OpenRailwayMap/Work Rules in North America
This page is under construction and is incomplete; there is a significant amount of data to cover because of the large number of railroads in North America: please contribute! |
Operating Rulebooks
This page contains information on the various common operating rulebooks in Canada, Mexico, and the US, in order to help complete the workrules=* tag. This data is very much a work in progress.
Definitive OpenRailwayMap (ORM) tagging conventions are found at OpenRailwayMap/Tagging. For general guidance on tagging specific to North American railroads, see OpenRailwayMap/Tagging in North America. For general information on the US railway mapping effort, see United States/Railroads, which contains some information also useful in Canada and Mexico.
NORAC
The Northeast Operating Rules Advisory Committee is both a rulebook and the organization that defines said rulebook. NORAC was formed in 1985 to create a common rulebook for the Northeast; operations became more complicated after the creation of Amtrak and Conrail, and after state and municipal agencies took over commuter rail operation and ownership. As such, NORAC has more ways to represent the same signal rule than any other set of operating rules in the United States. NORAC is a speed signalling system, and has the most speed signalling than any other rulebook. Those using NORAC have to use the rulebook in its entirety, with no additional rules.
workrules=US:NORAC
Member Railroads
Members and Membership StatusRailroad Name | Abbreviation | Reporting Mark(s) | Membership Status | Passenger | Freight | Applicable Lines | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adirondack Scenic Railroad | fixme | fixme | Associate Member | Heritage/Tourist | fixme | fixme | |
Amtrak | AMTK | Full Member | Passenger | No | Shore Line (New Haven to Boston) New York Terminal District Springfield Line (New Haven to Springfield) Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line (Keystone Corridor) New York Terminal District |
||
Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railway | B&ML | BML | Associate Member | Heritage/Tourist | Rights to | Belfast and Moosehead Railroad | |
Cape Cod Central Railroad | |||||||
Cape May Seashore Lines | |||||||
Claremont Concord Railroad | |||||||
Columbia & Reading Railway | |||||||
Finger Lakes Railway | FLGK | Associate Member | Heritage/Tourist | Common Carrier | fixme | ||
Grafton & Upton Railroad Company | |||||||
Housatonic Railroad | fixme | HRRC | |||||
Maine Eastern Railroad | MERR | Associate Member | Heritage/Tourist | Common Carrier | Rockland Branch Lower Road |
||
Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority | MBTA | MBTX | Full Member | Commuter | No | fixme | |
Metro-North Railroad | fixme | fixme | Former Member | ||||
Naugatuck Railroad | fixme | NAUG | Associate Member | Heritage/Tourist | fixme | fixme | |
New Jersey Transit | NJT | NJTR | |||||
New York, Susquehanna, and Western Railway | NYS&W | NYSW | Associate Member | No | Common Carrier | All | |
Pan Am Railways | PAR | fixme | fixme Member | fixme | Common Carrier | fixme | |
Providence and Worcester Railroad | P&W | PW | Full Member | Excursion | Common Carrier | fixme | |
Southern Railroad of New Jersey | |||||||
Seminole Gulf Railway | |||||||
SMS Rail Service | |||||||
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority | SEPTA | SEPA | |||||
Valley Railroad | VRR | VALE | Associate Member | Heritage/Tourist | Rights to | Valley Line | |
Wellsboro & Corning Railroad | |||||||
West Chester Railroad | |||||||
Winimac Southern Railroad | |||||||
Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad |
Defined Terms
Signal System Types
<todo>
Speeds
Name | Passenger | Freight | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Normal Speed | The Maximum authorized speed. | ||
Limited Speed | Not exceeding 45 MPH. | Not exceeding 40 MPH | |
Medium Speed | Not exceeding 30 MPH | ||
Slow Speed | Not exceeding 15 MPH | ||
Restricted Speed | Not exceeding a speed that permits the movement to be stopped within 1/2 the range of vision short of any obstructions or signals requiring a stop. |
Operating Rules
Signalling Rules
Keyvalues are defined US-NORAC:<rule>, where the value of <rule> is defined in the table below.
GCOR
The General Code of Operating Rules (GCOR) is a set of operating rules for railroads in the United States. The GCOR is used by Class I railroads west of the Chicago, most of the Class II railroads, and many Short-line railroads. The current version is the 7th Edition in effective April 1st, 2015.
workrules=US:GCOR
Member Railroads
Members and Membership StatusRailroad Name | Abbreviation | Reporting Mark(s) | Membership Status | Passenger | Freight | Applicable Lines | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BNSF Railway | BNSF | BNSF, GN, BN, | Seventh Edition | Yes | Yes | All | |
Union Pacific Railway | UP | UP, WP, SP, | Seventh Edition | Yes | Yes | All |
<membership table under construction>
CROR
The Canadian Rail Operating Rules (CROR) is a set of operating rules for railroads in Canada. The CROR is used by every Canadian railway. The current version is the one dated 30 July 2021.
workrules=CA:CROR
Defined Terms
Speeds
Name | Definition |
---|---|
Normal Speed | The Maximum authorized speed. |
Limited Speed | Not exceeding 45 MPH. |
Medium Speed | Not exceeding 30 MPH |
Diverging Speed | Not exceeding 25 MPH |
Slow Speed | Not exceeding 15 MPH |
Turnout Speed | Unless otherwise provided by signal indication or special instructions, a speed not exceeding 15 MPH. |
Restricted Speed | Not exceeding a speed that permits the movement to be stopped within 1/2 the range of vision short of any obstructions or signals requiring a stop. |
Signalling Rules
Keyvalues are defined CA-CROR:<rule>, where the value of <rule> is defined in the table below.