Five Killer Quora Answers On Federal Railroad
The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology
The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces safety regulations for rail The Federal Railroad Administration also provides funding for rail and studies strategies for improving rail safety.
FRA inspectors on the ground employ discretion to decide which cases merit the time-consuming and precise civil penalty process. This discretion helps to ensure that the most serious violations are penalized.
Allies and members of SMART-TD made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to allow two people in the cabs of locomotives of freight trains. The fight continues.
Safety
The federal employers liability act Railroad Administration has a range of safety measures in place to ensure the safety and health of employees as well as the general public. It formulates and enforces rail safety regulations as well as manages funding for rail and researches rail improvement strategies and technologies. It also creates and implements a strategy to ensure that current rail services, infrastructure and capacity, and strategically expands and improves the national rail network. The department requires all rail companies to adhere to the strictest rules and regulations, empower their employees and provide them with tools to be successful and secure. This includes taking part in 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 giving employees the necessary personal protective equipment.
FRA inspectors are at the forefront of enforcement of rail safety laws and regulations. They conduct regular inspections of equipment and conduct a myriad of investigations into complaints of noncompliance. Civil penalties are imposed on those who violate railroad safety laws. Safety inspectors at the agency have wide discretion to determine if an act is within the definition provided by law of an act that is punishable with civil penalties. The Office of Chief Counsel's safety division also scrutinizes the reports submitted by regional offices to ensure they are legal prior to imposing penalties. The exercise of this discretion at the regional and field levels helps ensure that the time-consuming, costly civil penalty process is applied only in those situations that are truly deserving of the effect of a civil fine.
To be considered guilty of a civil offense, a rail employee must know the rules and regulations that govern their actions. They must also be aware of and ignore these rules. The agency does not believe that a person who acts upon a directive from a supervisor has committed a willful offence. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the whole network that allows passengers and goods to travel within metropolitan areas or between them. A plant railroad's trackage in a steel mill is not considered part of the general transportation system by rail, even though it is physically connected to it.
Regulation
The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for establishing regulations for trains that pertain to safety and the movement of dangerous substances. The agency oversees rail finance, which includes loans and grants for service and infrastructure improvement. The agency works with other DOT agencies as well as industry to develop strategies for improving the nation's rail infrastructure. This work includes maintaining current rail infrastructure and services and in addition to addressing the need for additional capacity strategically expanding the network, as well as coordinating regional and national systems planning and development.
The agency is responsible for freight transportation but also supervises passenger transportation. The agency is trying to connect people to destinations they desire and offer more choices for travel. The agency is focused on improving the experience for passengers, increasing the safety of the existing fleet, and ensuring the railway system continues to function efficiently.
Railroads are required to comply with a variety of federal regulations, which include those relating to the size and composition of train crews. This is a controversial one in recent years, with some states passing legislation that requires two-person crews on trains. This final rule defines federally the minimum crew size requirements, ensuring that all railroads follow 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 identify the specific parameters of each operation and compare them with those of a normal two-person crew operation. This rule also changes the standard for reviewing an application for special approval from determining if an operation is "consistent" with railroad safety to determining if the operation is as safe or safer than two-person crew operation.
During the time of public comments for this rule, a lot of people expressed their support for a requirement of two persons on the crew. In a letter to the editor 29 people expressed their concern that a single crew member 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 emphasized that human factors are responsible for more than half of all railroad accidents. They believe that a bigger crew will ensure the safety of the train and its cargo.
Technology
Railroads for passenger and freight use numerous technologies to increase efficiency, improve safety, boost security and more. The rail industry vernacular contains a myriad of unique terms and acronyms, however, some of the most significant 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 just replacing some jobs -- it's empowering individuals to perform their work more efficiently and with greater security. Railroads that transport passengers use smartphones and contactless fare cards to boost ridership and improve the efficiency of their system. Other innovations, such as autonomous rail vehicles, are inching closer to becoming reality.
As part of its ongoing efforts to advance secure, reliable and affordable transportation for the nation In its ongoing effort to ensure safe, reliable and affordable transportation for the nation, the Federal Railroad Administration is focused on modernizing its rail infrastructure. This multi-billion-dollar effort will see bridges, tunnels tracks, power systems and tracks updated, and stations being rebuilt or replaced. FRA's recently enacted bipartisan infrastructure law will dramatically expand the agency's rail improvements programs.
The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is an essential part of this effort. Recent National Academies review of the office revealed that it was successful in engaging in a continuous dialogue and utilizing the inputs of a wide range of stakeholders. But it must focus more on how its research aids in the department's main objective of ensuring the safe movement of goods and people by railway.
The agency could increase its effectiveness by identifying and implementing automated train systems and technology. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is the principal industry association for the freight rail industry, which is focused on research policy, standard-setting and policy, established a Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations to assist in helping develop standards within 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 could apply to both rail transit and on-road vehicles. The agency will also want to know the degree of risk to safety that the industry perceives associated when implementing a fully automated system and whether or not the industry is considering additional security measures to reduce the risk.
Innovation
Railroads are embracing technology to improve worker safety, make business processes more efficient, and ensure that the freight that they transport arrives at its destination safely. These innovations range from sensors and cameras that monitor freight, fela lawyers to new railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo safe during transport. Some of these technologies allow railroads to send emergency responders to areas of accidents so that they can quickly mitigate the damage and reduce the risk to property and lives.
One of the most well-known innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC), which will inhibit collisions between trains and train, situations where trains are on tracks that shouldn't be and other accidents that are caused by human mistakes. This system is a three-part system consisting of onboard locomotive systems that track the train, wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive and a massive backend server that gathers and analyzes data.
Passenger railroads are also embracing technology to improve safety and security. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with drones to assist passenger security staff in locating passengers and other items onboard trains in case of an emergency. The company is also examining ways to utilize drones. They could be used to inspect bridges and other infrastructures or to replace the lights on railway towers that are dangerous for workers to climb.
Other technologies that could be utilized for passenger railroads include smart track technology, which can detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and send drivers with a warning if it's unsafe for them to proceed. These kinds of technologies are particularly useful in detecting crossings that are not authorized as well as other issues that can arise during times when traffic is at its lowest and there are fewer people to witness an accident.
Another important technological advancement in the rail industry is telematics, which enables railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to see the status and condition of a traincar through real-time tracking. These capabilities provide railcar operators and crews greater accountability and visibility and can aid in improving efficiency, prevent unnecessary maintenance, and prevent delays in the delivery of freight to customers.