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The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

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

FRA field inspectors use discretion to decide which cases merit the precise and lengthy civil penalty process. This discretion helps ensure that the 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 continues.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration implements a number of safety measures to safeguard the health of its employees and public. It is responsible for establishing and enforcing safety regulations for rail. It also administers rail funding, and conducts research on improvements to rail strategies and technologies. It also formulates plans, implements and maintains a plan for maintaining the current rail infrastructure and services. It also works to expand and improve the national rail network. The department requires all rail companies to adhere to strict rules and regulations, empower their workers and provide them with tools needed to be successful and secure. This includes the confidential close-call reporting system, creating labor-management occupational safety and health committees that have 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 laws and regulations. They conduct regular inspections of equipment and conduct a myriad of investigations of complaints of noncompliance. Anyone who is in violation of the rail safety laws could be punished with civil penalties. The safety inspectors of the agency have a broad discretion on whether an incident falls within the legal definition of a civil penalty-worthy act. In addition, the Office of Chief Counsel’s safety department reviews all reports that are received by regional offices to determine legal sufficiency 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.

To be convicted of a civil violation the employee of a rail company must know the rules and regulations governing the conduct of his or her employees. They must also be aware of and ignore these rules. However the agency doesn’t take any person who follows a directive from a supervisor to have committed an intentional violation. The agency defines the “general railroad system of transportation” as the entire network that passengers and goods travel within metropolitan and city areas or between them. The trackage of a plant railroad in a steel mill is not considered part of the general rail system of transportation, even being physically connected to it.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for establishing regulations for trains, such as those relating to safety and the movement of dangerous substances. The agency is responsible for managing railway finance, including loans and grants to improve service and infrastructure. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies as well as industry to devise strategies for improving the nation’s rail system. This work includes maintaining existing rail infrastructure and services and making sure that there is enough capacity strategically expanding the network, as well as coordinating regional and national systems planning and development.

The agency is primarily responsible for freight transportation, but also supervises passenger transportation. The agency aims to connect people to destinations they desire and offer more choices for travel. The agency is focused on improving the passenger experience, improving the safety of the current fleet, and ensuring that the rail network is operating efficiently.

Railroads must abide by a variety of federal regulations, including those related to the size of crews on trains. This issue has become controversial in recent years, with several states passing legislation to require two-person crews on trains. This final rule codifies federally the minimum crew size requirements, making sure that all railroads follow the same safety standards.

This rule also requires each railroad operating a single-person train crew to notify FRA of the operation and submit a risk assessment. This will allow FRA to better understand the specifics of each operation and compare them to those of a standard two-person crew operation. This rule also alters 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 time of public comment for this rule, a number of people expressed their support for a requirement for a two person crew. In a form letter, 29 people expressed their concerns that a single crew member will not be capable of responding with the speed required to respond to train accidents or malfunctions at grade crossings, or assist emergency response personnel on an elevated highway crossing. The commenters emphasized that human factors account for more than half of all railroad accidents, and they believe that a larger crew will ensure the safety of both the train and its cargo.

Technology

Freight and passenger rails employ different technologies to improve efficiency, enhance safety, and boost security. Rail industry jargon covers various unique terms and acronyms. Some of the most well-known include machine vision systems (also called drones), instrumented rail-inspection systems driverless trains rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicles (also called drones).

Technology isn’t just replacing certain jobs — it’s empowering individuals to perform their work more efficiently and with greater security. Passenger railroads are using smartphone apps and contactless fare payment cards to improve ridership and improve the efficiency of the system. Other innovations like autonomous rail cars are coming closer to becoming reality.

As part of its ongoing effort to ensure safe, reliable, and affordable transportation for the entire 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. The FRA’s rail improvements program will be significantly expanded by the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is a crucial part of this initiative. The National Academies’ recent review of the office concluded that it was successful in keeping in touch with inputs from a variety of stakeholders. But it still needs to be more focused on how its research aids in the department’s main strategic goal of ensuring safe movement of goods and people by rail.

The agency could improve its effectiveness by identifying and supporting automated train systems and technology. The Association of American Railroads, the freight rail industry’s primary industry organization that focuses on research, policy, and standardization the Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help in developing industry standards for the implementation of the technology.

The FRA is interested in the development of a taxonomy for automated rail vehicles, a system that defines clearly and consistently different levels of automation. This could be applicable to both rail transit and on-road vehicles. The agency will also want to know the degree of risk to safety that the industry sees when implementing a fully automated system and whether the industry is considering additional safeguards to mitigate that risk.

Innovation

Railroads are using technology to improve worker safety and make business processes more efficient and ensure that the freight they move reaches its destination intact. Examples of such innovations range from the use of sensors and cameras to monitor freight, to new railcar designs that keep dangerous cargo safe during transport. Some of these technologies provide a way for railroads to send emergency responders to the scene of an accident so they can swiftly mitigate damage and minimize risk to property and people.

Positive Train Control (PTC) is one of the most significant developments in rail. It is designed to prevent train-to-train accidents, situations where trains are on track they shouldn’t, and other incidents caused by human errors. The system is a three-part process consisting of locomotives onboard that track the train and wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive, and an enormous backend server that analyzes and collects data.

Passenger railroads also embrace technology to increase security and safety. Amtrak for instance, is testing the use of drones to assist train security staff 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 as well as other infrastructure, like replacing the lighting on railway towers, which can be hazardous for workers to climb.

Other technologies that could be utilized for passenger railroads include smart track technology, which is able to detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and send a warning to drivers if it’s unsafe to proceed. Accident Injury Lawyers of technologies are particularly useful in detecting crossings that are not authorized and other issues during off-hours, when traffic levels are lower and there are fewer people around to witness an accident.

Telematics is a significant technological breakthrough in the railway industry. It allows shippers, railways and other stakeholders, to follow a traincar’s progress in real-time. Such capabilities give railcar operators and crews greater accountability and visibility and can help them improve efficiency, prevent unnecessary maintenance and reduce delays in the delivery of freight to customers.