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 studies strategies for improving rail safety.
FRA field inspectors use discretion to decide on which cases warrant the exact and lengthy civil penalty process. This allows them to ensure that the violations most deserving of punishment are punished.
Members of SMART-TD and their allies have made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to keep two people in the locomotive cab of freight trains. The fight isn't over.
Safety
The
federal employers liability act Railroad Administration implements a variety of safety measures to ensure the health of its employees and public. It creates and enforces safety regulations for rail, administers rail funding and researches strategies for improving rail and technologies. It also develops and implements a strategy to ensure the 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 that empower their employees and provide them with the tools to be secure and productive. This includes participating in the secure close call reporting system, establishing labor-management occupational health and safety committees that have full union participation, as well as anti-retaliation safeguards, and providing employees with needed personal protection equipment.
Inspectors of the FRA are at the forefront of enforcing safety on rail regulations and laws. They conduct routine inspections of equipment and conduct hundreds of investigations of complaints of noncompliance. Those who violate the rail safety laws could be subject to civil penalties. Safety inspectors at the agency have wide discretion to determine if an act is within the definition provided by law of an
act fela punishable with civil penalties. The Office of Chief Counsel's safety division also examines the reports that regional offices submit to ensure that they are legal prior to imposing penalties. This discretion is exercised both at the regional and field levels to ensure that civil penalties are only applied in situations that warrant them.
A rail worker must be aware of the rules and regulations that govern his actions and be aware of the standards to be guilty of a civil penalty-worthy offence. The agency does not believe an individual who acted in response to a supervisor's direction has committed a willful offence. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the whole network over which goods and passengers travel within cities and metropolitan areas, or between them. The trackage of a plant railroad in the steel mill isn't considered to be part of the general rail system of transportation, even though it is physically connected to it.
Regulation
The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for establishing regulations for trains, such as those relating to safety and the transportation of dangerous substances. The agency oversees rail finance, including loans and grants for service and infrastructure improvement. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies as well as industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's rail system. This includes maintaining the current rail infrastructure and services, addressing the need for new capacity, expanding the network strategically, as well as coordinating the regional and national system's planning and development.
While the majority of the agency's activities are focused on freight transportation, it also handles the transportation of passengers. The agency aims to connect people with the places they'd like to visit and offer more choices for travel. The agency's focus is on enhancing the experience for passengers, enhancing safety of the existing fleet and ensuring the rail system continues to operate efficiently.
Railroads are required to abide with a range of federal regulations, including the ones pertaining to the size and composition of crews on trains. This issue has become an issue of contention in recent years, with several states passing legislation that requires two-person crews on trains. This final rule establishes federally the minimum crew size requirements, ensuring that all railroads follow the same safety standards.
This rule also requires that each railroad operating a one-person crew notify FRA and submit an analysis of risk. This will allow FRA to identify the specific parameters of each operation and compare them with the normal two-person crew operation. This rule also alters the review standard of an approval request that is a special case from determining if an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety standards to determining whether the operation is as secure or more secure than a two-person crew operations.
During the public comment period for this rule, a lot of people backed the requirement of a two-person crew. A letter written by 29 individuals emphasized their concerns that a lone crewmember could not be as quick to respond to issues with trains or grade crossing incidents or assist emergency response personnel at a highway-rail grade crossing. The commenters noted that human factors are responsible for more than half of all railroad accidents and think that a bigger crew would help ensure the safety of the train and its cargo.
Technology
Freight and passenger rails employ various technologies to improve efficiency, improve security, and increase safety. The rail industry lingo contains a myriad of distinct terms and acronyms but some of the most notable developments include machine vision systems, instrumented rail inspection systems, driverless trains rolling data centers, and drones that are not piloted (commonly known as drones).
Technology isn't just about replacing certain jobs. It empowers people to perform their jobs more effectively and safer. Railroads that transport passengers use smartphones and contactless fare cards in order to increase passengership and boost the efficiency of their system. Other innovations such as autonomous rail cars are coming closer to becoming reality.
As part of its ongoing efforts to improve safe, reliable and affordable transportation options for the country, the Federal Railroad Administration is focused on modernizing its rail infrastructure. This multi-billion-dollar effort will see bridges, tunnels tracks, power systems and tracks upgraded and stations renovated or replaced. The FRA's rail improvement program will be substantially expanded by the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a central piece in this effort. The National Academies' recent review of the office found that it excelled at engaging, maintaining communication with and using inputs from a broad range of stakeholders. But it still needs to be more focused on how its research aids in the department's main strategic goal of ensuring the safe movement of goods and people by rail.
One area where the agency may be able to increase its effectiveness is in identifying and supporting the development of automated train systems and technologies. The Association of American Railroads, the main freight rail industry business organization that is focused on policy, research and standard setting, has established a Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help develop industry standards to implement the technology.
The FRA is interested in the creation of a taxonomy for automated rail vehicles, a system that defines clearly and consistently different levels of automation. This could be applicable to both rail transit and on-road vehicles.