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The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces safety regulations for rail It also provides rail funding and researches rail improvement strategies. FRA field inspectors make use of discretion to decide which cases merit the precise and time-consuming civil penalty process. This ensures that the violations most deserving of punishment are punished. SMART-TD, along with its allies, made history by 2024 when they convinced the FRA that two people should be allowed to sit in the locomotive cabs of freight trains. The fight isn't over. Safety The Federal Railroad Administration has a range of safety measures in place to protect the health and safety of its employees and the general public. It is responsible for developing and enforcing regulations for rail safety. It also oversees the funding for rail and studies rail improvement strategies and technological developments. It also develops and implements a plan to ensure the current infrastructure, services, and capacity, and strategically expands and improves the national rail network. The department demands that all rail employers adhere to strict rules and empower their employees, and provide them with tools to ensure their safety and success. This includes participating in the secure close call reporting system, setting up labor-management occupational health and safety committees that have full union participation and anti-retaliation protections and providing employees with needed personal safety equipment. Inspectors of the FRA are at the forefront of enforcing safety on rail regulations and laws. They conduct routine inspections on equipment and conduct investigations into hundreds of complaints. Civil penalties may be imposed on those who violate railroad safety laws. The safety inspectors of the agency have a broad discretion on whether an incident falls within the legal definition of a civil penalty-worthy act. Additionally, the Office of Chief Counsel's safety division examines all reports submitted by regional offices to determine legality prior to assessing penalties. This discretion is exercised both at the field and regional levels to ensure that civil penalties are only used when they are necessary. To be convicted of a civil infringement the employee of a rail company must know the rules and regulations that govern his or her actions. They must also knowingly not adhere to these rules. However the agency does not consider any individual who is acting under a direction from a supervisor as having committed an intentional violation. The agency defines “general railroad system” as the entire network that carries goods and passengers 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 is physically connected. Regulation The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, ranging from those related to safety and movement of hazardous materials. The agency oversees railway finance, including grants and loan to improve service and infrastructure. The agency works with other DOT agencies and the industry to develop strategies to improve the country's railroad system. This includes ensuring the existing rail infrastructure and services, addressing the need for new capacity, expanding the network strategically as well as coordinating the national and regional system development and planning. While most of the agency's work focuses on freight transportation, it also manages passenger transportation. The agency is trying to connect people to the destinations they desire and offer more options for travel. The agency's primary focus is on improving the experience of passengers, enhancing safety of the existing fleet, and ensuring that the rail network continues operating efficiently. Railroads must adhere to a number of federal regulations, including those related to the size of crews on trains. This is an issue of contention in recent years, with a few states passing legislation to require two-person crews on trains. This final rule codifies the minimum size of crew requirements at an international level, and ensures that all railroads are subject to the same safety standards. This rule also requires each railroad operating one-person train crews 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. This rule also alters the standard for reviewing an approval request that is a special case to determine if an operation is “consistent” with railroad safety standards to determining whether the operation is safer or more secure than a two-person crew operations. During fela case settlements on this rule, many people supported a two-person crew requirement. In a letter to the editor, 29 people expressed their concerns that a single crewmember is not in a position to respond as quickly to train accidents or malfunctions at grade crossings, or assist emergency response personnel at the highway-rail level crossing. Commenters pointed out that human factor are responsible for more than half of all railroad accidents. They believe that a bigger crew would ensure the safety of the train as well as its cargo. Technology Railroads for passenger and freight use numerous technologies to increase efficiency, add security, increase safety and much more. The rail industry lingo includes a variety 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 drones that are not piloted (commonly called drones). Technology isn't just replacing certain jobs — it's empowering people to do their job more efficiently and with greater security. Passenger railroads are using smartphone apps and contactless fare payment cards to increase ridership and make the system more efficient. Other developments like autonomous rail cars are getting closer to reality. The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to promote safe, reliable, and affordable transportation in the United States, is focused on modernizing the rail infrastructure. This is a multi-billion-dollar initiative that will see bridges and tunnels repaired, tracks and power systems upgraded, and stations reconstructed or replaced. The recently passed bipartisan infrastructure law will substantially increase the agency's rail improvement programs. The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a central element in this initiative. The National Academies' recent review of the office found that it excelled at keeping in touch with and using inputs from a wide range of stakeholders. It still needs to be aware of how its research contributes towards the department's main goal of ensuring the safety of people and goods via railways. One area in which the agency might be able to improve its effectiveness is in identifying and supporting the development of automated train systems and technologies. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is the main industry association for the freight rail industry, which focuses on research policy, standard-setting and policy created an 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 which defines clearly and consistently the different levels of automation. This would apply to rail transit as well as on-road vehicles. The agency would like to know the degree of risk that the industry perceives with fully automated operation, and if the industry is considering any additional safeguards to minimize that risk. Innovation Railroads are using technology to improve worker safety, make business processes more efficient and ensure that the freight that they transport arrives at its destination intact. Examples of such innovation vary from the use sensors and cameras to keep track of freight, and to new railcar designs that keep dangerous cargo secure during transit. Some of these technologies allow railroads to send emergency responders directly to accident sites to minimize danger and minimize the damage to people and property. Positive Train Control (PTC) is one of the most significant innovations in rail. It will keep train-to-train accidents out of the way, as well as situations where trains are on track they shouldn't, and other incidents caused by human error. The system is comprised of three parts of onboard locomotive systems that track the train; wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive and a huge server that collects and analyses data. Trains for passengers also adopt technology to increase security and safety. Amtrak is one example. It is experimenting with the use of drones in order to help security personnel on trains find passengers and other items in the event of an emergency. The company is also examining ways to utilize drones. They could be used to check bridges and other infrastructure, or to replace the lighting on railway towers, which are dangerous for workers to climb. Other technologies that could be utilized for passenger railroads include smart track technology that can detect the presence of people or objects on the tracks and issue drivers with a warning if it's unsafe for them to proceed. These kinds of technology are especially valuable for detecting unauthorized crossings as well as other issues that can arise in the off-hours, when traffic is at its lowest and fewer people are around to witness an accident. Another important technological advancement in the rail industry is telematics which enables railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to see the condition and status of a traincar via real-time tracking. Traincar crews and operators will benefit from increased accountability and visibility which can help them to increase efficiency and avoid unnecessary maintenance. It will also help avoid delays when delivering freight.