The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology
The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for the safety of rail, regulations and enforcement, rail funding, and research on improving rail strategies.
FRA field inspectors employ discretion to decide which cases are worthy of the precise and time-consuming civil penalty process. This discretion helps ensure that the most serious violations of punishment are penalized.
Members of SMART-TD and their allies made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to allow two people in the cabs of locomotives of freight trains. The fight isn't over.
Safety
The Federal Railroad Administration has a range of safety measures in place to ensure the health and welfare of employees and the public. It creates and enforces safety regulations for rail, administers rail funding and studies strategies for improving rail infrastructure and technology. It also develops, implements and maintains an action plan to maintain the current rail infrastructure and services. It also develops and improves the rail network across the nation. The department requires that all rail companies adhere to strict guidelines that empower their employees and provide them with the tools to be safe and successful. This includes participating in an anonymous close-call reporting system, setting up labor-management occupational safety and health committees with full union participation and antiretaliation provisions and providing employees with the required personal protective gear.
FRA inspectors are on the front lines of enforcement of railway safety laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections of equipment and investigate complaints from hundreds of people. Civil penalties are handed out to those who violate the rail safety laws. Safety inspectors from the agency have a wide decision-making power to determine if violations fall within the definition provided by law of an act that is punishable with civil penalties. The Office of Chief Counsel’s safety division also examines the reports submitted by regional offices to ensure they are legal before assessing penalties. The exercise of this discretion at the field and regional levels ensures that the time-consuming, costly civil penalty process is used only in cases that truly warrant the deterrent effect of a civil penalty.
To be guilty of a civil offense, a rail employee must know the rules and regulations governing their actions. They must also knowingly ignore these rules. The agency does not believe that a person who acts in response to a supervisor's direction has committed a willful offense. The agency defines "general railroad system" as the entire system that transports passengers and goods within and between cities and metropolitan areas. The trackage of a plant railroad within a steelmill is not considered to be part of the overall rail transportation system, despite the fact that it is physically connected.
Regulation
The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for establishing train regulations that pertain to safety and the transportation of hazardous substances. The agency manages rail finance, which includes grants and loan to improve service and infrastructure. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies and the industry to develop strategies for improving the nation's railway system. This includes ensuring the current rail infrastructure and services, responding to the demands for additional capacity, expanding the network strategically, and coordinating regional and national system planning and development.
The agency is primarily responsible for freight transportation but also supervises passenger transportation. The agency is working to provide more options for passengers and connect people with the places they would like to go. The agency's focus is on improving the experience of passengers as well as enhancing the safety of its existing fleet, and ensuring that the rail network continues operating efficiently.
Railroads are required to comply with a range of federal regulations, which include those that deal with the size and composition of the train crews. This is controversial in recent years, with some states passing legislation that requires two-person crews on trains. This final rule outlines the minimum crew size requirements at a federal level, ensuring that all railroads are held to the same safety standards.
This law also requires that each railroad operating a one-person crew notify FRA and submit a risk analysis. This will allow FRA to better understand the specific parameters of each operation and compare them to the parameters of a typical two-person crew operation. This rule also changes the review standard of an approval request that is a special case to determine if an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety to determining if the operation is as safe or less risky than a two-person crew operation.
During the public comment period on this rule, many people supported the requirement for a two-person crew. In a letter to the editor 29 people expressed their concerns that a single crew member will not be in a position to respond in a timely manner to incidents or train malfunctions at grade crossings, or assist emergency personnel on an elevated highway crossing. Commenters pointed out that human factors are responsible for a majority of railroad accidents. They believe that a bigger crew will ensure the safety of the train as well as its cargo.
Technology
Freight and passenger rails use different technologies to improve efficiency, enhance safety, and boost security. Rail industry jargon covers a variety of unique terms and acronyms. Some of the most prominent include machine vision systems (also known as drones) instruments for rail-inspection systems driverless trains rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicles (also known as drones).
Technology doesn't just replace some jobs. It helps people perform their jobs better and safer. Passenger railroads are using smartphones and contactless fare payment cards to improve ridership and improve the efficiency of the 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 ensure secure reliable, affordable, and cost-effective transportation in the United States, is focused on modernizing the rail infrastructure. This multi-billion dollar project will see bridges, tunnels tracks, power systems and tracks updated and stations rebuilt or replace. The FRA's rail improvements program will be significantly extended by the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a central component of this initiative. The most recent National Academies review of the office revealed that it was successful in engaging, maintaining communication and using inputs of a wide range of stakeholders. However, it needs to focus more on how its research aids in the department's main strategic goal of ensuring the safe transportation of goods and people via rail.
The agency could enhance its effectiveness by identifying and implementing 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 standardization the Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to assist in the development of industry standards for the implementation of the technology.
FRA will be interested in the group's development of an automated rail taxonomy. It is a standardization system that can clearly and consistently define different levels of automation that would be applicable to both on-road and rail transit vehicles. The agency will also be looking to understand the level of safety risk that the industry perceives associated with the introduction of fully automated operation and whether the industry is considering adding additional security measures to reduce the risk.
Innovation
Rail companies are adopting new technologies to increase worker safety, increase efficiency in business processes, and ensure that the cargo they transport is delivered in good condition. These innovations vary from cameras and sensors that monitor freight to new railcar designs that help keep dangerous cargo safe during transportation. Some of these technologies even provide a way for railroads to send emergency responders to locations of accidents so they can quickly mitigate the damage and reduce the risk to property and lives.
Positive Train Control (PTC) is among the most significant developments in rail. It will prevent train-to-train accidents, situations where trains are on track they shouldn't, and other incidents caused by human error. The system is comprised of three components of onboard locomotive systems that track the train; wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive and a huge server that gathers and analyzes data.
Railroads that transport passengers are also embracing technology to enhance safety and security. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with the use of drones to aid security personnel in locating passengers and other items onboard trains in the event of an emergency. The company is also exploring other possibilities to utilize drones, such as using drones to inspect bridges and other infrastructure like replacing the lights on railway towers, which could be hazardous for workers to climb.
Smart track technology is another technology that is used in railways that transport passengers. It is able to detect people or objects on tracks and warn drivers if it is unsafe to continue. These kinds of technologies can be particularly beneficial in detecting unsafe crossings as well as other issues that can arise in the off-hours, when traffic is at its lowest and there are fewer people to witness an accident.
fela case settlements is yet another significant technological advance in the rail industry. It lets railways, shippers, and other stakeholders, to monitor a traincar in real-time. These capabilities give railcar owners and crews greater accountability and visibility and can aid in improving efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance and avoid delays in the delivery of freight to customers.