The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology

The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces safety regulations for rail, provides rail funding and conducts research on strategies to improve rail infrastructure.

FRA field inspectors make use of discretion to decide which cases are worthy of the precise and lengthy civil penalty process. This helps ensure that the most serious violations are punished.

Allies and members of SMART-TD have made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to allow two people in the cabs of locomotives of freight trains. The fight isn't over.

Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration implements a variety of safety measures to protect the health of employees as well as the public. It is responsible for creating and enforcing safety regulations for rail. It also oversees rail funding, and conducts research on rail improvement strategies and technologies. It also creates and implements a strategy to ensure that current infrastructure, services, and capacity, and strategically develops and improves the nation's rail network. The department requires all rail employers to adhere to the strictest rules and regulations, empower their workers and provide them with the tools to succeed and stay secure. This includes participation in the secure close call reporting system, setting up labor-management occupational health and safety committees, with full union participation and anti-retaliation safeguards, and providing employees with needed personal protective equipment.

Inspectors of the FRA are at the forefront of enforcing rail safety regulations and laws. They conduct routine inspections on equipment and investigate complaints from hundreds of people. Anyone who violates rail safety laws may be subject to civil penalties. Safety inspectors at the agency have a broad discretion to determine if a violation falls under the statutory definition of an act punishable with civil penalties. The Office of Chief Counsel's safety division also reviews all reports that regional offices submit to ensure they are legal prior to imposing penalties. This discretion is exercised at the regional and field levels to ensure that civil penalties are only applied in cases that warrant their use.

A rail worker must be aware of the rules and regulations that govern their actions and knowingly disregard those rules to be guilty of a civil penalty-worthy offence. The agency does not believe that an individual who acts upon a directive from a supervisor has committed a willful offence. The agency defines "general railroad system" as the entire network that transports passengers and goods between metropolitan areas and cities. The trackage of a plant railroad in the steelmill isn't considered to be part of the general rail transportation system, even though it is physically connected.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, including those related to safety and the movement of hazardous materials. The agency also manages rail financing, including grants and loans for infrastructure and improvements to service. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies and industry to develop strategies to improve the nation's rail system. This work includes maintaining current rail infrastructure and services as well as making sure that there is enough capacity, strategically expanding the network, Railroad and coordinating regional and national systems planning and development.

While the majority of the agency's work is focused on freight transportation, it also manages passenger transportation. The agency is trying to connect people to the places they'd like to visit and offer more choices for travel. The agency is focused primarily on enhancing the experience for passengers as well as enhancing the safety of its existing fleet, and ensuring that the rail system continues to operate efficiently.

Railroads are required to comply with a variety of federal regulations, including those that deal with the size and composition of train crews. This issue has become a controversial one in recent years, with some states passing legislation that requires two-person crews on trains. The final rule codifies the minimum size of crew requirements at a federal employers’ liability level, ensuring that all railroads are subject to the same safety standards.

This also requires every railroad that has a single-person train crew to inform FRA of the operation and submit a risk assessment. This will allow FRA to compare the parameters of each operation with the parameters of a standard two-person crew operation. Additionally this rule alters the standard of review for a special approval petition from determining whether an operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining whether the operation would be as safer or more secure than an operation with two crew members.

During the period of public comment for this rule, a large number of people voted for a requirement of two people on the crew. In a form letter, 29 people expressed their concerns that a single crewmember will not be capable of responding with the speed required to respond to train accidents or malfunctions at grade crossings or assist emergency response personnel at an elevated highway crossing. The commenters emphasized that human factors account for more than half all railroad accidents, and they believe that a larger crew could help ensure the safety of the train and its cargo.

Technology

Trains for passenger and freight use different technologies to increase efficiency, improve safety, and boost security. The rail industry lingo contains a myriad of specific terms and acronyms, but some of the more notable developments include machine vision systems, instrumentsed rail inspection systems, driverless trains rolling data centers, and unmanned aerial vehicles (commonly called drones).

Technology isn't just replacing certain jobs, it's also empowering people to do their job better and safer. Passenger railroads are using smartphones and contactless fare payment cards to improve ridership and improve the efficiency of the system. Other innovations, like autonomous rail vehicles, are inching closer to reality.

The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to improve secure reliable, affordable, and cost-effective transportation in America, is focused on modernizing the rail infrastructure. This multi-billion-dollar effort will see bridges, tunnels, tracks and power systems updated and stations rebuilt or replace. The FRA's rail improvement program will be significantly extended by the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a central element in this effort. The National Academies' recent review of the office found that it excelled in engaging, maintaining communications with and using inputs from a variety of stakeholders. It must continue to consider how its research contributes to the department's primary objective of ensuring safe movement of people and goods via railways.

The agency could increase its efficiency by identifying and implementing automated train systems and technology. The Association of American Railroads (AAR), the primary industry association for the freight rail industry that focuses on research, policy and standard setting and has established the Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations to help establish standards for the industry.

The FRA is interested in the group's development of a taxonomy to describe automated rail vehicles, a system that defines clearly and consistently different levels of automation. This could apply to both rail transit and vehicles on the road. The agency will also want to know the level of risk to safety that the industry believes is associated when implementing a fully automated system and whether or not the industry is considering adding additional protections to minimize the risk.

Innovation

Railroads are adopting technology to increase worker safety, make business processes more efficient and help ensure that the cargo they move reaches its destination intact. Examples of this kind of innovation vary from the use sensors and cameras to track freight, to the latest railcar designs that help keep hazardous cargo safe during transport. Certain of these technologies offer railroads the ability to send emergency response personnel to locations of accidents so they can swiftly mitigate damage and minimize risk to property and lives.

One of the most prominent innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC), which will inhibit collisions between trains and train, situations where trains are on tracks they shouldn't be, as well as other accidents that result from human mistakes. This system is a three-part process consisting of locomotives onboard that track the train, wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive, and a huge backend server that collects and analyzes data.

Trains for passengers are also adopting technology to bolster safety and security. Amtrak is one example. It is experimenting with drones to help train security staff locate passengers and other items in an emergency. The company is also exploring ways to make use of drones. They could be used to inspect bridges and other infrastructure or to replace the lighting on railway towers that are dangerous for workers to climb.

Smart track technology is a different technology that can be used in railways that transport passengers. It can detect people or objects on tracks and warn drivers that it is unsafe to continue. These kinds of technologies can be particularly valuable for detecting unauthorized crossings and other issues during off-hours, when traffic levels are lower and there are fewer people to witness an accident.

Another significant technological advance in the rail industry is telematics which enables railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to monitor a traincar's status and condition via real-time tracking. Railcar operators and crews will benefit from increased accountability and transparency which will allow them improve efficiency as well as avoid unnecessary maintenance and avoid delays when delivering freight.