The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

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

FRA inspectors on the ground use discretion to determine which cases are worthy of the lengthy and precise civil penalty procedure. This allows them to ensure that the most serious violations of punishment are punished.

Allies and members of SMART-TD have made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to keep two people in the cabs of locomotives of freight trains. The fight continues.

Safety

The federal employers’ liability act Railroad Administration has a range of safety measures in place to safeguard the health and safety of its employees and the general public. It creates and enforces safety regulations for rail, administers rail funding and researches strategies for improving rail and new technologies. It also creates and implements a plan to ensure that current infrastructure, rail services and capacity, and strategically develops and improves the national rail network. The department requires all rail employers to adhere to strict rules and regulations, empower their workers and provide them with the tools needed to be successful and safe. 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 protections and providing employees with needed personal protective equipment.

Inspectors of the FRA are at the leading edge of enforcing rail safety laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections of equipment and investigate hundreds of complaints. Civil penalties can be handed out to those who violate railroad safety laws. The safety inspectors of the agency are able to decide on the extent to which an incident falls within the statutory description of a civil penalty-worthy Employers’ Liability Act Fela. The Office of Chief Counsel's safety division also examines all reports that regional offices submit to determine if they are legal prior to imposing penalties. The exercise of this discretion at both the regional and field levels helps ensure that the exacting, time-consuming civil penalty process is applied only in situations that truly warrant the deterrent effect of a civil fine.

Rail employees must be aware of the rules and regulations that govern their actions, and not knowingly violate those guidelines to commit a criminal offense that is punishable by a civil penalty. The agency does not consider that a person who acts on a supervisor's directive is guilty of committing a willful crime. The agency defines the "general fela railroad settlements system of transportation" as the whole network over which goods and passengers travel within metropolitan areas, or between them. The trackage of a plant railroad at a steel mill is not considered to be part of the general rail system of transportation even although it is physically connected to it.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible to establish regulations for train operations that pertain to safety and the transportation of hazardous substances. The agency manages rail finance, which includes loans and grants for service and infrastructure improvement. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies and the industry to devise strategies to improve the country's railroad system. This includes ensuring the current rail infrastructure and services as well as in addition to addressing the need for additional capacity strategically expanding the network and coordinating regional and national systems planning and development.

While the majority of the agency's work is focused on freight transportation, it also oversees the transportation of passengers. The agency is working to connect people to the places they'd like to visit and offer more choices for travel. The agency is focused on improving the passenger experience as well as enhancing the safety of the existing fleet, and ensuring the rail network is operating efficiently.

Railroads are required to abide with a number of federal regulations, which include those relating to the size and composition of the train crews. In recent times this issue has been a source of contention. Certain states have passed legislation that requires two-person crews on trains. This final rule codifies federally the minimum crew size requirements, making sure that all railroads adhere to the same safety standards.

This rule also requires each railroad that operates a one-person train crew to inform FRA of the operation and submit a risk assessment. This will allow FRA to compare the parameters of each operation to the standard two-person crew operation. In addition this rule will change the criteria for reviewing the special approval petition from to determining whether an operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining if approving the operation would be as secure or as safe as an operation with two crew members.

During the time of public comment on this rule, a lot of people voted for a requirement for two people on the crew. In a letter to the editor 29 people expressed their concern that a single member of the crew is not able to respond as quickly to train malfunctions or incidents at grade crossings, or assist emergency response personnel at a highway-rail level crossing. Commenters pointed out that human factors are responsible for more than half all railroad accidents. They believe that a larger crew could ensure the security of the train as well as its cargo.

Technology

Trains for passenger and freight use various technologies to increase efficiency, improve security, and improve safety. The rail industry lingo includes a variety of distinct terms and acronyms but some of the most notable innovations include machine vision systems, instrumentsed rail inspection systems, driverless trains, rolling data centers and drones that are not piloted (commonly called drones).

Technology isn't just about replacing certain jobs. It allows people to perform their jobs more effectively and with greater security. Railroads that transport passengers are using smartphones apps and contactless fare payment cards to improve ridership and improve the efficiency of the system. Other developments like autonomous rail cars are getting closer to becoming reality.

As part of its ongoing effort to ensure secure, reliable and affordable transportation for the nation The Federal Railroad Administration is focused on modernizing its rail infrastructure. This is a multi-billion dollars initiative that will see bridges and tunnels repaired, tracks and power systems upgraded, and stations reconstructed or replaced. The FRA's rail improvement program will be significantly expanded by the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is a crucial part of this initiative. The most recent National Academies review of the office revealed that it was successful in engaging in a continuous dialogue and utilizing the inputs from a range of stakeholders. It still needs to consider how its research contributes towards the department's primary objective of ensuring safe movement of people and goods via railways.

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

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 be applicable to both rail transit and on-road vehicles. The agency will also want to understand the level of risk to safety that the industry believes is associated with implementing fully automated operation and whether the industry is considering adding additional protections to minimize the risk.

Innovation

Railroads are adopting technology to improve worker safety and make business processes more efficient and ensure that the cargo they move reaches its destination intact. These innovations range from sensors and cameras that monitor freight to innovative railcar designs which keep hazardous cargo safe during transportation. Some of these technologies even allow railroads to dispatch emergency personnel to areas of accidents so that they can swiftly mitigate damage and minimize risk to property and lives.

Positive Train Control (PTC) is one of the most significant innovations in rail. It is designed to prevent train-to-train accidents, situations when trains are in a position they shouldn't be, and other accidents caused by human error. This system consists of three components: onboard locomotive systems which track the train; wayside networks which communicate with the locomotive and a massive server that collects and analyses data.

Passenger railroads also embrace technology to improve 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. Amtrak is also looking into ways to use drones. They could be used to inspect bridges and other infrastructure, or to replace the lighting on railway towers, which are dangerous 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 issue drivers with a warning if it's unsafe for them to proceed. These technologies are particularly useful in detecting crossings that are not authorized or other problems in the evenings, when traffic is low and there are fewer witnesses to an accident.

Telematics is another important technological advance in the railway industry. It lets railways, shippers, and other stakeholders to track a traincar in real-time. Crews and railcar operators can benefit from greater accountability and transparency which can help them increase efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance and delay in the delivery of freight.