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The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces rail safety regulations, provides rail funding and researches rail improvement strategies.

FRA inspectors on the ground use discretion to determine which cases are worthy of the lengthy and precise civil penalty process. This allows them to ensure that the most serious violations are penalized.

SMART-TD members and allies made history in 2024 when they began pushing the FRA to ensure that two people are in the cabs of locomotives of freight trains. The fight is not over.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration has a variety of safety measures in place to ensure the health and welfare of its employees and the general public. It creates and enforces rail safety regulations, administers rail funding and researches rail improvement strategies and technologies. It also formulates, implements and maintains an action plan to maintain the current infrastructure and services for rail. It also works to expand and improve the rail network across the nation. The department expects that all rail employers adhere to strict guidelines, empower their employees and provide them with the tools to be safe and successful. This includes taking part in a confidential close-call reporting system, creating labor-management occupational safety and health committees with full-union participation and antiretaliation provisions and providing employees with the required personal protective gear.

Inspectors of the FRA are at the forefront of enforcing rail safety regulations and laws. They conduct routine inspections of equipment and investigate complaints from hundreds of people. Anyone who violates the safety rules for rail can be punished with civil penalties. Safety inspectors at the agency have wide discretion to determine if violations fall within the definition provided by law of an act that is punishable by civil penalties. In addition the Office of Chief Counsel's safety division examines all reports submitted from regional offices to determine their legal sufficiency before assessing penalties. The exercise of this discretion at the regional and field levels helps ensure that the exacting, time-consuming civil penalty process is utilized only in those situations that truly warrant the deterrent effect of a civil penalty.

To be convicted of a civil offense the employee of a rail company must know the rules and regulations governing the conduct of his or her employees. They must also be aware of and disregard these standards. The agency doesn't consider that an individual who acts on a supervisor's directive is guilty of committing a willful crime. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the entire network over which goods and passengers travel within metropolitan areas and between them. The trackage of a plant railroad within a steelmill is not considered to be part of the general rail transportation system, despite the fact that it is physically connected.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible to establish regulations for train operations including those related to safety and the transportation of dangerous substances. The agency also manages financing for rail which includes loans and grants for infrastructure and improvements to service. The agency works with other DOT agencies as well as industry to devise strategies for improving the nation's rail infrastructure. This includes ensuring the existing rail infrastructure and services, responding to the demands for new capacity and expanding the network strategically and coordinating national and regional system development and planning.





While the majority of the agency's work is focused on freight transportation, it also oversees the transportation of passengers. The agency is working to offer more options for passengers and connect passengers with the places they would like to go. The agency is focused on enhancing the passenger experience as well as improving the safety of the current fleet, and making sure that the railway system continues to function efficiently.

Railroads must comply with many federal regulations, relating to the size of crews on trains. In recent years, this issue has become a source of controversy. Certain states have passed legislation requiring two-person crews on trains. This final rule outlines the minimum crew size requirements at an international level, and ensures that all railroads are subject to consistent safety standards.

This rule also requires that each railroad operating a one-person crew notify FRA and submit a risk analysis. This will allow FRA to identify the specific parameters of each operation and compare them to those of a typical two-person crew operation. Additionally this rule will change the review standard for an approval petition that is based on determining whether the operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining if approving the operation is secure or as safe as a two-crewmember operation.

During the public comment period for this rule, a large number of people supported the requirement for a two-person crew. In a form letter, 29 people expressed their concern that a single crewmember would not be in a position to respond with the speed required to respond to train malfunctions or incidents at grade crossings, or assist emergency personnel on an elevated highway crossing. Commenters emphasized that human factors are responsible for more than half all railroad accidents. They believe that a larger crew could ensure the security of the train as well as its cargo.

Technology

Trains for passenger and freight use different technologies to improve efficiency, increase safety, and boost security. Rail industry jargon covers many distinct terms and acronyms. Some of the most notable include machine vision systems (also called drones) instruments for rail-inspection systems, driverless train rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicles (also known as drones).

Technology isn't only able to replace certain jobs. It empowers people to perform their jobs better and more safely. Railroads that transport passengers are using smartphones apps and contactless fare payment cards in order to boost ridership and make the system more efficient. Other innovations, such as autonomous rail vehicles, are inching closer to becoming a reality.

As part of its ongoing effort to advance secure, reliable and affordable transportation for the entire nation, the Federal Railroad Administration is focused on modernizing its rail infrastructure. This is a multi-billion-dollar effort that will see tunnels and bridges rebuilt, tracks and power systems upgraded, and stations reconstructed or replaced. The recently passed bipartisan infrastructure law will significantly grow the agency's rail improvement programs.

The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a key element in this initiative. The National Academies' recent review of the office concluded that it excelled in keeping in touch using inputs from a wide range of stakeholders. However, it needs to focus more on how its research aids in the department's main objective of ensuring the safe movement of goods and people by rail.

One area in which the agency could be able improve its effectiveness is in identifying and supporting the advancement of automated train technology and systems. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is the principal industry association for the freight rail industry that is focused on research and policy, as well as standard setting created a Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations to help establish standards for the industry.

FRA will be interested in the group's creation of an automated rail taxonomy, which is a standardization system that can clearly and consistently define different levels of automation that would be applicable to both rail and on-road transit vehicles. The agency would like to know the amount of risk the industry perceives with fully automated operation, and whether the industry is considering additional measures to mitigate that risk.

Innovation

Railroads are embracing technology to increase worker safety, make business processes more efficient and ensure that the cargo that they transport arrives at its destination safely. Examples of such innovations vary from the use cameras and sensors to track freight, to the latest railcar designs that help keep hazardous cargo safe during transit. Certain of these technologies allow railroads dispatch emergency personnel directly to the scene of an accident to reduce the risk and minimize damage to property and people.

One of the most well-known innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC) that will stop collisions between trains and train, situations where trains are on tracks that shouldn't be, as well as other accidents resulting from human mistakes. It is a three-part process consisting of onboard locomotive systems that track the train and wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive and an enormous backend server that analyzes and collects data.

Passenger railroads also embrace technology to enhance security and safety. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with the use of drones to assist security personnel in locating passengers and other items aboard trains in the event in the event of an emergency. The company is also looking into other ways to use drones, such as using them to perform inspections of bridges as well as other infrastructure, for example, replacing the lights on railway towers that could be hazardous for workers to climb.

Other technologies that can be utilized for passenger railroads include smart track technology, which is able to detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and issue drivers with a warning if it's unsafe to proceed. These technologies are especially effective in detecting unsafe crossings or other issues during the evenings when traffic is less and there are less witnesses to an accident.

fela claims railroad employees in the railway industry is telematics which allows shippers, railroads and other stakeholders to monitor the condition and status of a traincar by real-time tracking. These capabilities provide railcar operators and their crews more accountability and transparency and assist them in improving efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance and avoid delays in delivering freight to customers.