Rail regulator urges passenger railroads to ban e-bike charging and keep battery devices out of end cars

The Federal Railroad Administration has asked passenger railroads to tighten how they handle e-bikes, e-scooters and other battery-powered devices that riders bring on board. In Safety Advisory 2026-02, filed for public inspection on November 10 and scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on November 12, the agency warns that a lithium-ion battery failing inside an occupied railcar can create life-threatening heat, smoke and toxic gas within seconds to minutes.

The advisory covers what FRA calls electric micromobility vehicles: e-bicycles, e-scooters, e-unicycles and hoverboards. FRA says their popularity for the first and last mile of a commute has brought high-energy batteries into occupied passenger cars.

What the tests found

FRA bases its warning on full-scale experiments by UL Research Institutes' Fire Safety Research Institute, which announced the report on May 21, 2026. Researchers forced the batteries of four devices, a standing e-scooter, an e-bike and two seated e-scooters, into thermal runaway, which FRA describes as "an uncontrollable, self-heating battery failure," inside an 85-foot, 72-passenger railcar. The institute says the Fire Department of the City of New York and Christiana Fire Company supported the experiments.

According to FRA's account of the report, the batteries released flammable gas that caught fire as a fireball, with little or no warning. The institute says devices typically smoked for only a few seconds before igniting.

FRA calls the spread of toxic gas the more worrying finding, because most passengers away from the device would be exposed without realizing the danger. "We've already seen e-mobility thermal runaway incidents on public transportation networks in cities, including New York City, Toronto and Madrid," Adam Barowy, a principal research engineer at the institute, said when the report came out.

What FRA recommends

The advisory recommends that railroads offering passenger service:

• review the institute's report and update their written fire safety analyses to account for the extra fire load if they allow battery-powered devices on board, for example with noncombustible liners in storage areas;
• prohibit storing the devices at or under seats, where they sit near materials that can burn and are hard for crews to watch;
• update emergency plans and train crews to put getting passengers away from an overheating device ahead of trying to fight the fire, especially in tunnels and on elevated tracks;
• keep the devices out of the first and last cars, where a fire could block the end doors and vestibules people need to get out;
• ban charging the devices while trains are carrying passengers.

Guidance, with existing rules behind it

The advisory does not have the force of law and is not binding, FRA says. But it points to rules that already apply. Under 49 CFR 238.103, railroads must keep a written fire safety analysis, and FRA says a railroad that allows these devices on board must conduct or update that analysis. If the analysis finds the risk to passengers is not negligible, the railroad must take steps to reduce it, which FRA says could include fire-isolated storage areas, a charging ban, capacity limits or operating restrictions. FRA adds that it may issue further advisories or pursue enforcement.

According to the institute's announcement, its report goes further on device rules: it lists requiring safety-certified devices, considering limits on the size of devices allowed on board and designating storage areas, along with staff training and public education.

What it means for riders

The advisory is addressed to railroads, so it does not change any rider rule by itself. Whether e-bikes and scooters are allowed, and where they go, is set by each railroad within the federal fire safety rules described above, and any changes would come from the railroads. Among its recommendations, the institute lists public education, so that riders know the risks, and how to reduce them, before boarding.