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The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces rail safety regulations, provides rail funding and conducts research on strategies to improve rail infrastructure.

FRA field inspectors employ discretion to decide on which cases warrant the exact and time consuming civil penalty process. This discretion helps ensure that those violations most deserving of punishment are punished.

SMART-TD members and allies have made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to allow two people in the cabs of locomotives of freight trains. The fight isn't over.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration implements a number of safety measures to ensure the health of employees and public. It is responsible for creating and enforcing regulations for rail safety. It also administers the funding for rail and conducts research on rail improvement strategies and technological developments. It also develops plans, implements and maintains plans for the maintenance of current rail services and infrastructure. It also expands and improves strategically the rail network across the nation. The department requires all railroad employers to abide by strict rules and regulations, empower their workers and provide them with tools needed to be successful and secure. This includes taking part in the confidential close-call reporting system, setting up labor-management occupational health and safety committees, with full participation from unions and anti-retaliation safeguards, and providing employees with the necessary personal safety equipment.

Inspectors of the FRA are at the forefront of enforcing safety on rail laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections on equipment and conduct investigations into hundreds of complaints. Civil penalties can be imposed on those who violate railroad safety laws. The agency's safety inspectors have a broad discretion on whether a particular violation meets the statutory description of a criminal penalty-worthy act. The Office of Chief Counsel’s safety division also reviews the reports that regional offices submit 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 used in situations that warrant them.

A rail worker must be aware of the rules and regulations that govern their actions, and not knowingly violate those standards to be guilty of a civil penalty-worthy offence. However the agency doesn't take any person who is acting under a direction from a supervisor as having committed an intentional violation. The agency defines "general railroad system" as the whole network that transports passengers and goods between metropolitan areas and cities. The trackage of a plant railroad at a steel mill is not considered to be part of the general transportation system by rail even though it is physically connected to it.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible to establish regulations for train operations, such as those relating to safety and the movement of dangerous substances. The agency also oversees rail financing, including grants and loans for improvements to infrastructure and service. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies and with industry to develop strategies to improve the country's railroad system. This work includes maintaining current rail services and infrastructure as well as making sure that there is enough capacity strategically expanding the network, and coordinating national and regional systems planning and development.

The agency is primarily responsible for freight transportation, but also oversees passenger transport. The agency is aiming to provide more options for passengers and connect people to the places they'd like to travel to. The agency's primary focus is on improving the passenger's experience and enhancing the safety of the existing fleet, and ensuring that the rail system continues to operate efficiently.

Railroads are required to abide with a variety of federal regulations, including the ones pertaining to the size and composition of train crews. In recent times the issue has been a source of contention. Certain states have passed legislation mandating two-person crews in trains. This final rule defines federally the minimum crew size requirements, ensuring that all railroads follow the same safety standards.

This rule also requires each railroad that has one-person train crews to inform FRA of the operation and submit a risk assessment. This will allow FRA to compare the parameters of each operation to those of a two-person standard crew operation. Additionally this rule will change the criteria for reviewing the special approval petition from to determining whether an operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining whether approving the operation is secure or as safe as an operation with two crew members.

During the period of public comment on this rule, a large number of people voted for a requirement of two people on the crew. A letter written by 29 people outlined their concerns that a single crew member would not be as quick to respond to issues with trains or grade crossing incidents, or assist emergency response personnel at a highway rail grade crossing. The commenters emphasized that human factors account for more than half of all railroad accidents and they believe that a larger team would help ensure the safety of both the train and the cargo it transports.

Technology

Freight and passenger rails use various technologies to increase efficiency, enhance security, and improve safety. The rail industry vernacular contains a myriad of specific terms and acronyms, but some of the more significant developments include machines-vision systems, instrumented rail inspection systems, driverless trains rolling data centers and drones that are not piloted (commonly known as drones).

Technology isn't just replacing some jobs, it's also empowering people to perform their jobs more efficiently and with greater security. Passenger railroads use smartphones apps and contactless fare cards to boost passengership and boost the efficiency of their system.  fela lawsuits , like autonomous rail vehicles, are moving closer to reality.

The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to ensure safe, reliable, and affordable transportation in America is focusing on modernizing the railway infrastructure. This is a multi-billion dollar initiative that will see tunnels and bridges repaired tracks, power systems and tracks upgraded, and stations reconstructed or upgraded. FRA's recently enacted bipartisan infrastructure law will dramatically increase the agency's rail improvement programs.

The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a central piece in this initiative. The most recent National Academies review of the office found that it excelled in engaging, maintaining communication and using inputs from a variety of stakeholders. But it must focus more on how its research contributes to the department's primary objective of ensuring the safe movement of people and goods by railway.

The agency could enhance its effectiveness by identifying and supporting automated train systems and technology. The Association of American Railroads (AAR), the primary industry association for the freight rail industry, which is focused on research and policy, as well as standard setting created the Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations in order to help create standards within the industry.

FRA will be interested in the creation of an automated rail taxonomy, a standardization system that can clearly and consistently define different levels of automation that will be applicable to both rail and on-road transit vehicles. The agency will also want to know the level of risk to safety that the industry believes is associated when implementing a fully automated system and whether the industry is considering additional protections to minimize the risk.

Innovation

Rail companies are adopting technology to increase worker safety, increase efficiency in business processes, and ensure that the cargo they transport is delivered intact. Examples of this innovation vary from the use sensors and cameras to track freight, to the latest railcar designs that keep dangerous cargo safe during transport. Certain of these technologies enable railroads to dispatch emergency responders directly to the scene of an accident to minimize the risk and minimize damages to property and individuals.

Positive Train Control (PTC) is among the most important innovations in rail. It will keep train-to-train accidents out of the way, as well as situations when trains are in a position they shouldn't be, and other accidents caused by human error. This system is a three-part process consisting of onboard locomotive systems that track the train and wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive and a huge backend server that gathers and analyzes data.

Passenger railroads also embrace technology to increase security and safety. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with drones to assist passenger security personnel in finding passengers and other items aboard trains in case in an emergency. Amtrak is also looking into ways to make use of drones. They could be used to check bridges and other infrastructure, or to replace the lighting on railway towers that are hazardous for workers to climb.

Other technologies that could be utilized for passenger railroads include smart track technology that can detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and send out drivers with a warning if it's unsafe to travel. These technologies are especially useful for detecting unauthorized crossings or other issues in the evenings when traffic is less and there are less witnesses to an accident.

Telematics is yet another significant technological advance in the railway industry. It lets railways, shippers, and other stakeholders, to track a traincar in real-time. These capabilities give railcar owners and their crews more accountability and transparency and help them improve efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance and reduce delays in delivering freight to customers.