Write About Everything

The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for rail safety regulations and enforcement, rail funding, and research on rail improvement strategies.

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

Members of SMART-TD and their allies made history in 2024 when they began pushing the FRA to allow two people in the locomotive cab of freight trains. The fight continues.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration has a variety of safety measures in place to ensure the safety and health of employees and the public. It is responsible for developing and enforcing rail safety regulations. It also manages the funding for rail and conducts research on improvements to rail strategies and technologies. It also creates and implements a strategy to ensure that current infrastructure, services, and capacity and strategically expands and improves the nation’s rail network. The department expects all rail employers to adhere to strict rules and regulations, and empower their employees and provide them with tools needed to be successful and safe. This includes participating in the confidential close-call reporting system, setting up labor-management occupational health and safety committees that have full union participation and anti-retaliation safeguards, and providing employees with needed personal protection equipment.

FRA inspectors are on the front lines of enforcement of the rail safety laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections on equipment and investigate hundreds of complaints. Civil penalties can be imposed on those who violate railroad safety laws. Safety inspectors from the agency have a wide decision-making power to determine if violations fall within the legal definition of an act that is punishable by civil penalties. The Office of Chief Counsel’s safety division also reviews the reports that regional offices submit to determine if they are legal 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.

A rail worker must be aware of rules and regulations that govern their actions, and not knowingly violate those standards to be guilty of a civil penalty-worthy offence. The agency does not consider that an individual who acts in response to a supervisor’s direction is guilty of committing a willful crime. The agency defines “general railroad system” as the entire system that carries goods and passengers within and between cities and metropolitan areas. The trackage of a plant railroad in a steelmill is not considered to be part of the general rail transportation system, even though it’s physically connected.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, ranging from those related to safety and movement of hazardous materials. The agency also manages financing for rail which includes loans and grants for improvements to infrastructure and service. The agency works with other DOT agencies and industry to develop strategies for improving the nation’s rail infrastructure. This work includes maintaining current rail services and infrastructure as well as addressing the need for new capacity strategically expanding the network as well as coordinating regional and national systems planning and development.

The agency is responsible for freight transport, but also oversees passenger transport. The agency is trying to connect people with the destinations they desire and offer more choices for travel. The agency’s focus is on improving the passenger’s experience as well as enhancing the safety of its current fleet, and making sure that the rail system continues to operate efficiently.

Railroads are required to abide with a variety of federal regulations, which include those that deal with the size and composition of train crews. This issue has become an issue of contention in recent years, with a few states passing legislation that requires two-person crews on trains. This final rule defines federally the minimum size of crew requirements, making sure that all railroads follow 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 an assessment of risk. This will allow FRA to identify the specific parameters of each operation and compare them to the normal two-person crew operation. This rule also changes the review standard of an approval request that is a special case from determining if an operation is “consistent” with railroad safety standards to determining whether the operation is as safe or safer than two-person crew operations.

During the time of public comments for this rule, a large number of people voted for a requirement of a two person crew. A letter written by 29 people outlined their concerns that a single crew member would not be as quick to respond to issues with trains or grade crossing incidents, or assist emergency response personnel at a highway rail grade crossing. Commenters noted that human factors are responsible for accidentinjurylawyers a majority of railroad accidents. They believe that a bigger crew could ensure the safety of the train as well as its cargo.

Technology

Trains for passenger and freight use different technologies to improve efficiency, improve safety, and boost security. Rail industry jargon covers a variety of unique terms and acronyms. Some of the most well-known include machine vision systems (also called drones), instrumented rail-inspection systems, driverless train, rolling data centers, and unmanned aerial vehicles (also known as drones).

Technology isn’t just about replacing certain jobs. It empowers people to perform their jobs more effectively and with greater security. Railroads that transport passengers are using smartphones and contactless fare payment cards to increase ridership and make the system more efficient. Other innovations, like autonomous rail vehicles, are inching closer to becoming a reality.

The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to improve safe affordable, reliable, and secure transportation in America is focusing on modernizing the rail infrastructure. This multi-billion-dollar project will see tunnels, bridges tracks, power systems and tracks updated and stations being rebuilt or replaced. FRA’s recently enacted bipartisan infrastructure law will significantly grow the agency’s rail improvement programs.

The agency’s Office of Research, Development and Technology is a major component of this effort. The National Academies’ recent review of the office revealed that it excelled in engaging, maintaining communications with inputs from a variety of stakeholders. It must continue to consider how its research contributes to the department’s main goal of ensuring the safety of people and goods by railways.

The agency could enhance its efficiency by identifying and implementing automated train systems and technologies. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is the main industry association for the freight rail industry, which is focused on research and policy, as well as standard setting, established the Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations in order to help create standards within the industry.

FRA will be interested in the creation of an automated rail taxonomy, a standard that will clearly and consistently define different levels of automation that could be applicable to both on-road and rail transit vehicles. The agency will also be looking to know the degree of risk to safety that the industry perceives associated with the introduction of fully automated operation and whether the industry is considering additional protections to minimize the risk.

Innovation

Railroads are using technology to improve worker safety, make business processes more efficient and ensure that the freight it transports arrives at its destination intact. Examples of such technological advancement vary from the use sensors and cameras to monitor freight, to new railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo safe during transit. Some of these technologies even offer railroads the ability to send emergency responders to locations of accidents so they can swiftly mitigate damage and reduce the risk to property and lives.

Positive Train Control (PTC) is among the most important innovations in rail. It can keep train-to-train accidents out of the way, as well as situations when trains are in a position they shouldn’t, and other incidents caused by human errors. It is a three-part process consisting of onboard locomotive systems that track the train, wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive, and a massive backend server that gathers and analyzes data.

Railroads that transport passengers are also embracing technology to improve safety and security. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with the use of drones to assist passenger security personnel in finding passengers and items on board trains in case in an emergency. The company is also exploring ways to make use of drones. They could be used to examine bridges and other infrastructures or to replace the lights on railway towers that are dangerous for workers to climb.

Other technologies that can be utilized for railways for passengers include smart track technology, which can detect the presence of people or objects on the tracks and send out drivers with a warning if it’s unsafe to travel. These kinds of technologies can be particularly valuable for detecting unauthorized crossings as well as other issues that can arise during times when traffic levels are lower and there are fewer people to witness an accident.

Another significant technological advance in the rail industry is telematics, which enables railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to view the status and condition of a traincar through real-time tracking. Crews and railcar operators can benefit from increased accountability and transparency, which will help them improve efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance and reduce delays when delivering freight.