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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 conducts research on strategies to improve rail infrastructure.

FRA inspectors on the ground make use of discretion to determine which cases merit the lengthy and precise civil penalty procedure. This ensures that the violations most deserving of punishment are penalized.

SMART-TD members and allies have made history in 2024 by 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 safeguard the health and welfare of employees as well as the general public. It is responsible for creating and enforcing rail safety regulations. It also manages rail funding and studies rail improvement strategies and technologies. It also develops and implements a strategy to ensure that current infrastructure, rail services and capacity, and strategically expands and improves the national rail network. The department requires all rail employers to adhere to the strictest rules and regulations, empower their employees and provide them with the tools needed to be successful and secure. This includes participating in an anonymous close-call reporting system, establishing labor-management occupational safety and health committees that have full-union participation and antiretaliation provisions and giving employees the necessary personal protective 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 multitude of investigations of complaints of noncompliance. Civil penalties can be applied to those who break railroad safety laws. Safety inspectors from the agency are able to decide on the extent to which an individual violation is in line with the statutory definition of a criminal penalty-worthy act. The Office of Chief Counsel's safety division also scrutinizes the reports submitted by regional offices to ensure they are legal before assessing penalties. The exercise of this discretion both at the field and regional levels ensures that the lengthy, time-consuming civil penalty process is used only in situations that are truly deserving of the impact of a civil penalty.

A rail worker must be aware of rules and regulations that govern his actions and be aware of the standards to commit a criminal offense that is punishable by a civil penalty. However the agency does not take any person who acts under a directive by a supervisor as having committed a willful violation. The agency defines "general railroad system" as the entire system that transports passengers and goods within and between metropolitan areas and cities. A plant railroad's trackage in a steel mill is not considered to be part of the general rail system of transportation, even although it is physically connected to it.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for establishing regulations for trains, such as those relating to safety and the transportation of dangerous substances. The agency also manages rail financing which includes loans and grants for infrastructure and improvements to service. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies and the industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's railway system. This work includes maintaining current rail services and infrastructure, in addition to addressing the need for additional capacity strategically expanding the network and coordinating national and regional systems planning and development.

The agency is primarily responsible for freight transportation but also supervises passenger transportation. The agency is working to offer more options for passengers and connect people with the places they want to travel to. The agency's focus is on enhancing the experience for passengers as well as enhancing the safety of its existing fleet and ensuring the rail system continues to operate efficiently.

Railroads are required to abide with a variety of federal regulations, including those that deal with the size and composition of the train crews. In recent times, this issue has become a source of controversy. Certain states have passed legislation that requires two-person teams on trains. The final rule codifies the minimum crew size requirements at a federal level, ensuring that all railroads are subject to the same safety standards.

This rule also requires each railroad that has a single-person train crew to inform FRA of the operation and submit a risk assessment. This will allow FRA to better identify the specifics of each operation and compare them with those of a standard two-person crew operation. This rule also changes the review standard of an application for special approval from determining if an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety standards to determining whether the operation is as secure or safer than two-person crew operations.

During the public comment period for this rule, many people backed a two-person crew requirement. A letter written by 29 people expressed their concern that a lone crewmember could not be as quick to respond to train malfunctions or grade crossing incidents or assist emergency response personnel at a highway-rail grade crossing. Commenters pointed out that human factors are responsible for more than half of all fela claims railroad employees accidents. They believe that a larger team could ensure the security of the train and its cargo.

Technology

Railroads for passenger and freight use various technologies to increase efficiency, increase security, improve safety and much more. The language used in the rail industry contains a myriad of specific terms and acronyms, however, some of the most 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 certain jobs, it's also empowering people to do their job more effectively and safely. Railroads for passengers use apps on smartphones and contactless fare cards to increase ridership and improve the efficiency of their system. Other innovations such as autonomous rail cars are coming closer to becoming reality.

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

The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a major element in this effort. The National Academies' recent review of the office concluded that it excelled at engaging, maintaining communications with and using inputs from a broad range of stakeholders. However, it needs to concentrate on how its research helps the department achieve its primary objective of ensuring the safe transportation of goods and people via rail.

The agency could improve 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 focuses on research and policy, as well as standard setting, established the Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations to help develop standards within the industry.

FRA is likely to be interested in the group's development of an automated rail taxonomy, which is a system of standards to clearly and consistently define the different levels of automation that could be applicable to both on-road and rail transit vehicles. The agency will also need to know the level of safety risk that the industry sees with implementing fully automated operation and whether the industry is considering additional safeguards to mitigate that risk.

Innovation

Rail companies are embracing technology to improve worker safety, boost efficiency in business processes, and ensure that the freight they transport reaches its destination in good condition. These innovations range from sensors and cameras that monitor freight, to new railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo safe during transportation. Certain of these technologies allow railroads send emergency responders directly to the scene of an accident to minimize the danger and minimize the damage to people and property.

Positive Train Control (PTC) is among the most significant innovations in rail. It can stop train-to-train accidents, instances when trains are in a position they shouldn't be, and other accidents caused by human errors. This system is made up of three parts consisting of locomotives onboard that track the train; wayside networks which communicate with the locomotive; and a massive server that collects and analyses data.

Railroads that transport passengers also use technology to improve security and safety. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with the use of drones to assist security staff in locating passengers and other items aboard trains in the event in the event of an emergency. Amtrak is also investigating other possibilities to utilize drones, including deploying them to perform inspections of bridges and other infrastructure such as replacing the lighting on railway towers, which could be dangerous for workers to climb.

Other technologies that could be utilized for railways for passengers include smart track technology that can detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and send out a warning to drivers if it's unsafe for them to proceed. These types of technologies are particularly beneficial in detecting unsafe crossings and other issues during times when traffic levels are lower and there are fewer people to witness an accident.

Another significant technological advance in the railway industry is telematics which enables railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to see a traincar's status and condition via real-time tracking. Crews and railcar operators can benefit from increased accountability and transparency which can help them increase efficiency as well as avoid unnecessary maintenance and delay in the delivery of freight.