7 Things About Federal Railroad You'll Kick Yourself For Not Knowing The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

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

FRA field inspectors use discretion to decide on which cases warrant the exact and lengthy civil penalty process. This ensures that the violations most deserving of punishment are penalized.

SMART-TD members and allies made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to keep two people in the locomotive cab of freight trains. The fight continues.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration implements a variety of safety measures to safeguard the health of its employees and public. It creates and enforces regulations for rail safety, administers rail funding and studies strategies for improving rail infrastructure and technology. It also formulates and implements a strategy to ensure that current infrastructure, services, and capacity and strategically expands and enhances the national rail network. The department expects all rail employers to adhere to the strictest rules and regulations, and empower their employees and provide them with tools needed to be successful and safe. This includes participating in a confidential 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 leading edge of enforcing rail safety laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections on equipment and investigate complaints from hundreds of people. Anyone who is in violation of the safety rules for rail can be penalized civilly. Safety inspectors from the agency have a wide decision-making power to determine if violations fall within the legal definition of an act punishable with civil penalties. The Office of Chief Counsel’s safety division also examines all reports that regional offices submit to ensure that they are legal prior to imposing penalties. This discretion is exercised at the field and regional levels to ensure that civil penalties are only applied in situations that warrant them.


Rail employees must be aware of the rules and regulations that govern his actions and be aware of the standards to be guilty of a civil penalty-worthy offence. However the agency doesn't take any person who acts under a directive from a supervisor to have committed a willful violation. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the entire system that allows passengers and goods to travel within cities and metropolitan areas and between them. The trackage of a plant railroad in the steel mill isn't considered to be part of the general transportation system by rail, even being physically connected to it.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for establishing train regulations including those related to safety and the movement of hazardous substances. The agency manages railway finance, including grants and loan for infrastructure and service improvement. The agency works with other DOT agencies as well as industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's rail infrastructure. This includes maintaining current rail infrastructure and services and making sure that there is enough capacity, strategically expanding the network, as well as coordinating regional and national systems planning and development.

The agency is primarily responsible for freight transportation but also manages passenger transportation. The agency is trying to connect people with the destinations they desire and offer more choices for travel. The agency is focused on enhancing the passenger experience and increasing the safety of the current fleet, and making sure that the rail network is operating efficiently.

Railroads must comply with a number of federal regulations, which include the ones pertaining to the size and composition of crews on trains. This issue has become an issue of contention in recent years, with some states passing legislation to require two-person crews on trains. This final rule codifies federally the minimum size crew requirements, ensuring that all railroads follow the same safety standards.

This rule also requires each railroad that has a single-person train crew to inform FRA of the operation and submit a risk assessment. This will allow FRA to better understand the specifics of each operation and compare them to the parameters of a normal 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 would be as secure or as safe as an operation with two crew members.

During the public comment period for this rule, a lot of people supported a two-person crew requirement. In a formal letter, 29 people expressed their concern that a single crew member will not be able to respond as quickly 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 account for more than half of all railroad accidents and they believe that a larger team could help ensure the safety of the train and its cargo.

Technology

Railroads that transport passengers and freight employ numerous technologies to increase efficiency, increase security, improve safety and more. The rail industry lingo contains a myriad of specific terms and acronyms, however, some of the most notable innovations include machines-vision systems, instrumented rail inspection systems, driverless trains rolling data centers, and unmanned aerial vehicles (commonly known as drones).

Technology isn't just about replacing certain jobs. It allows people to perform their jobs better and more safely. Passenger railroads are using smartphones apps and contactless fare payment cards to increase ridership and improve the efficiency of the system. Other developments like autonomous rail cars are moving closer to becoming reality.

As part of its ongoing effort to advance safe, reliable, and affordable transportation for the entire nation 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 dramatically increase the agency's rail improvement programs.

The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a key piece in this effort. Recent National Academies review of the office revealed that it was successful in engaging, maintaining communication and using inputs of a wide range of stakeholders. But it still needs to concentrate on how its research helps the department achieve its primary strategic goal of ensuring safe movement of people and goods by rail.

The agency could improve its effectiveness by identifying and supporting automated train systems and technologies. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is the principal industry association for the freight rail industry, which focuses on research, policy and standard setting and has established the Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations in order to help establish standards for the industry.

The FRA is interested in the group’s development of a taxonomy for automated rail vehicles, a system that defines clearly and consistently the different levels of automation. This would apply to both rail transit and vehicles on the road. The agency would like to know the degree of risk that the industry is assessing with fully automated operation, as well as whether the industry is considering additional measures to mitigate that risk.

Innovation

Railroads are embracing technology to improve worker safety and improve business processes. efficient and help ensure that the freight that they transport arrives at its destination intact. Examples of this technological advancement range from the use of sensors and cameras to keep track of freight, and to new railcar designs that help keep hazardous cargo safe during transport. Some of these technologies allow railroads to dispatch emergency personnel directly to accident sites to minimize the danger and minimize the damages to property and individuals.

Positive Train Control (PTC) is one of the most important innovations in rail. It can keep train-to-train accidents out of the way, as well as situations where trains are on track they shouldn't and other accidents caused by human error. This system consists of three components: onboard locomotive systems which track the train; wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive and a huge server that gathers and analyzes data.

Passenger railroads are also embracing technology to enhance safety and security. fela case settlements for instance, is experimenting with drones to assist train security staff locate passengers and items in an emergency. The company is also exploring other possibilities to utilize drones, including deploying them to perform inspections of bridges and other infrastructure like replacing the lights on railway towers, which could be dangerous for workers to climb.

Other technologies that can be used for railways for passengers include smart track technology, which can detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and issue drivers with a warning if it's unsafe to travel. These kinds of technologies are particularly beneficial in detecting unsafe crossings and other issues during times when traffic levels are lower and there are fewer people to witness an accident.

Another important technological breakthrough in the rail industry is telematics, which allows shippers, railroads and other stakeholders to view a traincar's status and condition by real-time tracking. Traincar crews and operators will benefit from increased accountability and transparency which will allow them increase efficiency as well as avoid unnecessary maintenance and delay in the delivery of freight.