20 Resources That'll Make You Better At Federal Railroad The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

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

FRA field inspectors employ discretion to decide which cases are worthy of the precise and time-consuming civil penalty process. This allows them to ensure that the most serious violations are penalized.

SMART-TD members and allies made history in 2024 when they began 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 has a variety of safety measures in place to ensure the safety and health of employees as well as the general public. It is responsible for establishing and enforcing regulations for rail safety. It also manages rail funding, and conducts research on improvements to rail strategies and technologies. It also creates and implements a plan to maintain current rail services, infrastructure and capacity, and strategically develops and enhances the national rail network. The department requires that all rail companies adhere to strict regulations, empower their employees and provide them with tools to be secure and productive. This includes an anonymous close-call reporting system, creating 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 rail safety laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections of equipment and investigate hundreds of complaints. Civil penalties are handed out to those who violate rail safety laws. Safety inspectors from the agency are able to decide on the extent to which a particular violation meets the statutory description of a crime that is punishable by civil penalties. The Office of Chief Counsel's safety division also scrutinizes all reports that regional offices submit to ensure that they are legal prior to imposing penalties. The exercise of this discretion at both the field and regional levels ensures that the lengthy, time-consuming civil penalty process is applied only in cases which truly warrant the deterrent effect of a civil fine.

Rail employees must be aware of rules and regulations that govern their actions, and not knowingly violate those standards to be guilty of a civil penalty-worthy offence. The agency does not believe that a person who acts in response to a supervisor's direction has committed a willful offence. The agency defines "general railroad system" as the entire network that carries goods and passengers between metropolitan areas and cities. The trackage of a plant railroad in a steelmill is not considered to be part of the overall rail transportation system, even though it's physically connected.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for establishing train regulations including those related to safety and the movement of dangerous substances. The agency oversees rail finance, which includes loans and grants to improve service and infrastructure. fela settlements with other DOT agencies and with industry to develop strategies to improve the nation's railway system. This includes ensuring the current rail infrastructure and services, responding to the demands for additional capacity, expanding the network strategically as well as coordinating the regional and national system planning and development.

The agency is mostly responsible for freight transport, but also supervises passenger transportation. The agency is working to provide more options for passengers and connect passengers with the places they would like to travel to. The agency is focused on improving the passenger experience and improving the safety of the existing fleet, and ensuring the rail network continues to operate efficiently.

Railroads must comply with a number of federal regulations, which include those relating to the size and composition of train crews. This is a controversial one in recent years, with a few states passing legislation to require two-person crews on trains. This final rule codifies the minimum requirements for crew size at an international level, and ensures that all railroads are subject to the same safety standards.

This also requires every railroad that operates one-person train crews to notify FRA of the operation and submit a risk assessment. This will allow FRA to evaluate the characteristics of each operation to those of a two-person standard crew operation. This rule also alters the review standard of an application for special approval from determining whether an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety standards to determining whether the operation is as safe or more secure than a two-person crew operations.

During the public comment period on this rule, a lot of people expressed support for the requirement for a two-person crew. A letter written by 29 people outlined their concerns that a single crew member would not be as quick to respond to train-related malfunctions or crossing incidents or assist emergency response personnel at a highway-rail grade crossing. The commenters noted that human factors account for more than half railroad accidents, and they believe that a larger team would help ensure the safety of both the train and its cargo.

Technology

Railroads that transport passengers and freight employ numerous technologies to enhance efficiency, improve security, increase safety and more. The rail industry lingo contains a myriad of distinct 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 just replacing certain jobs, it's also empowering people to perform their jobs better and safer. Railroads that transport passengers are using smartphone apps and contactless fare payment cards in order to boost ridership and improve the efficiency of the system. Other developments like autonomous rail cars are moving closer to reality.

As part of its ongoing efforts to improve 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 tunnels, bridges tracks, power systems and tracks upgraded and stations renovated or replaced. FRA's recently passed bipartisan infrastructure law will dramatically grow the agency's rail improvement programs.

The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a key component of this initiative. The National Academies' recent review of the office revealed that it excelled in engaging, maintaining communications with inputs from a variety of stakeholders. It is still required to consider how its research contributes towards the department's primary goal of ensuring the safety of people and goods by rail.

One area in which the agency might be able improve its effectiveness is in identifying and assisting the development of automated train systems and technologies. The Association of American Railroads, the main freight rail industry business organization that is focused on research, policy, and standard setting and has created a Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help develop industry standards for implementing the technology.

FRA will be interested in the creation of an automated rail taxonomy, a standardization system that can clearly and consistently define the different levels of automation that will be applicable to both on-road and rail transit vehicles. The agency would like to know the amount of risk the industry perceives with fully automated operation, as well as whether the industry is considering any additional safeguards to minimize the risk.

Innovation


Railroads are embracing technology to boost worker safety, make business processes more efficient and help ensure that the freight they move reaches its destination safely. These innovations vary from cameras and sensors that monitor freight to new railcar designs that help keep dangerous cargo safe during transport. Certain of these technologies allow railroads send emergency responders directly to the scene of an accident to reduce the risk and minimize damage to property and people.

One of the most prominent innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC), which will inhibit collisions between trains and train, situations where trains are on tracks where they shouldn't be, as well as other accidents resulting from human mistakes. The system is a three-part system comprised of locomotives onboard that track the train and wayside networks that connect with the locomotive, and a massive backend server that collects and analyzes data.

Railroads that transport passengers are also embracing technology to bolster safety and security. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with drones to assist security personnel in finding passengers and other items aboard trains in case in an emergency. Amtrak is also looking into ways to utilize drones. They could be used to examine bridges and other infrastructure, or to replace the lights on railway towers that are dangerous for workers to climb.

Smart track technology is a different technology that is used in railways that transport passengers. It can detect objects or people on tracks and alert drivers if it is unsafe to continue. These technologies are especially effective in detecting unsafe crossings or other issues in the evenings when the traffic is lower and there are fewer witnesses to an accident.

Another important technological breakthrough in the rail industry is telematics which allows railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to monitor the condition and status of a traincar through real-time tracking. These capabilities give railcar owners and crews greater control and visibility. They can also help them improve efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance and avoid delays in the delivery of freight to customers.