One Federal Railroad Success Story You'll Never Imagine
The Federal Railroad 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 field inspectors employ discretion to decide on which cases are worthy of the precise and lengthy civil penalty process. This allows them to ensure that the violations most deserving of punishment are punished.
SMART-TD members and allies have made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to ensure that two people are in the cabs of locomotives of freight trains. The fight continues.
Safety
The Federal Railroad Administration has a variety of safety measures in place to ensure the safety and health of employees and the public. It develops and enforces rail safety regulations as well as manages funding for rail and researches rail improvement strategies and technologies. It also formulates plans, implements and maintains a plan for maintaining current rail services and infrastructure. It also develops and improves the national rail network. The department requires all rail employers to adhere to the strictest rules and regulations, empower their employees and provide them with tools to succeed and stay secure. This includes an anonymous 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.
Inspectors of the FRA are at the forefront of enforcing rail safety regulations and laws. They conduct routine inspections of equipment and conduct a multitude of investigations of complaints of noncompliance. Civil penalties are imposed on those who violate railroad safety laws. Safety inspectors from the agency have a broad discretion on whether an individual violation is in line with the statutory definition of a crime that is punishable by civil penalties. The Office of Chief Counsel’s safety division also examines the reports that regional offices submit to ensure that they are legal before assessing penalties. This discretion is exercised at both the field and regional levels to ensure that civil penalties are only used in cases that warrant their use.
To be guilty of a civil violation the employee of a rail company must be aware of the rules and regulations governing the conduct of his or her employees. They also must be aware that they ignore these rules. The agency does not believe that a person who acts on a supervisor's directive has committed a willful offense. The agency defines "general railroad system" as the entire network that transports passengers and goods within and between cities and metropolitan areas. The trackage of a plant railroad in a steelmill is not considered to be part of the general rail transportation system, despite the fact that it's physically connected.
Regulation
The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for establishing train regulations including those related to safety and the movement of hazardous substances. The agency also manages financing for rail which includes loans and grants for improvements to infrastructure and service. The agency works with other DOT agencies and the industry to develop strategies for improving the nation's railway system. This includes ensuring the current rail infrastructure and services, in addition to addressing the need for additional capacity strategically expanding the network, and coordinating regional and national systems planning and development.
While most of the agency's work focuses on freight transportation, it also oversees the transportation of passengers. The agency is working to connect people to the destinations they desire and offer more choices for travel. The agency is focused primarily on improving the passenger's experience, enhancing safety of the existing fleet, and ensuring that the rail system continues to operate efficiently.
Railroads must abide by a variety of federal regulations, including those related to the size of crews on trains. This issue has become an issue of contention in recent years, with some states enacting legislation that requires two-person crews on trains. The final rule codifies the minimum requirements for crew size at an international level, and ensures that all railroads are subject to consistent safety standards.
This rule also requires each railroad operating one-person train crews to notify FRA of the operation and submit a risk assessment. This will allow FRA to better identify the specific parameters of each operation and compare them with the parameters of a typical two-person crew operation. Additionally, this rule changes the standard of review for an approval petition that is based on determining whether an operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining whether the operation is safer or more secure than an operation with two crew members.
During the public comment period for this rule, a lot of people expressed support for a two-person crew requirement. In a formal letter, 29 people expressed their concern that a single crewmember is not in a position to respond with the speed required to respond to train accidents or malfunctions at grade crossings or assist emergency response personnel at a highway-rail level crossing. The commenters emphasized that human factors account for more than half of all railroad accidents and they think that a bigger crew could help ensure the safety of the train and the cargo it transports.
Technology
Trains for passenger and freight use a variety of technologies to increase efficiency, increase safety, and boost security. The rail industry vernacular includes many distinct terms and acronyms however, some of the most significant developments include machine vision systems, instrumentsed rail inspection systems, driverless trains rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicles (commonly called drones).
Technology doesn't just replace some jobs. It allows people to do their jobs better and safer. Railroads for passengers use apps on smartphones and contactless fare cards to increase ridership and improve the efficiency of their system. Other developments like autonomous rail cars are getting closer to reality.
As part of its ongoing effort to improve secure, 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 updated, and stations being rebuilt or replaced. FRA's recently passed bipartisan infrastructure law will significantly grow the agency's rail improvement programs.
The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is a crucial component in this initiative. The National Academies' recent review of the office concluded that it excelled in engaging, maintaining communications with and using inputs from a variety of stakeholders. It is still required to be aware of how its research contributes towards the department's primary objective of ensuring the safety of people and goods by rail.
The agency could improve its effectiveness by identifying and implementing automated train systems and technology. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is the main industry association for the freight rail industry that focuses on research policy, standard-setting and policy, established a Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations to assist in helping develop standards within the industry.
The FRA is interested in the group’s development of a taxonomy to describe automated rail vehicles which defines clearly and consistently different levels of automation. This could apply to rail transit as well as on-road vehicles. The agency will also be looking to understand the level of safety risk that the industry perceives associated with implementing fully automated operation and whether or not the industry is considering adding additional security measures to reduce the risk.
Innovation
Rail companies are adopting technology to enhance worker safety, boost efficiency in business processes and ensure that the freight they transport arrives at its destination in good condition. These innovations include cameras and sensors that monitor freight to innovative railcar designs that help keep dangerous cargo safe during transit. Some of these technologies allow railroads to dispatch emergency responders directly to the scene of an accident to reduce the risk and damages to property and individuals.
Positive Train Control (PTC) is one of the most important innovations in rail. It can prevent train-to-train accidents, situations when trains are in a position they shouldn't be, and other accidents caused by human error. The system is a three-part system comprised of locomotives onboard that track the train and wayside networks that connect with the locomotive, and a huge backend server that collects and analyzes data.
Passenger railroads also embrace technology to increase security and safety. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with drones to assist passenger security staff in locating passengers and items on board trains in case in the event of an emergency. The company is also looking into other possibilities to utilize drones, such as using them to perform inspections of bridges as well as other infrastructure, like replacing the lighting on railway towers, which could be hazardous for workers to climb.
fela railroad accident lawyer that can be used for passenger railroads include smart track technology, which is able to detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and send out an alert to drivers when it's unsafe to proceed. These technologies are especially useful for detecting unauthorized crossings or other issues during the evenings when the traffic is lower and there are fewer witnesses to an accident.
Another important technological advancement in the rail industry is telematics which allows railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to see the status and condition of a traincar through real-time tracking. These capabilities give railcar owners and their crews more accountability and transparency and help them improve efficiency, prevent unnecessary maintenance and avoid delays in the delivery of freight to customers.