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The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

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

FRA field inspectors employ discretion to decide on which cases merit the precise and time-consuming civil penalty process. This ensures that those violations most deserving of punishment are penalized.

SMART-TD members and allies made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to keep two people in the locomotive cab of freight trains. The fight continues.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration has a range of safety measures in place to ensure the safety and health of employees and the public. It creates and enforces safety regulations for rail, administers rail funding and researches rail improvement strategies and technology. It also formulates and implements a strategy to ensure that current infrastructure, rail services and capacity and strategically expands and improves the national rail network. The department expects that all rail companies adhere to strict rules and empower their employees, and provide them with the tools to ensure their safety and success. This includes participating in the confidential close-call reporting system, setting up labor-management occupational safety and health committees, with full union participation and antiretaliation provisions and providing employees with the needed personal protective gear.

FRA inspectors are on the front lines of enforcement of the rail safety laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections of equipment and conduct a myriad of investigations into complaints of noncompliance. Anyone who is in violation of the safety rules for rail can be punished with civil penalties. Safety inspectors from the agency have wide decision-making power to determine if a violation falls under the statutory definition of an act that is punishable by civil penalties. Additionally the Office of Chief Counsel's safety department reviews all reports that are received by regional offices to determine legal sufficiency before assessing penalties. This discretion is exercised both at the regional and field levels to ensure that civil penalties are only used in cases that warrant their use.

Rail employees must be aware of rules and regulations that govern his or her actions, and not knowingly violate those guidelines to be guilty of a civil penalty-worthy offence. However, the agency does not take any person who acts under a directive from a supervisor as having committed a willful violation. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the entire system that passengers and goods travel within metropolitan and city areas and between them. The trackage of a plant railroad in the steelmill isn't 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 manages rail financing which includes loans and grants for improvements to infrastructure and service. The agency works with other DOT agencies as well as industry to devise strategies to improve the rail system of the United States. This includes ensuring the existing rail infrastructure and services, responding to the demands for new capacity, expanding the network strategically and coordinating the regional and national system's development and planning.

The agency is responsible for freight transportation but also oversees passenger transport. The agency aims to connect people to the places they want and provide more choices for travel. The agency's focus is on improving the experience of passengers, enhancing safety of the current fleet, and making sure that the rail system continues to operate efficiently.

Railroads must adhere to a number of federal regulations, relating to the size of the crews on trains. In recent times this issue has become a source of controversy. Certain states have passed legislation that requires two-person crews in trains. This final rule codifies federally the minimum size of crew requirements, ensuring that all railroads adhere to the same safety standards.

This law also requires that each railroad operating a one-person crew notify FRA and submit a risk analysis. This will enable FRA to assess the requirements of each operation with the parameters of a standard two-person crew operation. In addition this rule will change the review standard for a special approval petition from determining whether an operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining if approving the operation would be as safer or more secure than an operation with two crew members.

During the public comment period on this rule, a lot of people supported the requirement for a two-person crew. A letter written by 29 people outlined their concerns 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. Commenters noted that human factors are the reason for more than half all railroad accidents. They believe that a larger team would ensure the safety of the train as well as its cargo.

Technology

Freight and passenger railroads employ a wide array of technologies to enhance efficiency, add security, increase safety and more. The language used in the rail industry includes a variety of unique terms and acronyms, but some of the more significant developments include machine vision systems, instrumented rail inspection systems, driverless trains rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicles (commonly called drones).

Technology isn't merely replacing jobs, it's also empowering individuals to perform their work more efficiently and with greater security. Railroads that transport passengers use smartphones and contactless fare cards to boost ridership and improve the efficiency of their system. Other innovations, such as autonomous rail vehicles, are inching closer to becoming reality.

The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to promote safe affordable, reliable, and secure transportation in America is focusing on modernizing the railway infrastructure. This multi-billion-dollar project will see tunnels, bridges tracks, power systems, and tracks updated, and stations being rebuilt or replaced. The FRA's rail improvements program will be greatly expanded by the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a central piece in this initiative. The National Academies' recent review of the office found that it excelled in engaging, maintaining communication with inputs from a variety of stakeholders. But it must focus more on how its research helps the department achieve its primary strategic goal of ensuring safe transportation of goods and people via rail.

One area where the agency may be able improve its effectiveness is in identifying and assisting the advancement of automated train technology and systems. The Association of American Railroads, the freight rail industry's primary association that focuses on policy, research and standardization and has created a Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to assist in the development of industry standards for implementing the technology.

FRA is likely to be interested in the group's creation of an automated rail taxonomy, which 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 will also want to know the level of risk to safety that the industry perceives associated with the introduction of fully automated operation and whether or not the industry is contemplating additional security measures to reduce the risk.

Innovation

Rail companies are adopting technology to improve worker safety, improve efficiency in business processes and ensure that the cargo they transport is delivered in good condition. These innovations range from sensors and cameras that monitor freight to new railcar designs which keep hazardous cargo safe during transport. Some of these technologies allow railroads to send emergency responders directly to the scene of an accident to reduce the risk and minimize damages to property and individuals.

Positive Train Control (PTC) is one of the most significant innovations in rail. It can prevent train-to-train accidents, situations 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 an enormous backend server that collects and analyzes data.

Trains for passengers also adopt technology to enhance safety and security. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with the use of drones to aid security personnel in finding passengers and other items aboard trains in the event in an emergency. Amtrak is also investigating other possibilities to utilize drones, including deploying them to perform inspections of bridges and other infrastructure for example, replacing the lights on railway towers, which could be hazardous for workers to climb.

Other technologies that can be utilized for railways for passengers include smart track technology, which can detect the presence of people or objects on the tracks and send out drivers with a warning if it's unsafe for them to proceed. These technologies are especially useful for detecting unauthorized crossings or other issues during the evenings when traffic is less and there are less witnesses to an accident.

Another important technological breakthrough in the rail industry is telematics which allows shippers, railroads and other stakeholders to see the condition and status of a traincar by real-time tracking. These capabilities give railcar owners and crews greater control and visibility. They can also assist them in improving efficiency, prevent unnecessary maintenance and avoid delays in delivering freight to customers.