10 Things Everybody Hates About Federal Railroad
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The Federal Railroad Administration creates and enforces safety regulations for rail It also provides rail funding and researches rail improvement strategies.
FRA inspectors on the ground make use of discretion to decide which cases merit the lengthy and precise civil penalty process. This discretion helps to ensure that the most serious violations are punished.
Members of SMART-TD and their allies made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to ensure that two people are in the cabs of locomotives of freight trains. The fight isn't over.
Safety
The Federal Railroad Administration has a range of safety measures in place to safeguard the health and safety of its employees and the general public. It is responsible for developing and enforcing safety regulations for rail. It also administers rail funding and studies rail improvement strategies and technological developments. It also creates plans, implements and maintains a plan for maintaining current rail services and infrastructure. It also expands and improves strategically the rail network across the nation. The department requires that all rail operators adhere to strict guidelines that empower their employees and provide them with tools to be safe and successful. This includes taking part in a confidential close-call reporting system, establishing labor-management occupational safety and health committees that have full union participation and antiretaliation provisions and providing employees with the required personal protective gear.
Inspectors of the FRA are at the leading edge of enforcing rail safety laws and regulations. They conduct regular inspections of equipment and conduct a multitude of investigations into complaints of noncompliance. Civil penalties may be handed out to those who violate the rail safety laws. The safety inspectors of the agency have a broad discretion on whether a particular violation meets the legal definition of a crime that is punishable by civil penalties. In addition, the Office of Chief Counsel's security division reviews all reports received by regional offices to determine legal sufficiency before assessing penalties. This discretion is exercised at the regional and field levels to ensure that civil penalties are only used when they are necessary.
A rail employee must be aware of rules and regulations that govern their actions and be aware of the rules to be guilty of a civil penalty-worthy offence. However the agency does not take any person who acts under a directive by a supervisor as having committed a willful violation. The agency defines "general railroad system" as the entire network that carries goods and passengers between cities and metropolitan areas. The trackage of a plant railroad in the steel mill is not considered to be part of the overall rail transportation system, even though it is physically connected.
Regulation
The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, including those pertaining to safety and movement of hazardous materials. 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 for improving the nation's railroad system. This includes maintaining current rail services and infrastructure and addressing the need for new capacity, strategically expanding the network, and coordinating regional and national systems planning and development.
The agency is responsible for freight transport, but also manages passenger transportation. The agency is working to connect people to places they want and provide more choices for travel. The agency is focused on improving the passenger experience, enhancing the safety of the current fleet, and ensuring that the railway system continues to function efficiently.
Railroads are required to comply with a variety of federal regulations, including those relating to the size and composition of the train crews. In recent times the issue has become a source of controversy. Some states have passed legislation requiring two-person crews in trains. This final rule defines federally the minimum crew size requirements, making sure that all railroads adhere to the same safety standards.
This rule also requires each railroad that has a one-person train crew to notify FRA of the operation and submit an assessment of risk. This will allow FRA to better identify the specific parameters of each operation and compare them to the normal two-person crew operation. Additionally, this rule changes the review standard for the special approval petition from to determining whether an operation is "consistent with railroad safety" to determining whether approving the operation would be as safe or safer than an operation with two crew members.
During the period of public comment for this rule, a number of people expressed their support for a requirement of two persons on the crew. A letter from 29 people outlined their concerns that a lone crewmember could not be as quick to respond to train malfunctions or grade crossing incidents or assist emergency responders at a highway-rail grade crossing. The commenters emphasized that human factors account for more than half railroad accidents and think that a bigger crew would help ensure the safety of both the train and its cargo.
Technology
Freight and passenger railroads employ a wide array of technologies to increase efficiency, add safety, boost security and more. Rail industry jargon covers many specific terms and acronyms. Some of the most notable include machine vision systems (also known as drones) and rail-inspection systems that are instrumented driverless trains, rolling data centers, and unmanned aerial vehicle (also known as 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 to increase ridership and improve the efficiency of their system. Other developments, like autonomous rail vehicles, are moving closer to becoming a reality.
As part of 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 tunnels, bridges, tracks and power systems upgraded and stations rebuilt or replace. The recently passed bipartisan infrastructure law will significantly increase the agency's rail improvement programs.
The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is a crucial part of this initiative. The National Academies' recent review of the office concluded that it excelled at keeping in touch using inputs from a broad range of stakeholders. But it still needs to concentrate on how its research aids in the department's main strategic goal of ensuring the safe transportation of goods and people by railway.
One area in which the agency might be able to increase 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 that is focused on research and policy, as well as standard setting, established a Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations to assist in helping develop standards within the industry.
FRA is interested in the group's development of an automated rail taxonomy, a standard that will clearly and consistently define different levels of automation that would be applicable to both on-road and rail transit vehicles. The agency will also need to know the level of risk to safety that the industry sees with implementing fully automated operation and whether or not the industry is considering additional safeguards to mitigate that risk.
Innovation
Rail companies are embracing technology to enhance worker safety, improve efficiency in business processes, and ensure that the cargo they transport is delivered in good condition. Examples of such innovations include the use of sensors and cameras to track freight, to the latest railcar designs that keep dangerous cargo safe during transport. Certain of these technologies allow railroads dispatch emergency personnel directly to sites of accidents to reduce the risk and minimize damage to property and people.
One of the most well-known 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 errors. The system is a three-part process consisting of locomotives onboard that track the train and wayside networks that connect with the locomotive and an enormous backend server that analyzes and collects data.
Trains for passengers also adopt technology to enhance safety and security. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with the use of drones to assist security personnel in finding passengers and other items onboard trains in the event of an emergency. Amtrak is also looking into ways to utilize drones. They could be used to inspect bridges and other infrastructure, or to replace the lights on railway towers that are hazardous for workers to climb.
Smart track technology is another technology that can be used in railways that transport passengers. It is able to detect people or objects on tracks and notify motorists that it is not safe to continue. These technologies are especially useful in detecting crossings that are not authorized or other issues during the evenings when traffic is less and there are fewer witnesses to an accident.
Another important technological advancement in the railway industry is telematics which allows shippers, railroads and other stakeholders to monitor the condition and status of a traincar through real-time tracking. Railcar operators and crews can benefit from greater accountability and transparency which will allow them to increase efficiency and avoid unnecessary maintenance. It will also help delay in the delivery of freight.