Five Tools Everybody In The Federal Railroad Industry Should Be Utilizing
The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology
The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for safety regulations for rail and enforcement, rail funding and research on rail improvement strategies.
FRA inspectors on the ground make use of discretion to determine which cases merit the time-consuming and precise civil penalty process. This ensures that those violations most deserving of punishment are penalized.
Allies and members of SMART-TD made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to ensure that two people are in the locomotive cab 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 as well as the public. It creates and enforces rail safety regulations, administers rail funding and researches strategies for improving rail and technologies. It also develops plans, implements and maintains a plan for maintaining the current infrastructure and services for rail. It also works to expand and improve the national rail network. The department requires all railroad employers to abide by strict rules and regulations, empower their employees and provide them with tools to be successful and safe. This includes an anonymous close-call reporting system, setting up labor-management occupational safety and health committees with full participation from unions and anti-retaliation clauses and providing employees with the required personal protective equipment.
FRA inspectors are at the forefront of enforcement of the rail safety laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections of equipment and investigate hundreds of complaints. Those who violate the safety rules for rail can be subject to civil penalties. Safety inspectors at the agency have wide discretion to determine whether a violation falls under the definition provided by law of an act punishable with civil penalties. Additionally the Office of Chief Counsel's safety department examines all reports submitted from regional offices to determine their legality prior to assessing penalties. This discretion is exercised at the field and regional levels to ensure that civil penalties are only applied when they are necessary.
Rail employees must be aware of the rules and regulations that govern his actions, and not knowingly violate those guidelines to be guilty of a civil penalty-worthy offence. The agency does not consider that a person who acts in response to a supervisor's direction is guilty of committing a willful crime. The agency defines "general railroad system" as the entire system that transports passengers and goods between cities and metropolitan areas. The trackage of a plant railroad in a steel mill is not considered part of the general transportation system by rail even being physically connected to it.
Regulation
The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, including those pertaining to safety and the movement of hazardous materials. The agency is responsible for managing railway finance, including grants and loan for infrastructure and service improvement. The agency works with other DOT agencies and with industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's railroad system. This includes ensuring the current rail services and infrastructure as well as making sure that there is enough capacity and strategically expanding the network, as well as coordinating regional and national systems planning and development.
The agency is primarily responsible for freight transport, but also manages passenger transportation. The agency is working to provide more options for passenger travel and connect passengers with the places they want to go. The agency's primary focus is on improving the passenger's experience and enhancing the safety of the current fleet, and making sure that the rail system continues to operate efficiently.
Railroads must abide by a variety of federal regulations, including those pertaining to the size of crews on trains. This issue has become an issue of contention in recent years, with some states passing legislation to require two-person crews on trains. This final rule establishes federally the minimum crew size requirements, making sure that all railroads adhere to the same safety standards.
This rule also requires that every railroad operating a one-person crew notify FRA and submit an analysis of risk. This will allow FRA to evaluate the characteristics of each operation with the standard two-person crew operation. This rule also alters the standard for reviewing a special approval request from determining if an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety to determining if the operation is as safe or more secure than a two-person crew operation.
During the public comment period for this rule, many people supported the requirement of a two-person crew. In a formal letter 29 people voiced their concern that a single crewmember will not be able to respond in a timely manner to train accidents or malfunctions at grade crossings or assist emergency personnel on a highway-rail level crossing. Commenters pointed out that human factors are responsible for more than half all railroad accidents. They believe that a larger team would ensure the security of the train and its cargo.
Technology
Trains for passenger and freight use a variety of technologies to increase efficiency, increase security, and increase safety. fela accident attorney includes a variety of specific terms and acronyms, but some of the more notable innovations include machine vision systems, instrumented 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 perform their jobs more effectively and safely. Railroads that transport passengers use smartphones and contactless fare cards in order to increase ridership and increase the efficiency of their system. Other innovations 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 America, is focused on modernizing the railway infrastructure. This is a multi-billion dollar project that will see tunnels and bridges rebuilt, tracks and power systems upgraded and stations rebuilt or replaced. The FRA's rail improvement program will be significantly extended by the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is an essential component in this initiative. Recent National Academies review of the office found that it excelled in engaging in a continuous dialogue and utilizing the inputs from a variety of stakeholders. It must continue to be aware of how its research contributes towards the department's primary objective of ensuring safe movement of people and goods via rail.
The agency could improve its effectiveness by identifying and implementing automated train systems and technology. The Association of American Railroads, the freight rail industry's primary industry organization that focuses on research, policy, and standard setting and has created a Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help in developing industry standards for the implementation of the technology.
FRA is interested in the group's development of an automated rail taxonomy. It is a standardization system that can clearly and consistently define the different levels of automation that would be applicable to both rail and on-road transit vehicles. The agency will also need to understand the level of safety risk that the industry sees with implementing fully automated operation and whether the industry is contemplating additional security measures to reduce the risk.
Innovation
Railroads are embracing technology to increase worker safety, make business processes more efficient and help ensure that the freight it transports arrives at its destination in good condition. These innovations range from sensors and cameras that monitor freight, to new railcar designs which keep hazardous cargo safe during transit. Some of these technologies allow railroads to send emergency response personnel to areas of accidents so that they can swiftly mitigate damage and minimize risk to property and lives.
One of the most well-known innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC) which will prevent collisions between trains and train, situations where trains are on tracks they shouldn't be and other accidents that are caused by human mistakes. The system is comprised of three parts of onboard locomotive systems that track the train; wayside networks which communicate with the locomotive; and a massive server that gathers and analyzes data.
Passenger railroads are also embracing technology to bolster security and safety. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with the use of drones to aid security personnel in finding passengers and items on board trains in case of an emergency. The company is also exploring ways to use drones. They could be used to examine bridges and other infrastructure or to replace the lighting on railway towers that are hazardous for workers to climb.
Other technologies that can be utilized for passenger railroads include smart track technology, which can detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and send out a warning to drivers if it's unsafe to travel. These types of technologies are particularly beneficial in detecting unsafe crossings as well as other issues that can arise during times when traffic is at its lowest and fewer people are around to witness an accident.
Another important technological breakthrough in the railway industry is telematics which allows shippers, railroads and other stakeholders to monitor a traincar's status and condition by real-time tracking. These capabilities give railcar owners and crews greater control and visibility. They can also aid in improving efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance and avoid delays in the delivery of freight to customers.