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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 field inspectors employ discretion to determine which cases warrant the exact and time-consuming civil penalty process. This discretion helps ensure that the violations most deserving of punishment are penalized.

SMART-TD, along with its allies, made history by 2024 when they convinced the FRA that two people should be allowed in the cabs of freight trains. The fight continues.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration has a variety of safety measures in place to safeguard the safety and health of its employees and the general public. It develops and enforces rail safety regulations, administers rail funding and studies strategies for improving rail infrastructure and new technologies. It also formulates plans, implements and maintains plans for the maintenance of current rail services and infrastructure. It also works to expand and improve the national rail network. The department requires all rail companies to adhere to strict rules and regulations, and empower their employees and provide them with tools to be successful and safe. This includes taking part in the confidential close-call reporting system, establishing labor-management occupational safety and health committees that have full union participation and antiretaliation provisions and giving employees the necessary personal protective gear.

FRA inspectors are on the front lines of enforcement of the rail safety regulations and laws. They perform routine inspections on equipment and investigate hundreds of complaints. Anyone who is in violation of the safety rules for rail can be penalized civilly. Safety inspectors at the agency have a broad discretion to determine if violations fall within the legal definition of an act punishable with civil penalties. The Office of Chief Counsel’s safety division also reviews the reports that regional offices submit to determine if they are legal before assessing penalties. The exercise of this discretion at the field and regional levels helps ensure that the time-consuming, costly civil penalty process is applied only in those situations that truly warrant the deterrent effect of a civil fine.

A rail employee must be aware of rules and regulations that govern his actions and knowingly disregard those guidelines to commit a criminal offense that is punishable by a civil penalty. The agency doesn't consider that an individual who acts in response to a supervisor's direction is guilty of committing a willful crime. The agency defines "general railroad system" as the whole network that transports passengers and goods between cities and metropolitan areas. A plant railroad's trackage in a steel mill is not considered to be part of the general rail system of transportation, even although it is physically connected to it.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, ranging from those related to safety and the movement of hazardous materials. The agency also manages financing for rail, including grants and loans for infrastructure and service improvements. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies as well as industry to develop strategies for improving the nation's rail system. This includes maintaining the current rail infrastructure and services, addressing the need for additional capacity and expanding the network strategically, and coordinating the regional and national system development and planning.

The agency is mostly responsible for freight transport, but also supervises passenger transportation. The agency is aiming to provide more options for passenger travel and connect people to the places they would like to go. The agency is focused primarily on improving the experience of passengers as well as enhancing the safety of its existing fleet and ensuring the rail network continues operating efficiently.

Railroads are required to comply with a variety of federal regulations, including the ones pertaining to the size and composition of train crews. In recent years, this issue has become a source of controversy. Certain states have passed legislation that requires two-person teams on trains. This final rule outlines the minimum size of crew requirements at the federal level, making sure that all railroads are subject 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 a risk assessment. This will allow FRA to evaluate the characteristics of each operation with those of a two-person standard crew operation. This rule also changes the review standard of an application for special approval to determine if an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety, to determining if the operation is safer or less risky than a two-person crew operation.

During the time of public comment on this rule, a large number of people voiced their support for a requirement for two persons on the crew. A letter from 29 people outlined their concerns that a single crew member might not be as quick to respond to train-related malfunctions or crossing incidents, or assist emergency response personnel at a highway-rail grade crossing. Commenters emphasized that human factors are responsible for more than half of all railroad accidents. They believe that a larger team could ensure the safety of the train as well as its cargo.

Technology

Railroads that transport passengers and freight employ numerous technologies to increase efficiency, increase security, improve safety and more. The rail industry lingo includes a variety of specific terms and acronyms, but some of the more notable developments include machine vision systems, instrumented rail inspection systems, driverless trains, rolling data centers, and unmanned aerial vehicles (commonly known as drones).

Technology isn't merely replacing jobs; it's helping people to perform their jobs more efficiently and with greater security. Passenger railroads are using smartphones apps and contactless fare payment cards in order to boost ridership and make the system more efficient. Other innovations such as autonomous rail cars are moving closer to becoming reality.

As part of its ongoing efforts to ensure secure, reliable and affordable transportation for the nation The Federal Railroad Administration is focused on modernizing its rail infrastructure. This multi-billion-dollar effort will see tunnels, bridges, tracks and power systems upgraded and stations renovated or replaced. The recently passed bipartisan infrastructure law will dramatically increase the agency's rail improvement programs.

The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a central element in this initiative. Recent National Academies review of the office revealed that it was successful in engaging, maintaining communication and using inputs from a variety of stakeholders. But it must concentrate on how its research contributes to the department's primary objective of ensuring the safe movement of people and goods via rail.

One area where the agency could be able improve its effectiveness is in identifying and assisting the advancement of automated train technology and systems. The Association of American Railroads, the primary freight rail association that focuses on research, policy and standard setting the Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help in developing industry standards for implementing the technology.

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 amount of risk the industry sees in fully automated operation, and whether the industry is considering any additional measures to mitigate the risk.

Innovation

Rail companies are adopting technology to improve 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 innovations vary from the use sensors and cameras to monitor freight, to new railcar designs that help keep hazardous cargo secure during transit. Certain of these technologies enable railroads to dispatch emergency personnel directly to accident sites to reduce the danger and minimize the damage to property and people.

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

Railroads that transport passengers are also embracing technology to improve safety and security. Amtrak is one example. It is testing the use of drones to help security personnel on trains find passengers and other items 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 such as replacing the lights on railway towers, which could be dangerous for workers to climb.

Other technologies that can be utilized for railways for passengers include smart track technology, which can detect the presence of people or objects on the tracks and send out an alert to drivers when it's unsafe to travel. These types of technologies are particularly valuable for employers’ Liability act Fela detecting unauthorized crossings and other problems in the off-hours, when traffic is at its lowest and there are fewer people to witness an accident.

Another important technological advancement in the rail industry is telematics, which allows railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to monitor a traincar's status and condition by real-time tracking. Crews and railcar operators can benefit from increased accountability and visibility, which will help them improve efficiency and avoid unnecessary maintenance. It will also help delay in the delivery of freight.