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 employ discretion to decide which cases merit the time-consuming and precise civil penalty procedure. 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 locomotive cab of freight trains. The fight isn't over.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration implements a variety of safety measures to ensure the health of employees as well as the public. It creates and enforces safety regulations for rail and oversees the funding for rail. It also researches strategies for improving rail and technology. It also formulates plans, implements and maintains a plan for maintaining the current rail infrastructure and services. It also develops and improves the rail network across the nation. The department expects that all rail companies adhere to strict rules that empower their employees and provide them with the tools to ensure their safety and success. This includes participating in the confidential close call reporting system, establishing labor-management occupational health and safety committees that have full union participation, as well as anti-retaliation safeguards, and providing employees with the necessary personal protection equipment.

Inspectors of the FRA are at the leading edge of enforcing rail safety regulations and laws. They perform routine inspections on equipment and investigate complaints from hundreds of people. Anyone who is in violation of the rail safety laws could be punished with civil penalties. Safety inspectors at the agency have a wide decision-making power to determine if an act is within the definition provided by law of an act punishable by civil penalties. The Office of Chief Counsel's safety division also reviews all reports that regional offices submit to ensure they are legal before assessing penalties. This discretion is exercised at both the field and regional levels to ensure that civil penalties are only applied in situations that warrant them.

To be considered guilty of a civil violation, a rail employee must know the rules and regulations governing the conduct of his or her employees. They must also knowingly ignore these rules. The agency doesn't consider that an individual who acts upon a directive from a supervisor has committed a willful offence. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the whole network that allows passengers and goods to travel within metropolitan and city areas and between them. The trackage of a plant railroad within the steel mill 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 sets train regulations, including those pertaining to safety and movement of hazardous materials. The agency also oversees rail financing which includes loans and grants for infrastructure and service improvements. The agency works with other DOT agencies and with industry to develop strategies for improving the nation's railroad system. This includes ensuring the current rail services and infrastructure, addressing the need for new capacity, strategically expanding the network, and coordinating national and regional systems planning and development.

Although the majority of the agency's activities are focused on freight transportation, it also oversees passenger transportation. The agency is trying to connect people to places they'd like to visit and offer more options for travel. The agency is focused on improving the experience for passengers as well as increasing the safety of the existing fleet, and making sure that the rail network is operating efficiently.

Railroads must adhere to a number of federal regulations, including those related to the size of the crews on trains. In recent years this issue has become controversial. Certain states have passed legislation mandating two-person crews in trains. The final rule codifies the minimum requirements for crew size at an international level, and ensures that all railroads are subject to consistent safety standards.

This law also requires that each railroad operating with a crew of one notify FRA and submit a risk analysis. This will allow FRA to identify the specifics of each operation and compare them with the standard two-person crew operation. In addition, this rule changes 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 would be as safer or Liability Act Fela more secure than a two-crewmember operation.

During the public comment period for this rule, a lot of people backed a two-person crew requirement. A letter from 29 people outlined 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 emphasized that human factors are responsible for more than half all railroad accidents, and they believe that a larger team will ensure the safety of both the train and the cargo it transports.

Technology

Freight and passenger rails employ different technologies to improve efficiency, enhance security, and increase safety. The language used in the rail industry includes many unique 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 called drones).

Technology doesn't just replace some jobs. It allows people to perform their jobs better and with greater security. Passenger railroads use smartphones apps and contactless fare cards to boost passengership and boost the efficiency of their system. Other innovations, such as autonomous rail vehicles, are inching closer to becoming a reality.

The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to promote safe affordable, reliable, and secure transportation in the United States is focusing on modernizing the railway infrastructure. This multi-billion dollar project will see tunnels, bridges tracks, power systems, and tracks upgraded and stations renovated 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 central piece in this initiative. The most recent National Academies review of the office found that it excelled in engaging with, maintaining communication and utilizing inputs from a variety of stakeholders. It still needs to consider how its research contributes to the department's primary objective of ensuring safe movement of goods and people by railways.

One area where the agency could be able to improve its effectiveness is by identifying and assisting the development of automated train systems and technologies. The Association of American Railroads, the freight rail industry's primary business organization that is focused on research, policy, and standard setting and has created a Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help develop industry standards for implementing the technology.

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 be applicable to rail transit as well as vehicles on the road. The agency would like to know the level of risk that the industry is assessing with fully automated operation, as well as whether the industry is contemplating any additional measures to mitigate that risk.

Innovation

Railroads are embracing technology to boost worker safety and make business processes more efficient and ensure that the freight that they transport arrives at its destination in good condition. Examples of such innovation include the use of cameras and sensors to track freight, to the latest railcar designs that keep dangerous cargo secure during transit. Some of these technologies even provide a way for railroads to dispatch emergency personnel to the scene of an accident so they can swiftly mitigate damage and reduce the risk to people and property.

Positive Train Control (PTC) is one of the most significant developments in rail. It will stop train-to-train accidents, instances where trains are on track they shouldn't, and other incidents caused by human errors. The system is a three-part process consisting of onboard locomotive systems that track the train and wayside networks that connect with the locomotive and a huge backend server that gathers and analyzes data.

Trains for passengers are also adopting technology to improve security and safety. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with the use of drones to assist passenger security staff in locating passengers and items on board trains in the event in the event of an emergency. Amtrak is also looking into ways to utilize drones. They could be used to examine bridges and other infrastructure, or to replace the lighting on railway towers that are dangerous for workers to climb.

Other technologies that could be utilized for railways for passengers include smart track technology, which can detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and issue an alert to drivers when it's unsafe to travel. These technologies are especially useful in detecting crossings that are not authorized or other issues during the evenings when the traffic is lower and there are less witnesses to an accident.

Telematics is another important technological advancement in the railway industry. It lets railways, shippers, and other stakeholders to track a traincar in real-time. Railcar operators and crews will benefit from increased accountability and visibility which will allow them to improve efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance and reduce delays when delivering freight.