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The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

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

FRA inspectors on the ground use discretion to decide which cases are worthy of the lengthy and precise civil penalty procedure. This discretion helps to ensure that the most serious violations are punished.

Allies and members of SMART-TD made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to allow two people in the locomotive cab of freight trains. The fight isn't over.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration has a range of safety measures in place to protect the health and welfare of employees as well as the general public. It develops and enforces rail safety regulations as well as manages funding for rail and researches strategies for improving rail and technology. It also develops and implements a plan to ensure that current rail services, infrastructure and Fela railroad capacity, and strategically expands and improves the nation's rail network. The department expects all rail employers to adhere to the strictest rules and regulations, empower their workers and provide them with the tools needed to be successful and safe. This includes taking part in the confidential close call reporting system, setting up occupational health and safety committees, with full union participation and anti-retaliation protections and providing employees with needed personal protection equipment.

Inspectors of the FRA are at the forefront of enforcing rail safety regulations and laws. They conduct routine inspections on equipment and investigate hundreds of complaints. Anyone who is in violation of the rail safety laws could be punished with civil penalties. The agency's safety inspectors are able to decide on the extent to which an individual violation is in line with the legal definition of a criminal penalty-worthy act. In addition, the Office of Chief Counsel's safety division reviews all reports that are received by regional offices for legality prior to assessing penalties. This discretion is exercised at the field and regional levels to ensure that civil penalties are only used in cases that warrant their use.

A rail employee must be aware of rules and regulations that govern their actions, and not knowingly violate those rules to commit a criminal offense that is punishable by a civil penalty. The agency doesn't consider that an individual who acts in response to a supervisor's direction has committed a willful offence. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the whole network over which goods and passengers travel within cities and metropolitan areas or between them. A plant railroad's trackage in a steel mill is not considered to be part of the general 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 the movement of hazardous materials. The agency is responsible for managing railway finance, including grants and loan for service and infrastructure improvement. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies and industry to develop strategies to improve the nation's rail infrastructure. This work includes maintaining existing rail infrastructure and services as well as in addition to addressing the need for additional capacity, strategically expanding the network, as well as coordinating regional and national systems planning and development.

While most of the agency's work is focused on freight transportation, it also handles the transportation of passengers. The agency is trying to connect people with the places they'd like to visit and offer more options for travel. The agency's focus is on improving the passenger's experience and enhancing the safety of the existing fleet and ensuring the rail network continues operating efficiently.

Railroads must comply with many federal regulations, including those related to the size of crews on trains. This issue has become a controversial one in recent years, with a few states passing legislation that requires two-person crews on trains. This final rule defines federally the minimum crew size requirements, making sure that all railroads adhere to the same safety standards.

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

During the time of public comment for this rule, a lot of people expressed their support for a requirement of a two person crew. A form letter sent by 29 individuals emphasized their concerns that a lone crewmember could not be as quick to respond to issues with trains or grade crossing incidents or assist emergency responders at a highway-rail grade crossing. The commenters noted that human factors are responsible for more than half all railroad accidents and they believe that a larger team would help ensure the safety of the train and its cargo.

Technology

Railroads that transport passengers and freight employ numerous technologies to increase efficiency, improve safety, boost security and more. Rail industry jargon includes various specific terms and acronyms. Some of the most notable include machine vision systems (also known as drones) and rail-inspection systems that are instrumented driverless trains, rolling data centers, and unmanned aerial vehicle (also known as drones).

Technology doesn't just replace some jobs. It allows people to perform their jobs better and safer. Railroads that transport passengers are using smartphones apps and contactless fare payment cards to increase ridership and make the system more efficient. Other developments, like autonomous rail vehicles, are moving closer to reality.

As part of its ongoing effort to advance safe, reliable and affordable transportation options for the country In its ongoing effort 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 rebuilt or replace. The FRA's rail improvement program will be greatly expanded by the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a central component of this initiative. The National Academies' recent review of the office found that it was successful in keeping in touch with inputs from a broad range of stakeholders. But it still needs to be more focused on how its research contributes to the department's primary strategic goal of ensuring safe transportation of goods and people by rail.

The agency could increase its efficiency by identifying and implementing automated train systems and technology. 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 created the Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations in order to help establish standards for 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 would apply to rail transit as well as on-road vehicles. The agency will also need to know the degree of risk to safety that the industry sees with implementing fully automated operation and whether the industry is considering additional protections to minimize the risk.

Innovation

Railroads are using technology to increase worker safety and improve business processes. efficient, and ensure that the freight that they transport arrives at its destination in good condition. These innovations include cameras and sensors that monitor freight, to new railcar designs that help keep dangerous cargo safe during transit. Some of these technologies even provide a way for railroads to dispatch emergency personnel to areas of accidents so that they can quickly mitigate the risks to property and people.

One of the most renowned innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC) that will stop collisions between trains and train, situations where trains are on tracks they shouldn't be and other accidents that result from human error. It is a three-part system comprised of locomotives onboard that track the train, wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive and a huge backend server that analyzes and collects data.

Railroads that transport passengers are also embracing technology to improve safety and security. Amtrak, for example, is experimenting with drones to assist train security personnel locate passengers and items in the event of an emergency. The company is also looking into other possibilities to utilize drones, including deploying them to perform inspections of bridges and other infrastructure like replacing the lights on railway towers, which could be dangerous 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 issue drivers with a warning if it's unsafe to travel. These technologies are particularly useful for detecting unauthorized crossings or other problems in the evenings when traffic is less and there are fewer witnesses to an accident.

Telematics is yet another significant technological advancement in the railway industry. It allows shippers, railways and other stakeholders, to track a traincar in real-time. These capabilities give railcar owners and crews greater accountability and visibility and can assist them in improving efficiency, prevent unnecessary maintenance, and prevent delays in the delivery of freight to customers.