This bill mandates that railroad companies install and maintain defect detectors on every railway branch line they operate. Specifically, it requires at least one defect detector on each branch line, with an additional detector for every fifteen miles if the line exceeds that length. The bill allows for shared costs among companies operating on the same railway and establishes joint liability for any legal issues arising from the installation and maintenance of these detectors.

Penalties are outlined for non-compliance, including a schedule five penalty for operating a train on a branch line without the required defect detectors. This penalty is assessed for every mile of the branch line without a detector, as well as for each instance a train passes a malfunctioning detector that fails to alert the crew of any defects. The fines range from $500 to $5,000 for first violations and from $5,000 to $10,000 for subsequent violations.