Five Things Everybody Does Wrong About Federal Railroad

The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

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

FRA field inspectors use discretion to determine which cases merit the precise and lengthy civil penalty process. This discretion helps ensure that those violations most deserving of punishment are penalized.

Allies and members of SMART-TD have made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to ensure that two people are in the locomotive cab of freight trains. The fight continues.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration has a range of safety measures in place to ensure the safety and health of employees and the public. It develops and enforces regulations for rail safety and oversees the funding for rail. It also researches strategies for improving rail and technologies. It also develops plans, implements and maintains a plan for maintaining the current rail infrastructure and services. It also expands and improves strategically the rail network across the nation. The department requires that all rail employers adhere to strict rules and empower their employees, and provide them with tools to be secure and productive. This includes participating in the confidential close-call reporting system, establishing occupational health and safety committees, with full union participation, as well as anti-retaliation safeguards, and providing employees with personal protective equipment.

Inspectors of the FRA are at the forefront of enforcing safety on rail laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections of equipment and conduct a myriad of investigations into complaints of non-compliance. Civil penalties can be handed out to those who violate rail safety laws. Safety inspectors at the agency have a broad discretion to determine whether an act is within the legal definition of an act punishable by civil penalties. The Office of Chief Counsel’s safety division also examines all 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 applied only in cases that are truly deserving of the effect of a civil fine.

Rail employees must be aware of the rules and regulations that govern their actions, and not knowingly violate those rules to commit a civil penalty-worthy offense. However the agency doesn't consider any individual who follows a directive by a supervisor as having committed a willful violation. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the entire system over which goods and passengers travel within cities and metropolitan areas, or between them. The trackage of a plant railroad in a steelmill is not considered to be part of the general rail transportation system, even though it's physically connected.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for establishing regulations for trains including those related to safety and the movement of dangerous substances. The agency is responsible for managing rail finance, including grants and loan to improve service and infrastructure. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies and industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's railway system. This includes maintaining the current rail infrastructure and services, responding to the demands for new capacity and expanding the network strategically, and coordinating the regional and national system's planning and development.

While the majority of the agency's activities are focused on freight transportation, it also manages the transportation of passengers. The agency is working to provide more options for passenger travel and connect people to the places they'd like to travel to. The agency's focus is on improving the experience of passengers as well as enhancing the safety of its existing fleet and ensuring the rail system continues to operate efficiently.

Railroads must comply with many federal regulations, including those related to the size of the crews on trains. This issue has become controversial in recent years, with some states enacting legislation that requires two-person crews on trains. This final rule outlines the minimum crew size requirements at an international level, and ensures that all railroads are subject to the same safety standards.

This rule also requires that every railroad operating a one-person crew notify FRA and submit an analysis of risk. This will enable FRA to compare the parameters of each operation to the parameters of a standard two-person crew operation. In addition this rule alters the review standard for the special approval petition from to determining whether an operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining whether approving the operation would be as safe or safer than a two-crewmember operation.

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

Technology

Freight and passenger rails employ different technologies to improve efficiency, enhance security, and improve safety. The language used in the rail industry contains a myriad of unique terms and acronyms, however, some of the most 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 some jobs, it's also empowering people to do their job more efficiently and with greater security. Railroads that transport passengers use smartphones and contactless fare cards in order to increase passengership and boost the efficiency of their system. Other developments like autonomous rail cars are getting closer to becoming reality.

As part of its ongoing efforts to advance safe, reliable and affordable transportation for the nation In its ongoing effort to ensure safe, reliable and affordable transportation for the nation, the federal employers’ Liability act Railroad Administration is focused on modernizing its rail infrastructure. This multi-billion-dollar project will see tunnels, bridges tracks, power systems and tracks updated and stations rebuilt or replace. FRA's recently passed bipartisan infrastructure fela law firm will substantially increase the agency's rail improvement programs.

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 it excelled at engaging, maintaining communication and using inputs from a variety of stakeholders. It still needs to consider how its research contributes to the department's main goal of ensuring the safety of people and goods by railways.

The agency could increase its effectiveness by identifying and supporting automated train systems and technologies. The Association of American Railroads, the primary freight rail industry organization that focuses on policy, research and standard setting the Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help in developing industry standards for implementing the technology.

FRA will be interested in the group's creation of an automated rail taxonomy. It is 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 will also want to know the level of risk to safety that the industry believes is associated with the introduction of fully automated operation and whether or not the industry is contemplating additional protections to minimize the risk.

Innovation

Railroads are using technology to increase worker safety, make business processes more efficient and ensure that the cargo that they transport arrives at its destination safely. Examples of this kind of innovations vary from the use 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 enable railroads to dispatch emergency responders directly to the scene of an accident to reduce the risk and damage to people and property.

Positive Train Control (PTC) is among the most important innovations in rail. It is designed to prevent train-to-train accidents, situations when trains are in a position they shouldn't and other accidents caused by human error. It is a three-part process consisting of onboard locomotive systems that track the train and wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive, and a massive backend server that collects and analyzes data.

Trains for passengers are also adopting technology to bolster security and safety. Amtrak for instance, is experimenting with the use of drones to help security personnel on trains locate passengers and items in an emergency. The company is also exploring other ways to use drones, such as using them to perform inspections of bridges as well as other infrastructure, for example, replacing the lights on railway towers, which can 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 objects or people on the tracks and send drivers with a warning if it's unsafe to proceed. These kinds of technologies can be particularly valuable for detecting unauthorized crossings as well as other issues that can arise in the off-hours, when traffic is at its lowest and there are fewer people to witness an accident.

Another significant technological advance in the rail 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 better control and visibility. They can also aid in improving efficiency, prevent unnecessary maintenance, and prevent delays in delivering freight to customers.