5 Killer Quora Answers On Federal Railroad
The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology
The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces safety regulations for rail, provides rail funding and researches rail improvement strategies.
FRA field inspectors use discretion to determine which cases merit the precise and lengthy civil penalty process. This allows them to ensure that the most serious violations are penalized.
Allies and members of SMART-TD made history in 2024 when they began pushing the FRA to keep two people in the locomotive cab of freight trains. The fight continues.
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 creating and enforcing rail safety regulations. It also oversees rail funding and conducts research on improvements to rail strategies and technological developments. It also develops, implements and maintains an action plan to maintain the current infrastructure and services for rail. It also develops and improves the national rail network. The department expects all railroad employers to abide by strict rules and regulations, empower their workers and provide them with the tools to succeed and stay safe. This includes participation in the confidential close call reporting system, establishing occupational health and safety committees that have full participation from unions and anti-retaliation safeguards, and providing employees with the necessary personal safety equipment.
FRA inspectors are on the front lines of enforcement of the rail safety regulations and laws. They conduct routine inspections of equipment and conduct investigations into hundreds of complaints. Civil penalties may be handed out to those who violate railroad safety laws. The agency's safety inspectors have broad discretion over whether a particular violation meets the statutory description of a criminal penalty-worthy act. The Office of Chief Counsel’s safety division also scrutinizes the 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 effect of a civil fine.
To be considered guilty of a civil offense an employee of a railroad must know the rules and regulations that govern the conduct of his or her employees. They must also knowingly disregard these standards. The agency does not consider that an individual who acts in response to a supervisor's direction has committed a willful offense. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the entire system that allows passengers and goods to travel within metropolitan and city areas and between them. The trackage of a plant railroad within the steel mill is not considered to be part of the overall rail transportation system, despite the fact that it's physically connected.
Regulation
The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, including those related to safety and movement of hazardous materials. The agency also oversees rail financing which includes loans and grants for infrastructure and improvements to service. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies and industry to devise strategies for improving the nation's rail infrastructure. This includes ensuring the current rail infrastructure and services, addressing the need for additional capacity and expanding the network strategically, and coordinating regional and national system's planning and development.
The agency is responsible for freight transportation but also manages passenger transportation. The agency is trying to connect people to the destinations they desire and offer more alternatives for travel. The agency is focused primarily on improving the passenger's experience and enhancing the safety of the existing fleet and ensuring the rail network is operating efficiently.
Railroads must comply with a range of federal regulations, including the ones pertaining to the size and composition of crews on trains. This is a controversial one in recent years, with several states passing legislation that requires two-person crews on trains. This final rule defines federally the minimum size crew requirements, ensuring that all railroads adhere to the same safety standards.
This rule also requires that each railroad operating a one-person crew notify FRA and submit a risk analysis. This will allow FRA to better identify the specifics of each operation and compare them to the parameters of a typical two-person crew operation. Additionally, this rule changes the standard of review for an approval petition that is based on determining whether the operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining whether approving the operation is safe or safer than an operation with two crew members.
During the time of public comment on this rule, a large number of people voiced their support for a requirement for a two person crew. In a formal letter 29 people voiced their concern that a single crew member would not be able to respond in a timely manner to train malfunctions or incidents at grade crossings or assist emergency personnel on an elevated highway crossing. Commenters noted that human factor are responsible for a majority of railroad accidents. They believe that a bigger crew could ensure the security of the train and its cargo.
Technology
Freight and passenger rails employ various technologies to improve efficiency, enhance security, and increase safety. Rail industry jargon includes many unique terms and acronyms. Some of the most well-known include machine vision systems (also known as drones), instrumented rail-inspection systems, driverless train, rolling data centers, and unmanned aerial vehicles (also called drones).
Technology isn't just about replacing certain jobs. It empowers people to perform their jobs more effectively and more safely. Railroads for passengers use apps on smartphones and contactless fare cards in order to increase ridership and improve the efficiency of their system. Other innovations like autonomous rail cars are coming closer to becoming reality.
As part of its ongoing efforts to advance secure, reliable and affordable transportation options for the country, the federal employers liability Railroad Administration is focused on modernizing its rail infrastructure. This multi-billion-dollar project will see tunnels, bridges, tracks and power systems upgraded and stations being rebuilt or replaced. The FRA's rail improvements program will be greatly increased by the recently approved bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is an essential component in this initiative. The most recent National Academies review of the office revealed that it was successful in engaging, maintaining communication and using inputs from a variety of stakeholders. It is still required to focus on how its research contributes to the department's primary goal of ensuring safe movement of people and goods by rail.
One area in which the agency might be able to increase its effectiveness is in identifying and supporting the advancement of automated train technology and systems. The Association of American Railroads (AAR), the primary industry association for the freight rail industry that is focused on research, policy and standard setting and has established a Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations in order to help develop standards within the industry.
FRA will be interested in the creation of an automated rail taxonomy, which is a system of standards to clearly and consistently define different levels of automation that would be applicable to both on-road and rail transit vehicles. The agency will also want to understand the level of safety risk that the industry believes is associated with the introduction of fully automated operation and whether or not the industry is considering additional safeguards to mitigate that risk.
Innovation
Rail companies are adopting new technologies to enhance worker safety, increase efficiency in business processes and ensure that the freight they transport reaches its destination intact. These innovations vary from cameras and sensors that monitor freight to innovative railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo safe during transit. Some of these technologies even provide a way for railroads to send emergency response personnel to the scene of an accident so they can swiftly reduce risks to people and property.
One of the most prominent innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC) that will stop train-to-train collisions, situations where trains are on tracks they shouldn't be and other accidents that are caused by human mistakes. It is a three-part process consisting of locomotives onboard that track the train and wayside networks that connect with the locomotive and a massive backend server that collects and analyzes data.
Trains for passengers also adopt technology to increase security and safety. Amtrak, for example, is experimenting with drones in order to help train security staff locate passengers and items in an emergency. The company is also exploring different ways to use drones, for instance, using drones to conduct inspections of bridges as well as other infrastructure, fela Lawyers like replacing the lighting on railway towers, which could be hazardous for workers to climb.
Other technologies that can be used for railways for passengers include smart track technology, which can detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and issue a warning to drivers if it's unsafe for them to proceed. These technologies are particularly useful for detecting unauthorized crossings or other issues during the evenings when the traffic is lower and there are less witnesses to an accident.
Another important technological breakthrough in the railway industry is telematics which enables railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to view the condition and status of a traincar through real-time tracking. These capabilities provide railcar operators and crews greater accountability and transparency and help them improve efficiency, prevent unnecessary maintenance and reduce delays in the delivery of freight to customers.