• 목록
• 답변
• 글쓰기
• 게시판 리스트 옵션
  • 수정
  • 삭제

The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces safety regulations for rail The Federal Railroad Administration also provides funding for rail and researches rail improvement strategies.

FRA inspectors on the ground use discretion to determine which cases merit the time-consuming and precise civil penalty process. This allows them to ensure that the most serious violations are penalized.

SMART-TD and its allies made history in 2024 when they convinced the FRA that two persons should be allowed in the cabs of freight locomotives. trains. The fight continues.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration has a variety of safety measures in place to ensure the health and welfare of employees as well as the general public. It formulates and enforces regulations for rail safety as well as manages funding for rail and researches strategies for improving rail and technologies. It also formulates and implements a strategy to ensure the current infrastructure, rail services and capacity, and strategically develops and improves the nation's rail network. The department requires all rail companies to adhere to strict rules and regulations, empower their employees and provide them with the tools needed to be successful and secure. This includes taking part in the secure close call reporting system, setting up occupational health and safety committees that have full union participation and anti-retaliation protections and providing employees with personal safety equipment.

FRA inspectors are at the forefront of enforcement of railway safety laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections on equipment and investigate complaints from hundreds of people. Civil penalties can be handed out to those who violate the rail safety laws. The agency's safety inspectors have a broad discretion on whether an individual violation is in line with the statutory definition of a criminal penalty-worthy act. The Office of Chief Counsel’s safety division also examines the reports that regional offices submit to ensure that they are legal prior to imposing penalties. The exercise of this discretion at both the regional and field levels ensures that the exacting, time-consuming civil penalty process is applied only in cases which truly warrant the deterrent effect of a civil fine.

A rail employee must be aware of the rules and regulations that govern his or her actions and be aware of the guidelines to be guilty of a civil penalty-worthy offence. The agency does not believe an individual who acted upon a directive from a supervisor is guilty of committing a willful crime. The agency defines "general railroad system" as the whole network that transports passengers and goods between metropolitan areas and cities. The trackage of a plant railroad in a steel mill is not considered to be part of the overall rail system of transportation even though it is physically connected to it.

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 which includes loans and grants for improvements to infrastructure and service. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies as well as industry to develop strategies to improve the rail system of the United States. This includes maintaining the current rail infrastructure and services, addressing the need for additional capacity, expanding the network strategically as well as coordinating the regional and national system's development and planning.

The agency is responsible for freight transport, but also oversees passenger transport. The agency is working to provide more options for passengers and connect people to the places they want to go. 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 continues operating efficiently.

Railroads are required to comply with a number of federal regulations, which include those relating to the size and composition of train crews. In recent years, this issue has become a source of controversy. Certain states have passed legislation mandating two-person crews in trains. The final rule codifies the minimum crew size requirements at an international level, and ensures that all railroads are held to the same safety standards.

This also requires every railroad that operates a single-person train crew to notify FRA of the operation and submit an assessment of risk. This will enable FRA to compare the parameters of each operation to the parameters of a standard two-person crew operation. This rule also changes the review standard of a special approval request to determine if an operation is "consistent" with fela claims railroad employees safety, to determining if the operation is as secure or more secure than a two-person crew operation.

During the public comment period for this rule, a lot of people supported a two-person crew requirement. In a formal letter, 29 people expressed their concerns that a single crewmember 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. Commenters noted that human factor are responsible for more than half all 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 various technologies to increase efficiency, increase security, and increase safety. Rail industry jargon covers many specific terms and acronyms. Some of the most well-known include machine vision systems (also known as drones), instrumented rail-inspection systems, driverless train rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicles (also known as drones).

Technology isn't just about replacing 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 to increase ridership and make the system more efficient. Other innovations such as autonomous rail cars are moving closer to becoming reality.

The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to improve safe affordable, reliable, and secure transportation in the United States, is focused on modernizing the rail infrastructure. This is a multi-billion dollars initiative that will see tunnels and bridges rebuilt, tracks and power systems upgraded and stations rebuilt or upgraded. The FRA's rail improvement program will be greatly increased by the recently approved bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is a crucial part of this initiative. The National Academies' recent review of the office found that it excelled in engaging, maintaining communication with and using inputs from a broad range of stakeholders. But it still needs to be more focused on how its research contributes to the department's primary strategic goal of ensuring the safe transportation of goods and people by rail.

One area where the agency might be able improve its effectiveness is in identifying and assisting the development of automated train technology and systems. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is the principal industry association for the freight rail industry that focuses on research policy, standard-setting and policy and has established an Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations to help establish standards for the industry.

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

Innovation

Rail companies are adopting technology to improve worker safety, increase efficiency in business processes, and ensure that the freight they transport arrives at its destination intact. These innovations range from sensors and cameras that monitor freight to innovative railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo safe during transportation. Certain of these technologies allow railroads send emergency responders directly to the scene of an accident to reduce the risk and damage to property and people.

Positive Train Control (PTC) is among the most significant innovations in rail. It can prevent train-to-train accidents, situations where trains are on track they shouldn't and other accidents caused by human error. This system is a three-part system comprised of locomotives onboard that track the train, wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive, and an enormous backend server that gathers and analyzes data.

Passenger railroads also embrace technology to improve safety and security. Amtrak, for example, is testing the use of drones in order to help security personnel on trains locate passengers and items in an emergency. The company is also examining ways to use drones. They could be used to check bridges and other infrastructure or to replace the lighting on railway towers, which are dangerous for workers to climb.

Other technologies that could be utilized for passenger railroads include smart track technology, which can detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and issue drivers with a warning if it's unsafe for them to proceed. These technologies are especially useful for detecting unauthorized crossings or other problems in the evenings when traffic is less and there are less witnesses to an accident.

Another important technological advancement in the rail industry is telematics, which allows railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to view the status and condition of a traincar via real-time tracking. These capabilities provide railcar operators and their crews more control and visibility. They can also help them improve efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance, and prevent delays in delivering freight to customers.