Five Killer Quora Answers To Federal Railroad > 자유게시판

The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces safety regulations for rail The Federal Railroad Administration also provides funding for rail and researches rail improvement strategies.

FRA inspectors on the ground use 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 penalized.

Allies and members of SMART-TD made history in 2024 when they began pushing the FRA to allow two people in the cabs of locomotives of freight trains. The fight is not over.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration has a range of safety measures in place to ensure the health and welfare of employees and the public. It develops and enforces regulations for rail safety, administers rail funding and studies strategies for improving rail infrastructure and technology. It also formulates plans, implements and maintains plans for the maintenance of current rail services and infrastructure. It also expands and improves strategically the national rail network. The department requires that all rail operators adhere to strict rules that empower their employees and provide them with tools to be secure and productive. This includes participation in the secure close call reporting system, establishing labor-management occupational health and safety committees with full union participation, as well as anti-retaliation protections and providing employees with needed personal protection 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 hundreds of investigations of complaints of noncompliance. Those who violate the rail safety laws could be subject to civil penalties. Safety inspectors from the agency have a broad discretion on whether a particular violation meets the statutory definition of a civil penalty-worthy act. The Office of Chief Counsel’s safety division also reviews the reports that regional offices submit to determine if they are legal before assessing penalties. This discretion is exercised at both the field and regional levels to ensure that civil penalties are only used in cases that warrant their use.

To be considered guilty of a civil infringement, a rail employee must know the rules and regulations that govern his or her actions. They must also be aware of and ignore these rules. 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 whole network that transports passengers and goods within and between metropolitan areas and cities. The trackage of a plant railroad at a steel mill is not considered to be part of the general transportation system by rail, even though it is physically connected to it.

Regulation

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

While the majority of the agency's work focuses on freight transportation, it also oversees passenger transportation. The agency aims to connect people to the places they want and provide more choices for travel. The agency's primary focus is on improving the experience of passengers, enhancing safety of the current fleet, and making sure that the rail network is operating efficiently.

Railroads are required to abide with a range of federal regulations, including the ones pertaining to the size and composition of 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 codifies the minimum crew size requirements at a federal level, ensuring that all railroads are subject to consistent safety standards.

This law also requires that each railroad operating with a crew of one notify FRA and submit an analysis of risk. This will allow FRA to better identify the specific parameters of each operation and compare them with the standard two-person crew operation. In addition this rule alters the criteria for reviewing an approval petition that is based on determining whether the operation is "consistent with fela railroad settlements safety" to determining whether approving the operation is safer or more secure than an operation with two crew members.

During the public comment period for this rule, a large number of people supported the requirement for a two-person crew. In a form letter 29 people expressed their concern that a single member of the crew would not be in a position to respond in a timely manner to train accidents or malfunctions at grade crossings or assist emergency response personnel on the highway-rail level crossing. The commenters noted that human factors are responsible for more than half of railroad accidents and they believe that a larger crew could help ensure the safety of both the train and the cargo it transports.

Technology

Freight and passenger rails use various technologies to increase efficiency, improve security, and improve safety. Rail industry jargon includes a variety of unique terms and acronyms. Some of the most well-known include machine vision systems (also known as drones), instrumented rail-inspection systems driverless trains, rolling data centers, and unmanned aerial vehicles (also known as drones).

Technology isn't merely replacing jobs, it's also empowering individuals to perform their work more effectively and safely. Passenger railroads use smartphones apps and contactless fare cards to boost ridership and improve the efficiency of their system. Other developments like autonomous rail cars are coming closer to reality.

As part of its ongoing effort 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 Railroad Administration is focused on modernizing its rail infrastructure. This is a multi-billion dollar project that will see bridges and tunnels repaired tracks, power systems and tracks upgraded and stations rebuilt or replaced. FRA's recently enacted bipartisan infrastructure law will dramatically grow the agency's rail improvement programs.

The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a major piece in this initiative. The National Academies' recent review of the office revealed that it excelled in engaging, maintaining communication with and using inputs from a wide range of stakeholders. It still needs to focus on how its research contributes towards the department's main goal of ensuring the safety of people and goods by railways.

The agency could improve its efficiency by identifying and implementing automated train systems and technology. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is the principal industry association for the freight rail industry that is focused on research, policy and standard setting created an Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations in order to help create standards within the industry.

FRA will be interested in the group's development of an automated rail taxonomy. It is a system of standards to clearly and consistently define different levels of automation that will be applicable to both rail and on-road transit vehicles. The agency would like to know the amount of risk that the industry sees in fully automated operation, as well as whether the industry is contemplating any additional safeguards to minimize the risk.

Innovation

Rail companies are embracing technology to improve worker safety, increase efficiency in business processes and ensure that the cargo they transport reaches its destination intact. Examples of such technological advancement vary from the use cameras and sensors to keep track of freight, and to new railcar designs that help keep hazardous cargo secure during transit. Certain of these technologies allow railroads send emergency responders directly to sites of accidents to minimize the danger and minimize the damage to property and people.

Positive Train Control (PTC) is one of 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 errors. This system is a three-part system consisting of locomotives onboard that track the train and wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive and an enormous backend server that gathers and analyzes data.

Trains for passengers are also adopting technology to bolster security and safety. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with the use of drones to assist security personnel in locating passengers and items on board trains in the event of an emergency. Amtrak is also investigating different ways to use drones, such as using drones to inspect bridges and other infrastructure like replacing the lights on railway towers, which can be dangerous for workers to climb.

Smart track technology is another technology that can be used in railways for passengers. It can detect people or objects on tracks and warn drivers that it is unsafe to continue. These technologies are especially useful for detecting unauthorized crossings or other issues in the evenings when the traffic is lower and there are fewer witnesses to an accident.

Telematics is another important technological advance in the railway industry. It allows railways, shippers and other stakeholders to follow a traincar's progress in real-time. These capabilities give railcar owners and their crews more accountability and visibility and can help them improve efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance and avoid delays in the delivery of freight to customers.