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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 inspectors on the ground employ discretion to decide which cases merit the lengthy and precise civil penalty procedure. This discretion helps ensure that those violations most deserving of punishment are penalized. Members of SMART-TD and their allies have made history in 2024 by pushing the FRA to allow two people in the locomotive cab of freight trains. The fight is not over. Safety The Federal Railroad Administration has a variety of safety measures in place to ensure the health and safety of employees as well as the general public. It formulates and enforces rail safety regulations as well as manages funding for rail and researches strategies for improving rail and technology. It also creates plans, implements and maintains a plan for maintaining current rail services and infrastructure. It also expands and improves strategically the national rail network. The department demands that all rail operators adhere to strict regulations, empower their employees and provide them with tools to be safe and successful. This includes participation in the secure close call reporting system, establishing occupational health and safety committees with full participation from unions and anti-retaliation safeguards, and providing employees with personal protective equipment. FRA inspectors are at the forefront of enforcement of rail safety laws and regulations. They conduct routine inspections on equipment and investigate complaints from hundreds of people. Civil penalties can be applied to those who break railroad safety laws. The safety inspectors of the agency have broad discretion over whether an incident falls within the statutory definition of a crime that is punishable by civil penalties. Additionally the Office of Chief Counsel's safety division reviews all reports that are received by regional offices to determine legal sufficiency before assessing penalties. This discretion is exercised at the field and regional levels to ensure that civil penalties are only used in situations that warrant them. Rail employees must be aware of rules and regulations that govern their actions and be aware of the standards to commit a criminal offense that is punishable by a civil penalty. The agency does not believe that a person who acts in response to a supervisor's direction has committed a willful offence. The agency defines the “general railroad system of transportation” as the whole network 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 general rail transportation system, despite the fact that it is physically connected. Regulation The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, including those pertaining to safety and the movement of hazardous materials. The agency manages rail finance, including loans and grants for infrastructure and service improvement. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies and with industry to develop strategies for improving the country's railroad system. This work includes maintaining current rail services and infrastructure, making sure that there is enough capacity and strategically expanding the network, as well as coordinating regional and national systems planning and development. While the majority of the agency's work focuses on freight transportation, it also handles passenger transportation. The agency is working to connect people to the places they want and provide more choices for travel. The agency is focused primarily on enhancing the experience for passengers, enhancing safety of the existing fleet, and ensuring that the rail system continues to operate efficiently. Railroads are required to abide with a variety of federal regulations, including the ones pertaining to the size and composition of train crews. In recent times the issue has become controversial. Certain states have passed legislation that requires two-person crews on trains. This final rule defines federally the minimum crew size requirements, making sure that all railroads follow the same safety standards. This law also requires that each railroad operating with a crew of one notify FRA and submit a risk analysis. This will allow FRA to better identify the specifics of each operation and compare them to those of a typical two-person crew operation. Additionally this rule will change the standard of review for the special approval petition from to determining whether an operation is “consistent with railroad safety” to determining whether the operation is safer or more secure than a two-crewmember operation. During the period of public comments for this rule, a lot of people expressed their support for a requirement of two persons on the crew. In a form letter, 29 people expressed their concern that a single member of the crew is not capable of responding in a timely manner to incidents or train malfunctions at grade crossings or assist emergency response personnel on an elevated highway crossing. The commenters noted that human factors are responsible for more than half of all railroad accidents and believe that a larger crew would help ensure the safety of both the train and the cargo it transports. Technology Freight and passenger railroads employ numerous technologies to improve efficiency, increase security, improve safety and much more. Rail industry jargon covers many unique terms and acronyms. Some of the most prominent include machine vision systems (also known as drones) instruments for rail-inspection systems, driverless train rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicles (also called drones). Technology doesn't just replace some jobs. It helps people perform their jobs more effectively and safer. Passenger railroads are using smartphones apps and contactless fare payment cards to improve ridership and improve the efficiency of the system. Other developments, like autonomous rail vehicles, are moving closer to becoming a reality. As fela law firm of its ongoing effort to advance secure, reliable and affordable transportation for the nation, the Federal Railroad Administration is focused on modernizing its rail infrastructure. This multi-billion-dollar project will see tunnels, bridges tracks, power systems and tracks updated, and stations rebuilt or replace. The recently passed bipartisan infrastructure law will dramatically increase the agency's rail improvement programs. The agency's Office of Research, Development and Technology is a major component of this effort. The National Academies' recent review of the office found that it excelled at engaging, maintaining communications with inputs from a broad range of stakeholders. It must continue to be aware of how its research contributes towards the department's primary goal of ensuring the safety of people and goods by railways. The agency could enhance its effectiveness by identifying and implementing automated train systems and technologies. The Association of American Railroads, the main freight rail industry association that focuses on research, policy and standard-setting and has created a Technical Advisory Group on Autonomous Train Operations to assist in the development of industry standards for implementing the technology. The FRA is interested in the development of a taxonomy to describe automated rail vehicles, a system that defines clearly and consistently the different levels of automation. This would apply to rail transit as well as vehicles on the road. The agency will also need to understand the level of risk to safety that the industry perceives associated with the introduction of fully automated operation and whether the industry is contemplating additional safeguards to mitigate that risk. Innovation Rail companies are adopting technology to increase worker safety, improve efficiency in business processes, and ensure that the freight they transport reaches its destination intact. Examples of this kind of innovation range from the use of cameras and sensors to monitor freight, to new railcar designs that keep dangerous cargo secure during transit. Some of these technologies allow railroads to dispatch emergency personnel directly to sites of accidents to minimize the danger and minimize the damages to property and individuals. One of the most well-known innovations in rail is Positive Train Control (PTC), which will inhibit collisions between trains and train, situations where trains are on tracks where they shouldn't be, as well as other accidents that are caused by human errors. This system is made up of three components of onboard locomotive systems that track the train; wayside networks that communicate with the locomotive and a massive server that gathers and analyzes data. Passenger railroads also embrace technology to increase safety and security. Amtrak for instance, is experimenting with the use of drones in order to help train security staff find passengers and other items in the event of an emergency. Amtrak is also investigating other possibilities to utilize drones, for instance, using them to perform inspections of bridges and other infrastructure like replacing the lighting on railway towers that could be hazardous for workers to climb. Smart track technology is another technology that can be utilized in passenger railroads. It is able to detect people or objects on tracks and notify drivers that it is unsafe to continue. These kinds of technologies can be particularly useful in detecting crossings that are not authorized and other issues during times when traffic levels are lower and fewer people are around to witness an accident. Another important technological advancement in the railway industry is telematics which allows shippers, railroads and other stakeholders to see the condition and status of a traincar by real-time tracking. Railcar operators and crews will benefit from increased accountability and visibility which will allow them to improve efficiency and avoid unnecessary maintenance. It will also help avoid delays when delivering freight.