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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 use discretion to decide which cases warrant the exact and time-consuming civil penalty process. This allows them to ensure that the most serious violations are punished.

SMART-TD and its allies created history in 2024 when they convinced the FRA that two persons should be allowed 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 health and safety of its employees and the general public. It creates and enforces safety regulations for rail as well as manages funding for rail and studies strategies for improving rail infrastructure and technologies. It also develops and implements a strategy to maintain current rail services, infrastructure and capacity, and strategically expands and improves the nation's rail network. The department requires all rail employers to abide by strict rules and regulations, empower their workers and provide them with the tools needed to be successful and safe. This includes taking part in the confidential close-call reporting system, establishing labor-management occupational safety and health committees with full participation from unions and anti-retaliation clauses and providing employees with the needed personal protective gear.

FRA inspectors are at the forefront of enforcement of rail safety laws and regulations. They conduct regular inspections of equipment and conduct a multitude of investigations into complaints of noncompliance. Anyone who violates rail safety laws may be subject to civil penalties. Safety inspectors from the agency are able to decide on the extent to which a particular violation meets the statutory definition of a criminal penalty-worthy liability act fela. The Office of Chief Counsel's safety division also reviews the reports submitted by regional offices to ensure they are legal before assessing 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 the rules and regulations that govern his actions and knowingly disregard those guidelines to commit a criminal offense that is punishable by a civil penalty. However, the agency does not consider any individual who follows a directive from a supervisor to have committed a willful violation. The agency defines "general railroad system" as the entire system that transports passengers and goods within and between cities and metropolitan areas. 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's physically connected.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, including those related to safety and movement of hazardous materials. The agency manages railway finance, including loans and grants to improve service and infrastructure. The agency works with other DOT agencies as well as industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's rail system. This includes maintaining current rail infrastructure and services, in addition to addressing the need for additional capacity and strategically expanding the network as well as coordinating regional and national systems planning and development.

While the majority of the agency's work is focused on freight transportation, it also handles the transportation of passengers. The agency is working to connect people with the places they'd like to visit and offer more options for travel. The agency is focused primarily on enhancing the experience for passengers, enhancing safety of the existing fleet, and ensuring that the rail network continues operating efficiently.

Railroads are required to abide with a range of federal regulations, including the ones pertaining to the size and composition of train crews. This is controversial in recent years, with several states passing legislation that requires two-person crews on trains. This final rule codifies the minimum crew size requirements at an international level, and ensures that all railroads are subject 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 evaluate the characteristics of each operation to those of a two-person standard crew operation. This rule also changes the standard for reviewing an approval request that is a special case from determining if an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety to determining if the operation is safer or less risky than a two-person crew operation.

During the public comment period for this rule, many people backed the requirement for a two-person crew. A letter from 29 people outlined their concerns that a single crew member might not be as quick to respond to issues with trains or grade crossing incidents or assist emergency responders at a highway-rail grade crossing. The commenters emphasized that human factors are responsible for more than half all railroad accidents and think that a bigger crew could help ensure the safety of both the train and the cargo it transports.

Technology

Railroads that transport passengers and freight employ numerous technologies to increase efficiency, improve safety, boost security and much more. The rail industry vernacular contains a myriad of distinct terms and acronyms but some of the most notable developments include machines-vision systems, instrumented rail inspection systems, driverless trains, rolling data centers, and drones that are not piloted (commonly called drones).

Technology isn't merely replacing jobs; it's helping people to do their job more effectively and 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 cars are coming closer to reality.

The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to ensure safe reliable, affordable, and cost-effective transportation in America is focusing on modernizing the railway infrastructure. This is a multi-billion dollar effort that will see bridges and tunnels restored tracks, power systems and tracks upgraded, and stations rebuilt or replaced. FRA's recently passed bipartisan infrastructure law will significantly grow the agency's rail improvement programs.

The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a key element in this effort. The most recent National Academies review of the office found it excelled at engaging with, maintaining communication and utilizing inputs from a variety of stakeholders. But it must focus more on how its research contributes to the department's primary objective of ensuring the safe transportation of goods and people by railway.

One area where the agency might be able to increase its effectiveness is by identifying and assisting the advancement of automated train technology and systems. The Association of American Railroads, the main freight rail industry business organization that is focused on policy, research and standardization and has created a Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help in developing industry standards to implement the technology.

FRA is likely to be interested in the creation of an automated rail taxonomy, a standardization system that can clearly and consistently define different levels of automation that will be applicable to both on-road and rail transit vehicles. The agency will also want to know the level of safety risk that the industry believes is associated when implementing a fully automated system and whether the industry is considering adding additional protections to minimize the risk.

Innovation

Rail companies are embracing technology to improve worker safety, improve efficiency in business processes and ensure that the cargo they transport arrives at its destination in good condition. Examples of this innovation vary from the use sensors and cameras to monitor freight, to new railcar designs that help keep hazardous cargo safe during transit. Some of these technologies provide a way for railroads to send emergency response personnel to areas of accidents so that they can swiftly reduce damage and minimize risk to people and property.

Positive Train Control (PTC) is one of the most significant developments in rail. It will keep train-to-train accidents out of the way, as well as situations when trains are in a position they shouldn't be, and other accidents caused by human errors. This system is made up of three parts: onboard locomotive systems which track the train; wayside networks which communicate with the locomotive and a massive server that gathers and analyzes data.

Passenger railroads also embrace technology to improve safety and security. Amtrak is one example. It is testing the use of drones to assist train security staff find passengers and other items in an emergency. Amtrak is also investigating other possibilities to utilize drones, including deploying drones to conduct inspections of bridges and other infrastructure, like replacing the lights on railway towers, which can be dangerous for workers to climb.

Smart track technology is a different technology that can be utilized in railways for passengers. It is able to detect people or objects on tracks and alert drivers if it is unsafe to continue. These technologies are particularly useful for detecting unauthorized crossings or other issues in the evenings, when traffic is low and there are fewer witnesses to an accident.

Another significant technological advance in the railway industry is telematics which enables railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to see the status and condition of a traincar by real-time tracking. These capabilities provide railcar operators and their crews more accountability and visibility and can aid in improving efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance, and prevent delays in the delivery of freight to customers.