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The Federal Railroad Administration and Technology 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 employ discretion to determine which cases are worthy of the time-consuming and precise civil penalty procedure. This helps ensure that the most serious violations are penalized. SMART-TD members and allies have made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to ensure that two people are in the locomotive cab of freight trains. The fight isn't over. Safety The Federal Railroad Administration has a range of safety measures in place to ensure the health and safety of employees as well as the general public. It is responsible for developing and enforcing regulations for rail safety. It also oversees rail funding and studies rail improvement strategies and technological developments. It also develops and implements a strategy to maintain current infrastructure, services, and capacity and strategically expands and improves the national rail network. The department demands that all rail operators adhere to strict rules and empower their employees, and provide them with the tools to be secure and productive. This includes taking part in an anonymous close-call reporting system, establishing labor-management occupational safety and health committees, with full union participation and antiretaliation provisions and giving employees the necessary personal protective gear. Inspectors of the FRA are at the forefront of enforcing safety on rail laws and regulations. They conduct regular inspections of equipment and conduct a multitude of investigations of complaints of noncompliance. Anyone who violates the rail safety laws could be punished with civil penalties. Safety inspectors from the agency have a broad discretion to determine if an act is within the definition provided by law of an act punishable by civil penalties. The Office of Chief Counsel’s safety division also reviews all reports that regional offices submit to ensure they are legal prior to imposing penalties. The exercise of this discretion at both the regional and field levels ensures that the exacting, time-consuming civil penalty process is utilized only in cases that truly warrant the deterrent effect of a civil penalty. Rail employees must be aware of the rules and regulations that govern their actions, and not knowingly violate those guidelines to commit a criminal offense that is punishable by a civil penalty. The agency does not consider an individual who acted on a supervisor's directive has committed a willful offence. The agency defines “general railroad system” as the entire network that carries goods and passengers within and between cities and metropolitan areas. A plant railroad's trackage in a steel mill is not considered to be part of the general transportation system that trains even although it is physically connected to it. Regulation The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for establishing train regulations that pertain to safety and the movement of dangerous substances. The agency manages rail finance, including grants and loan for infrastructure and service improvement. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies as well as industry to devise strategies to improve the nation's rail infrastructure. This includes maintaining current rail services and infrastructure, in addition to addressing the need for additional capacity strategically expanding the network, and coordinating national and regional systems planning and development. While the majority of the agency's work is focused on freight transportation, it also oversees passenger transportation. The agency is working to connect people to destinations they desire and offer more choices for travel. The agency's primary focus is on improving the passenger's experience as well as enhancing the safety of its current fleet, and making sure that the rail network is operating efficiently. Railroads are required to comply with a number of federal regulations, including those relating to the size and composition of train crews. This issue has become controversial in recent years, with several states enacting legislation that requires two-person crews on trains. This final rule codifies the minimum requirements for crew size at a federal level, ensuring that all railroads are subject to the same safety standards. This law also requires that each railroad operating a one-person crew notify FRA and submit a risk analysis. This will allow FRA to evaluate the characteristics of each operation to those of a two-person standard crew operation. This rule also alters the review standard of an application for special approval to determine if an operation is “consistent” with railroad safety standards to determining whether the operation is safer or less risky than a two-person crew operations. During the public comment period on this rule, many people supported the requirement for a two-person crew. A form letter sent by 29 people outlined their concerns that a single crew member might 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 are responsible for more than half of railroad accidents, and they believe that a larger crew will ensure the safety of the train and the cargo it transports. fela claims railroad employees that transport passengers and freight employ a wide array of technologies to enhance efficiency, improve security, improve safety and much more. The language used in the rail industry includes a variety of unique terms and acronyms, but some of the more notable developments include machine vision systems, instrumentsed rail inspection systems, driverless trains rolling data centers, and unmanned aerial vehicles (commonly known as drones). Technology isn't merely replacing jobs; it's helping people to perform their jobs more efficiently and with greater security. Passenger railroads are using smartphones and contactless fare payment cards to increase ridership and make the system more efficient. Other innovations, such as autonomous rail vehicles, are moving closer to becoming reality. The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to ensure safe affordable, reliable, and secure transportation in America, is focused on modernizing the railway infrastructure. This multi-billion-dollar project will see bridges, tunnels tracks, power systems, and tracks updated, and stations being rebuilt or replaced. FRA's recently enacted bipartisan infrastructure law will significantly increase the agency's rail improvement programs. The Office of Research, Development and Technology of the agency is an essential element 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. However, it needs to be more focused on how its research helps the department achieve its primary objective of ensuring the safe movement of people and goods by railway. One area where the agency may be able to increase its effectiveness is in identifying and assisting the advancement of automated train systems and technologies. The Association of American Railroads, the freight rail industry's primary industry organization that focuses on research, policy, and standardization, has established a Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to help develop industry standards to implement the technology. FRA is likely to be interested in the group's creation of an automated rail taxonomy, a standard that will clearly and consistently define the different levels of automation that will be applicable to both on-road and rail transit vehicles. The agency will also want to know the degree of risk to safety that the industry believes is associated with implementing fully automated operation and whether the industry is considering adding additional safeguards to mitigate that risk. Innovation Rail companies are embracing technology to increase worker safety, increase efficiency in business processes, and ensure that the freight they transport is delivered in good condition. These innovations include cameras and sensors that monitor freight to new railcar designs that keep hazardous cargo safe during transport. Certain of these technologies allow railroads dispatch emergency personnel directly to accident sites to minimize the risk and damage to people and property. One of the most prominent innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC) that will stop collisions between trains and train, situations where trains are on tracks that shouldn't be, as well as other accidents resulting from human mistakes. The system is a three-part process consisting of locomotives onboard that track the train, wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive and a huge backend server that collects and analyzes data. Trains for passengers also adopt technology to enhance safety and security. Amtrak, for example, is experimenting with the use of drones to help train security staff locate passengers and items in the event of an emergency. Amtrak is also looking into ways to use drones. They could be used to inspect bridges and other infrastructures or to replace the lights on railway towers that are hazardous for workers to climb. Other technologies that can 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 for them to proceed. These technologies are particularly useful in detecting crossings that are not authorized or other issues during the evenings, when traffic is low and there are fewer witnesses to an accident. Telematics is yet another significant technological advance in the railway industry. It allows railways, shippers and other stakeholders to follow a traincar's progress in real-time. These capabilities give railcar owners and crews better accountability and visibility and can assist them in improving efficiency, prevent unnecessary maintenance, and prevent delays in delivering freight to customers.