A regulation adopted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will for the first time require railroads and steamship companies owning intermodal container chassis to share safety responsibility with motor carriers.

The regulation, a decade in the making and part of the federal highway bill passed in 2005, requires owners of intermodal equipment -- many of which are railroads and ocean carriers -- to register and file a motor carrier identification report with the FMCSA. They will also be required to establish inspection, repair, and maintenance programs, and provide a means to respond to driver and motor carrier reports about intermodal chassis mechanical defects and deficiencies.

The agency also adopted inspection requirements for motor carriers and drivers operating intermodal equipment. Improved maintenance should result in fewer chassis being put out-of-service and fewer vehicle breakdowns involving intermodal chassis, the agency said.