Notes

10 Things People Hate About Federal Railroad
The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for safety regulations for rail and enforcement, rail funding and research on improving rail 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.

Allies and members of SMART-TD 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 variety of safety measures to protect the health of its employees and public. It is responsible for developing and enforcing safety regulations for rail. It also oversees rail funding, and conducts research on rail improvement strategies and technological developments. It also formulates and implements a strategy to ensure that current infrastructure, services, and capacity, and strategically develops and improves the nation's rail network. The department expects that all rail operators adhere to strict regulations that empower their employees and provide them with the tools to ensure their safety and success. This includes participation in the confidential close call reporting system, establishing occupational health and safety committees with full union participation and anti-retaliation safeguards, and providing employees with needed personal protection equipment.

FRA inspectors are at the forefront of enforcement of the rail safety laws and regulations. They perform routine inspections on equipment and investigate hundreds of complaints. Anyone who is in violation of the safety rules for rail can be punished with civil penalties. Safety inspectors from the agency have wide discretion to determine whether an act is within the definition provided by law of an act that is punishable with civil penalties. Additionally, the Office of Chief Counsel's security division reviews all reports received from regional offices to determine their legality prior to assessing penalties. This discretion is exercised at both the regional and field levels to ensure that civil penalties are only applied when they are necessary.

To be guilty of a civil infringement, a rail employee must be aware of the rules and regulations that govern his or her actions. They must also be aware of and ignore these rules. However the agency doesn't take any person who is acting under a direction by a supervisor as having committed a willful violation. The agency defines "general railroad system" as the entire network that carries goods and passengers between cities and metropolitan areas. A plant railroad's trackage in the steel mill isn't considered part of the general rail system of transportation, even being physically connected to it.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for establishing regulations for trains including those related to safety and the transportation of dangerous substances. The agency also manages financing for rail which includes loans and grants for infrastructure and improvements to service. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies and industry to develop strategies to improve the nation's railroad system. This includes ensuring the existing rail infrastructure and services, addressing the needs for capacity expansion and expanding the network strategically, and coordinating the regional and national system planning and development.

Although the majority of the agency's work is focused on freight transportation, it also handles the transportation of passengers. The agency is working to offer more options for passengers and connect passengers with the places they want to go. The agency is focused on improving the experience for passengers, increasing the safety of the current fleet, and making sure that the rail network continues to operate efficiently.

Railroads are required to comply with a number of federal regulations, including those that deal with the size and composition of crews on trains. This issue has become a controversial one in recent years, with a few states enacting legislation that requires two-person crews on trains. fela case settlements defines federally the minimum size of crew requirements, making sure that all railroads follow the same safety standards.

This also requires every railroad operating a single-person train crew to inform FRA of the operation and submit an assessment of risk. This will allow FRA to assess the requirements of each operation to the parameters of a standard two-person crew operation. In addition this rule alters the review standard for a special approval petition from determining whether an operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining whether approving the operation is safe or safer than a two-crewmember operation.

During the time of public comments for this rule, a large number of people expressed their support for a requirement of a two person crew. A letter written by 29 people expressed their concern that a lone crewmember could not be as quick to respond to train malfunctions or grade crossing incidents, or assist emergency response personnel at a highway rail grade crossing. Commenters pointed out that human factors are responsible for more than half of all railroad accidents. They believe that a larger crew could ensure the security of the train as well as its cargo.

Technology

Freight and passenger railroads employ various technologies to improve efficiency, improve safety, boost security and more. The language used in the rail industry contains a myriad of distinct terms and acronyms but some of the more 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 just replacing certain jobs, it's also empowering people to perform their jobs more effectively and safely. Railroads that transport passengers are using smartphones and contactless fare payment cards in order to boost ridership and make the system more efficient. Other innovations such as autonomous rail cars are moving closer to reality.

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

The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is a crucial part of this effort. Recent National Academies review of the office found that it excelled in engaging, maintaining communication and using inputs from a range of stakeholders. It must continue to consider how its research contributes to the department's main goal of ensuring the safe movement of people and goods via railways.

One area in which the agency could be able to increase 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 in order to help develop standards within the industry.

FRA is interested in the development of an automated rail taxonomy, a standard that will clearly and consistently define different levels of automation that will be applicable to both on-road and rail transit vehicles. The agency will want to know the level of risk the industry is assessing with fully automated operation, and whether the industry is considering additional measures to mitigate that risk.

Innovation

Rail companies are adopting new technologies to enhance worker safety, increase efficiency in business processes and ensure that the cargo they transport arrives at its destination in good condition. These innovations include cameras and sensors that monitor freight to innovative railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo safe during transport. Certain of these technologies allow railroads to dispatch emergency personnel to locations of accidents so they can swiftly mitigate damage and minimize risk to property and lives.


One of the most prominent 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 and other accidents that result from human mistakes. This system is made up of three components consisting of locomotives onboard that track the train; wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive; and a massive server that gathers and analyzes data.

Trains for passengers are also adopting technology to improve safety and security. Amtrak is one example. It is experimenting with drones in order to help train security staff locate passengers and items in the event of an emergency. Amtrak is also investigating different ways to use drones, including deploying drones to inspect bridges and other infrastructure for example, replacing the lighting on railway towers, which could be hazardous 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 an alert to drivers when it's unsafe to proceed. These technologies are especially effective in detecting unsafe crossings or other issues in the evenings when the traffic is lower and there are less witnesses to an accident.

Another significant technological advance in the railway industry is telematics which allows shippers, railroads and other stakeholders to see the status and condition of a traincar by real-time tracking. Such capabilities give railcar operators and crews greater accountability and visibility and can help them improve efficiency, prevent unnecessary maintenance and avoid delays in delivering freight to customers.

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