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 decide on which cases warrant the exact and lengthy civil penalty process. This allows them to ensure that the violations most deserving of punishment are punished.
SMART-TD, along with its allies, made history by 2024 when they convinced the FRA that two people should be allowed in the locomotive cabs of freight trains. The fight isn't over.
Safety
The Federal Railroad Administration has a variety of safety measures in place to safeguard the health and welfare of employees as well as the general public. It develops and enforces regulations for rail safety as well as manages funding for rail and studies strategies for improving rail infrastructure and new technologies. 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 railroad employers to adhere to strict rules and regulations, empower their employees and provide them with tools needed to be successful and secure. This includes taking part in the confidential close-call reporting system, establishing labor-management occupational health and safety committees with full union participation and anti-retaliation protections and providing employees with the necessary personal protective equipment.
FRA inspectors are at the forefront of enforcement of rail safety laws and regulations. They conduct regular inspections of equipment and conduct hundreds of investigations of complaints of non-compliance. Civil penalties can be handed out to those who violate railroad safety laws. The agency's safety inspectors have broad discretion over whether a particular violation meets the legal definition of a crime that is punishable by civil penalties. In addition, the Office of Chief Counsel's safety division examines all reports submitted by regional offices to determine legality prior to assessing penalties. This discretion is exercised at the regional and field 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 their actions, and not knowingly violate those guidelines to be guilty of a civil penalty-worthy offence. The agency does not believe that a person who acts upon a directive from a supervisor has committed a willful offense. The agency defines "general railroad system" as the entire network that transports passengers and goods between cities and metropolitan areas. The trackage of a plant railroad within the steel mill is not considered to be part of the overall rail transportation system, despite the fact that it's physically connected.
Regulation
The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, including those pertaining to safety and the movement of hazardous materials. The agency also manages rail financing, including grants and loans for infrastructure and improvements to service. The agency works with other DOT agencies and industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's rail system. This includes maintaining the current rail infrastructure and services, responding to the demands for additional capacity, expanding the network strategically and coordinating regional and national system's planning and development.
The agency is responsible for freight transport, but also supervises passenger transportation. The agency is working to connect people to destinations they desire and offer more options for travel. The agency's primary focus is on enhancing the experience for passengers and enhancing the safety of the existing fleet and ensuring the rail network is operating efficiently.
Railroads must adhere to a number of federal regulations, including those pertaining to the size of the crews on trains. In recent years, this issue has become a source of controversy. Some states have passed legislation mandating two-person crews in trains. The final rule codifies the minimum size of crew requirements at an international level, and ensures that all railroads are subject to the same safety standards.
This rule also requires that each railroad operating a one-person crew notify FRA and submit an analysis of risk. This will allow FRA to better identify the specific parameters of each operation and compare them with the parameters of a typical two-person crew operation. Additionally this rule alters the review standard for an approval petition that is based on to determining whether an operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining whether approving the operation would be as safer or more secure than an operation with two crew members.
During the time of public comment on this rule, a lot of people voiced their support for a requirement for two people on the crew. In fela accident attorney expressed their concern that a single crew member is not able to respond in a timely manner to train malfunctions or incidents at grade crossings or assist emergency personnel on the highway-rail level crossing. Commenters emphasized that human factors are responsible for more than half all railroad accidents. They believe that a larger crew could ensure the safety of the train as well as its cargo.
Technology
Freight and passenger rails employ different technologies to increase efficiency, enhance security, and increase safety. Rail industry jargon includes various specific terms and acronyms. Some of the most well-known include machine vision systems (also called drones) instruments for rail-inspection systems driverless trains, rolling data centers, and unmanned aerial vehicle (also called drones).
Technology doesn't just replace some jobs. It empowers people to perform their jobs more effectively and safer. Passenger railroads are using smartphones apps and contactless fare payment cards to improve ridership and make the system more efficient. Other developments like autonomous rail cars are coming closer to reality.
As part of its ongoing efforts to ensure safe, reliable and affordable transportation options for the country In its ongoing effort to ensure safe, reliable and affordable transportation for the nation, the Federal Railroad Administration is focused on modernizing its rail infrastructure. This multi-billion dollar project will see tunnels, bridges tracks, power systems and tracks upgraded and stations rebuilt or replace. The FRA's rail improvement program will be substantially increased by the recently approved bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is a crucial component in this effort. The National Academies' recent review of the office revealed that it excelled at engaging, maintaining communications using inputs from a variety of stakeholders. It is still required to consider how its research contributes towards the department's primary goal of ensuring the safety of people and goods by railways.
One area in which the agency might be able to improve its effectiveness is in identifying and assisting the advancement of automated train technology and systems. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is the main industry association for the freight rail industry, which focuses on research, policy and standard setting, established the Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations in order to help create standards within the industry.
FRA will be interested in the creation of an automated rail taxonomy, which is a standard that will clearly and consistently define different levels of automation that could 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 sees with the introduction of fully automated operation and whether or not the industry is considering adding additional protections to minimize the risk.
Innovation
Rail companies are embracing technology to improve worker safety, increase efficiency in business processes and ensure that the freight they transport reaches its destination in good condition. These innovations include cameras and sensors that monitor freight, to new railcar designs that help keep dangerous cargo safe during transportation. Some of these technologies even offer railroads the ability to send emergency responders to the scene of an accident so they can quickly mitigate the damage and minimize risk to property and lives.
One of the most well-known innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC), which will inhibit collisions between trains and trains, situations in which trains are on tracks they shouldn't be and other accidents resulting from human mistakes. It is a three-part process consisting of onboard locomotive systems that track the train and wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive, and a huge backend server that gathers and analyzes data.
Passenger railroads are also embracing technology to bolster security and safety. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with the use of drones to aid security personnel in finding passengers and other items onboard trains in case in an emergency. The company is also exploring other 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 can be 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 people or objects on the tracks and send out an alert to drivers when it's unsafe for them to proceed. These technologies are particularly effective in detecting unsafe crossings or other issues in the evenings, when traffic is low and there are fewer witnesses to an accident.
Telematics is yet another significant technological breakthrough in the railway 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 control and visibility. They can also assist them in improving efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance and avoid delays in the delivery of freight to customers.