management Systems and RP-906 Methodology: Multi-Car Drifting Simulations
Issued: August 8, 2024
Effective: August 8, 2024
The purpose of this circular letter is to notify the industry of revisions to Section B, FREIGHT CAR DRAFT COMPONENTS: Implementation of new publications M-902 End-of-Car Energy Management Systems and RP-906 Methodology: Multi-Car Drifting Simulations.
Specification M-902 and Recommended Practice RP-906, attached, are now implemented and effective immediately. This modification will be incorporated in the next issue of the Manual of Standards and Recommended Practices, Section B. Please update your library and be governed accordingly.
C-14413
Implementation of Revisions to Figures 17-A, 54-A and 58-A – Section 5 of the AAR Open Top Loading Rules Manual (OTLR)
Issued: August 21, 2024
Effective: August 21, 2024
The AAR’s Open Top Loading Rules Committee (OTLRC) has approved revisions to Section 5 OTLR manual for Figures 17-A, 54-A and 58-A. See circular for details.
The implementation of these revisions to Section 5 is effective immediately and will be included in the next edition of the AAR’s OTLR manual. In the interim, please insert the circular attachment for Figures 17-A, 54-A and 58-A in your copy of Section 5 and be governed accordingly.
Carriers are asked to ensure that copies of this circular letter are distributed to all concerned shippers and railroad personnel for their attention and guidance.
C-14414
Implementation Circular: Revisions to MSRP F, Sensors, S-6101 –Detector Calibration & Validation Requirements / ABD Site Current Validations
Issued: August 27, 2024
Effective: August 27, 2024
This implementation circular is being released to the industry for revisions to the AAR’s Manual of Standards & Recommended Practices (MSRP) Section F – Sensors / Detector Calibration & Validation Requirements / ABD Site Current Validations. AAR’s Equipment Health Monitoring Committee (EHMC) voted to progress the standard to implementation upon WABL Committee’s recommendation. The implemented standard is attached to the circular.
Modifications will be incorporated in the next issue of the Manual of Standards and Recommended Practices, Section F. Please update your library and be governed accordingly.
Call for Comment
C-14404
DRAFT S-9101.V1.3 Locomotive Electronics System Architecture, in support of AAR’ MSRP – Section K-II Locomotive Electronics and Train Consist System Architecture
Issued: August 2, 2024
Effective: 30 days for comment.
The Railroad Electronics Standards Committee (RESC) of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) is publishing DRAFT S-9101.V1.3 Locomotive Electronics System Architecture for review and comment.The purpose of this standard is to set forth the requirements for the standard locomotive electronics architecture that do the following:
- Provide a standard physical and logical infrastructure that will support electronic devices or functions.
- Allow integration of new devices and functions with little or no modification to existing equipment.
- Support sharing of locomotive electronics data to avoid duplication of sensor devices and replication of locomotive functions.
- Are flexible and extensible to support emerging electronic needs over the long life span of locomotives.
- Are cost-effective to build and maintain
In order to provide time for review and comments, this document will have a 30-day comment period. The time will begin with the posted date. SharePoint access can be found at www.railinc.com. Individuals and organizations who have a company ID may access the SharePoint site directly.
C-14403
DRAFT S-9503.V4.0 ITC Track Data File Format, in support of AAR’s MSRP – Section K-VI Railway Data Management and Communications
Issued: August 2, 2024
Effective: 15 days for comment.
The Positive Train Control Interoperability Committee (PTCIC) of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) is publishing DRAFT S-9503.V4.0 ITC Track Data File Format for review and comment. The purpose of this document is to specify, in complete detail, the fields and data lengths of all elements contained in Subdivision Files of format version 9. The format version 9 Subdivision Files are targeted for use with the Onboard PTC Application (OPA) software systems.
In order to provide time for review and comments, this document will have a 15-day comment period. The time will begin with the posted date. SharePoint access can be found at www.railinc.com. Individuals and organizations who have a company ID may access the SharePoint site directly.
C-14409
Revisions to MSRP Section S-III, COUPLER AND YOKE DETAILS, Standards S-102, S-103, and S-163, regarding MSRP references and coupler butt dimensions and tolerances for E60EE, SBE60EE, and SE60EE couplers
Issued: August 7, 2024
Effective: 30 days for comment.
The purpose of this circular letter is to solicit comments for revisions proposed to Section S-III Standards:
- S-102: Coupler, E Type, E60EE
- S-103: Coupler, E Type, Top and Bottom Shelf, SE60EE
- S-163: Coupler, E Type, Bottom Shelf, SBE60EE
The AAR Coupling System and Truck Castings Committee (CSTCC) is proposing the following revisions:
- Improved image quality
- Added coupler butt dimensions and tolerances
- Added references to Standards S-106 and S-173
- Added references to M-211 and M-215 for technical approval requirements
- Added a note that dimensions without tolerances are to be treated as reference dimensions
Changes are highlighted with change bars in the attached files which, if implemented as proposed, would replace the corresponding Standards in their entirety.
Notice of Circulars
C-14412
Informational Circular, Equipment Advisory EI-0001, Cars Due or Overdue Periodic Air Brake Tests, Escalation to Severity Level XX
Issued: August 8, 2024
Effective: August 21, 2024
AAR circular letter C-14173 was issued on June 9, 2023 notifying the industry of changes to Equipment Advisory EI-0001, including notification of cars moving to XX status. The initial plan was to escalate those cars that have not moved in over 2 years and those cars that are more than 2 years overdue. In September 2023, the Arbitration and Rules Committee voted to change the initial focus to those cars that are overdue and have not moved in over 1 year.
Currently there are approximately 30,000 cars on EI-0001 that have not moved in over 1 year and are overdue. These cars will be escalated in three batches of approximately 10,000 cars. A Supplement to EI-0001 will be issued on Monday August 19, 2024 adding XX status EI-0001. On Wednesday August 21, 2024 the first batch of cars will be escalated. The second batch will be escalated on Wednesday August 28th and the third batch will be escalated on Wednesday September 4th.
During the Arbitration and Rules Committee meeting September 25-27, 2024 the committee will review EI-0001 and identify the next steps in the escalation of cars to severity level XX to achieve the goal of automatically escalating to severity level XX close to the overdue date.
Upcoming Event
Southwest Association of Rail Shippers (SWARS) 2024 Semi-Annual Meeting
Houston, Texas | October 2–3, 2024
Greenbrier is a proud sponsor and exhibitor at the SWARS conference.
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