5 Killer Quora Answers To Federal Railroad > 자유게시판

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 inspectors on the ground make use of discretion to decide which cases merit the time-consuming and precise civil penalty process. This discretion helps ensure that those violations most deserving of punishment are punished.

Members of SMART-TD and their allies made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to keep 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 safeguard the health of employees and public. It formulates and enforces rail safety regulations, administers rail funding and researches rail improvement strategies and technologies. It also creates and implements a strategy to maintain current rail services, infrastructure and capacity, and strategically expands and enhances the national rail network. The department expects all rail companies to abide by strict rules and regulations, empower their employees and provide them with tools to be successful and secure. This includes participation in the confidential close-call reporting system, establishing occupational health and safety committees, with full participation from unions and protection against retaliation and providing employees with the necessary personal protective equipment.

FRA inspectors are on the front lines of enforcement of railway safety laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections of equipment and investigate complaints from hundreds of people. Anyone who is in violation of the rail safety laws could be subject to civil penalties. The safety inspectors of the agency have broad discretion over whether an incident falls within the statutory definition of a criminal penalty-worthy act. In addition, the Office of Chief Counsel's safety department examines all reports submitted by regional offices to determine legal sufficiency before assessing penalties. This discretion is exercised at the field and regional levels to ensure that civil penalties are only applied in cases that warrant their use.

A rail employee must be aware of rules and regulations that govern his actions and be aware of the guidelines to be guilty of a civil penalty-worthy offence. However the agency does not take any person who is acting under a direction from a supervisor as having committed an intentional violation. The agency defines "general railroad system" as the entire system that carries goods and passengers within and between metropolitan areas and Federal employers Liability act cities. The trackage of a plant railroad within a steelmill is not considered to be part of the general rail transportation system, despite the fact that it is physically connected.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, ranging from those related to safety and the movement of hazardous materials. The agency also oversees rail financing, including grants and loans for infrastructure and service improvements. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies and industry to develop strategies to improve the country's railroad system. This includes maintaining the current rail infrastructure and services, addressing the needs for capacity expansion, expanding the network strategically as well as coordinating the regional and national system's planning and development.

Although the majority of the agency's activities are focused on freight transportation, it also oversees the transportation of passengers. The agency is working to offer more options for passenger travel and connect passengers with the places they would like to travel to. The agency's primary focus is on improving the passenger's experience and enhancing the safety of the existing fleet and ensuring the rail network is operating efficiently.

Railroads are required to abide with a variety of federal regulations, which include those relating to the size and composition of the train crews. This is controversial in recent years, with several states passing legislation to require two-person crews on trains. This final rule establishes federally the minimum size crew requirements, ensuring that all railroads adhere to the same safety standards.

This also requires every railroad that has one-person train crews to inform FRA of the operation and submit an assessment of risk. This will allow FRA to identify the specifics of each operation and compare them to the parameters of a standard two-person crew operation. This rule also alters the criteria for reviewing an approval request that is a special case from determining if an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety standards to determining whether the operation is safer or safer than two-person crew operations.

During the time of public comment on this rule, a number of people expressed their support for a requirement of two persons on the crew. A form letter sent by 29 people expressed their concern 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 are responsible for more than half all railroad accidents and they believe that a larger team could help ensure the safety of both the train and the cargo it transports.

Technology

Freight and passenger rails employ a variety of technologies to improve efficiency, improve security, and improve safety. The language used in the rail industry includes many distinct terms and acronyms but some of the most notable developments 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 replacing certain jobs -- it's empowering people to perform their jobs more efficiently and with greater security. Passenger railroads are using smartphone apps and contactless fare payment cards to improve ridership and improve the efficiency of the system. Other innovations, like autonomous rail vehicles, are moving closer to reality.

The federal employers Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to improve safe affordable, reliable, and secure transportation in the United States, is focused on modernizing the rail infrastructure. This multi-billion-dollar project will see tunnels, bridges tracks, power systems, and tracks upgraded and stations renovated or replaced. The FRA's rail improvements program will be significantly increased by the recently approved bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is a key component in this effort. The National Academies' recent review of the office concluded that it excelled in engaging, maintaining communications using inputs from a broad range of stakeholders. It is still required to consider how its research contributes towards the department's primary objective of ensuring the safety of people and goods via railways.

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

The FRA is interested in the group’s creation of a taxonomy for automated rail vehicles which defines clearly and consistently different levels of automation. This could apply to both rail transit and on-road vehicles. The agency would like to know the level of risk that the industry is assessing with fully automated operation, and if the industry is contemplating any additional safeguards to reduce that risk.

Innovation

Rail companies are embracing technology to increase worker safety, increase efficiency in business processes and ensure that the cargo they transport is delivered in good condition. Examples of such technological advancement include the use of cameras and sensors to track freight, to the latest railcar designs that keep dangerous cargo secure during transit. Certain of these technologies allow railroads to dispatch emergency personnel to areas of accidents so that they can quickly mitigate the risks to property and people.

Positive Train Control (PTC) is among the most important innovations in rail. It is designed to stop train-to-train accidents, instances where trains are on track they shouldn't be, and other accidents caused by human errors. This system is a three-part system comprised of onboard locomotive systems that track the train and wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive and a huge backend server that analyzes and collects data.

Passenger railroads are also embracing technology to bolster security and safety. Amtrak for instance, is testing the use of drones to help train security staff locate passengers and other items in an emergency. The company is also looking into other possibilities to utilize drones, for instance, using them to perform inspections of bridges as well as other infrastructure, such as replacing the lighting on railway towers, which could be dangerous for workers to climb.

Smart track technology is another technology that can be used in passenger railroads. It is able to detect people or objects on tracks and alert drivers that it is unsafe to continue. These types of technology are especially beneficial in detecting unsafe crossings as well as other issues that can arise during times when traffic is at its lowest and there are fewer people to witness an accident.

Telematics is another important technological breakthrough in the rail industry. It lets railways, shippers, and other stakeholders to monitor a traincar in real-time. These capabilities give railcar owners and crews better accountability and visibility and can aid in improving efficiency, prevent unnecessary maintenance and avoid delays in the delivery of freight to customers.