Notes

A Brief History History Of Federal Railroad
The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for safety regulations for rail and enforcement, as well as funding for rail, and research on rail improvement strategies.

FRA field inspectors employ discretion to decide on which cases are worthy of the precise and time consuming civil penalty process. This ensures that the violations most deserving of punishment are penalized.

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 is not over.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration has a range of safety measures in place to ensure the health and safety of employees and the public. It develops and enforces rail safety regulations, administers rail funding and researches strategies for improving rail and technology. It also creates and implements a strategy to maintain current infrastructure, services, and capacity and strategically expands and enhances the national rail network. The department requires all rail companies to abide by strict rules and regulations, empower their workers and provide them with tools to succeed and stay secure. This includes a confidential close-call reporting system, establishing labor-management occupational safety and health committees, with full-union participation and antiretaliation provisions and giving employees the necessary personal protective gear.

Inspectors of the FRA are at the forefront of enforcing safety on rail laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections of equipment and conduct hundreds of investigations into complaints of noncompliance. Civil penalties are imposed on those who violate the rail safety laws. Safety inspectors at the agency have a wide discretion to determine if violations fall within the statutory definition of an act punishable by civil penalties. The Office of Chief Counsel's safety division also reviews all reports that regional offices submit to determine if they are legal before assessing penalties. The exercise of this discretion at the field and regional levels ensures that the lengthy, time-consuming civil penalty process is utilized only in cases that truly warrant the deterrent effect of a civil penalty.

To be considered guilty of a civil offense an employee of a railroad must know the rules and regulations that govern his or her actions. They also must be aware that they not adhere to these rules. The agency does not consider that an individual who acts in response to a supervisor's direction has committed a willful offense. 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, or between them. The trackage of a plant railroad at the steel mill isn't considered to be part of the general transportation system by rail even though it is physically connected to it.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for establishing train regulations including those related to safety and the transportation of hazardous substances. The agency also manages rail financing including loans and grants for infrastructure and improvements to service. The agency works with other DOT agencies and industry to develop strategies for improving the nation's rail system. This includes ensuring the current rail services and infrastructure, addressing the need for new capacity, strategically expanding the network and coordinating national and regional systems planning and development.

While most of the agency's work focuses on freight transportation, it also manages the transportation of passengers. The agency is aiming to provide more options for passenger travel and connect people with the places they want to travel to. The agency's primary focus is on improving the passenger's experience as well as enhancing the safety of its existing fleet and ensuring the rail network is operating efficiently.

Railroads are required to abide with a variety of federal regulations, which include those that deal with the size and composition of crews on trains. This is an issue of contention 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, making sure that all railroads follow the same safety standards.

This also requires every railroad that operates a one-person train crew to inform FRA of the operation and submit an assessment of risk. This will allow FRA to better understand the specifics of each operation and compare them with those of a typical two-person crew operation. This rule also changes the standard for reviewing an application for special approval from determining whether an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety, to determining if the operation is as safe or more secure than a two-person crew operation.

During the public comment period on this rule, a large number of people expressed support for the requirement for a two-person crew. In a formal letter, 29 people expressed their concern that a single member of the crew will not be able to respond in a timely manner to incidents or train malfunctions at grade crossings or assist emergency response personnel at the highway-rail level crossing. Commenters noted that human factors are responsible for a majority of railroad accidents. They believe that a bigger crew would ensure the security of the train and its cargo.

Technology

Railroads for passenger and freight use a wide array of technologies to enhance efficiency, add security, increase safety and more. The rail industry lingo includes a variety of specific terms and acronyms, but some of the more notable innovations include machine vision systems, instrumented 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 helps people perform their jobs more effectively and safer. Passenger railroads use smartphones apps and contactless fare cards to boost ridership and improve the efficiency of their system. Other developments like autonomous rail cars are moving closer to becoming reality.

The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to improve safe affordable, reliable, and secure transportation in the United States is focusing on modernizing the railway infrastructure. This multi-billion dollar project will see tunnels, bridges tracks, power systems and tracks upgraded and stations being rebuilt or replaced. The FRA's rail improvement program will be significantly expanded by the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a major element in this effort. Recent National Academies review of the office revealed that it was successful in engaging, maintaining communication and using inputs from a range of stakeholders. But it still needs to focus more on how its research helps the department achieve its primary objective of ensuring the safe movement of goods and people via railway.

One area in which the agency could be able to increase its effectiveness is in identifying and supporting the development of automated train systems and technologies. fela railroad accident lawyer of American Railroads, the freight rail industry's primary association that focuses on research, policy and standard setting the Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help develop industry standards to implement the technology.

FRA is interested in the creation of an automated rail taxonomy, a system of standards to clearly and consistently define the different levels of automation that could be applicable to both on-road and rail transit vehicles. The agency would like to know the degree of risk the industry perceives with fully automated operation, and if the industry is considering additional safeguards to minimize that risk.

Innovation

Railroads are adopting technology to improve worker safety, make business processes more efficient, and ensure that the freight that they transport arrives at its destination in good condition. These innovations vary from cameras and sensors that monitor freight to innovative railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo safe during transit. Some of these technologies even allow railroads to dispatch emergency personnel to locations of accidents so they can swiftly reduce risks to people and property.


One of the most renowned innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC) that will stop collisions between trains and train, situations where trains are on tracks that shouldn't be, as well as other accidents that are caused by human error. This system is made up of three parts of onboard locomotive systems that track the train; wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive; and a huge server that collects and analyses data.

Passenger railroads also embrace technology to improve safety and security. Amtrak for instance, is testing the use of drones to help train security staff locate passengers and items in an emergency. The company is also exploring ways to utilize drones. They could be used to check bridges and other infrastructure or to replace the lights on railway towers, which are dangerous for workers to climb.

Other technologies that could be utilized for passenger railroads include smart track technology that can detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and issue a warning to drivers if it's unsafe to travel. These types of technology are especially valuable for detecting unauthorized crossings and other issues during times when traffic is at its lowest and there are fewer people to witness an accident.

Telematics is a significant technological breakthrough in the rail industry. It lets railways, shippers, and other stakeholders, to follow a traincar's progress in real-time. Such capabilities give railcar operators and crews greater control and visibility. They can also assist them in improving efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance, and prevent delays in the delivery of freight to customers.

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