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The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces rail safety regulations, provides rail funding and studies strategies for improving rail safety.

FRA field inspectors employ discretion to determine which cases merit the precise and time-consuming civil penalty process. This allows them to ensure that the most serious violations are punished.

SMART-TD and its allies made history in 2024 when they convinced the FRA that two persons should be allowed to sit in the cabs of freight trains. The fight continues.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration implements a number of safety measures to safeguard the health of employees as well as the public. It formulates and enforces regulations for rail safety, administers rail funding and researches strategies for improving rail and technologies. It also creates and implements a strategy to ensure that current infrastructure, services, and capacity and strategically expands and improves the nation's rail network. The department expects all railroad employers to adhere to the strictest rules and regulations, empower their employees and provide them with tools to succeed and stay safe. This includes participation in the confidential close call reporting system, establishing occupational health and safety committees with full participation from unions and anti-retaliation safeguards, and providing employees with needed personal protection equipment.

Inspectors of the FRA are at the forefront of enforcing safety on rail laws and regulations. They conduct regular inspections of equipment and conduct a multitude of investigations into complaints of non-compliance. Civil penalties can be imposed on those who violate railroad safety laws. Safety inspectors from the agency have a wide discretion to determine whether a violation falls under the definition provided by law of an act punishable by civil penalties. Additionally, the Office of Chief Counsel's safety department examines all reports submitted from regional offices to determine their legality before determining penalties. The exercise of this discretion at both the regional and field levels ensures that the time-consuming, costly civil penalty process is used only in situations that truly warrant the deterrent effect of a civil penalty.

To be guilty of a civil infringement an employee of a railroad must know the rules and regulations that govern the conduct of his or her employees. They must also be aware of and not adhere to these rules. The agency does not consider an individual who acted in response to a supervisor's direction is guilty of committing a willful crime. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the entire network that allows passengers and goods to travel within metropolitan and city areas and between them. The trackage of a plant railroad in the steel mill is not considered to be part of the overall rail transportation system, even though it is physically connected.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, including those pertaining to safety and movement of hazardous materials. The agency oversees rail finance, which includes grants and loan for service and infrastructure improvement. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies and industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's railway system. This includes maintaining the current rail infrastructure and services, responding to the demands for additional capacity and expanding the network strategically as well as coordinating the regional and national system planning and development.

While the majority of the agency's work focuses on freight transportation, it also oversees passenger transportation. The agency aims to connect people to the places they want and provide more alternatives for travel. The agency is focused on enhancing the passenger experience, increasing the safety of the existing fleet, and ensuring that the rail network is operating efficiently.

Railroads must abide by a variety of federal regulations, including those related to the size of the crews on trains. In recent years, this issue has been a source of contention. Some states have passed legislation requiring two-person crews in trains. This final rule codifies federally the minimum crew size requirements, ensuring that all railroads adhere to the same safety standards.

This law also requires that each railroad operating with a crew of one 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 parameters of a standard two-person crew operation. This rule also changes the criteria for reviewing a special approval request from determining if an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety, to determining if the operation is safer or safer than two-person crew operations.

During the period of public comment on this rule, a lot of people expressed their support for a requirement of two persons on the crew. In a letter to the editor 29 people expressed their concerns that a single crewmember will not be in a position to respond in a timely manner to train malfunctions or incidents at grade crossings or assist emergency personnel on a highway-rail level crossing. Commenters noted that human factors are the reason for more than half of all railroad accidents. They believe that a bigger crew will ensure the security of the train and its cargo.

Technology

Trains for passenger and freight use a variety of technologies to increase efficiency, enhance safety, and boost security. Rail industry jargon comprises various specific terms and acronyms. Some of the most notable include machine vision systems (also known as drones), instrumented rail-inspection systems driverless trains rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicles (also known as drones).

Technology isn't just replacing some jobs; it's helping people to do their job more effectively and safely. Railroads that transport passengers are using smartphone apps and contactless fare payment cards to improve ridership and improve the efficiency of the system. Other innovations such as autonomous rail cars are getting closer to reality.

The federal employers liability act Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to ensure safe, reliable, and affordable transportation in the United States is focusing on modernizing the rail infrastructure. This is a multi-billion dollar project that will see bridges and tunnels restored, tracks and power systems upgraded, and stations reconstructed or upgraded. The recently passed bipartisan infrastructure fela law firm will substantially grow the agency's rail improvement programs.

The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a major component of this initiative. Recent National Academies review of the office found it excelled at engaging with, maintaining communication and utilizing inputs from a variety of stakeholders. It still needs to be aware of how its research contributes towards the department's primary objective of ensuring safe movement of people and goods by railways.

One area where the agency could be able improve its effectiveness is by identifying and assisting the advancement 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 standard-setting the Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help in developing industry standards for implementing the technology.

FRA is likely to be interested in the development of an automated rail taxonomy, a standard that will clearly and consistently define the different levels of automation that will be applicable to both rail and on-road transit vehicles. The agency will want to know the amount of risk the industry sees in fully automated operation, and if the industry is considering any additional safeguards to minimize that risk.

Innovation

Railroads are embracing technology to increase worker safety and make business processes more efficient and ensure that the freight it transports arrives at its destination in good condition. Examples of this kind of innovation vary from the use sensors and cameras to keep track of freight, and to new railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo secure during transit. Some of these technologies even provide a way for railroads to send emergency response personnel to areas of accidents so that they can swiftly mitigate damage and minimize risk to property and people.

One of the most prominent innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC), which will inhibit train-to-train collisions, situations where trains are on tracks that shouldn't be and other accidents that result from human error. This system consists of three components: onboard locomotive systems which track the train; wayside networks which communicate with the locomotive and a massive server that gathers and analyzes data.

Railroads that transport passengers are also embracing technology to improve security and safety. Amtrak for instance, is experimenting with the use of drones in order to help train security staff locate passengers and items in the event of an emergency. Amtrak is also investigating different ways to use drones, including deploying them to perform inspections of bridges and other infrastructure, such as replacing the lights on railway towers, which can be hazardous for workers to climb.

Other technologies that can be used for passenger railroads include smart track technology that can detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and send a warning to drivers if it's unsafe to proceed. These types of technologies are particularly beneficial in detecting unsafe crossings as well as other issues that can arise during times when traffic levels are lower and there are fewer people to witness an accident.

Telematics is a significant technological advance in the railway industry. It allows railways, shippers and other stakeholders to follow a traincar's progress in real-time. Traincar crews and operators will benefit from increased accountability and visibility, which will help them to improve efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance and delay in the delivery of freight.