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 determine which cases are worthy of the lengthy and precise civil penalty process. This discretion helps to ensure that the most serious violations are punished.
Members of SMART-TD and their allies have made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to allow two people in the cabs of locomotives of freight trains. The fight isn't over.
Safety
The Federal Railroad Administration implements a number of safety measures to ensure the health of its employees and public. It creates and enforces regulations for rail safety, administers rail funding and researches rail improvement strategies and technologies. It also formulates and implements a strategy to ensure the current infrastructure, rail services and capacity and strategically expands and improves the nation's rail network. The department expects all rail employers to adhere to the strictest rules and regulations, empower their workers and provide them with the tools to be successful and secure. This includes an anonymous close-call reporting system, creating labor-management occupational safety and health committees, with full-union participation and antiretaliation provisions and providing employees with the needed personal protective gear.
Inspectors of the FRA are at the forefront of enforcing rail safety laws and regulations. They conduct regular inspections of equipment and conduct hundreds of investigations of complaints of noncompliance. Those who violate the rail safety laws could be penalized civilly. Safety inspectors from the agency have a wide decision-making power to determine if violations fall within the definition provided by law of an act punishable by civil penalties. The Office of Chief Counsel’s safety division also reviews the reports that regional offices submit to determine if they are legal prior to imposing penalties. The exercise of this discretion both at the regional and field levels ensures that the time-consuming, costly civil penalty process is utilized only in situations which truly warrant the deterrent effect of a civil penalty.
A rail employee must be aware of the rules and regulations that govern his actions, and not knowingly violate those standards to commit a civil penalty-worthy offense. However the agency doesn't consider any individual who follows a directive from a supervisor to have committed an intentional violation. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the entire network that passengers and goods travel within cities and metropolitan areas and between them. The trackage of a plant railroad within 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 sets train regulations, including those pertaining to safety and the movement of hazardous materials. The agency oversees railway finance, including loans and grants for infrastructure and service improvement. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies and industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's rail infrastructure. This includes maintaining the current rail infrastructure and services, addressing the need for additional capacity, expanding the network strategically and coordinating national and regional system development and planning.
The agency is mostly responsible for freight transportation but also manages passenger transportation. The agency is working to offer more options for passenger travel and connect people to the places they want to go. The agency is focused on enhancing the passenger experience 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 regulations, including those related to the size of crews on trains. In recent times, this issue has been a source of contention. Some states have passed legislation requiring two-person crews in trains. This final rule defines federally the minimum crew size requirements, making sure that all railroads follow the same safety standards.
This rule also requires each railroad that operates a one-person train crew to inform FRA of the operation and submit an assessment of risk. This will enable FRA to assess the requirements of each operation with the parameters of a standard two-person crew operation. This rule also alters the review standard of an approval request that is a special case to determine if an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety to determining if the operation is as safe or less risky than a two-person crew operations.
During the period of public comment on this rule, a number of people expressed their support for a requirement of two persons on the crew. A letter written by 29 people expressed their concern that a single crew member would not be as quick to respond to issues with trains or grade crossing incidents or assist emergency responders at a highway-rail grade crossing. Commenters noted that human factors are responsible for a majority of railroad accidents. They believe that a larger crew would ensure the security of the train as well as its cargo.
Technology
Freight and passenger rails use different technologies to increase efficiency, improve safety, and boost security. The rail industry vernacular includes many specific terms and acronyms, however, some of the most notable developments include machine vision systems, instrumentsed rail inspection systems, driverless trains, rolling data centers, and drones that are not piloted (commonly known as drones).
Technology isn't only able to replace certain jobs. It empowers people to perform their jobs better and safer. Railroads that transport passengers use smartphones and contactless fare cards to increase passengership and boost the efficiency of their system. Other innovations, like autonomous rail vehicles, are inching closer to becoming a reality.
As part of its ongoing effort to advance safe, reliable and affordable transportation options for the country The Federal Railroad Administration is focused on modernizing its rail infrastructure. This multi-billion dollar project will see bridges, tunnels tracks, power systems and tracks updated and stations renovated or replaced. FRA's recently enacted bipartisan infrastructure law will substantially grow the agency's rail improvement programs.
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 revealed that it was successful in engaging with, maintaining communication and utilizing inputs from a range of stakeholders. It is still required to be aware of how its research contributes towards the department's primary objective of ensuring the safety of people and goods via rail.
One area in which the agency may be able to increase its effectiveness is in identifying and supporting the development of automated train systems and technologies. The Association of American Railroads, the main freight rail industry business organization that is focused on research, policy and standardization the Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help in developing industry standards for the implementation of the technology.
The FRA is interested in the group's creation of a taxonomy for automated rail vehicles which 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 need to know the degree of risk that the industry is assessing with fully automated operation, and if the industry is considering any additional measures to mitigate that risk.
Innovation
Rail companies are embracing technology to improve worker safety, boost efficiency in business processes and ensure that the cargo they transport arrives at its destination intact. These innovations vary from cameras and sensors that monitor freight to innovative railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo safe during transport. Some of these technologies allow railroads dispatch emergency responders directly to sites of accidents to minimize 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 prevent train-to-train accidents, situations when trains are in a position they shouldn't be, and other accidents caused by human error. This system consists of three components consisting of locomotives onboard that track the train; wayside networks which communicate with the locomotive; and a massive server that analyzes and collects data.
Passenger railroads also embrace technology to improve safety and security. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with the use of drones to assist security personnel in locating passengers and other items onboard trains in case in the event of an emergency. The company is also looking into other possibilities to utilize drones, for instance, using drones to conduct inspections of bridges and other infrastructure such as replacing the lighting on railway towers, which can be dangerous for workers to climb.
Other technologies that can be utilized for passenger railroads include smart track technology, which can detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and send out an alert to drivers when it's unsafe to proceed. These technologies are particularly useful in detecting crossings that are not authorized or other issues in the evenings when traffic is less and there are fewer witnesses to an accident.
Telematics is a significant technological advancement in the railway industry. It lets railways, shippers, and other stakeholders, to monitor a traincar in real-time. fela claims railroad employees provide railcar operators and their crews more accountability and visibility and can help them improve efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance and avoid delays in the delivery of freight to customers.