• 목록
• 답변
• 글쓰기
• 게시판 리스트 옵션
  • 수정
  • 삭제

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 process. This discretion helps to ensure that the most serious violations are punished.

SMART-TD and its allies created history by 2024 when they convinced the FRA that two persons should be in the locomotive cabs of freight trains. The fight continues.

Safety

The federal employers’ liability act Railroad Administration implements a variety of safety measures to ensure the health of employees as well as the public. It develops and enforces regulations for rail safety, administers rail funding and researches strategies for improving rail and technologies. It also develops and implements a plan to maintain current infrastructure, services, and capacity and strategically expands and improves the nation's rail network. The department demands that all rail companies adhere to strict rules that empower their employees and provide them with the tools to ensure their safety and success. This includes taking part in a confidential close-call reporting system, setting up labor-management occupational safety and health committees with full union participation and antiretaliation provisions and providing employees with the required personal protective gear.

Inspectors of the FRA are at the forefront of enforcing rail safety regulations and laws. They conduct routine inspections on equipment and conduct investigations into hundreds of complaints. Civil penalties may be applied to those who break rail safety laws. Safety inspectors from the agency have a broad discretion on whether an incident falls within the legal definition of a crime that is punishable by civil penalties. The Office of Chief Counsel’s safety division also examines all reports submitted by regional offices to ensure they are legal prior to imposing penalties. The exercise of this discretion at the regional and field levels helps ensure that the time-consuming, costly civil penalty process is used only in situations that are truly deserving of the impact of a civil penalty.

A rail worker must be aware of the rules and regulations that govern his actions, and not knowingly violate those standards to be guilty of a civil penalty-worthy offence. However, the agency does not consider any individual who follows a directive by a supervisor as having committed an intentional violation. The agency defines the "general railroad system of transportation" as the whole network that passengers and goods travel within metropolitan and city areas and between them. The trackage of a plant railroad in the steel mill is not considered to be part of the general rail transportation system, even though it's physically connected.

Regulation

The Federal Railroad Administration sets train regulations, ranging from those related to safety and the movement of hazardous materials. The agency is responsible for managing rail finance, which includes grants and loan for service and infrastructure improvement. The agency collaborates with other DOT agencies as well as industry to develop strategies for improving the nation's rail infrastructure. This includes ensuring the current rail infrastructure and services, responding to the demands for additional capacity, expanding the network strategically, as well as coordinating the regional and national system's development and planning.

Although the majority of the agency's work is focused on freight transportation, it also manages the transportation of passengers. The agency aims to connect people to destinations they desire and offer more alternatives for travel. The agency's primary focus is on enhancing the experience for passengers, enhancing safety of the existing fleet, and ensuring that the rail network continues operating efficiently.

Railroads must adhere to a number of federal regulations, relating to the size of the crews on trains. In recent times, this issue has become controversial. Some states have passed legislation mandating two-person teams on trains. This final rule outlines the minimum crew size requirements at an international level, and ensures that all railroads are subject to the same safety standards.

This rule also requires each railroad that has a single-person train crew to inform FRA of the operation and submit an assessment of risk. This will allow FRA to evaluate the characteristics of each operation to the standard 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 if approving the operation is safe or safer than an operation with two crew members.

During the time of public comment on this rule, a number of people voted for a requirement of a two person crew. A letter written by 29 people expressed their concern that a lone crewmember could not be as quick to respond to train-related malfunctions or crossing incidents or assist emergency response personnel at a highway rail grade crossing. Commenters emphasized that human factors are responsible for a majority of railroad accidents. They believe that a bigger crew could ensure the security of the train and its cargo.

Technology

Railroads that transport passengers and freight employ a wide array of technologies to enhance efficiency, increase safety, boost security and much more. Rail industry jargon covers a variety of 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 train rolling data centers and unmanned aerial vehicle (also known as drones).

Technology isn't merely replacing jobs; it's helping people to do their job better and safer. Passenger railroads are using smartphone apps and contactless fare payment cards in order to boost ridership and improve the efficiency of the system. Other innovations, like autonomous rail vehicles, are inching closer to becoming a reality.

The Federal Railroad Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to ensure safe, reliable, and affordable transportation in America is focusing on modernizing the railway infrastructure. This is a multi-billion dollars initiative that will see bridges and tunnels repaired as well as tracks and power systems upgraded, and stations reconstructed or upgraded. The FRA's rail improvements program will be substantially increased by the recently approved bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

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 was successful in engaging, maintaining communication with inputs from a broad range of stakeholders. However, it needs to focus more on how its research contributes to the department's primary strategic goal of ensuring safe transportation of goods and people via rail.

The agency could improve its efficiency by identifying and implementing automated train systems and technologies. The Association of American Railroads (AAR), the primary industry association for the freight rail industry, which is focused on research, policy and standard setting, established a Technical Advisory Group for Autonomous Train Operations in order to help develop standards within the industry.

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 would be applicable to both rail and on-road transit vehicles. The agency will need to know the amount of risk that the industry sees in fully automated operation, as well as whether the industry is considering any additional safeguards to minimize the risk.

Innovation

Rail companies are embracing technology to enhance worker safety, boost efficiency in business processes and ensure that the cargo they transport reaches its destination in good condition. These innovations include cameras and sensors that monitor freight to innovative railcar designs which keep hazardous cargo safe during transport. Certain of these technologies provide a way for railroads to dispatch emergency personnel to locations of accidents so they can swiftly reduce damage and reduce the risk to people and property.

Positive Train Control (PTC) is one of the most important innovations in rail. It is designed to stop train-to-train accidents, instances where trains are on track they shouldn't and other accidents caused by human errors. This system is made up of three components of onboard locomotive systems that track the train; wayside networks which communicate with the locomotive; and a massive server that gathers and analyzes data.

Passenger railroads also embrace technology to increase security and fela Lawyers safety. For instance, Amtrak is experimenting with drones to assist passenger security staff in locating passengers and items on board trains in the event in an emergency. The company is also exploring ways to utilize drones. They could be used to examine bridges and other infrastructure, or to replace the lighting on railway towers, which are dangerous for workers to climb.

Other technologies that could be utilized for passenger railroads include smart track technology, which can detect the presence of objects or people on the tracks and send an alert to drivers when it's unsafe to proceed. These technologies are especially effective in detecting unsafe crossings or other issues in the evenings when traffic is less and there are fewer witnesses to an accident.

Another important technological advancement in the rail industry is telematics which enables railroads, shippers and other stakeholders to monitor a traincar's status and condition by real-time tracking. Railcar operators and crews will benefit from increased accountability and visibility, which will help them to improve efficiency, avoid unnecessary maintenance and avoid delays when delivering freight.