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 use discretion to determine which cases merit the precise and lengthy civil penalty process. This helps ensure that the most serious violations are penalized.
Members of SMART-TD and their allies made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to keep 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 employees as well as the public. It formulates and enforces rail safety regulations and oversees the funding for rail. It also studies strategies for improving rail infrastructure and new technologies. It also creates and implements a strategy to maintain current rail services, infrastructure and capacity, and strategically expands and enhances the national rail network. The department requires all rail employers to adhere to the strictest rules and regulations, empower their employees and provide them with tools to succeed and stay secure. This includes an anonymous close-call reporting system, creating labor-management occupational safety and health committees, with full union participation and antiretaliation provisions and giving employees the necessary personal protective gear.
FRA inspectors are at the forefront of enforcement of railway safety regulations and laws. They conduct regular inspections of equipment and conduct hundreds of investigations into complaints of non-compliance. Anyone who is in violation of the safety rules for rail can be subject to civil penalties. The safety inspectors of the agency are able to decide on the extent to which a particular violation meets the legal definition of a criminal penalty-worthy act. In addition, the Office of Chief Counsel's safety division reviews all reports received by regional offices for legal sufficiency before assessing penalties. This discretion is exercised at the regional and field levels to ensure that civil penalties are only used in situations that warrant them.
To be convicted of a civil offense an employee of a railroad must know the rules and regulations governing the conduct of his or her employees. They also must be aware that they ignore these rules. However the agency doesn't 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 allows passengers and goods to 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 overall rail transportation system, even though it's physically connected.
Regulation
The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for establishing regulations for trains, such as those relating to safety and the transportation of hazardous substances. 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 as well as industry to devise strategies to improve the rail system of the United States. This includes maintaining the current rail infrastructure and services, addressing the needs for new capacity and expanding the network strategically, and coordinating national and regional system planning and development.
The agency is mostly responsible for freight transportation, but also oversees passenger transport. The agency is aiming to provide more options for passenger travel and connect people to the places they would like to go. The agency's focus is on improving the passenger's experience and enhancing the safety of the current fleet, and making sure that the rail system continues to operate efficiently.
Railroads are required to abide with a range of federal regulations, which include the ones pertaining to the size and composition of train crews. This is an issue of contention in recent years, with several states passing legislation that requires two-person crews on trains. This final rule outlines the minimum size of crew requirements at the federal level, making sure that all railroads are subject 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 enable FRA to compare the parameters of each operation to the standard two-person crew operation. Additionally this rule alters the criteria for reviewing a special approval petition from to determining whether an operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining whether approving the operation would be as secure or as safe as a two-crewmember operation.
During the public comment period on this rule, a large number of people supported the requirement of a two-person crew. A letter written by 29 people expressed their concern that a single crew member might not be as quick to respond to train malfunctions or grade crossing incidents, or assist emergency response personnel at a highway-rail grade crossing. The commenters emphasized that human factors are responsible for more than half railroad accidents and think that a bigger crew would help ensure the safety of the train and its cargo.
Technology
Freight and passenger rails employ various technologies to improve efficiency, increase security, and increase safety. Rail industry jargon includes many specific 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 vehicle (also called drones).
Technology isn't just about replacing certain jobs. It helps people perform their jobs more effectively and with greater security. Railroads for passengers use apps on smartphones and contactless fare cards to boost passengership and boost the efficiency of their system. Other innovations like autonomous rail cars are moving closer to reality.
The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to improve secure affordable, reliable, and secure transportation in the United States is focusing on modernizing the railway infrastructure. This multi-billion-dollar project will see bridges, tunnels tracks, power systems and tracks updated and stations renovated or replaced. FRA's recently passed bipartisan infrastructure law will dramatically expand the agency's rail improvements programs.
The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is an essential part of this effort. Recent National Academies review of the office found that it excelled in engaging in a continuous dialogue and utilizing the inputs from a variety of stakeholders. It is still required to consider how its research contributes to the department's primary goal of ensuring safe movement of people and goods by rail.
The agency could improve its efficiency by identifying and implementing automated train systems and technologies. The Association of American Railroads, the freight rail industry's primary association that focuses on research, policy, and standardization, has established a Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help develop industry standards for the implementation of the technology.
FRA is interested in the group's development of an automated rail taxonomy, a standardization system that can clearly and consistently define different levels of automation that would be applicable to both rail and on-road transit vehicles. The agency will also want to know the level of risk to safety that the industry believes is associated with the introduction of fully automated operation and whether the industry is contemplating additional safeguards to mitigate that risk.
Innovation
Rail companies are adopting technology to enhance worker safety, improve efficiency in business processes, and ensure that the cargo they transport reaches its destination in good condition. Examples of this kind of innovations include the use of cameras and sensors to monitor freight, to new railcar designs that keep dangerous cargo safe during transport. railroad injury fela lawyer of these technologies enable railroads to send emergency responders directly to accident sites to minimize the risk and minimize damage to people and property.
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 where trains are on track they shouldn't be, and other accidents caused by human errors. This system consists of three parts of onboard locomotive systems that track the train; wayside networks which communicate with the locomotive and a massive server that gathers and analyzes data.
Passenger railroads also embrace technology to enhance security and safety. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with the use of drones to assist security personnel in locating passengers and other items aboard trains in the event in the event of an emergency. Amtrak is also investigating different ways to use drones, for instance, using drones to inspect bridges and other infrastructure like replacing the lights on railway towers that could be hazardous for workers to climb.
Other technologies that can be used for railways for passengers include smart track technology that can detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and send out a warning to drivers if it's unsafe for them to proceed. These kinds of technologies are particularly beneficial in detecting unsafe crossings and other problems during times when traffic levels are lower and fewer people are around to witness an accident.
Telematics is a significant technological advancement in the rail industry. It lets railways, shippers, and other parties to monitor a traincar in real-time. Traincar crews and operators can benefit from increased accountability and visibility which can help them to increase efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance and delay in the delivery of freight.