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The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

The federal employers’ liability Railroad Administration is responsible for rail safety regulations and enforcement, rail funding, and research on rail improvement strategies.

FRA field inspectors make use of discretion to decide on which cases merit the precise and lengthy civil penalty process. This discretion helps to ensure that the most serious violations are punished.

SMART-TD, along with its allies, made history by 2024 when they convinced the FRA that two people should be in the locomotive cabs of freight trains. The fight is not over.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration implements a variety of safety measures to protect the health of employees as well as the public. It develops and enforces safety regulations for rail and oversees the funding for rail. It also researches rail improvement strategies and technologies. It also develops and implements a plan to maintain current infrastructure, rail services and capacity, and strategically develops and improves the national rail network. The department expects all rail companies to adhere to the strictest rules and regulations, and empower their employees and provide them with the tools to succeed and stay secure. This includes participation in the confidential close call reporting system, setting up labor-management occupational health and safety committees with full union participation and protection against retaliation and providing employees with the necessary personal protection equipment.

Inspectors of the FRA are at the leading edge of enforcing rail safety laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections of equipment and conduct investigations into hundreds of complaints. Anyone who is in violation of the safety rules for rail can be penalized civilly. The agency's safety inspectors are able to decide on the extent to which an incident falls within the legal definition of a criminal penalty-worthy act. The Office of Chief Counsel’s safety division also scrutinizes all reports submitted by regional offices to ensure they are legal prior to imposing penalties. This discretion is exercised at both the regional and field levels to ensure that civil penalties are only applied when they are necessary.

To be guilty of a civil offense an employee of a railroad must be aware of the rules and regulations governing the conduct of his or her employees. They must also be aware of and disregard these standards. However, the agency does not consider anyone who acts under a directive from a supervisor to have committed a willful violation. The agency defines "general railroad system" as the whole network that carries goods and passengers between cities and metropolitan areas. The trackage of a plant railroad within a steelmill is not considered to be part of the overall rail transportation system, despite the fact that it's physically connected.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, including those related to safety and the movement of hazardous materials. The agency manages rail finance, including grants and loan for service and infrastructure improvement. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies and industry to develop strategies to improve the nation's rail system. This includes ensuring the current rail infrastructure and services, responding to the demands for capacity expansion and expanding the network strategically as well as coordinating the regional and national system development and planning.

The agency is primarily responsible for freight transportation but also supervises passenger transportation. The agency is aiming to provide more options for passengers and connect people with the places they'd like to go. The agency is focused on improving the passenger experience as well as enhancing the safety of the existing fleet, and making sure that the rail network continues to operate efficiently.

Railroads are required to comply with a range of federal regulations, including the ones pertaining to the size and composition of the train crews. In recent times, this issue has become controversial. Some states have passed legislation requiring two-person crews in trains. The final rule codifies the minimum requirements for crew size at a federal level, ensuring that all railroads are subject to the same safety standards.

This also requires every railroad that has a single-person train crew to notify FRA of the operation and submit an assessment of risk. This will allow FRA to identify the specifics of each operation and compare them with those of a standard two-person crew operation. This rule also changes the review standard of a special approval request from determining whether an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety, to determining if the operation is as secure or more secure than a two-person crew operation.

During the period of public comment for this rule, a large number of people expressed their support for a requirement of two people on the crew. A letter written by 29 individuals emphasized their concerns that a lone crewmember could not be as quick to respond to train malfunctions or grade crossing incidents or assist emergency response personnel at a highway rail grade crossing. Commenters noted that human factor are responsible for more than half all railroad accidents. They believe that a larger team would ensure the security of the train as well as its cargo.

Technology

Railroads that transport passengers and freight employ various technologies to increase efficiency, improve security, increase safety and more. Rail industry jargon covers many specific terms and acronyms. Some of the most well-known include machine vision systems (also called drones), instrumented rail-inspection systems, driverless train, rolling data centers, and unmanned aerial vehicles (also called drones).

Technology isn't just about replacing certain jobs. It allows people to do their jobs better and more safely. Passenger railroads are using smartphone apps and contactless fare payment cards to improve ridership and make the system more efficient. Other developments, like autonomous rail vehicles, are moving closer to becoming a reality.

The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to ensure secure reliable, affordable, and cost-effective transportation in the United States, is focused on modernizing the railway infrastructure. This multi-billion dollar project will see bridges, tunnels tracks, power systems and tracks updated and stations being rebuilt or replaced. The FRA's rail improvement program will be significantly extended by the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a major component of this initiative. Recent National Academies review of the office found it excelled at engaging with, maintaining communication and utilizing inputs from a variety of stakeholders. It still needs to be aware of how its research contributes to the department's primary goal of ensuring the safe movement of people and goods by railways.

One area where the agency may be able to increase its effectiveness is in identifying and assisting the development of automated train systems and technologies. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is the principal industry association for the freight rail industry that is focused on research and policy, as well as standard setting, established the Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations to assist in helping create standards within the industry.

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

Innovation

Railroads are using technology to improve worker safety and improve business processes. efficient and ensure that the cargo it transports arrives at its destination safely. Examples of such technological advancement vary from the use sensors and cameras to monitor freight, to new railcar designs that help keep hazardous cargo safe during transport. Some of these technologies allow railroads to send emergency response personnel to the scene of an accident so they can swiftly reduce risks to people and property.

One of the most renowned innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC), which will inhibit collisions between trains and trains, situations in which trains are on tracks where they shouldn't be, as well as other accidents that result from human errors. The system is comprised of three components of onboard locomotive systems that track the train; wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive and a massive server that analyzes and collects data.

Passenger railroads are also embracing technology to enhance safety and security. Amtrak for instance, is testing the use of drones to assist security personnel on trains find passengers and other items in the event of an emergency. Amtrak is also investigating different ways to use drones, for instance, federal employers liability using them to perform inspections of bridges as well as other infrastructure, such as replacing the lights on railway towers, which could be dangerous for workers to climb.

Smart track technology is a different technology that can be utilized in railways for passengers. It can detect objects or people on tracks and warn motorists that it is not safe to continue. These kinds of technologies can be particularly valuable for detecting unauthorized crossings and other problems in the off-hours, when traffic levels are lower and there are fewer people to witness an accident.

Telematics is another important technological advancement in the railway industry. It lets railways, shippers, and other stakeholders, to follow a traincar's progress in real-time. Crews and railcar operators can benefit from increased accountability and visibility, which will help them increase efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance and delay in the delivery of freight.