---
kind: "section"
citation: "49 U.S.C. § 20118"
title: "49"
title_heading: "Transportation"
number: "20118"
heading: "Prohibition on public disclosure of railroad safety analysis records"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/49/20118"
units:
  - "Subtitle V — Rail Programs"
  - "Part A — Safety"
  - "Chapter 201 — General"
  - "Subchapter I — General"
---

# §20118. Prohibition on public disclosure of railroad safety analysis records

- (a) **In General.—** Except as necessary for the [Secretary](/usc/49/22401.md?p=14) of Transportation or another Federal agency to enforce or carry out any provision of Federal law, any part of any record (including, but not limited to, a [railroad carrier](/usc/49/20102.md?p=3)’s analysis of its safety risks and its statement of the mitigation measures it has identified with which to address those risks) that the [Secretary](/usc/49/22401.md?p=14) has obtained pursuant to a provision of, or regulation or order under, this chapter related to the establishment, implementation, or [modification](/usc/49/22401.md?p=10) of a [railroad](/usc/49/22401.md?p=12) safety risk reduction program or pilot program is exempt from the requirements of [section 552 of title 5](/usc/5/552.md) if the record is—
  - (1) supplied to the [Secretary](/usc/49/22401.md?p=14) pursuant to that safety risk reduction program or pilot program; or
  - (2) made available for inspection and copying by an officer, [employee](/usc/49/21101.md?p=3), or agent of the [Secretary](/usc/49/22401.md?p=14) pursuant to that safety risk reduction program or pilot program.
- (b) **Exception.—** Notwithstanding [subsection (a)](#a), the [Secretary](/usc/49/22401.md?p=14) may disclose any part of any record comprised of facts otherwise available to the public if, in the [Secretary](/usc/49/22401.md?p=14)’s sole discretion, the [Secretary](/usc/49/22401.md?p=14) determines that disclosure would be consistent with the confidentiality needed for that safety risk reduction program or pilot program.
- (c) **Discretionary Prohibition of Disclosure.—** The [Secretary](/usc/49/22401.md?p=14) may prohibit the public disclosure of risk analyses or risk mitigation analyses that the [Secretary](/usc/49/22401.md?p=14) has obtained under other provisions of, or regulations or orders under, this chapter if the [Secretary](/usc/49/22401.md?p=14) determines that the prohibition of public disclosure is necessary to promote [railroad](/usc/49/22401.md?p=12) safety.

## Source credit

(Added Pub. L. 110–432, div. A, title I, § 109(a), Oct. 16, 2008, 122 Stat. 4866.)