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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 use discretion to determine which cases warrant the exact and time consuming civil penalty process. This allows them to ensure that those violations most deserving of punishment are penalized.

Members of SMART-TD and their allies made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to allow two people in the cabs of locomotives of freight trains. The fight is not over.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration implements a variety of safety measures to protect the health of its employees and public. It is responsible for creating and enforcing regulations for rail safety. It also administers rail funding and conducts research on improvements to rail strategies and technologies. It also creates, implements and maintains a plan for maintaining current rail services and infrastructure. It also works to expand and improve the rail network across the nation. The department requires that all rail employers adhere to strict regulations, empower their employees and provide them with tools to ensure their safety and success. This includes participating in the confidential close-call reporting system, establishing labor-management occupational health and safety committees with full participation from unions and anti-retaliation protections and providing employees with personal protection equipment.

FRA inspectors are at the forefront of enforcement of the rail safety laws and regulations. They conduct regular inspections of equipment and conduct a myriad of investigations of complaints of noncompliance. Those who violate rail safety laws may be penalized civilly. Safety inspectors from the agency are able to decide on the extent to which a particular violation meets the statutory description of a criminal penalty-worthy act. The Office of Chief Counsel's safety division also examines the reports that regional offices submit to ensure that they are legal before assessing penalties. The exercise of this discretion at the field and regional levels helps ensure that the time-consuming, costly civil penalty process is applied only in situations which truly warrant the deterrent effect of a civil fine.

To be considered guilty of a civil offense the employee of a rail company must be aware of the rules and regulations governing their actions. They must also knowingly not adhere to these rules. However, the agency does not take any person who follows a directive from a supervisor as having committed a willful violation. The agency defines "general railroad system" as the entire system that transports passengers and goods between metropolitan areas and cities. The trackage of a plant railroad in the steel mill is not considered to be part of the overall rail transportation system, even though it is physically connected.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for establishing regulations for trains including those related to safety and the movement of hazardous substances. The agency manages rail finance, which includes grants and loan for infrastructure and service improvement. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies and the industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's railroad system. This includes maintaining the current rail infrastructure and services, addressing the need for capacity expansion, expanding the network strategically as well as coordinating the regional and national system planning and development.

The agency is primarily responsible for freight transport, but also manages passenger transportation. The agency is working to connect people to places they want and provide more alternatives for travel. The agency is focused on improving the experience for passengers and increasing the safety of the current fleet, and ensuring the rail network is operating efficiently.

Railroads must comply with many federal regulations, relating to the size of crews on trains. In recent years, this issue has been a source of contention. Certain states have passed legislation requiring two-person teams on trains. This final rule defines federally the minimum size crew requirements, ensuring that all railroads adhere to the same safety standards.

This also requires every railroad operating a one-person train crew to inform FRA of the operation and submit an assessment of risk. This will enable FRA to compare the parameters of each operation to the standard two-person crew operation. This rule also changes the standard for reviewing an application for special approval from determining if an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety, to determining if the operation is as secure or less risky than a two-person crew operations.

During the time of public comments for this rule, a large number of people voted for a requirement of two people on the crew. In a letter to the editor 29 people expressed their concern that a single member of the crew will not be capable of responding with the speed required to respond to train malfunctions or incidents at grade crossings, or assist emergency response personnel at the highway-rail level crossing. The commenters noted that human factors account for more than half railroad accidents, and they believe that a larger team could help ensure the safety of both the train and its cargo.

Technology

Railroads for passenger and freight use a wide array of technologies to enhance efficiency, increase security, improve safety and more. The language used in the rail industry includes a variety of distinct 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 called drones).

Technology isn't just replacing certain jobs; it's helping people to perform their jobs better and safer. Railroads for passengers use apps on smartphones and contactless fare cards in order to increase passengership and boost the efficiency of their system. Other innovations like autonomous rail cars are getting closer to reality.

The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to promote safe reliable, affordable, and cost-effective transportation in America, is focused on modernizing the railway infrastructure. This is a multi-billion-dollar initiative that will see tunnels and bridges restored as well as tracks and power systems upgraded, and stations rebuilt or replaced. The FRA's rail improvements program will be greatly extended by the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is an essential element in this initiative. The National Academies' recent review of the office concluded that it excelled at keeping in touch using inputs from a variety of stakeholders. It is still required to be aware of how its research contributes to the department's primary objective of ensuring the safe movement of people and goods by rail.

The agency could increase its efficiency by identifying and supporting automated train systems and technologies. fela accident attorney of American Railroads, the freight rail industry's primary industry organization that focuses on research, policy and standard setting the Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to assist in the development of industry standards to implement the technology.

The FRA is interested in the creation of a taxonomy for automated rail vehicles which defines clearly and consistently different levels of automation. This could apply to both rail transit and vehicles on the road. The agency would like to know the level of risk that the industry perceives with fully automated operation, and whether the industry is considering any additional measures to mitigate that risk.

Innovation

Rail companies are adopting technology to increase worker safety, improve efficiency in business processes and ensure that the cargo they transport is delivered intact. Examples of this kind of innovations vary from the use sensors and cameras to track freight, to the latest railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo safe during transport. Some of these technologies even allow railroads to send emergency response personnel to areas of accidents so that they can swiftly mitigate damage and reduce the risk to people and property.





One of the most renowned innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC) which will prevent collisions between trains and train, situations where trains are on tracks where they shouldn't be, and other accidents that result from human errors. This system consists of three components consisting of locomotives onboard that track the train; wayside networks which communicate with the locomotive and a huge server that analyzes and collects data.

Passenger railroads also embrace technology to improve security and safety. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with drones to assist passenger security personnel in locating passengers and other items onboard trains in case in an emergency. The company is also exploring other ways to use drones, such as using drones to inspect bridges and other infrastructure for example, replacing the lighting on railway towers, which could be hazardous for workers to climb.

Other technologies that can be utilized for railways for passengers include smart track technology, which can detect the presence of people or objects on the tracks and issue a warning to drivers if it's unsafe to proceed. These types of technologies are particularly valuable for detecting unauthorized crossings as well as other issues that can arise in the off-hours, when traffic volumes are lowest and there are fewer people around to witness an accident.

Another significant technological advance in the railway industry is telematics which enables railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to monitor the status and condition of a traincar by real-time tracking. Railcar operators and crews can benefit from increased accountability and transparency which can help them to improve efficiency and avoid unnecessary maintenance. It will also help delay in the delivery of freight.