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The General Code of Operating Rules (GCOR) is a set of operating rules for railroads in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. The GCOR is used by
Class I railroad Railroad classes are the system by which Rail freight transport, freight railroads are designated in the United States. Railroads are assigned to Class I, II or III according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportatio ...
s west of
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, most of the
Class II railroad Railroad classes are the system by which freight railroads are designated in the United States. Railroads are assigned to Class I, II or III according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportation Board in 1992. With a ...
s, and many
Short-line railroad A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the United States and Canada. In the former, railroads are ...
s. Some railroads in the northeast United States follow NORAC, while
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
have their own set of operating rules that govern their railroad operations.


Overview

The GCOR rules are intended to enhance
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
. The rules cover employee responsibilities, signaling equipment, procedures for safe train movement, dealing with accidents and other topics that directly and indirectly affect railroad safety. Some railroads modify the GCOR rules to suit their specific operations. The GCOR is supplemented by System Special Instructions, Timetables, Hazardous Materials Instructions, Air Brake and Train Handling Instructions, and General Orders. These documents are issued by each individual railroad. System Special instructions, Timetables, and General Order can modify or amend the General Code of Operating Rules. GCOR 1.3.2 states that General Orders replace any rule, special instruction, or regulation that conflicts with the general order. Some railroads will maintain what they call a "living rulebook." As amendments are released via general order or special instruction, they will update the specific page that was affected. An example of this is the Union Pacific, which maintains a copy of the GCOR with page-by-page amendments. The current version of the GCOR is the Eighth Edition, effective April 1, 2020.


Categories

The full set of GCOR rules is divided into 19 categories. #General Responsibilities #Railroad Radio and Communication Rules #''Section Reserved'' # Timetables #
Signals A signal is both the process and the result of Signal transmission, transmission of data over some transmission media, media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processin ...
and Their Use #Movement of
Train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...
s and
Engines An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...
# Switching #
Switches In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...
# Block System Rules #Rules Applicable Only in Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) #Rules Applicable in ACS, ATC and ATS Territories #Rules Applicable Only in
Automatic Train Stop Automatic train stop or ATS is a system on a train that automatically stops a train if certain situations occur (unresponsive train operator, earthquake, disconnected rail, train running over a stop signal, etc.) to prevent accidents. In some scen ...
(ATS) Territory #Rules Applicable Only in Automatic Cab Signal System (ACS) Territory #Rules Applicable Only Within Track Warrant Control (TWC) Limits #Track Bulletin Rules #Rules Applicable Only in Direct Traffic Control (DTC) Limits #Rules Applicable Only in
Automatic Train Control Automatic train control (ATC) is a general class of train protection systems for railways that involves a speed control mechanism in response to external inputs. For example, a system could effect an emergency brake application if the driver do ...
(ATC) Territory #Rules Applicable Only in
Positive Train Control Positive train control (PTC) is a family of automatic train protection systems deployed in the United States. Most of the United States' national rail network mileage has a form of PTC. These systems are generally designed to check that trains a ...
(PTC) Territory #''Section Reserved''


See also

*
Northeast Operating Rules Advisory Committee The Northeast Operating Rules Advisory Committee (NORAC) is a body of railroads that establish a set of operating rules for railroads in North America. The NORAC rulebook is used by full and associate member railroads, located mostly in the Nort ...
* Canadian Rail Operating Rules


References

{{Reflist


External links


U S Department of Transportation - Compliance with Railroad Operating Rules and Corporate Culture Influences, October 1999General Code of Operating Rules, April 7, 2010General Code of Operating Rules, April 1, 2015General Code of Operating Rules, April 1, 2020
Railway signaling in the United States Railway signaling in Mexico