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The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces rail safety regulations It also provides rail funding and conducts research on strategies to improve rail infrastructure.

FRA field inspectors employ discretion to determine which cases merit the precise and lengthy civil penalty process. This allows them to ensure that the most serious violations are penalized.

SMART-TD and its allies created history by 2024 when they convinced the FRA that two persons should be in the cabs of freight trains. The fight is not over.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration has a variety of safety measures in place to protect the health and welfare of employees as well as the general public. It formulates and enforces safety regulations for rail, administers rail funding and researches strategies for improving rail and technology. It also develops and implements a strategy to ensure that current infrastructure, services, and capacity, and strategically expands and improves the national rail network. The department expects all rail employers to adhere to the strictest rules and regulations, and empower their employees and provide them with the tools needed to be successful and safe. This includes participation in the confidential close call reporting system, establishing occupational health and safety committees with full union participation and anti-retaliation safeguards, and providing employees with the necessary personal protection equipment.

Inspectors of the FRA are at the forefront of enforcing safety on rail laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections of equipment and investigate hundreds of complaints. Civil penalties may be imposed on those who violate rail safety laws. The safety inspectors of the agency have broad discretion over whether an individual violation is in line with the statutory description of a criminal penalty-worthy act. The Office of Chief Counsel’s safety division also reviews all reports that regional offices submit to ensure that they are legal before assessing penalties. The exercise of this discretion at the regional and field levels ensures that the lengthy, time-consuming civil penalty process is utilized only in those situations that truly warrant the deterrent effect of a civil fine.

A rail worker must be aware of the rules and regulations that govern their actions and knowingly disregard those standards to commit a civil penalty-worthy offense. However the agency does not consider anyone who is acting under a direction from a supervisor to have committed an intentional violation. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the entire network that allows passengers and goods to travel within metropolitan and city areas, or 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 sets train regulations, including those related to safety and movement of hazardous materials. The agency also oversees rail financing which includes loans and grants for improvements to infrastructure and service. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies as well as industry to devise strategies to improve the rail system of the United States. This includes maintaining existing rail infrastructure and services, addressing the need for new capacity and strategically expanding the network as well as coordinating regional and national systems planning and development.

The agency is responsible for freight transportation, but also oversees passenger transport. The agency is aiming to provide more options for passengers and connect people with the places they'd like to go. The agency is focused on improving the passenger experience and improving the safety of the existing fleet, and ensuring the rail network continues to operate efficiently.

Railroads must comply with many federal regulations, including those related to the size of the crews on trains. This is an issue of contention in recent years, with some states passing legislation to require two-person crews on trains. This final rule codifies federally the minimum crew size requirements, making sure that all railroads adhere to the same safety standards.

This also requires every railroad that operates one-person train crews to notify FRA of the operation and submit a risk assessment. This will allow FRA to identify the specific parameters of each operation and compare them with the typical two-person crew operation. Additionally, this rule changes the standard of review for an approval petition that is based on to determining whether an operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining if approving the operation would be as safe or safer than a two-crewmember operation.

During the public comment period for this rule, a lot of people expressed support for a two-person crew requirement. In a form letter 29 people expressed their concern that a single crew member will not be in a position to respond with the speed required to respond to train malfunctions or incidents at grade crossings, or assist emergency personnel on an elevated highway crossing. The commenters emphasized that human factors account for more than half all railroad accidents and they think that a bigger crew could help ensure the safety of both the train and the cargo it transports.

Technology

Railroads for passenger and freight use various technologies to increase efficiency, improve safety, boost security and much more. Rail industry jargon covers many distinct terms and acronyms. Some of the most prominent include machine vision systems (also known as 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 allows people to do their jobs better and more safely. Railroads for passengers use apps on smartphones and contactless fare cards to increase passengership and boost the efficiency of their system. Other developments like autonomous rail cars are getting closer to becoming 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 focusing on modernizing the rail infrastructure. This multi-billion-dollar effort will see tunnels, bridges, tracks and power systems updated, and stations rebuilt or replace. The 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 element in this effort. The National Academies' recent review of the office revealed that it excelled in keeping in touch using inputs from a wide range of stakeholders. But it must be more focused on how its research aids in the department's main objective of ensuring the safe movement of people and goods by rail.

The agency could increase its effectiveness by identifying and implementing automated train systems and technology. The Association of American Railroads, the primary freight rail association that focuses on research, policy, and standard setting and has created a Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to assist in the development of industry standards for the implementation of the technology.

FRA is likely to be interested in the creation of an automated rail taxonomy, which is a standardization system that can clearly and consistently define the 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 safety risk that the industry sees when implementing a fully automated system and whether the industry is considering additional safeguards to mitigate that risk.

Innovation

Railroads are embracing technology to improve worker safety, make business processes more efficient and help ensure that the freight they move reaches its destination intact. These innovations include cameras and sensors that monitor freight to innovative railcar designs that help keep dangerous cargo safe during transportation. Some of these technologies allow railroads dispatch emergency responders directly to the scene of an accident to reduce the danger and minimize the damages to property and individuals.

Positive Train Control (PTC) is one of the most important innovations in rail. It will prevent train-to-train accidents, situations when trains are in a position they shouldn't, and other incidents caused by human error. The system is a three-part system consisting of locomotives onboard that track the train, fela Law firm wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive, and an enormous backend server that analyzes and collects data.

Railroads that transport passengers also use technology to enhance safety and security. Amtrak, for example, is experimenting with drones in order to help train security staff locate passengers and items in the event of an emergency. Amtrak is also investigating different ways to use drones, such as using drones to inspect bridges and other infrastructure, like replacing the lights on railway towers, which can be dangerous for workers to climb.

Smart track technology is another technology that can be utilized in passenger railroads. It is able to detect people or objects on tracks and notify motorists that it is not safe to continue. These technologies are particularly useful for detecting unauthorized crossings or other issues in the evenings when the traffic is lower and there are less witnesses to an accident.

Telematics is yet another significant technological advance in the rail industry. It allows railways, shippers and other stakeholders to monitor a traincar in real-time. Such capabilities give railcar operators and crews better accountability and visibility and can help them improve efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance and reduce delays in the delivery of freight to customers.