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The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces rail safety regulations, provides rail funding and conducts research on strategies to improve rail infrastructure.

FRA inspectors on the ground make use of discretion to determine which cases merit the time-consuming and precise civil penalty procedure. This allows them to ensure that the most serious violations are punished.

SMART-TD and its allies created history in 2024 when they convinced the FRA that two people should be in the locomotive cabs of freight trains. The fight continues.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration has a range of safety measures in place to safeguard the health and welfare of employees as well as the general public. It is responsible for developing and enforcing safety regulations for rail. It also oversees rail funding, and studies rail improvement strategies and technological developments. It also creates and implements a plan to ensure the current rail services, infrastructure and capacity, and strategically develops and improves the nation's rail network. The department requires all railroad employers to abide by strict rules and regulations, empower their workers and provide them with the tools needed to be successful and safe. This includes participating in an anonymous close-call reporting system, establishing labor-management occupational safety and health committees with 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 safety on rail regulations and laws. They perform routine inspections on equipment and investigate complaints from hundreds of people. Civil penalties are handed out to those who violate the rail safety laws. Safety inspectors from the agency are able to decide on the extent to which a particular violation meets the statutory definition of a crime that is punishable by civil penalties. Additionally, the Office of Chief Counsel's security division reviews all reports that are received from regional offices to determine their legal sufficiency before assessing penalties. This discretion is exercised both at the regional and fela accident attorney claims railroad Employees; 133.6.219.42, field levels to ensure that civil penalties are only used in situations that warrant them.

To be considered guilty of a civil violation an employee of a railroad must be aware of the rules and regulations governing his or her actions. They must also be aware of and disregard these standards. However, the agency does not consider any individual who follows a directive by a supervisor as having committed a willful violation. The agency defines "general railroad system" as the entire system that transports passengers and goods between cities and metropolitan areas. The trackage of a plant railroad within the steel mill is not considered to be part of the overall rail transportation system, despite the fact that it's physically connected.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, including those pertaining to safety and movement of hazardous materials. The agency oversees railway finance, including grants and loan for service and infrastructure improvement. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies as well as industry to develop strategies to improve the rail system of the United States. This includes ensuring the existing rail infrastructure and services, addressing the needs for additional capacity and expanding the network strategically as well as coordinating the national and regional system planning and development.

While most of the agency's work is focused on freight transportation, it also oversees passenger transportation. The agency is working to offer more options for passenger travel and connect people with the places they would like to go. The agency is focused primarily on improving the passenger's experience and enhancing the safety of the existing fleet and ensuring the rail network is operating efficiently.

Railroads must abide by a variety of federal regulations, including those pertaining to the size of crews on trains. This is controversial in recent years, with a few states passing legislation to require two-person crews on trains. This final rule codifies federally the minimum crew size requirements, ensuring that all railroads adhere to the same safety standards.

This rule also requires each railroad that has a single-person train crew to notify FRA of the operation and submit an assessment of risk. This will allow FRA to evaluate the characteristics of each operation with those of a two-person standard crew operation. Additionally this rule alters the standard of review for the special approval petition from determining whether the operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining if approving the operation is safe or safer than a two-crewmember operation.

During the public comment period for this rule, a large number of people backed a two-person crew requirement. In a formal letter, 29 people expressed their concerns that a single crew member is not able to respond with the speed required to respond to train malfunctions or incidents at grade crossings or assist emergency personnel on the highway-rail level crossing. The commenters pointed out that human factors are responsible for more than half all railroad accidents and they believe that a larger team would help ensure the safety of the train and the cargo it transports.

Technology

Freight and passenger rails use various technologies to improve efficiency, enhance safety, and boost security. The rail industry lingo includes many unique terms and acronyms, but some of the more significant 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 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 in order to increase ridership and increase the efficiency of their system. Other innovations, like autonomous rail vehicles, are moving closer to becoming reality.

As part of its ongoing efforts to advance safe, reliable and affordable transportation for the nation The Federal Railroad Administration is focused on modernizing its rail infrastructure. This is a multi-billion-dollar project that will see tunnels and bridges repaired, tracks and power systems upgraded, and stations reconstructed or upgraded. The FRA's rail improvement program will be greatly increased by the recently approved bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a major piece in this initiative. The National Academies' recent review of the office revealed that it excelled at engaging, maintaining communication with inputs from a broad range of stakeholders. However, it needs to focus more on how its research helps the department achieve its primary strategic goal of ensuring safe movement of people and goods via rail.

One area in which the agency might be able improve its effectiveness is in identifying and assisting the development of automated train technology and systems. The Association of American Railroads (AAR), the primary industry association for the freight rail industry that focuses on research, policy and standard setting created an Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations to help develop standards within the industry.

FRA is interested in the group's creation of an automated rail taxonomy, which is a standard that will clearly and consistently define different levels of automation that could be applicable to both rail and on-road transit vehicles. The agency will need to know the degree of risk that the industry perceives with fully automated operation, and if the industry is considering any additional safeguards to reduce that risk.

Innovation

Rail companies are adopting new technologies to increase worker safety, boost efficiency in business processes, and ensure that the cargo they transport arrives at its destination intact. These innovations range from sensors and cameras that monitor freight to new railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo safe during transportation. Some of these technologies offer railroads the ability to send emergency responders to the scene of an accident so they can quickly mitigate the damage and minimize risk to property and people.

One of the most renowned innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC) that will stop train-to-train collisions, situations where trains are on tracks they shouldn't be, as well as other accidents that result from human errors. The system is a three-part process consisting of locomotives onboard that track the train and wayside networks that connect with the locomotive and a huge backend server that analyzes and collects data.

Railroads that transport passengers are also embracing technology to improve safety and security. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with the use of drones to assist security personnel in finding passengers and items on board trains in case of an emergency. Amtrak is also looking into ways to use drones. They could be used to check bridges and other infrastructures or to replace the lighting on railway towers that are dangerous for workers to climb.

Other technologies that could be utilized for passenger railroads include smart track technology, which is able to detect the presence of people or objects on the tracks and send a warning to drivers if it's unsafe to travel. These kinds of technologies can be particularly beneficial in detecting unsafe crossings and other issues in the off-hours, when traffic is at its lowest and there are fewer people to witness an accident.

Another important technological breakthrough in the rail industry is telematics which enables railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to view a traincar's status and condition through real-time tracking. Traincar crews and operators will benefit from increased accountability and visibility, which will help them increase efficiency and avoid unnecessary maintenance. It will also help reduce delays when delivering freight.