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The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces safety regulations for rail provides rail funding and studies strategies for improving rail safety FRA field inspectors make use of discretion to decide which cases warrant the exact and timeconsuming civil penalty process This allows them to ensure that the most serious violations are punished SMARTTD members and allies made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to keep two people in the cabs of locomotives of freight trains The fight is not over Safety The Federal Railroad Administration implements a variety of safety measures to ensure the health of employees and public It formulates and enforces rail safety regulations administers rail funding and researches strategies for improving rail and technologies It also creates and implements a plan to maintain current rail services infrastructure and capacity and strategically expands and enhances the national rail network The department expects that all rail operators adhere to strict guidelines empower their employees and provide them with the tools to be safe and successful This includes participating in the confidential close call reporting system establishing occupational health and safety committees with full participation from unions and protection against retaliation and providing employees with the necessary personal protective equipment Inspectors of the FRA are at the forefront of enforcing safety on rail laws and regulations They perform routine inspections on equipment and investigate hundreds of complaints Anyone who is in violation of rail safety laws may be punished with civil penalties The safety inspectors of the agency have a broad discretion on whether a particular violation meets the legal definition of a crime that is punishable by civil penalties The Office of Chief Counsels safety division also examines all reports that regional offices submit to ensure they are legal before assessing 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 To be guilty of a civil infringement a rail employee must be aware of the rules and regulations governing his or her actions They also must be aware that they disregard these standards The agency does not consider that a person who acts upon a directive from a supervisor is guilty of committing a willful crime railroad injury fela lawyer defines general railroad system as the entire network that transports passengers and goods within and between metropolitan areas and cities A plant railroads trackage in the steel mill isnt considered to be part of the general transportation system by rail even though it is physically connected to it Regulation The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations ranging from those related to safety and the movement of hazardous materials The agency also oversees rail financing which includes loans and grants for infrastructure and improvements to service The agency works with other DOT agencies and the industry to develop strategies to improve the nations railway system This includes ensuring the current rail infrastructure and services as well as in addition to addressing the need for additional capacity and strategically expanding the network and coordinating national and regional systems planning and development The agency is primarily responsible for freight transportation but also oversees passenger transport The agency aims to connect people to places theyd like to visit and offer more alternatives for travel The agencys primary focus is on improving the passengers experience enhancing safety of the existing fleet and ensuring the rail system continues to operate efficiently Railroads must comply with many federal regulations relating to the size of the crews on trains In recent times this issue has become a source of controversy Certain states have passed legislation mandating twoperson crews in trains This final rule codifies the minimum crew size requirements at the federal level making sure that all railroads are subject to consistent safety standards This rule also requires each railroad operating a oneperson train crew to inform FRA of the operation and submit a risk assessment This will allow FRA to better understand the specifics of each operation and compare them to the parameters of a normal twoperson crew operation Additionally this rule changes the criteria for reviewing the special approval petition from determining whether the operation is consistent with railroad safety to determining whether the operation is safe or safer than a twocrewmember operation During the public comment period for this rule a large number of people supported the requirement of a twoperson crew In a formal letter 29 people voiced their concern that a single crewmember will not be in a position to respond in a timely manner to train accidents or malfunctions at grade crossings or assist emergency response personnel at the highwayrail level crossing The commenters noted that human factors are responsible for more than half all railroad accidents and they think that a bigger crew could help ensure the safety of the train and its cargo Technology Trains for passenger and freight use different technologies to improve efficiency increase security and improve safety Rail industry jargon covers various distinct terms and acronyms Some of the most prominent include machine vision systems also called drones and railinspection systems that are instrumented driverless trains rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicles also called drones Technology doesnt just replace some jobs It empowers people to perform their jobs better and more safely Passenger railroads use smartphones apps and contactless fare cards to boost ridership and improve the efficiency of their system Other developments like autonomous rail vehicles are moving closer to becoming reality As part of its ongoing efforts to advance safe reliable and affordable transportation for the entire nation the Federal Railroad Administration is focused on modernizing its rail infrastructure This multibillion dollar project will see tunnels bridges tracks power systems and tracks updated and stations renovated or replaced The FRAs rail improvements program will be significantly expanded by the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law The agencys Office of Research Development and Technology is a major element in this effort The National Academies recent review of the office concluded that it excelled at keeping in touch with inputs from a broad range of stakeholders But it still needs to concentrate on how its research contributes to the departments primary strategic goal of ensuring safe transportation of goods and people via railway One area where the agency could be able to improve its effectiveness is in identifying and assisting the advancement of automated train technology and systems The Association of American Railroads the main freight rail industry industry organization that focuses on research policy and standardsetting the Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help in developing industry standards for the implementation of the technology The FRA is interested in the groups development of a taxonomy for automated rail vehicles which defines clearly and consistently different levels of automation This could apply to both rail transit and vehicles on the road The agency will want to know the degree of risk that the industry is assessing with fully automated operation as well as whether the industry is considering any additional measures to mitigate that 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 intact Examples of this innovation range from the use of cameras and sensors to keep track of freight and to new railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo secure during transit Certain of these technologies allow railroads to send emergency responders to the scene of an accident so they can swiftly mitigate damage and reduce the risk to property and people Positive Train Control PTC is one of the most significant developments in rail It can keep traintotrain accidents out of the way as well as situations where trains are on track they shouldnt and other accidents caused by human errors It is a threepart system comprised of onboard locomotive systems that track the train and wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive and a huge backend server that analyzes and collects data Trains for passengers also adopt technology to improve safety and security Amtrak for instance is experimenting with drones in order to help security personnel on trains find passengers and other items in the event of an emergency The company is also exploring other ways to use drones for instance using drones to inspect bridges and other infrastructure such as replacing the lighting on railway towers which could be dangerous for workers to climb Other technologies that could be utilized for passenger railroads include smart track technology which can detect the presence of people or objects on the tracks and send drivers with a warning if its unsafe to travel These technologies are particularly useful in detecting crossings that are not authorized or other problems in the evenings when the traffic is lower and there are less witnesses to an accident Another significant technological advance in the rail industry is telematics which enables railroads shippers and other stakeholders to view the condition and status of a traincar by realtime tracking Traincar crews and operators can benefit from increased accountability and visibility which will allow them increase efficiency avoid unnecessary maintenance and reduce delays when delivering freight