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The federal employers Railroad Administration and Technology

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

FRA inspectors on the ground make use of discretion to determine which cases merit the time-consuming and precise civil penalty process. This allows them to ensure that the most serious violations are punished.

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

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration implements a variety of safety measures to protect the health of employees as well as the public. It formulates and enforces safety regulations for rail and oversees the funding for rail. It also researches rail improvement strategies and technology. It also develops, implements and maintains a plan for maintaining current rail services and infrastructure. It also develops and improves the rail network across the nation. The department expects that all rail employers adhere to strict rules, empower their employees and provide them with tools to ensure their safety and success. This includes participation in the confidential close-call reporting system, setting up occupational health and safety committees, with full participation from unions and anti-retaliation protections and providing employees with needed personal protection equipment.

FRA inspectors are at the forefront of enforcement of rail safety regulations and laws. They perform routine inspections on equipment and investigate hundreds of complaints. Anyone who violates the rail safety laws could be penalized civilly. The agency's safety inspectors have a broad discretion on whether an individual violation is in line with the statutory description of a criminal penalty-worthy act. Additionally the Office of Chief Counsel's safety division examines all reports submitted from regional offices to determine their legal sufficiency before 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 worker must be aware of rules and regulations that govern his or her actions, and not knowingly violate those standards to be guilty of a civil penalty-worthy offence. However, the agency does not consider any individual who acts under a directive from a supervisor to have committed a willful violation. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the whole network that passengers and goods travel within metropolitan and city areas and between them. The trackage of a plant railroad within 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 is responsible for establishing regulations for trains that pertain to safety and the transportation of dangerous substances. The agency manages railway finance, including loans and grants for infrastructure and service improvement. The agency works with other DOT agencies and with industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's railroad system. This includes maintaining existing rail infrastructure and services, addressing the need for new capacity strategically expanding the network and coordinating regional and national systems planning and development.

Although the majority of the agency's work is focused on freight transportation, it also manages the transportation of passengers. The agency is working to offer more options for passenger travel and connect people with the places they want to travel to. The agency is focused primarily on enhancing the experience for passengers, enhancing safety of the current fleet, and making sure that the rail network continues operating efficiently.

Railroads are required to comply with a number of federal regulations, including those relating to the size and composition of crews on trains. In recent years the issue has become a source of controversy. Certain states have passed legislation requiring two-person teams on trains. This final rule outlines the minimum crew size requirements at an international level, and ensures that all railroads are subject to consistent safety standards.

This rule also requires that every railroad operating a one-person crew notify FRA and submit an analysis of risk. This will enable FRA to compare the parameters of each operation with the parameters of a standard two-person crew operation. Additionally this rule will change the standard of review for the special approval petition from to determining whether an operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining if approving the operation is secure or as safe as a two-crewmember operation.

During the time of public comment for this rule, a number of people expressed their support for a requirement for two people on the crew. In a formal letter 29 people expressed their concern that a single crewmember will not be able to respond in a timely manner to incidents or train malfunctions at grade crossings or assist emergency response personnel on a highway-rail level crossing. The commenters emphasized that human factors account for more than half of railroad accidents and they think that a bigger crew could help ensure the safety of both the train and its cargo.

Technology

Railroads that transport passengers and freight employ various technologies to enhance efficiency, increase security, improve safety and much more. Rail industry jargon covers various distinct terms and acronyms. Some of the most notable include machine vision systems (also known as drones) and rail-inspection systems that are instrumented, driverless train rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicles (also called drones).

Technology isn't just replacing some jobs -- it's empowering individuals to perform their work better and safer. Railroads for passengers use apps on smartphones and contactless fare cards to boost passengership and boost the efficiency of their system. Other developments, like autonomous rail vehicles, are moving closer to becoming reality.

The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to promote safe, reliable, and affordable transportation in the United States, is focused on modernizing the railway infrastructure. This is a multi-billion dollars project that will see bridges and tunnels rebuilt tracks, power systems and tracks upgraded, and stations rebuilt or upgraded. The recently passed bipartisan infrastructure law will dramatically expand the agency's rail improvements programs.

The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a central piece in this initiative. The National Academies' recent review of the office found that it excelled at engaging, maintaining communication with and using inputs from a variety of stakeholders. It is still required to be aware of how its research contributes to the department's primary goal of ensuring the safe movement of goods and people by railways.

The agency could improve its effectiveness by identifying and implementing automated train systems and technology. The Association of American Railroads (AAR), the primary industry association for the freight rail industry, which is focused on research policy, standard-setting and policy and has established an 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 for automated rail vehicles, a system that defines clearly and consistently different levels of automation. This could apply to both rail transit and vehicles on the road. The agency will also be looking to understand the level of safety risk that the industry sees with the introduction of fully automated operation and whether the industry is considering adding additional safeguards to mitigate that risk.

Innovation

Railroads are adopting technology to improve worker safety, make business processes more efficient and help ensure that the cargo they move reaches its destination safely. Examples of such innovations vary from the use sensors and cameras to track freight, to the latest railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo secure during transit. Certain of these technologies allow railroads send emergency responders directly to sites of accidents to minimize the danger and minimize the damage to property and people.

One of the most prominent innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC) that will stop collisions between trains and trains, situations in which trains are on tracks where they shouldn't be and other accidents that result from human errors. This system is made up of three components: onboard locomotive systems which track the train; wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive and a huge server that analyzes and collects data.

Railroads that transport passengers also use technology to increase security and safety. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with drones to assist security personnel in locating passengers and other items onboard trains in case in an emergency. Amtrak is also looking into ways to utilize drones. They could be used to check bridges and other infrastructure or to replace the lighting on railway towers that are 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 out a warning to drivers if it's unsafe to proceed. These technologies are especially effective in detecting unsafe crossings or other problems in the evenings, when traffic is low and there are fewer witnesses to an accident.

Another important technological advancement in the railway industry is telematics which allows railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to see the status and condition of a traincar through real-time tracking. These capabilities give railcar owners and crews greater accountability and visibility and can help them improve efficiency, prevent unnecessary maintenance and avoid delays in the delivery of freight to customers.