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The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces rail safety regulations It also provides rail funding and conducts research on strategies to improve rail infrastructure FRA field inspectors use discretion to decide which cases are worthy of the precise and lengthy civil penalty process This discretion helps to ensure that the most serious violations are penalized SMARTTD and its allies created history in 2024 when they convinced the FRA that two persons should be allowed to sit in the cabs of freight trains The fight continues Safety The Federal Railroad Administration implements a variety of safety measures to ensure the health of its employees and public It formulates and enforces regulations for rail safety administers rail funding and studies strategies for improving rail infrastructure and technologies It also develops and implements a plan to ensure that current rail services infrastructure and capacity and strategically expands and enhances the national rail network The department requires all rail employers to adhere to strict rules and regulations empower their workers and provide them with tools needed to be successful and safe This includes participating in the confidential close call reporting system setting up occupational health and safety committees with full union participation and antiretaliation safeguards and providing employees with personal protection equipment FRA inspectors are at the forefront of enforcement of rail safety regulations and laws They conduct routine inspections on equipment and investigate hundreds of complaints Civil penalties are applied to those who break rail safety laws Safety inspectors from the agency have a wide decisionmaking power to determine if an act is within the legal definition of an offense that is punishable with civil penalties Additionally the Office of Chief Counsels safety division reviews all reports that are received from regional offices to determine their legality before determining penalties The exercise of this discretion at both the regional and field levels ensures that the exacting timeconsuming civil penalty process is utilized only in cases that are truly deserving of the effect of a civil fine A rail worker must be aware of the rules and regulations that govern his actions and be aware of the standards to commit a criminal offense that is punishable by a civil penalty The agency does not consider that an individual who acts in response to a supervisors direction has committed a willful offence The agency defines the general railroad system of transportation as the entire network over which goods and passengers travel within metropolitan areas or between them The trackage of a plant railroad at a steel mill is not considered to be part of the general transportation system by rail even although it is physically connected to it Regulation The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible to establish regulations for train operations such as those relating to safety and the transportation of hazardous substances The agency is responsible for managing rail finance which includes loans and grants for service and infrastructure improvement The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies and industry to develop strategies to improve the nations railway system This includes ensuring the current rail infrastructure and services making sure that there is enough capacity strategically expanding the network as well as coordinating regional and national systems planning and development fela railroad settlements is mostly responsible for freight transportation but also manages passenger transportation The agency aims to connect people to destinations they desire and offer more alternatives for travel The agency is focused on enhancing the passenger experience improving the safety of the current fleet and ensuring that the railway system continues to function efficiently Railroads are required to comply with a number of federal regulations which include those that deal with the size and composition of train crews In recent years the issue has been a source of contention Certain states have passed legislation mandating twoperson crews in trains This final rule establishes federally the minimum crew size requirements making sure that all railroads adhere to the same safety standards This also requires every railroad that operates oneperson train crews to notify FRA of the operation and submit a risk assessment This will allow FRA to better understand the specific parameters of each operation and compare them with the parameters of a normal twoperson crew operation This rule also changes the standard for reviewing an approval request that is a special case from determining whether an operation is consistent with railroad safety to determining if the operation is safer or safer than twoperson crew operation During the public comment period for this rule a large number of people backed the requirement for a twoperson crew A form letter sent by 29 people expressed their concern that a single crew member would not be as quick to respond to issues with trains or grade crossing incidents or assist emergency response personnel at a highwayrail grade crossing The commenters noted that human factors account for more than half railroad accidents and believe that a larger team would help ensure the safety of both the train and its cargo Technology Freight and passenger railroads employ a wide array of technologies to improve efficiency increase security increase safety and much more Rail industry jargon includes many distinct terms and acronyms Some of the most notable include machine vision systems also known as drones instrumented railinspection systems driverless trains rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicles also known as drones Technology isnt just replacing certain jobs its also empowering people to perform their jobs more efficiently and with greater security Railroads for passengers use apps on smartphones and contactless fare cards to boost passengership and boost the efficiency of their system Other innovations such as autonomous rail cars are moving closer to reality The Federal Railroad Administration as part of its ongoing efforts to ensure secure reliable and affordable transportation in America is focused on modernizing the rail infrastructure This multibilliondollar project will see bridges tunnels tracks power systems and tracks updated and stations renovated or replaced The FRAs rail improvement program will be significantly expanded by the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law The Office of Research Development and Technology of the agency is an essential component in this effort The most recent National Academies review of the office found that it excelled in engaging with maintaining communication and utilizing inputs from a range of stakeholders It is still required to focus on how its research contributes to the departments primary objective of ensuring safe movement of goods and people by railways One area in which the agency might be able to improve its effectiveness is in identifying and assisting the advancement of automated train technology and systems The Association of American Railroads AAR is the main industry association for the freight rail industry that is focused on research policy and standard setting established a Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations in order to help create standards within the industry FRA is likely to be interested in the creation of an automated rail taxonomy a standardization system that can clearly and consistently define different levels of automation that would be applicable to both rail and onroad transit vehicles The agency will want to know the level of risk that the industry is assessing with fully automated operation and whether the industry is considering any additional safeguards to minimize the risk Innovation Railroads are adopting technology to improve worker safety and make business processes more efficient and ensure that the freight they move reaches its destination intact Examples of such technological advancement vary from the use sensors and cameras to track freight to the latest railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo secure during transit Certain of these technologies offer railroads the ability to send emergency response personnel to locations of accidents so they can swiftly reduce damage and minimize risk to property and lives One of the most wellknown innovations in rail is Positive Train Control PTC which will inhibit traintotrain collisions situations where trains are on tracks where they shouldnt be and other accidents that are caused by human error It is a threepart process consisting of onboard locomotive systems that track the train and wayside networks that connect with the locomotive and a huge backend server that gathers and analyzes data Trains for passengers also adopt technology to increase security and safety For instance Amtrak is experimenting with the use of drones to assist passenger security staff in locating passengers and other items onboard trains in the event in an emergency The company is also looking into different ways to use drones including deploying drones to conduct inspections of bridges and other infrastructure such as replacing the lighting on railway towers which can be hazardous for workers to climb Other technologies that can be used for passenger railroads include smart track technology which is able to detect the presence of people or objects on the tracks and send drivers with a warning if its unsafe to travel 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 levels are lower and fewer people are around to witness an accident Telematics is yet another significant technological advance in the rail industry It allows railways shippers and other stakeholders to track a traincar in realtime These capabilities provide railcar operators and crews better control and visibility They can also assist them in improving efficiency prevent unnecessary maintenance and avoid delays in the delivery of freight to customers