The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology
The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for the safety of rail, regulations and enforcement, rail funding and research on improving rail strategies.
FRA field inspectors use discretion to determine which cases warrant the exact and time consuming civil penalty process. This allows them to ensure that the violations most deserving of punishment are punished.
Members of SMART-TD and their allies made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to keep two people in the cabs of locomotives of freight trains. The fight is not over.
Safety
The Federal Railroad Administration implements a variety of safety measures to protect the health of employees as well as the public. It develops and enforces rail safety regulations and oversees the funding for rail. It also researches rail improvement strategies and technologies. It also creates and implements a strategy to maintain current rail services, infrastructure and capacity, and strategically expands and improves the nation's rail network. The department requires that all rail companies adhere to strict guidelines, empower their employees and provide them with tools to ensure their safety and success. This includes participation in the confidential close call reporting system, setting up occupational health and safety committees, with full union participation and protection against retaliation and providing employees with needed personal safety equipment.
FRA inspectors are at the forefront of enforcement of railway safety regulations and laws. They conduct routine inspections of equipment and investigate complaints from hundreds of people. Civil penalties can be applied to those who break rail safety laws. The safety inspectors of the agency are able to decide on the extent to which a particular violation meets the statutory description of a civil penalty-worthy act. The Office of Chief Counsel's safety division also reviews all reports submitted by regional offices to ensure that they are legal before assessing penalties. This discretion is exercised both at the regional and field levels to ensure that civil penalties are only used in situations that warrant them.
A rail employee must be aware of the rules and regulations that govern his or her actions and be aware of the rules to commit a criminal offense that is punishable by a civil penalty. However the agency does not consider anyone who is acting under a direction from a supervisor as having committed a willful violation. fela lawsuit settlements defines "general railroad system" as the entire network that carries goods and passengers within and between cities and metropolitan areas. A plant railroad's trackage in a steel mill is not considered part of the general rail system of transportation even though it is physically connected to it.
Regulation
The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, including those related to safety and movement of hazardous materials. The agency manages rail finance, which includes grants and loan for service and infrastructure improvement. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies as well as industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's rail system. This includes ensuring the existing rail infrastructure and services, addressing the need for new capacity, expanding the network strategically and coordinating national and regional 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 passengers and connect people to the places they would like to go. The agency is focused on improving the passenger experience, enhancing the safety of the current fleet, and ensuring that the rail network is operating efficiently.
Railroads are required to abide with a range of federal regulations, which include the ones pertaining to the size and composition of train crews. This is a controversial one in recent years, with several states enacting legislation that requires two-person crews on trains. The final rule codifies the minimum requirements for crew size at a federal level, ensuring that all railroads are held to the same safety standards.
This also requires every railroad that has one-person train crews to notify FRA of the operation and submit an assessment of risk. This will allow FRA to identify the specific parameters of each operation and compare them to the standard two-person crew operation. Additionally this rule alters the review standard for a special approval petition from determining whether the operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining whether approving the operation would be as safe or safer than a two-crewmember operation.
During the time of public comment for 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 would not be as quick to respond to train-related malfunctions or crossing incidents, or assist emergency responders at a highway-rail grade crossing. Commenters noted that human factors are responsible for more than half all railroad accidents. They believe that a larger crew will ensure the safety of the train and its cargo.
Technology
Freight and passenger rails employ a variety of technologies to improve efficiency, increase safety, and boost security. Rail industry jargon covers a variety of unique terms and acronyms. Some of the most prominent include machine vision systems (also called drones) and rail-inspection systems that are instrumented driverless trains rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicle (also called drones).
Technology isn't just about replacing certain jobs. It helps people perform their jobs more effectively and more safely. Railroads that transport passengers 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 vehicles, are inching closer to becoming a reality.
As part of 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 multi-billion-dollar effort will see tunnels, bridges tracks, power systems, and tracks updated and stations being rebuilt or replaced. FRA's recently enacted bipartisan infrastructure law will dramatically increase the agency's rail improvement programs.
The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is a crucial part of this effort. The National Academies' recent review of the office revealed that it was successful in keeping in touch using inputs from a variety of stakeholders. But it still needs to be more focused on how its research contributes to the department's primary strategic goal of ensuring the safe transportation of goods and people by railway.
One area where the agency might be able improve its effectiveness is in identifying and supporting the development of automated train technology and systems. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is the main industry association for the freight rail industry, which focuses on research policy, standard-setting and policy and has established an Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations to help establish standards for the industry.
The FRA is interested in the group's creation of a taxonomy for 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 that the industry perceives with fully automated operation, as well as whether the industry is contemplating any additional measures to mitigate the risk.
Innovation
Rail companies are adopting new technologies to enhance worker safety, increase efficiency in business processes and ensure that the freight they transport reaches its destination in good condition. Examples of this kind of technological advancement vary from the use cameras and sensors to monitor freight, to new railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo secure during transit. Certain of these technologies allow railroads to send emergency responders directly to accident sites to minimize risk and minimize damage to property and people.
One of the most prominent innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC), which will inhibit collisions between trains and train, situations where trains are on tracks where they shouldn't be, as well as other accidents that are caused by human mistakes. The system is a three-part system consisting of locomotives onboard that track the train and wayside networks that connect with the locomotive, and an enormous backend server that collects and analyzes data.
Trains for passengers also adopt technology to increase security and safety. Amtrak for instance, is testing the use of drones to assist train security staff locate passengers and other items in an emergency. Amtrak is also investigating other possibilities to utilize drones, for instance, using drones to inspect bridges and other infrastructure for example, replacing the lighting on railway towers, which can be dangerous for workers to climb.
Smart track technology is another technology that is used in passenger railroads. It is able to detect people or objects on tracks and alert drivers that it is unsafe to continue. These technologies are especially effective in detecting unsafe crossings or other problems in the evenings when traffic is less and there are fewer witnesses to an accident.
Another important technological advancement in the railway industry is telematics which allows shippers, railroads and other stakeholders to see a traincar's status and condition by real-time tracking. Railcar operators and crews can benefit from greater accountability and transparency which will allow them to increase efficiency and avoid unnecessary maintenance. It will also help avoid delays when delivering freight.