5 Killer Quora Answers To Federal Railroad
The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology
The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces rail safety regulations, provides rail funding and researches rail improvement strategies.
FRA field inspectors use discretion to determine which cases are worthy of the precise and lengthy civil penalty process. This discretion helps ensure that the violations most deserving of punishment are penalized.
Members of SMART-TD and their allies made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to keep two people in the locomotive cab of freight trains. The fight is not over.
Safety
The Federal Railroad Administration has a variety of safety measures in place to ensure the health and welfare of employees and the public. It is responsible for establishing and enforcing safety regulations for rail. It also oversees rail funding and conducts research on rail improvement strategies and technological developments. It also develops and implements a plan to ensure that current infrastructure, rail services and capacity and strategically expands and improves the national rail network. The department demands that all rail companies adhere to strict guidelines and empower their employees, and provide them with tools to be secure and productive. This includes participation in the confidential close call reporting system, setting up occupational health and safety committees with full union participation and anti-retaliation protections and providing employees with needed personal protection equipment.
FRA inspectors are on the front lines of enforcement of rail safety regulations and laws. They perform routine inspections on equipment and investigate complaints from hundreds of people. Anyone who violates rail safety laws may be penalized civilly. The agency's safety inspectors have a broad discretion on whether a particular violation meets the legal definition of a civil penalty-worthy act. The Office of Chief Counsel's safety division also scrutinizes all reports submitted by regional offices to ensure they are legal before assessing penalties. The exercise of this discretion at both the regional and field levels ensures that the time-consuming, costly civil penalty process is used only in those situations which truly warrant the deterrent impact of a civil penalty.
A rail worker must be aware of rules and regulations that govern his actions, and not knowingly violate those rules to commit a civil penalty-worthy offense. However the agency doesn't consider any individual who acts under a directive from a supervisor as having committed an intentional violation. The agency defines "general railroad system" as the whole network that transports passengers and goods between cities and metropolitan areas. A plant railroad's trackage in a steel mill is not considered to be part of the overall transportation system by rail even being physically connected to it.
Regulation
The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for establishing regulations for trains, such as those relating to safety and the movement of hazardous substances. The agency oversees railway finance, including grants and loan to improve service and infrastructure. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies as well as industry to devise strategies to improve the rail system of the United States. This includes ensuring the existing rail infrastructure and services, addressing the need for capacity expansion and expanding the network strategically as well as coordinating the regional and national system's planning and development.
While most of the agency's work is focused on freight transportation, it also handles the transportation of passengers. The agency is aiming to provide more options for passengers and connect people with the places they'd like to travel to. The agency's primary focus is on improving the experience of passengers, enhancing safety of the existing fleet, and ensuring that the rail network is operating efficiently.
Railroads must comply with a number of federal regulations, including the ones pertaining to the size and composition of crews on trains. In recent years, this issue has been a source of contention. Certain states have passed legislation mandating two-person teams on trains. This final rule establishes federally the minimum crew size requirements, ensuring that all railroads follow the same safety standards.
This rule also requires that each 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 to those of a normal two-person crew operation. Additionally, this rule changes the standard of review for a special approval petition from determining whether an operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining whether approving the operation would be as safer or more secure than a two-crewmember operation.
During the time of public comment for this rule, a large number of people expressed their support for a requirement of two people on the crew. A form letter sent by 29 individuals emphasized their concerns that a single crew member would not be as quick to respond to train-related malfunctions or crossing incidents or assist emergency response personnel at a highway rail grade crossing. Commenters noted that human factor are responsible for more than half of all railroad accidents. They believe that a larger crew will ensure the safety of the train as well as its cargo.
Technology
Railroads for passenger and fela federal employers liability Act freight use various technologies to enhance efficiency, add security, improve safety and more. The language used in the rail industry contains a myriad of specific terms and acronyms, however, some of the most notable innovations include machine vision systems, instrumented rail inspection systems, driverless trains rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicles (commonly known as drones).
Technology isn't just about replacing certain jobs. It allows people to perform their jobs better and with greater security. Railroads for passengers use apps on 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 ensure safe affordable, reliable, and secure transportation in the United States, is focused on modernizing the rail infrastructure. This multi-billion-dollar project will see tunnels, bridges, tracks and power systems updated, and stations rebuilt or replace. The FRA's rail improvements program will be greatly extended by the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a major element in this effort. The most 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. But it still needs to be more focused on how its research aids in the department's main strategic goal of ensuring the safe movement of people and goods by rail.
One area where the agency might be able improve its effectiveness is by identifying and assisting the advancement of automated train technology and systems. The Association of American Railroads (AAR), the primary industry association for the freight rail industry, which is focused on research, policy and standard setting and has established an Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations to help create standards within the industry.
FRA will be interested in the group's creation of an automated rail taxonomy, a system of standards to clearly and consistently define different levels of automation that will be applicable to both rail and on-road transit vehicles. The agency would like to know the level of risk the industry perceives with fully automated operation, and if the industry is contemplating any additional safeguards to reduce that risk.
Innovation
Rail companies are adopting technology to increase worker safety, increase efficiency in business processes, and ensure that the cargo they transport reaches its destination in good condition. Examples of this kind of technological advancement range from the use of sensors and cameras to keep track of freight, and to new railcar designs that keep dangerous cargo safe during transit. Certain of these technologies enable railroads to dispatch emergency responders directly to the scene of an accident to minimize risk and minimize damage to people and property.
Positive Train Control (PTC) is one of the most important innovations in rail. It will stop train-to-train accidents, instances where trains are on track they shouldn't, and other incidents caused by human error. This system is a three-part system comprised of locomotives onboard that track the train and wayside networks that connect with the locomotive, and a huge backend server that gathers and analyzes data.
Railroads that transport passengers are also embracing technology to bolster safety and security. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with the use of drones to assist passenger security personnel in locating passengers and other items onboard trains in the event in the event of an emergency. The company is also exploring other possibilities to utilize drones, including deploying them to perform inspections of bridges as well as other infrastructure, for example, replacing the lights on railway towers, which can be dangerous for workers to climb.
Other technologies that can be utilized for passenger railroads include smart track technology, which is able to detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and send an alert to drivers when it's unsafe to travel. These technologies are particularly useful in detecting crossings that are not authorized or other issues in the evenings when traffic is less and there are fewer witnesses to an accident.
Another important technological breakthrough in the rail industry is telematics which allows railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to view a traincar's status and condition by real-time tracking. These capabilities give railcar owners and crews greater control and visibility. They can also assist them in improving efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance, and prevent delays in the delivery of freight to customers.