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The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for safety regulations for rail and enforcement, rail funding and research on rail improvement strategies. FRA inspectors on the ground use discretion to determine which cases are worthy of the lengthy and precise civil penalty process. This helps ensure that the most serious violations are penalized. 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 is not over. Safety The Federal Railroad Administration has a variety of safety measures in place to protect the safety and health of employees and the public. It develops and enforces rail safety regulations and oversees the funding for rail. It also researches rail improvement strategies and technologies. It also develops, implements and maintains plans for the maintenance of the current rail infrastructure and services. It also expands and improves strategically the rail network across the nation. The department requires all rail companies to adhere to strict rules and regulations, and empower their employees and provide them with tools needed to be successful and secure. This includes taking part in the confidential close call reporting system, setting up labor-management occupational health and safety committees with full participation from unions and anti-retaliation safeguards, and providing employees with the necessary personal safety equipment. FRA inspectors are at the forefront of enforcement of the rail safety regulations and laws. They perform routine inspections on equipment and investigate hundreds of complaints. Civil penalties can be applied to those who break rail safety laws. The agency's safety inspectors have broad discretion over whether an individual violation is in line with the statutory description of a civil penalty-worthy act. The Office of Chief Counsel’s safety division also reviews all reports submitted by regional offices to ensure they are legal prior to imposing penalties. The exercise of this discretion at both the field and regional levels helps ensure that the lengthy, time-consuming civil penalty process is applied only in those situations that are truly deserving of the effect of a civil penalty. To be considered guilty of a civil infringement, a rail employee must know the rules and regulations that govern his or her actions. They must also knowingly disregard these standards. The agency does not consider an individual who acted upon a directive from a supervisor has committed a willful offence. The agency defines “general railroad system” as the whole network that carries goods and passengers within and between metropolitan areas and cities. 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 is responsible for establishing regulations for trains including those related to safety and the transportation of hazardous substances. The agency also manages financing for rail including loans and grants for improvements to infrastructure and service. 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 additional capacity, expanding the network strategically and coordinating the regional and national system development and planning. The agency is responsible for freight transportation, but also manages passenger transportation. The agency is aiming to provide more options for passengers and connect people with the places they'd like to go. fela claims is focused primarily on enhancing the experience for passengers as well as enhancing the safety of its current fleet, and making sure that the rail system continues to operate efficiently. Railroads must adhere to a number of federal regulations, including those pertaining to the size of the crews on trains. In recent times this issue has become controversial. Certain states have passed legislation that requires two-person crews in trains. This final rule codifies the minimum requirements for crew size at the federal level, making sure that all railroads are subject to consistent safety standards. This rule also requires each railroad that has one-person train crews to inform FRA of the operation and submit a risk assessment. This will allow FRA to assess the requirements of each operation to the parameters of a standard two-person crew operation. This rule also changes the review standard of an approval request that is a special case from determining if an operation is “consistent” with railroad safety standards to determining whether the operation is as safe or less risky than a two-person crew operations. During the period of public comment on this rule, a large number of people expressed their support for a requirement for two people on the crew. A letter from 29 people expressed their concern that a lone crewmember could not be as quick to respond to issues with trains or grade crossing incidents or assist emergency response personnel at a highway-rail grade crossing. The commenters noted that human factors account for more than half of railroad accidents and believe that a larger team will ensure the safety of both the train and its cargo. Technology Railroads that transport passengers and freight employ a wide array of technologies to increase efficiency, increase safety, boost security and much more. The language used in the rail industry includes many distinct terms and acronyms but 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 known as drones). Technology doesn't just replace some jobs. It allows people to do their jobs better and with greater security. Railroads that transport passengers use smartphones and contactless fare cards in order to increase ridership and increase the efficiency of their system. Other innovations, like autonomous rail vehicles, are moving closer to reality. The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to improve secure affordable, reliable, and secure transportation in the United States is focusing on modernizing the rail infrastructure. This is a multi-billion dollars effort that will see tunnels and bridges restored tracks, power systems and tracks upgraded, and stations rebuilt or upgraded. The FRA's rail improvements program will be substantially extended by the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is a key element in this effort. The National Academies' recent review of the office concluded that it excelled in engaging, maintaining communications with inputs from a broad range of stakeholders. But it still needs to be more focused on how its research aids in the department's main strategic goal of ensuring safe movement of people and goods by railway. The agency could improve its efficiency by identifying and implementing automated train systems and technology. The Association of American Railroads, the main freight rail industry business organization that is focused on research, policy, and standard-setting and has created a Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help develop industry standards for the implementation of the technology. The FRA is interested in the development of a taxonomy to describe automated rail vehicles, a system that defines clearly and consistently different levels of automation. This could be applicable to both rail transit and on-road vehicles. The agency will need to know the level of risk that the industry perceives with fully automated operation, and whether the industry is contemplating any additional safeguards to reduce the risk. Innovation Railroads are embracing technology to boost worker safety, make business processes more efficient and help ensure that the freight it transports arrives at its destination safely. These innovations include cameras and sensors that monitor freight to innovative railcar designs which keep hazardous cargo safe during transportation. Some of these technologies allow railroads to send emergency response personnel to the scene of an accident so they can swiftly mitigate damage and minimize risk to property and people. 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 that shouldn't be, and other accidents resulting from human errors. It 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. Railroads that transport passengers are also embracing technology to improve security and safety. Amtrak, for example, is experimenting with drones in order to help security personnel on trains locate passengers and other items in an emergency. Amtrak is also investigating other ways to use drones, such as using them to perform inspections of bridges and other infrastructure such as replacing the lights on railway towers, which can be dangerous for workers to climb. Other technologies that could be utilized for railways for passengers include smart track technology, which is able to detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and issue 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 during the evenings when the traffic is lower and there are less witnesses to an accident. Another important technological breakthrough in the rail industry is telematics, which allows railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to monitor a traincar's status and condition through real-time tracking. Traincar crews and operators can benefit from increased accountability and visibility which can help them increase efficiency and avoid unnecessary maintenance. It will also help delay in the delivery of freight.