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

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

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration implements a number of safety measures to safeguard the health of its employees and public. It is responsible for creating and enforcing regulations for rail safety. It also oversees the funding for rail and conducts research on rail improvement strategies and technological developments. It also creates, implements and maintains plans for the maintenance of the current infrastructure and services for rail. It also works to expand and improve the national rail network. The department expects that all rail employers adhere to strict guidelines that empower their employees and provide them with tools to ensure their safety and success. This includes taking part in the confidential close-call reporting system, setting up labor-management occupational safety and health committees that have full union participation and antiretaliation provisions and providing employees with the needed personal protective equipment.

Inspectors of the FRA are at the leading edge of enforcing rail safety laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections on equipment and conduct investigations into hundreds of complaints. Anyone who is in violation of the safety rules for rail can be subject to civil penalties. The agency's safety inspectors are able to decide on the extent to which an incident falls within the statutory definition of a civil penalty-worthy act. The Office of Chief Counsel's safety division also examines all reports submitted by regional offices to ensure that they are legal before assessing penalties. The exercise of this discretion at both the field and regional levels ensures that the time-consuming, costly civil penalty process is utilized only in situations that truly warrant the deterrent effect of a civil fine.

To be considered guilty of a civil infringement an employee of a railroad must know the rules and regulations that govern the conduct of his or her employees. They must also be aware of and ignore these rules. The agency does not consider that a person who acts upon a directive from a supervisor has committed a willful offense. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the whole network that allows passengers and goods to travel within metropolitan areas or between them. The trackage of a plant railroad in a steelmill is not considered to be part of the general rail transportation system, despite the fact that it is physically connected.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for establishing train regulations including those related to safety and the movement of hazardous substances. The agency is responsible for managing rail finance, which includes loans and grants for infrastructure and service improvement. 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 planning and development.

The agency is 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 want to go. The agency is focused on improving the experience for passengers as well as increasing the safety of the current fleet, and ensuring the railway system continues to function efficiently.

Railroads must adhere to a number of federal employers liability act regulations, including those related to the size of crews on trains. This is controversial in recent years, with a few states enacting legislation that requires two-person crews on trains. The final rule codifies the minimum crew size requirements at an international level, and ensures 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 an analysis of risk. This will enable FRA to evaluate the characteristics of each operation with the parameters of a standard two-person crew operation. This rule also alters the criteria for reviewing an application for special approval from determining if an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety to determining if the operation is as secure or more secure than a two-person crew operation.

During the public comment period on this rule, a large number of people supported the requirement for a two-person crew. In a letter to the editor 29 people expressed their concerns that a single member of the crew will not be capable of responding in a timely manner to incidents or train malfunctions at grade crossings, or assist emergency personnel on the highway-rail level crossing. Commenters pointed out that human factor are responsible for more than half all railroad accidents. They believe that a larger team will ensure the safety of the train as well as its cargo.

Technology

Freight and passenger railroads employ various technologies to enhance efficiency, add security, increase safety and much more. Rail industry jargon comprises a variety of distinct 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 vehicle (also known as drones).

Technology isn't just replacing certain jobs -- it's empowering individuals to perform their work more effectively and safely. Railroads for passengers use apps on smartphones and contactless fare cards to boost ridership and improve the efficiency of their system. Other developments like autonomous rail cars are moving closer to reality.

As part of its ongoing efforts to improve secure, reliable and affordable transportation for the entire nation 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 is a multi-billion dollars initiative that will see tunnels and bridges rebuilt, tracks and power systems upgraded, and stations rebuilt or replaced. The FRA's rail improvement program will be greatly expanded by the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is an essential element in this initiative. The most recent National Academies review of the office revealed that it was successful in engaging in a continuous dialogue and utilizing the inputs of a wide range of stakeholders. It is still required to consider how its research contributes to the department's primary objective of ensuring safe movement of people and goods by rail.

One area where the agency might be able improve its effectiveness is in identifying and supporting the advancement of automated train systems and technologies. The Association of American Railroads (AAR), the primary industry association for the freight rail industry, which focuses on research, policy and standard setting created an Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations to assist in helping 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 would apply to rail transit as well as on-road vehicles. The agency would like to know the degree of risk the industry is assessing with fully automated operation, as well as whether the industry is considering any additional safeguards to minimize the risk.

Innovation

Rail companies are adopting new technologies to increase worker safety, increase efficiency in business processes and ensure that the cargo they transport arrives at its destination in good condition. Examples of this kind of innovation include the use of cameras and sensors to track freight, to the latest railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo safe during transport. Certain of these technologies offer railroads the ability to send emergency response personnel to areas of accidents so that they can swiftly mitigate damage and reduce the risk to property and lives.

Positive Train Control (PTC) is one of the most significant developments in rail. It can stop train-to-train accidents, instances where trains are on track they shouldn't and other accidents caused by human errors. This system consists of three components consisting of locomotives onboard that track the train; wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive and a huge server that gathers and analyzes data.

Trains for passengers also adopt technology to improve security and safety. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with the use of drones to aid security personnel in locating passengers and items on board trains in case of an emergency. Amtrak is also investigating other possibilities to utilize drones, including deploying drones to inspect bridges and other infrastructure, for example, replacing the lights on railway towers, which can be hazardous for workers to climb.

Other technologies that can be used for passenger railroads include smart track technology, which can detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and send an alert to drivers when it's unsafe to travel. These kinds of technology are especially valuable for detecting unauthorized crossings and other problems during times when traffic is at its lowest and fewer people are around to witness an accident.

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