14 Questions You're Anxious To Ask Federal Railroad
The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology
The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for safety regulations for rail and enforcement, rail funding, and research on improving rail strategies.
FRA field inspectors make use of discretion to decide on which cases warrant the exact and time consuming civil penalty process. This discretion helps to ensure that the most serious violations are punished.
SMART-TD and 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 number of safety measures to ensure the health of employees as well as the public. It develops and enforces regulations for rail safety, administers rail funding and researches rail improvement strategies and new technologies. It also creates plans, implements and maintains an action plan to maintain current rail services and infrastructure. It also expands and improves strategically the national rail network. The department expects all railroad 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 an anonymous close-call reporting system, establishing labor-management occupational safety and health committees with full participation from unions and anti-retaliation clauses and providing employees with the needed personal protective equipment.
FRA inspectors are on the front lines of enforcement of the rail safety laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections on equipment and conduct investigations into hundreds of complaints. Civil penalties may be applied to those who break the rail safety laws. Safety inspectors from the agency have wide discretion to determine if violations fall within the definition provided by law of an act that is punishable with civil penalties. In addition, the Office of Chief Counsel's security division reviews all reports that are received by regional offices for legality prior to assessing penalties. The exercise of this discretion both at the field and regional levels helps ensure that the exacting, time-consuming civil penalty process is used only in situations which truly warrant the deterrent effect of a civil fine.
A rail worker must be aware of rules and regulations that govern his actions and knowingly disregard those rules to be guilty of a civil penalty-worthy offence. However, the agency does not consider any individual who is acting under a direction by a supervisor as having committed an intentional violation. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the entire network over which goods and passengers travel within metropolitan and city areas, or between them. The trackage of a plant railroad in the steel mill isn't considered to be part of the overall transportation system by rail even being 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 dangerous substances. The agency also manages financing for rail, including grants and loans for infrastructure and service improvements. The agency works with other DOT agencies and industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's rail system. This includes ensuring the existing rail infrastructure and services, addressing the need for new capacity, expanding the network strategically, and coordinating the regional and national system planning and development.
Although the majority of the agency's work is focused on freight transportation, it also manages passenger transportation. The agency is working to connect people to places they'd like to visit and offer more choices for travel. fela claims is on improving the experience of passengers and enhancing the safety of the existing fleet, and ensuring that the rail network is operating efficiently.
Railroads are required to comply with a variety of federal regulations, including those relating to the size and composition of the train crews. This is a controversial one in recent years, with some states passing legislation to require two-person crews on trains. This final rule codifies the minimum requirements for crew size at an international level, and ensures that all railroads are held to the same safety standards.
This rule also requires that every railroad operating with a crew of one notify FRA and submit a risk analysis. This will allow FRA to compare the parameters of each operation with those of a two-person standard crew operation. In addition, this rule changes the criteria for reviewing the special approval petition from determining whether an operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining whether approving the operation is secure or as safe as an operation with two crew members.
During the public comment period for this rule, a large number of people supported a two-person crew requirement. A letter from 29 people outlined their concerns that a lone crewmember could not be as quick to respond to issues with trains or grade crossing incidents or assist emergency responders at a highway-rail grade crossing. Commenters pointed out that human factors are responsible for a majority of railroad accidents. They believe that a larger crew would ensure the security of the train as well as its cargo.
Technology
Freight and passenger rails use a variety of technologies to improve efficiency, increase security, and improve safety. The rail industry lingo includes a variety of specific terms and acronyms, but some of the more significant developments include machines-vision systems, instrumented rail inspection systems, driverless trains rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicles (commonly called drones).
Technology isn't just about replacing certain jobs. It helps people do their jobs better and safer. Railroads that transport passengers use smartphones and contactless fare cards to boost passengership and boost the efficiency of their system. Other innovations such as autonomous rail cars are coming closer to 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 is a multi-billion-dollar project that will see bridges and tunnels rebuilt, tracks and power systems upgraded, and stations reconstructed or upgraded. FRA's recently passed bipartisan infrastructure law will dramatically expand the agency's rail improvements programs.
The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is a crucial element in this effort. Recent National Academies review of the office revealed that it was successful in engaging, maintaining communication and using inputs from a variety of stakeholders. But it still needs to be more focused on how its research helps the department achieve its primary strategic goal of ensuring safe transportation of goods and people by rail.
One area where the agency may be able improve its effectiveness is in identifying and assisting the development of automated train systems and technologies. The Association of American Railroads, the freight rail industry's primary industry organization that focuses on research, policy, and standardization and has created a Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help in developing industry standards for implementing the technology.
FRA is interested in the group's development of an automated rail taxonomy, which is a standard that will 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 amount of risk the industry perceives with fully automated operation, as well as whether the industry is considering any additional measures to mitigate that risk.
Innovation
Railroads are using technology to improve worker safety and improve business processes. efficient, and ensure that the cargo they move reaches its destination safely. 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 dispatch emergency responders directly to sites of accidents to minimize risk and minimize damage to property and people.
One of the most prominent innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC) which will prevent collisions between trains and trains, situations in which trains are on tracks where they shouldn't be and other accidents that are caused by human mistakes. This system is made up of three parts consisting of locomotives onboard that track the train; wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive; and a massive server that collects and analyses data.
Trains for passengers also adopt technology to enhance safety and security. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with drones to assist security staff in locating passengers and other items onboard trains in case in the event of an emergency. Amtrak is also investigating other ways to use drones, such as using drones to inspect bridges and other infrastructure like replacing the lighting on railway towers that could be hazardous for workers to climb.
Smart track technology is another technology that can be used in railways that transport passengers. It can detect people or objects on tracks and alert 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 traffic is low and there are less witnesses to an accident.
Telematics is another important technological breakthrough in the railway industry. It allows railways, shippers and other parties to follow a traincar's progress in real-time. Crews and railcar operators will benefit from increased accountability and visibility which can help them to increase efficiency as well as avoid unnecessary maintenance and reduce delays when delivering freight.