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 studies strategies for improving rail safety.

FRA inspectors on the ground make use of discretion to determine which cases merit the lengthy and precise civil penalty procedure. This discretion helps ensure that the violations most deserving of punishment are punished.

Members of SMART-TD and their allies have made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to ensure that two people are in the cabs of locomotives of freight trains. The fight continues.

Safety

The federal employers liability Railroad Administration has a variety of safety measures in place to safeguard the safety and health of employees as well as the general public. It is responsible for establishing and enforcing regulations for rail safety. It also oversees rail funding and studies rail improvement strategies and technologies. It also develops and implements a plan to maintain current infrastructure, services, and capacity and strategically expands and improves the nation's rail network. The department expects that all rail operators adhere to strict rules that empower their employees and provide them with tools to be safe and successful. 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.

Inspectors of the FRA are at the forefront of enforcing rail safety laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections on equipment and conduct investigations into hundreds of complaints. Civil penalties may be applied to those who break the rail safety laws. The agency's safety inspectors have a broad discretion on whether an incident falls within the statutory description of a crime that is punishable by civil penalties. Additionally the Office of Chief Counsel's safety division reviews all reports that are received by regional offices to determine legal sufficiency before assessing penalties. The exercise of this discretion at both the regional and field levels helps ensure that the time-consuming, costly civil penalty process is utilized only in situations which truly warrant the deterrent impact of a civil penalty.

To be guilty of a civil infringement the employee of a rail company must know the rules and regulations governing the conduct of his or her employees. They also must be aware that they not adhere to these rules. However, the agency does not consider any individual who acts under a directive from a supervisor as having committed a willful violation. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the whole network that allows passengers and goods to travel within cities and metropolitan areas and between them. The trackage of a plant railroad at a steel mill is not considered to be part of the overall transportation system by rail, even though it is physically connected to it.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for establishing train regulations that pertain to safety and the transportation of hazardous substances. The agency is responsible for managing railway finance, including loans and grants for service and infrastructure improvement. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies and with industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's railroad system. This includes ensuring the existing rail infrastructure and services and addressing the need for new capacity strategically expanding the network as well as coordinating regional and national systems planning and development.

Although the majority of the agency's activities are focused on freight transportation, it also manages the transportation of passengers. The agency is aiming to provide more options for passenger travel and connect people to the places they would like to go. The agency's primary focus is on improving the experience of passengers and enhancing the safety of the current fleet, and making sure that the rail network is operating efficiently.

Railroads are required to abide with a number of federal regulations, which include the ones pertaining to the size and composition of crews on trains. In recent years this issue has become a source of controversy. Some states have passed legislation requiring two-person teams on trains. This final rule defines federally the minimum size crew requirements, ensuring that all railroads follow the same safety standards.

This law also requires that each railroad operating with a crew of one notify FRA and submit an analysis of risk. This will allow FRA to assess the requirements of each operation to the standard two-person crew operation. This rule also alters the standard for reviewing a special approval request 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 operations.

During the public comment period on this rule, many people supported the requirement of a two-person crew. A form letter sent by 29 people expressed their concern that a single crew member would not be as quick to respond to train-related malfunctions or crossing incidents, or assist emergency responders at a highway-rail grade crossing. The commenters emphasized that human factors are responsible for more than half of all railroad accidents and they believe that a larger team will ensure the safety of both the train and the cargo it transports.

Technology

Trains for passenger and freight use different technologies to improve efficiency, improve security, and improve safety. Rail industry jargon includes various distinct terms and acronyms. Some of the most prominent include machine vision systems (also known as drones) and rail-inspection systems that are instrumented driverless trains rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicles (also called drones).

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

The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to promote secure reliable, affordable, and cost-effective transportation in America is focusing on modernizing the railway infrastructure. This is a multi-billion dollar effort that will see bridges and tunnels rebuilt, tracks and power systems upgraded and stations rebuilt or replaced. The FRA's rail improvements program will be greatly expanded by the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is a crucial part of this effort. 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 must continue to be aware of how its research contributes towards the department's primary goal of ensuring the safety of goods and people by railways.

The agency could increase its efficiency by identifying and supporting automated train systems and technology. The Association of American Railroads, the freight rail industry's primary industry organization that focuses on research, policy, and standard-setting and has created a Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help in developing industry standards to implement the technology.

The FRA is interested in the development of a taxonomy for automated rail vehicles, a system that defines clearly and consistently the different levels of automation. This could be applicable to rail transit as well as vehicles on the road. The agency will also be looking to know the level 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 safeguards to mitigate that risk.

Innovation

Rail companies are embracing technology to increase worker safety, boost efficiency in business processes, and ensure that the freight they transport arrives at its destination in good condition. Examples of this innovation vary from the use cameras and sensors to monitor freight, to new railcar designs that keep dangerous cargo secure during transit. Certain of these technologies offer railroads the ability to send emergency responders to locations of accidents so they can quickly mitigate the damage and reduce the risk to people and property.

One of the most well-known innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC) which will prevent collisions between trains and train, situations where trains are on tracks they shouldn't be, as well as other accidents resulting from human errors. This system is a three-part process consisting of locomotives onboard that track the train and wayside networks that connect with the locomotive, and an enormous backend server that gathers and analyzes data.

Trains for passengers also adopt technology to improve safety and security. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with the use of drones to assist passenger security personnel in finding passengers and other items onboard trains in case in an emergency. Amtrak is also looking into ways to utilize drones. They could be used to examine bridges and other infrastructures or to replace the lighting on railway towers, which are dangerous for workers to climb.

Other technologies that can be used 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 travel. 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.

Telematics is a significant technological breakthrough in the railway industry. It lets railways, shippers, and other parties to follow a traincar's progress in real-time. These capabilities provide railcar operators and crews greater accountability and transparency and help them improve efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance, and prevent delays in the delivery of freight to customers.