# Hi-rail vehicles — Federal hours-of-service exemptions by commercial driver operation type

For Hi-rail vehicles, cfr citation is 49 CFR 395.1(w); who qualifies is the driver of a hi-rail vehicle; what it exempts from is the maximum on duty time under § 395.3 shall not include time in transportation to or from a duty assignment; radius or condition is Does not exceed 2 hours per calendar day or a total of 30 hours per calendar month; baseline limit (for context) is § 395.3(a)(2) and (b): the 14-hour window and the 60/70-hour 7/8-day on-duty caps, recorded from its source on 2026-08-28; source re-checked 2026-08-30.

- **Exemption:** Hi-rail vehicles _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **CFR citation:** 49 CFR 395.1(w) _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Who qualifies:** the driver of a hi-rail vehicle _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **What it exempts from:** the maximum on duty time under § 395.3 shall not include time in transportation to or from a duty assignment _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Radius or condition:** Does not exceed 2 hours per calendar day or a total of 30 hours per calendar month _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Baseline limit (for context):** § 395.3(a)(2) and (b): the 14-hour window and the 60/70-hour 7/8-day on-duty caps. _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> (w) Hi-rail vehicles. For the driver of a hi-rail vehicle, the maximum on duty time under § 395.3 shall not include time in transportation to or from a duty assignment if such time in transportation— (1) Does not exceed 2 hours per calendar day or a total of 30 hours per calendar month; and (2) Is fully and accurately accounted for in records to be maintained by the motor carrier and such records are made available upon request of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or the Federal Railroad Administration.

## Source

- https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-395/subpart-A/section-395.1

Last verified: 2026-08-30. Review by: 2027-08-28.
Part of [Federal hours-of-service exemptions by commercial driver operation type](https://referencesource.org/federal-hours-of-service-exemptions-by-operation-type/).