The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology
The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces safety regulations for rail, provides rail funding and researches rail improvement strategies.
FRA inspectors on the ground use discretion to decide which cases merit the time-consuming and precise civil penalty procedure. This helps ensure that the most serious violations are punished.
SMART-TD members and allies made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to ensure that two people are in the locomotive cab of freight trains. The fight is not over.
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 is responsible for developing and enforcing rail safety regulations. It also administers rail funding and conducts research on rail improvement strategies and technological developments. It also creates and implements a plan to ensure that current infrastructure, rail services and capacity, and strategically develops and enhances the national rail network. The department requires that all rail employers adhere to strict regulations, empower their employees and provide them with tools to be safe and successful. 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 needed personal protective equipment.
Inspectors of the FRA are at the forefront of enforcing rail safety laws and regulations. They conduct regular inspections of equipment and conduct a multitude of investigations into complaints of noncompliance. Those who violate the safety rules for rail can be subject to civil penalties. Safety inspectors from the agency have a wide decision-making power to determine if an act is within the statutory definition of an offense that is punishable with civil penalties. The Office of Chief Counsel's safety division also reviews the reports submitted by regional offices to determine if they are legal prior to imposing penalties. This discretion is exercised at both the regional and field levels to ensure that civil penalties are only applied when they are necessary.
A rail employee must be aware of rules and regulations that govern their actions and knowingly disregard those guidelines to commit a civil penalty-worthy offense. The agency does not consider an individual who acted on a supervisor's directive is guilty of committing a willful crime. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the entire network that passengers and goods travel within cities and 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, even though it's physically connected.
Regulation
The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for establishing regulations for trains that pertain to safety and the movement of dangerous substances. The agency also manages rail financing which includes loans and grants for infrastructure and service improvements. The agency works with other DOT agencies and with industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's railway system. This includes ensuring the existing rail infrastructure and services, addressing the needs for new capacity and expanding the network strategically, and coordinating the national and regional system development and planning.
The agency is primarily responsible for freight transportation but also supervises passenger transportation. The agency aims to connect people with the places they'd like to visit and offer more options for travel. The agency is focused on improving the passenger experience and increasing the safety of the current fleet, and ensuring that the rail network is operating efficiently.
Railroads must comply with a variety of federal regulations, which include the ones pertaining to the size and composition of crews on trains. This is an issue of contention in recent years, with some states passing legislation that requires two-person crews on trains. This final rule codifies federally the minimum crew size requirements, ensuring that all railroads follow the same safety standards.
This rule also requires that each railroad operating a one-person crew notify FRA and submit an analysis of risk. This will allow FRA to better identify the specific parameters of each operation and compare them to the parameters of a standard two-person crew operation. This rule also changes the review standard of a special approval request from determining whether an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety, to determining if the operation is safer or safer than two-person crew operations.
During the period of public comment on this rule, a number of people voted for a requirement for two persons on the crew. In a letter to the editor, 29 people expressed their concerns that a single crew member is not in a position to respond as quickly to incidents or train malfunctions at grade crossings, or assist emergency response personnel at a highway-rail level crossing. Commenters pointed out that human factors are responsible for more than half of all railroad accidents. They believe that a larger team would ensure the safety of the train and its cargo.
Technology
Railroads that transport passengers and freight employ a wide array of technologies to enhance efficiency, add safety, boost security and much more. Rail industry jargon includes many distinct terms and acronyms. Some of the most notable include machine vision systems (also known as drones), instrumented rail-inspection systems, driverless train rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicles (also called drones).
fela claims isn't only able to replace certain jobs. It allows people to perform their jobs better and more safely. Railroads that transport passengers are using smartphones and contactless fare payment cards to increase ridership and improve the efficiency of the system. Other developments, like autonomous rail vehicles, are inching closer to becoming a reality.
The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to promote secure affordable, reliable, and secure transportation in America, is focused on modernizing the rail infrastructure. This multi-billion-dollar effort will see tunnels, bridges tracks, power systems and tracks updated, and stations being rebuilt or replaced. The FRA's rail improvements program will be significantly expanded by the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is a key element in this initiative. The most recent National Academies review of the office found that it excelled in engaging, maintaining communication and using inputs of a wide range of stakeholders. But it still needs to be more focused on how its research contributes to the department's primary objective of ensuring the safe movement of goods and people via rail.
The agency could enhance its efficiency by identifying and implementing automated train systems and technology. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is the main industry association for the freight rail industry that focuses on research, policy and standard setting created an Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations in order to help develop standards within the industry.
FRA will be interested in the group's development of an automated rail taxonomy, 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 will need to know the amount of risk the industry perceives with fully automated operation, as well as whether the industry is contemplating any additional safeguards to reduce that risk.
Innovation
Rail companies are embracing technology to improve worker safety, boost efficiency in business processes and ensure that the cargo they transport reaches its destination intact. Examples of this kind of technological advancement vary from the use sensors and cameras to keep track of freight, and to new railcar designs that keep dangerous cargo safe during transport. Certain of these technologies allow railroads dispatch emergency personnel directly to accident sites to minimize the risk and minimize damage to people and property.
One of the most renowned innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC), which will inhibit train-to-train collisions, situations where trains are on tracks where they shouldn't be, as well as other accidents that result from human mistakes. This system is made up of three parts of onboard locomotive systems that track the train; wayside networks which communicate with the locomotive and a huge server that analyzes and collects data.
Trains for passengers are also adopting technology to bolster security and safety. Amtrak for instance, is testing the use of drones to help train security personnel locate passengers and other items in an emergency. The company is also examining ways to utilize drones. They could be used to examine bridges and other infrastructure or to replace the lighting on railway towers, which are dangerous for workers to climb.
Smart track technology is another technology that can be utilized in railways for passengers. It is able to detect people or objects on tracks and notify motorists that it is not safe to continue. These technologies are especially useful in detecting crossings that are not authorized or other problems in the evenings when traffic is less and there are less witnesses to an accident.
Another important technological breakthrough in the rail industry is telematics which allows shippers, railroads and other stakeholders to view the status and condition of a traincar via real-time tracking. Such capabilities give railcar operators and their crews more control and visibility. They can also aid in improving efficiency, prevent unnecessary maintenance, and prevent delays in the delivery of freight to customers.