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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 conducts research on strategies to improve rail infrastructure.

FRA inspectors on the ground employ discretion to decide which cases merit the lengthy and precise civil penalty procedure. This discretion helps to ensure that the most serious violations 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 is not over.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration has a range of safety measures in place to protect the health and safety of employees as well as the general public. It is responsible for establishing and enforcing regulations for rail safety. It also manages rail funding, and conducts research on rail improvement strategies and technologies. It also develops the implementation and maintenance of a plan for maintaining the current rail infrastructure and services. It also expands and improves strategically the rail network across the nation. The department demands that all rail operators adhere to strict guidelines, empower their employees and provide them with the tools to be secure and productive. This includes participation in the confidential close-call reporting system, establishing occupational health and safety committees with full participation from unions and anti-retaliation protections and providing employees with needed personal protective equipment.

FRA inspectors are on the front lines of enforcement of rail safety regulations and laws. They conduct routine inspections of equipment and conduct a multitude of investigations into complaints of non-compliance. Anyone who is in violation of the rail safety laws could be penalized civilly. The safety inspectors of the agency are able to decide on the extent to which a particular violation meets the statutory definition of a crime that is 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. The exercise of this discretion both at the field and regional levels helps ensure that the time-consuming, costly civil penalty process is used only in situations that truly warrant the deterrent effect of a civil penalty.

To be guilty of a civil infringement, a rail employee must know the rules and regulations governing their actions. They must also be aware of and ignore these rules. However the agency does not take any person who is acting under a direction from a supervisor to have committed an intentional violation. The agency defines "general railroad system" as the whole network that carries goods and passengers between cities and metropolitan areas. The trackage of a plant railroad within the steelmill isn't considered to be part of the overall rail transportation system, even though it's physically connected.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for establishing regulations for trains including those related to safety and the movement of dangerous substances. The agency oversees railway finance, including loans and grants for infrastructure and service improvement. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies as well as industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's rail infrastructure. This work includes maintaining current rail services and infrastructure and in addition to addressing the need for additional capacity, strategically expanding the network as well as coordinating regional and national systems planning and Act fela development.

Although the majority of the agency's work focuses on freight transportation, it also oversees passenger transportation. The agency is working to provide more options for passenger travel and connect people with the places they want to go. The agency's focus is on improving the experience of passengers, enhancing safety of the existing fleet and ensuring the rail network is operating 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 is an issue of contention in recent years, with a few states passing legislation to require two-person crews on trains. This final rule establishes federally the minimum crew size requirements, making sure that all railroads adhere to the same safety standards.

This also requires every railroad operating a single-person train crew to inform FRA of the operation and submit a risk assessment. This will allow FRA to better understand the specific parameters of each operation and compare them to the normal two-person crew operation. This rule also alters the criteria for reviewing an application for special approval from determining if an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety to determining if the operation is as safe or more secure than a two-person crew operations.

During the public comment period for this rule, a lot of people supported a two-person crew requirement. In a form letter 29 people voiced their concerns that a single crewmember would not be in a position to respond in a timely manner to incidents or train malfunctions at grade crossings, or assist emergency personnel on a highway-rail level crossing. Commenters emphasized that human factor are responsible for more than half of all railroad accidents. They believe that a larger team could ensure the security of the train as well as its cargo.

Technology

Freight and passenger railroads employ various technologies to increase efficiency, improve safety, boost security and more. Rail industry jargon comprises various unique terms and acronyms. Some of the most prominent include machine vision systems (also called drones) and rail-inspection systems that are instrumented, driverless train rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicle (also called drones).

Technology isn't only able to replace certain jobs. It helps people perform their jobs more effectively and with greater security. Railroads that transport passengers are using smartphones and contactless fare payment cards in order to boost ridership and make the system more efficient. Other developments like autonomous rail cars are getting closer to reality.

The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to promote secure reliable, affordable, and cost-effective transportation in the United States is focusing on modernizing the railway infrastructure. This multi-billion dollar project will see bridges, tunnels, tracks and power systems updated and stations renovated or replaced. The recently passed bipartisan infrastructure law will substantially expand the agency's rail improvements programs.

The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is an essential component in this effort. The most recent National Academies review of the office found that it excelled in engaging in a continuous dialogue and utilizing the inputs of a wide range of stakeholders. It must continue to focus on how its research contributes to the department's primary goal of ensuring the safety of goods and people by rail.

One area where the agency might be able to increase its effectiveness is in identifying and assisting the development of automated train systems and technologies. The Association of American Railroads, the primary freight rail industry organization that focuses on research, policy, and standard setting and has created a Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help in developing industry standards for the implementation of the technology.

FRA is likely to be interested in the group's creation of an automated rail taxonomy. It is a system of standards to clearly and consistently define the different levels of automation that would be applicable to both rail and on-road transit vehicles. The agency will want to know the amount of risk that the industry is assessing with fully automated operation, and whether the industry is considering additional safeguards to reduce the risk.

Innovation

Railroads are adopting technology to boost worker safety, make business processes more efficient, and ensure that the cargo they move reaches its destination in good condition. Examples of this kind of 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 enable railroads to send emergency responders directly to the scene of an accident to minimize the risk and minimize damages to property and individuals.

One of the most prominent innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC), which will inhibit train-to-train collisions, situations where trains are on tracks that shouldn't be and other accidents that are caused by human errors. The system is a three-part system comprised of onboard locomotive systems that track the train and wayside networks that connect with the locomotive, and a huge backend server that analyzes and collects data.

Railroads that transport passengers are also embracing technology to improve safety and security. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with drones to aid security staff in locating passengers and items on board trains in the event of an emergency. The company is also exploring different ways to use drones, for instance, using them to perform inspections of bridges and other infrastructure for example, replacing the lighting on railway towers, which could be hazardous for workers to climb.

Smart track technology is another technology that is used in railways for passengers. It can detect objects or people on tracks and notify drivers if it is unsafe to continue. These technologies are especially effective in detecting unsafe crossings or other issues during the evenings when the traffic is lower and there are fewer witnesses to an accident.

Telematics is yet another significant technological advancement in the rail industry. It allows railways, shippers and other stakeholders, to follow a traincar's progress in real-time. These capabilities provide railcar operators and crews better accountability and transparency and help them improve efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance and reduce delays in delivering freight to customers.