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The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces rail safety regulations It also provides rail funding and studies strategies for improving rail safety.

FRA field inspectors make use of discretion to decide which cases are worthy of the precise and time-consuming civil penalty process. This helps ensure that the most serious violations are punished.

Members of SMART-TD and their allies made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to allow two people in the locomotive cab of freight trains. The fight continues.





Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration implements a number of safety measures to ensure the health of employees as well as the public. It formulates and enforces safety regulations for rail and oversees the funding for rail. It also researches rail improvement strategies and technology. It also formulates and implements a plan to maintain current infrastructure, rail services and capacity and strategically expands and enhances the national rail network. The department expects all railroad employers to adhere to the strictest rules and regulations, and empower their employees and provide them with the tools needed to be successful and secure. This includes participating in the secure close call reporting system, setting up occupational health and safety committees with full union participation, as well as anti-retaliation safeguards, and providing employees with needed personal protection equipment.

FRA inspectors are at the forefront of enforcement of railway safety laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections on equipment and investigate hundreds of complaints. Those who violate the safety rules for rail can be subject to civil penalties. The agency's safety inspectors have a broad discretion on whether an individual violation is in line with the statutory description of a criminal penalty-worthy act. The Office of Chief Counsel’s safety division also examines the reports submitted by regional offices to ensure that they are legal before assessing penalties. This discretion is exercised at the field and regional levels to ensure that civil penalties are only applied when they are necessary.

Rail employees must be aware of the rules and regulations that govern his or her actions, and not knowingly violate those standards to commit a civil penalty-worthy offense. However the agency doesn't consider anyone who is acting under a direction from a supervisor to have committed a willful violation. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the entire network that allows passengers and goods to travel within metropolitan areas, or between them. The trackage of a plant railroad in a steel mill is not considered to be part of the overall transportation system by rail, even although it is physically connected to it.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, including those pertaining to safety and movement of hazardous materials. The agency also oversees rail financing which includes loans and grants for infrastructure and improvements to service. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies and industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's rail system. This includes ensuring the existing rail infrastructure and services, addressing the needs for capacity expansion, expanding the network strategically, and coordinating regional and national system's development and planning.

The agency is responsible for freight transportation but also manages passenger transportation. The agency is working to connect people with the places they'd like to visit and offer more options for travel. The agency is focused on enhancing the passenger experience and enhancing the safety of the existing fleet, and ensuring that the rail network continues to operate efficiently.

Railroads must abide by a variety of federal regulations, including those pertaining to the size of the crews on trains. In recent times, this issue has been a source of contention. Certain states have passed legislation mandating two-person crews in trains. liability act fela codifies federally the minimum size crew requirements, ensuring that all railroads adhere to the same safety standards.

This law also requires that each railroad operating with a crew of one notify FRA and submit a risk analysis. This will allow FRA to better identify the specifics of each operation and compare them with those of a normal two-person crew operation. Additionally, this rule changes the standard of review for a special approval petition from to determining whether an operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining whether the operation would be as secure or as safe as a two-crewmember operation.

During the time of public comment on this rule, a lot of people voiced their support for a requirement of two people on the crew. A letter from 29 people outlined their concerns that a single crew member would not be as quick to respond to train malfunctions or grade crossing incidents or assist emergency response personnel at a highway rail grade crossing. Commenters pointed out that human factors are the reason for more than half of all railroad accidents. They believe that a bigger crew would ensure the security of the train and its cargo.

Technology

Trains for passenger and freight use different technologies to improve efficiency, increase security, and improve safety. The language used in the rail industry includes a variety of specific terms and acronyms, but some of the most notable innovations include machine vision systems, instrumented rail inspection systems, driverless trains rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicles (commonly known as drones).

Technology isn't just about replacing certain jobs. It helps people perform their jobs better and with greater security. Railroads that transport passengers use smartphones and contactless fare cards to increase passengership and boost the efficiency of their system. Other innovations, such as autonomous rail vehicles, are moving closer to becoming reality.

As part of its ongoing efforts to ensure safe, reliable and affordable transportation for the nation The Federal Railroad Administration is focused on modernizing its rail infrastructure. This multi-billion dollar project will see tunnels, bridges tracks, power systems and tracks upgraded and stations being rebuilt or replaced. FRA's recently passed bipartisan infrastructure law will substantially increase the agency's rail improvement programs.

The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a key component of this effort. The National Academies' recent review of the office found that it excelled at engaging, maintaining communication with and using inputs from a broad range of stakeholders. However, it needs to focus more on how its research contributes to the department's primary strategic goal of ensuring safe movement of people and goods by rail.

The agency could improve its effectiveness by identifying and supporting automated train systems and technologies. The Association of American Railroads (AAR), the primary industry association for the freight rail industry that focuses on research and policy, as well as standard setting and has established a Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations to assist in helping create standards within the industry.

The FRA is interested in the group's development of a taxonomy for automated rail vehicles, a system that defines clearly and consistently the different levels of automation. This could be applicable to rail transit as well as vehicles on the road. The agency will also want to know the level of safety risk that the industry perceives associated when implementing a fully automated system and whether or not the industry is contemplating additional security measures to reduce the risk.

Innovation

Railroads are embracing technology to increase worker safety and improve business processes. efficient and ensure that the freight it transports arrives at its destination in good condition. Examples of this kind of innovation vary from the use cameras and sensors to track freight, to the latest railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo safe during transport. Certain of these technologies allow railroads to dispatch emergency responders directly to accident sites to reduce the risk and minimize damage to people and property.

Positive Train Control (PTC) is one of the most important innovations in rail. It will prevent train-to-train accidents, situations where trains are on track they shouldn't be, and other accidents caused by human errors. The system is comprised of three parts consisting of locomotives onboard that track the train; wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive and a huge server that gathers and analyzes data.

Trains for passengers also adopt technology to enhance security and safety. Amtrak, for example, is testing the use of drones to help security personnel on trains locate passengers and other items in an emergency. The company is also looking into other ways to use drones, including deploying drones to inspect bridges as well as other infrastructure, such as replacing the lighting on railway towers that could be hazardous for workers to climb.

Smart track technology is a different technology that is used in passenger railroads. It can detect objects or people on tracks and warn drivers if it is unsafe to continue. These technologies are particularly useful for detecting unauthorized crossings or other issues in the evenings when traffic is less and there are less witnesses to an accident.

Another significant technological advance in the rail industry is telematics, which enables railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to view a traincar's status and condition via real-time tracking. Such capabilities give railcar operators and crews better control and visibility. They can also assist them in improving efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance and reduce delays in delivering freight to customers.