The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology
The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces safety regulations for rail, provides rail funding and conducts research on strategies to improve rail infrastructure.
FRA field inspectors employ discretion to determine which cases warrant the exact and lengthy civil penalty process. This helps ensure that the most serious violations are punished.
SMART-TD, along with its allies, made history in 2024 when they convinced the FRA that two people should be allowed to sit in the cabs of freight trains. The fight continues.
fela claims of safety measures to protect the health of employees and public. It creates and enforces safety regulations for rail, administers rail funding and studies strategies for improving rail infrastructure and new technologies. It also creates and implements a strategy to ensure the current infrastructure, rail services and capacity, and strategically develops and improves the national rail network. The department requires that all rail employers adhere to strict rules that empower their employees and provide them with tools to be secure and productive. This includes participation in the confidential close-call reporting system, establishing labor-management occupational health and safety committees, with full union participation, as well as anti-retaliation safeguards, and providing employees with needed personal safety equipment.
FRA inspectors are on the front lines of enforcement of the rail safety regulations and laws. They conduct routine inspections on equipment and investigate complaints from hundreds of people. Those who violate the safety rules for rail can be subject to civil penalties. Safety inspectors at the agency have a wide discretion to determine if a violation falls under the legal definition of an offense that is punishable with civil penalties. The Office of Chief Counsel's safety division also examines the reports submitted by regional offices to ensure that they are legal prior to imposing penalties. The exercise of this discretion both at the field and regional levels ensures that the lengthy, time-consuming civil penalty process is used only in situations that truly warrant the deterrent effect of a civil penalty.
Rail employees must be aware of the rules and regulations that govern their actions and be aware of the standards to be guilty of a civil penalty-worthy offence. The agency does not believe an individual who acted 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 metropolitan and city areas, or between them. The trackage of a plant railroad in a steel mill is not considered to be part of the overall rail system of transportation, even being physically connected to it.
Regulation
The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, including those pertaining to safety and movement of hazardous materials. The agency also oversees rail financing, including grants and loans for improvements to infrastructure and service. The agency works with other DOT agencies and industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's rail infrastructure. This includes ensuring the current rail infrastructure and services, addressing the need for additional capacity and expanding the network strategically as well as coordinating the national and regional system development and planning.
While the majority of the agency's work focuses on freight transportation, it also handles passenger transportation. The agency is working to provide more options for passengers and connect people to the places they'd like to travel to. The agency is focused on improving the experience for passengers as well as improving the safety of the current fleet, and making sure that the rail network is operating efficiently.
Railroads are required to comply with a number of federal regulations, including those that deal with the size and composition of train crews. In recent times the issue has become a source of controversy. Some states have passed legislation mandating two-person crews on trains. The final rule codifies the minimum crew size requirements at a federal level, ensuring that all railroads are subject to the same safety standards.
This rule also requires that each railroad operating a one-person crew notify FRA and submit a risk analysis. This will allow FRA to identify the specific parameters of each operation and compare them to the parameters of a normal two-person crew operation. This rule also changes the criteria for reviewing an approval request that is a special case from determining whether an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety, to determining if the operation is as secure or more secure than a two-person crew operations.
During the public comment period for this rule, a large number of people backed the requirement for a two-person crew. A letter written by 29 individuals emphasized their concerns 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 the reason for a majority of railroad accidents. They believe that a larger team will ensure the safety of the train and its cargo.
Technology
Trains for passenger and freight use various technologies to increase efficiency, increase security, and improve safety. Rail industry jargon includes various unique terms and acronyms. Some of the most notable include machine vision systems (also called drones) and rail-inspection systems that are instrumented driverless trains, rolling data centers, and unmanned aerial vehicle (also known as drones).
Technology isn't just replacing some jobs -- it's empowering people to perform their jobs better and safer. Railroads that transport passengers are using smartphones and contactless fare payment cards to increase ridership and improve the efficiency of the system. Other innovations, such as autonomous rail vehicles, are inching closer to becoming a reality.
As part of its ongoing efforts to advance secure, reliable and affordable transportation for the nation, the Federal Railroad Administration is focused on modernizing its rail infrastructure. This is a multi-billion dollar effort that will see tunnels and bridges rebuilt tracks, power systems and tracks upgraded and stations rebuilt or replaced. The FRA's rail improvements program will be substantially extended by the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is a key part of this initiative. The National Academies' recent review of the office revealed that it excelled at engaging, maintaining communications with and using inputs from a broad range of stakeholders. But it still needs to concentrate on how its research aids in the department's main strategic goal of ensuring safe transportation of goods and people by rail.
The agency could increase its effectiveness by identifying and supporting automated train systems and technologies. The Association of American Railroads (AAR), the primary industry association for the freight rail industry, which is focused on research, policy and standard setting and has established a Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations to assist in helping establish standards for the industry.
FRA is likely to be 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 would be applicable to both rail and on-road transit vehicles. The agency would like to know the level of risk that the industry sees in fully automated operation, as well as whether the industry is considering additional measures to mitigate the risk.
Innovation
Rail companies are adopting technology 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 innovative railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo safe during transportation. Some of these technologies even offer railroads the ability to dispatch emergency personnel to locations of accidents so they can quickly mitigate the risks to property and lives.
One of the most well-known innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC) that will stop collisions between trains and trains, situations in which trains are on tracks that shouldn't be, as well as other accidents resulting from human mistakes. This system consists of three components: onboard locomotive systems which track the train; wayside networks which communicate with the locomotive and a huge server that gathers and analyzes data.
Passenger railroads also embrace technology to increase safety and security. Amtrak, for example, is experimenting with the use of drones in order to help train security personnel locate passengers and items in an emergency. Amtrak is also looking into ways to utilize drones. They could be used to examine bridges and other infrastructures or to replace the lights on railway towers that are hazardous for workers to climb.
Smart track technology is a different technology that is used in passenger railroads. It can detect objects or people on tracks and alert motorists that it is not safe to continue. These technologies are especially useful for detecting unauthorized crossings or other problems in the evenings when the traffic is lower and there are fewer witnesses to an accident.
Another important technological advancement in the rail industry is telematics, which enables railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to see a traincar's status and condition by real-time tracking. These capabilities provide railcar operators and crews greater accountability and visibility and can assist them in improving efficiency, prevent unnecessary maintenance, and prevent delays in the delivery of freight to customers.