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The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces rail safety regulations, provides rail funding and studies strategies for improving rail safety.

FRA field inspectors use discretion to decide on which cases merit the precise and time-consuming civil penalty process. This ensures that the violations most deserving of punishment are penalized.

SMART-TD members and allies made history in 2024 when they began pushing the FRA to ensure that two people are in the cabs of locomotives of freight trains. The fight continues.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration has a range of safety measures in place to ensure the safety and health of its employees and the general public. It develops and enforces safety regulations for rail as well as manages funding for rail and researches rail improvement strategies and new technologies. It also develops, implements and maintains a plan for maintaining the current infrastructure and services for rail. It also develops and improves the rail network across the nation. The department requires that all rail companies adhere to strict guidelines, empower their employees and provide them with tools to be secure and productive. This includes participating in an anonymous close-call reporting system, establishing labor-management occupational safety and health committees that have full union participation and antiretaliation provisions and providing employees with the required personal protective gear.

Inspectors of the FRA are at the forefront of enforcing rail safety laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections on equipment and investigate hundreds of complaints. Those who violate rail safety laws may be punished with civil penalties. Safety inspectors at the agency have a wide discretion to determine if violations fall within the statutory definition of an act punishable by civil penalties. The Office of Chief Counsel's safety division also examines the reports submitted by regional offices to ensure they are legal prior to imposing penalties. This discretion is exercised at the field and regional levels to ensure that civil penalties are only applied when they are necessary.

To be convicted of a civil violation an employee of a railroad must be aware of the rules and regulations governing the conduct of his or her employees. They must also knowingly ignore these rules. The agency does not consider that a person who acts in response to a supervisor's direction has committed a willful offence. The agency defines "general fela claims railroad employees system" as the whole network that transports passengers and goods within and between cities and metropolitan areas. A plant railroad's trackage in a steel mill is not considered to be part of the overall transportation system by rail, even although it is physically connected to it.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible to establish regulations for train operations including those related to safety and the movement of dangerous substances. The agency also manages rail financing including loans and grants for improvements to infrastructure and service. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies and industry to develop strategies to improve the country's railroad system. This includes maintaining the current rail infrastructure and services, responding to the demands for capacity expansion, expanding the network strategically and coordinating the national and regional system development and planning.

While most of the agency's work is focused on freight transportation, it also handles passenger transportation. The agency is working to provide more options for passenger travel and connect passengers with the places they want to go. The agency is focused on improving the experience for passengers and increasing the safety of the current fleet, and ensuring that 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 times the issue has become a source of controversy. Certain states have passed legislation mandating two-person teams on trains. This final rule codifies federally the minimum crew size requirements, making sure that all railroads follow the same safety standards.

This rule also requires each railroad that has a one-person train crew to inform 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 normal two-person crew operation. In addition, this rule changes the standard of review for the special approval petition from to determining whether an operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining if approving the operation is safe or safer than a two-crewmember operation.

During the time of public comments for this rule, a number of people expressed their support for a requirement of two people on the crew. In a formal letter 29 people voiced their concern that a single crewmember would not be able to respond with the speed required to respond to incidents or train malfunctions at grade crossings or assist emergency personnel on an elevated highway crossing. Commenters noted that human factors are the reason for more than half of all railroad accidents. They believe that a bigger crew will ensure the safety of the train and its cargo.

Technology

Freight and passenger railroads employ a wide array of technologies to improve efficiency, add security, improve safety and much more. Rail industry jargon comprises a variety of unique terms and acronyms. Some of the most well-known include machine vision systems (also called drones), instrumented rail-inspection systems driverless trains rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicle (also called drones).

Technology isn't just replacing certain jobs; it's helping people to do their job more efficiently and with greater security. Railroads that transport passengers are using smartphone apps and contactless fare payment cards to increase ridership and make the system more efficient. 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 promote safe, reliable, and affordable transportation in America, is focused on modernizing the rail infrastructure. This is a multi-billion-dollar effort that will see tunnels and bridges repaired tracks, power systems and tracks upgraded and stations rebuilt or replaced. The FRA's rail improvement program will be significantly increased by the recently approved bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a major piece in this effort. The National Academies' recent review of the office revealed that it was successful in engaging, maintaining communication with and using inputs from a broad range of stakeholders. It still needs to be aware of how its research contributes to the department's primary objective of ensuring the safety of people and goods via rail.

One area where the agency might be able to improve its effectiveness is in identifying and supporting the development of automated train systems and technologies. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is the main industry association for the freight rail industry that focuses on research policy, standard-setting and policy created the Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations to help create standards within the industry.

The FRA is interested in the group’s development of a taxonomy to describe automated rail vehicles which defines clearly and consistently different levels of automation. This could apply to both rail transit and on-road vehicles. The agency will also want to know the degree of risk to safety that the industry believes is associated when implementing a fully automated system and whether or not the industry is considering adding additional protections to minimize the risk.

Innovation

Rail companies are adopting new technologies to enhance worker safety, boost efficiency in business processes, and ensure that the cargo they transport reaches its destination intact. These innovations range from sensors and cameras that monitor freight to new railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo safe during transit. Certain of these technologies offer railroads the ability to send emergency responders to locations of accidents so they can quickly mitigate the risks to property and people.

One of the most renowned innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC) which will prevent collisions between trains and trains, situations in which trains are on tracks where they shouldn't be and other accidents that are caused by human mistakes. The system is a three-part system consisting of locomotives onboard that track the train, wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive and an enormous backend server that collects and analyzes data.

Passenger railroads also embrace technology to enhance safety and security. Amtrak, for example, is experimenting with the use of drones in order to help train security staff locate passengers and items in an emergency. The company is also exploring ways to use drones. They could be used to inspect bridges and other infrastructure or to replace the lights on railway towers that are hazardous for workers to climb.

Other technologies that could be utilized for passenger railroads include smart track technology that can detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and send drivers with a warning if it's unsafe to proceed. These types of technology are especially valuable for detecting unauthorized crossings and other issues during off-hours, when traffic volumes are lowest and Fela Claims Railroad Employees there are fewer people to witness an accident.

Another significant technological advance in the rail industry is telematics which allows railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to see a traincar's status and condition through real-time tracking. Traincar crews and operators can benefit from greater accountability and visibility, which will help them improve efficiency as well as avoid unnecessary maintenance and delay in the delivery of freight.