The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology
The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces safety regulations for rail It also provides rail funding and conducts research on strategies to improve rail infrastructure.
FRA inspectors on the ground employ discretion to determine which cases merit the time-consuming and precise civil penalty process. This discretion helps ensure that the most serious violations of punishment are penalized.
Allies and members of SMART-TD made history in 2024 when they began pushing the FRA to ensure that two people are in the locomotive cab of freight trains. The fight continues.
Safety
The Federal Railroad Administration has a range of safety measures in place to safeguard the safety and health of its employees and the general public. It creates and enforces regulations for rail safety, administers rail funding and studies strategies for improving rail infrastructure and new technologies. It also formulates and implements a plan to maintain current infrastructure, rail services and capacity and strategically expands and improves the national rail network. The department demands that all rail companies adhere to strict regulations that empower their employees and provide them with tools to be safe and successful. This includes participating in the 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 equipment.
FRA inspectors are at the forefront of enforcement of rail safety regulations and laws. They perform routine inspections on equipment and conduct investigations into hundreds of complaints. Civil penalties can be applied to those who break the rail safety laws. Safety inspectors from the agency have wide discretion to determine if a violation falls under the definition provided by law of an offense that is punishable with civil penalties. Additionally the Office of Chief Counsel's safety division reviews all reports that are received by regional offices for legality before determining penalties. The exercise of this discretion at both the field and regional levels ensures that the time-consuming, costly civil penalty process is applied only in cases that truly warrant the deterrent impact of a civil penalty.
To be considered guilty of a civil violation the employee of a rail company must know the rules and regulations that govern the conduct of his or her employees. They must also be aware of and disregard these standards. The agency does not believe that a person who acts in response to a supervisor's direction is guilty of committing a willful crime. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the entire system that allows passengers and goods to travel within metropolitan areas and between them. The trackage of a plant railroad in the steel mill isn't considered part of the general rail system of transportation, even being physically connected to it.
Regulation
The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, including those related to safety and movement of hazardous materials. The agency also manages rail financing, including grants and loans for infrastructure and improvements to service. The agency works with other DOT agencies and industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's rail infrastructure. This work includes maintaining current rail services and infrastructure, addressing the need for new capacity and strategically expanding the network, as well as coordinating regional and national systems planning and development.
Although the majority of the agency's work focuses on freight transportation, it also handles the transportation of passengers. The agency is working to connect people to places they want and provide more choices for travel. The agency's primary focus is on enhancing the experience for passengers, enhancing safety of the existing fleet and ensuring the rail system continues to operate efficiently.
Railroads are required to comply with a variety of federal regulations, including those relating to the size and composition of crews on trains. This issue has become controversial in recent years, with a few states passing legislation to require two-person crews on trains. This final rule outlines the minimum size of crew requirements at a federal level, ensuring that all railroads are held to the same safety standards.
This law also requires that each railroad operating a one-person crew notify FRA and submit an analysis of risk. This will enable FRA to compare the parameters of each operation to the parameters of a standard two-person crew operation. This rule also alters the standard for reviewing an application for special approval to determine if an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety standards to determining whether the operation is as secure or safer than two-person crew operation.
During the public comment period for this rule, many people expressed support for the requirement of a two-person crew. In a letter to the editor 29 people voiced their concerns that a single crew member is not in a position to respond with the speed required to respond to train accidents or malfunctions at grade crossings or assist emergency response personnel at the highway-rail level crossing. The commenters noted that human factors are responsible for more than half of all railroad accidents and believe that a larger crew 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, increase security, and increase safety. fela accident attorney used in the rail industry contains a myriad of distinct terms and acronyms however, some of the most significant developments include machine vision systems, instrumented rail inspection systems, driverless trains rolling data centers, and drones that are not piloted (commonly known as drones).
Technology isn't merely replacing jobs; it's helping people to perform their jobs more efficiently and with greater security. Passenger railroads are using smartphones and contactless fare payment cards to increase ridership and make the system more efficient. Other innovations such as autonomous rail cars are coming closer to 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 bridges, tunnels tracks, power systems and tracks updated, and stations being rebuilt or replaced. FRA's recently passed bipartisan infrastructure law will dramatically expand the agency's rail improvements programs.
The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a key component of this effort. Recent National Academies review of the office found that it excelled in engaging with, maintaining communication and utilizing inputs of a wide range of stakeholders. It is still required to focus on how its research contributes towards the department's primary goal of ensuring the safe movement of people and goods via rail.
The agency could enhance its effectiveness by identifying and implementing automated train systems and technologies. 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, established a Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations to help develop standards within the industry.
The FRA is interested in the group's development of a taxonomy to describe automated rail vehicles, a system that defines clearly and consistently the different levels of automation. This could apply to rail transit as well as on-road vehicles. The agency will also want to understand the level of risk to safety that the industry sees with implementing fully automated operation and whether the industry is contemplating additional security measures to reduce the risk.
Innovation
Rail companies are adopting new technologies to improve worker safety, boost efficiency in business processes and ensure that the cargo they transport reaches its destination in good condition. Examples of this innovations vary from the use sensors and cameras to keep track of freight, and to new railcar designs that help keep hazardous cargo safe during transit. Some of these technologies enable railroads to dispatch emergency responders directly to the scene of an accident to minimize risk and minimize damages to property and individuals.
One of the most well-known innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC), which will inhibit train-to-train collisions, situations where trains are on tracks where they shouldn't be, as well as other accidents that result from human error. It is a three-part system comprised of locomotives onboard that track the train and wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive, and an enormous backend server that gathers and analyzes data.
Railroads that transport passengers also use technology to increase safety and security. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with drones to assist passenger security staff in locating passengers and items on board trains in the event in the event of an emergency. The company is also examining ways to use drones. They could be used to examine bridges and other infrastructure or to replace the lights on railway towers, which are dangerous for workers to climb.
Other technologies that can be utilized for railways for passengers include smart track technology that can detect the presence of people or objects on the tracks and send an alert to drivers when it's unsafe to proceed. These technologies are particularly useful in detecting crossings that are not authorized or other issues in the evenings when traffic is less and there are less witnesses to an accident.
Another important technological advancement in the railway industry is telematics which enables railroads, shippers 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 control and visibility. They can also aid in improving efficiency, prevent unnecessary maintenance, and prevent delays in delivering freight to customers.
