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The Federal Railroad - Pediascape.Science - Administration and Technology

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

FRA inspectors on the ground use discretion to decide which cases merit the time-consuming and precise civil penalty procedure. This helps ensure that the most serious violations are punished.

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

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration implements a number of safety measures to protect the health of employees and public. It is responsible for creating and enforcing rail safety regulations. It also administers rail funding and studies rail improvement strategies and technological developments. It also formulates and implements a plan to ensure that current infrastructure, rail services and capacity and strategically expands and improves the nation's rail network. The department demands that all rail employers adhere to strict regulations, empower their employees and provide them with the tools to be safe and successful. This includes participating in the confidential close-call reporting system, setting up labor-management occupational health and safety committees with full union participation, as well as protection against retaliation and providing employees with the necessary personal protective equipment.

Inspectors of the FRA are at the forefront of enforcing rail safety regulations and laws. They conduct routine inspections of equipment and conduct a myriad of investigations into complaints of non-compliance. Anyone who violates rail safety laws may be subject to civil penalties. Safety inspectors from the agency have a wide discretion to determine whether violations fall within the definition provided by law of an act punishable by civil penalties. In addition, the Office of Chief Counsel's security division examines all reports submitted from regional offices to determine their legal sufficiency before assessing penalties. This discretion is exercised at both the field and regional levels to ensure that civil penalties are only applied in cases that warrant their use.

To be convicted of a civil offense, a rail employee must be aware of the rules and regulations governing their actions. They must also knowingly not adhere to these rules. The agency does not believe an individual who acted in response to a supervisor's direction is guilty of committing a willful crime. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the entire system over which goods and passengers travel within cities and metropolitan areas and between them. A plant railroad's trackage in the steel mill isn't considered to be part of the overall rail system of transportation, even though it is physically connected to it.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, including those related to safety and movement of hazardous materials. The agency also oversees rail financing which includes loans and grants for infrastructure and service improvements. The agency works with other DOT agencies as well as industry to devise strategies for improving the nation's rail system. This includes ensuring the existing 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's planning and development.

Although the majority of the agency's work focuses on freight transportation, it also manages the transportation of passengers. The agency is working to offer more options for passengers and connect people to the places they would like to go. The agency's focus is on improving the passenger's experience and enhancing the safety of the existing fleet, and ensuring that the rail network is operating efficiently.

Railroads must comply with a number of federal regulations, including those relating to the size and composition of crews on trains. This is controversial in recent years, with several states enacting legislation that requires two-person crews on trains. This final rule outlines the minimum size of crew requirements at a federal level, ensuring that all railroads are held to the same safety standards.

This law also requires that each railroad operating with a crew of one notify FRA and submit a risk analysis. This will allow FRA to better identify the specific parameters of each operation and compare them to those of a standard two-person crew operation. This rule also changes the review standard of a special approval request to determine if an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety standards to determining whether the operation is as safe or more secure than a two-person crew operation.

During the period of public comments for this rule, a lot of people voiced their support for a requirement for two persons on the crew. In a letter to the editor, 29 people expressed their concern that a single crew member will not be in a position to respond as quickly to train accidents or malfunctions at grade crossings or assist emergency response personnel at an elevated highway crossing. Commenters emphasized that human factors are responsible for a majority of railroad accidents. They believe that a bigger crew will ensure the safety of the train and its cargo.

Technology

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

Technology isn't merely replacing jobs; it's helping people to perform their jobs more efficiently and with greater security. Passenger railroads are using smartphones apps and contactless fare payment cards to improve ridership and improve the efficiency of the system. Other innovations, such as autonomous rail vehicles, are moving closer to reality.

As part of its ongoing efforts to ensure safe, reliable, and affordable transportation options for the country 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 multi-billion dollar project will see tunnels, bridges tracks, power systems and tracks updated, and stations renovated or replaced. The recently passed bipartisan infrastructure law will substantially grow the agency's rail improvement programs.

The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is an essential part of this initiative. The National Academies' recent review of the office revealed that it excelled in keeping in touch with inputs from a variety of stakeholders. It must continue to focus on how its research contributes to the department's primary goal of ensuring the safety of people and goods via rail.

One area where the agency may be able to improve its effectiveness is by identifying and assisting the advancement of automated train technology and systems. The Association of American Railroads, the main freight rail industry business organization that is focused on policy, research and standardization, has established a Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help develop industry standards for the implementation of the technology.

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

Innovation

Railroads are using technology to improve worker safety and make business processes more efficient and help ensure that the cargo they move reaches its destination safely. Examples of such innovations include the use of cameras and sensors to monitor freight, to new railcar designs that help keep hazardous cargo safe during transport. Certain of these technologies provide a way for railroads to send emergency responders to areas of accidents so that they can swiftly reduce risks to property and lives.

One of the most prominent 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 and other accidents resulting from human error. This system is made up of three components: onboard locomotive systems which track the train; wayside networks which communicate with the locomotive; and a huge server that gathers and analyzes data.

Passenger railroads are also embracing technology to bolster safety and security. Amtrak is one example. It is experimenting with the use of drones in order 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 and other infrastructure, for example, replacing the lighting on railway towers, which could be dangerous for workers to climb.

Smart track technology is a different technology that is used in railways that transport passengers. It is able to detect people or objects on tracks and notify drivers that it is unsafe to continue. These technologies are particularly useful in detecting crossings that are not authorized or other problems in the evenings when the traffic is lower and there are less witnesses to an accident.

Telematics is yet another significant technological breakthrough in the railway industry. It allows railways, shippers and other parties to track a traincar in real-time. Such capabilities give railcar operators and crews greater accountability and transparency and help them improve efficiency, prevent unnecessary maintenance and avoid delays in delivering freight to customers.