352
Opinion of the Court
(same); Hester v. CSX Transp., Inc., 61 F. 3d 382 (CA5 1995) (same), cert. denied, 516 U. S. 1093 (1996), with 173 F. 3d 386 (CA6 1999) (case below); Shots v. CSX Transp., Inc., 38 F. 3d 304 (CA7 1994) (no pre-emption until representative of Federal Government has determined that devices installed are adequate for safety).
II
We previously addressed the pre-emptive effect of the FHWA's regulations implementing the Crossings Program in CSX Transp., Inc. v. Easterwood, 507 U. S. 658 (1993). In that case, we explained that the language of the FRSA's pre-emption provision dictates that, to pre-empt state law, the federal regulation must "cover" the same subject matter, and not merely " 'touch upon' or 'relate to' that subject matter." Id., at 664; see also 49 U. S. C. § 20106. Thus, "preemption will lie only if the federal regulations substantially subsume the subject matter of the relevant state law." Easterwood, supra, at 664. Applying this standard, we concluded that the regulations contained in 23 CFR pt. 924 (1999), which "establish the general terms of the bargain between the Federal and State Governments" for the Crossings Program, are not pre-emptive. 507 U. S., at 667. We also held that § 646.214(b)(1), which requires that all traffic control devices installed under the program comply with the MUTCD, does not pre-empt state tort actions. Id., at 668- 670. The MUTCD "provides a description of, rather than a prescription for, the allocation of responsibility for grade crossing safety between Federal and State Governments and between States and railroads," and hence "disavows any claim to cover the subject matter of that body of law." Id., at 669-670.
With respect to §§ 646.214(b)(3) and (4), however, we reached a different conclusion. Because those regulations "establish requirements as to the installation of particular warning devices," we held that "when they are applicable, state tort law is pre-empted." Id., at 670. Unlike the other
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