The
Federal Railroad Administration and Technology
The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces safety regulations for rail The Federal Railroad Administration also provides funding for rail and conducts research on strategies to improve rail infrastructure.
FRA field inspectors employ discretion to decide which cases are worthy of the precise and time-consuming civil penalty process. This discretion helps to ensure that the most serious violations are penalized.
SMART-TD and its allies created history by 2024 when they convinced the FRA that two people should be in the cabs 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 is responsible for developing and enforcing regulations for rail safety. It also oversees rail funding and studies rail improvement strategies and technological developments. It also develops the implementation and maintenance of plans for the maintenance of the current infrastructure and services for
Fela Lawyers rail. It also expands and improves strategically the national rail network. The department expects that all rail employers adhere to strict regulations, 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, establishing labor-management occupational safety and health committees, with full union participation and antiretaliation provisions and providing employees with the needed personal protective equipment.
Inspectors of the FRA are at the leading edge of enforcing rail safety regulations and laws. They conduct routine inspections of equipment and conduct hundreds of investigations of complaints of noncompliance. Anyone who is in violation of rail safety laws may be subject to civil penalties. Safety inspectors at the agency have wide discretion to determine if an act is within the legal definition of an
act fela that is punishable by civil penalties. The Office of Chief Counsel's safety division also reviews all reports submitted by regional offices to ensure that they are legal prior to imposing penalties. This discretion is exercised at both the field and regional levels to ensure that civil penalties are only applied when they are necessary.
A rail worker must be aware of 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 in response to a supervisor's direction has committed a willful offence. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the entire network over which goods and passengers travel within metropolitan areas and between them. A plant railroad's trackage in the steel mill isn't considered to be part of the general transportation system that trains even being physically connected to it.
Regulation
The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible to establish regulations for train operations, such as those relating to safety and the transportation of dangerous substances. The agency also manages rail financing, including grants and loans for infrastructure and service improvements. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies as well as industry to devise strategies for improving the rail system of the United States. This work includes maintaining existing rail infrastructure and services and making sure that there is enough capacity, strategically expanding the network as well as coordinating regional and national systems planning and development.
The agency is responsible for freight transportation, but also manages passenger transportation. The agency is aiming to provide more options for passengers and connect passengers with the places they want to go. The agency's primary focus is on improving the passenger's experience as well as enhancing the safety of its existing fleet and ensuring the rail network continues operating efficiently.
Railroads are required to comply with a number of federal regulations, including the ones pertaining to the size and composition of train crews. This is controversial in recent years, with a few states passing legislation to require two-person crews on trains. This final rule outlines the minimum crew size requirements at a federal level, ensuring that all railroads are held to the same safety standards.
This also requires every railroad that has one-person train crews to notify FRA of the operation and submit a risk assessment. This will allow FRA to better identify the specifics of each operation and compare them to the parameters of a normal two-person crew operation. This rule also alters the review standard of an application for special approval from determining whether an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety, to determining if the operation is safer or less risky than a two-person crew operations.
During the public comment period on this rule, many people backed a two-person crew requirement. In a formal letter, 29 people expressed their concerns that a single crewmember would not be able to respond in a timely manner to train malfunctions or incidents at grade crossings or assist emergency response personnel at an elevated highway crossing. Commenters pointed out that human factors are the reason 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
Trains for passenger and freight use different technologies to increase efficiency, increase safety, and boost security. The rail industry lingo includes a variety of distinct terms and acronyms but some of the more notable innovations include machine vision systems, instrumented rail inspection systems, driverless trains rolling data centers and drones that are not piloted (commonly called drones).
Technology isn't only able to replace certain jobs. It allows people to perform their jobs better and more safely. Passenger railroads are using smartphones and contactless fare payment cards to increase ridership and make the system more efficient. Other innovations such as autonomous rail cars are moving closer to reality.
The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to improve safe affordable, reliable, and secure transportation in the United States is focusing on modernizing the railway infrastructure. This is a multi-billion dollars initiative that will see bridges and tunnels restored tracks, power systems and tracks upgraded, and stations reconstructed or replaced. FRA's recently enacted bipartisan infrastructure law will significantly increase the agency's rail improvement programs.
The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a central component of this effort. The National Academies' recent review of the office concluded that it excelled at engaging, maintaining communications with and using inputs from a variety of stakeholders. It still needs to focus on how its research contributes towards the department's main goal of ensuring safe movement of people and goods by rail.
The agency could increase its effectiveness by identifying and implementing automated train systems and technology. The Association of American Railroads, the primary freight rail business organization that is focused on research, policy and standard setting, has established a Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help develop industry standards for implementing the technology.