How does a person become qualified to inspect railroad track? 
Railroads are required to comply with the federal Track Safety Standards (TSS, 49 CFR Part 213) and must designate qualified persons to supervise certain renewals and inspect track. Employees who inspect track are required to have the minimum experience and/or training specified in the TSS. Railroads also are required to maintain records of the employees qualified under the TSS. FRA does not have a track inspection "certification" process for individuals, but they must be qualified by railroads under the specific requirements of Section 213.7 or Section 213.305.
 

Does FRA regulate the speed of trains? 

The TSS establish track structure and track geometry requirements for nine separate classes of track (Section 213.9 and Section 213.307) with maximum speeds designated for each class. Railroads indicate the class to which each track belongs. Once the designation is made, the railroads are held responsible for maintaining each track to specified tolerances for its designated class. A railroad becomes liable for civil penalties if it fails to maintain a track to proper standards or if it operates trains at speeds in excess of the limits of the designated class.

Does FRA regulate the speed of trains at highway-rail grade crossings?

The TSS do not provide for establishing different speeds through grade crossings or urban settings. This omission is intentional. Locally established speed limits can result in hundreds of individual speed restrictions along a train’s route. This would not only cause train delays, but it could increase safety hazards. The safest train maintains a steady speed. Every time a train must slow down and then increase speed, safety hazards are introduced. For example, “buff” and “draft” forces (those generated when individual freight cars are compressed together or stretched out along a train’s length) are increased when a train slows down or speeds up. This, in turn, increases the chance of derailment with its attendant risk of injury to employees, the traveling public, and surrounding communities. The danger inherent in grade crossings is a separate issue from train speed. Stated simply, the physical properties of a train moving at almost any reasonable operating speed would likely prevent it from stopping in time to avoid hitting an object on the tracks. There is little evidence that reductions in train speeds will reduce risk that an accident will occur. Prevention of grade crossing accidents is more effectively achieved through the use of adequate crossing warning devices and through observance by the driving public of crossing restrictions and precautions.

What are a railroad’s options regarding FRA-type track defects? 
Railroads are required to comply with class of track by making sure the conditions are acceptable for the speeds they desire to operate. If a track does not meet the intended class, a railroad has three basic options: 1) repair the defect; 2) slow the trains to the next lowest class that meets the threshold of the condition; or 3) remove the track from operation. 
 

Are railroad tracks inside industrial plants subject to the federal TSS? 
Section 213.3 specifically excludes track “located inside an installation which is not part of the general railroad system of transportation.” However, this section must be read in conjunction with 49 CFR Part 209, Appendix A, which explains that the owner of any plant railroad trackage over which a general system railroad operates is responsible for the condition of the track used by the general system railroad. Appendix A is not meant to imply that all of the requirements of Part 213, including inspection frequencies and record keeping, become applicable to a plant railroad once a general system railroad enters the property. Rather, it is a statement meant to convey FRA’s intent that plants should maintain in safe condition that portion of their trackage used by a general system railroad.

 FRA does not have the resources to regularly inspect trackage within industrial installations, nor does it currently see the need. However, FRA has statutory authority to issue emergency orders to repair or discontinue use of industrial or plant trackage should the agency find that conditions of the track pose a hazard of death or injury. In other words, if FRA learns that a particular plant is using trackage that is in such disrepair that it poses a threat of death or injury to a plant employee, a railroad employee, or the public at large, FRA will inspect that track. If FRA finds that the allegations are true, the agency may issue an emergency order ordering the plant to discontinue using the track until specified repairs are made. It is FRA’s opinion that this emergency-order authority is sufficient power to ensure track safety within plants. If conditions or events in the future tend to demonstrate that track safety within plants or installations should be more specifically regulated, FRA will seek to change the track safety regulations accordingly.

In June 1998, FRA issued a final rule revising the TSS. The preamble to the rule discussed FRA’s exercise of jurisdiction over plant railroads and the relationship between the TSS in Part 213 and the language in Appendix A of Part 209.

What is the required spacing or distance between railroad tracks? 
With respect to track centers (track separation distances), FRA does not prescribe these distances or any such thresholds (construction or maintenance) for specific speeds of trains. Each state, through its Department of Transportation or other agency, prescribes railroad “clearance” dimensions, which include track centers. This information is available in compendium format from the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association (AREMA). The AREMA publication containing this information is the Manual for Railway Engineering, and Chapter 28 deals with clearances.

Although FRA does not prescribe track center distances for construction and maintenance of trackage, track centers are mentioned in certain regulations:

• Part 213 (Track Safety Standards), Section 213.4, Excepted Track. A track owner may designate a segment of track as excepted track provided that -- (a) The segment is identified in the timetable, special instructions, general order, or other appropriate records which are available for inspection during regular business hours; (b) The identified segment is not located within 30 feet of an adjacent track which can be subjected to simultaneous use at speeds in excess of 10 miles per hour. As a matter of quick reference, “excepted track” is a designation of track that permits continued use of such track when the conditions have degraded to a point where there are significant restrictions on the operation of trains.
• Part 214 (Roadway Worker Protection), Section 214.7, Definitions, states: “Adjacent tracks mean two or more tracks with track centers spaced less than 25 feet apart,” this threshold only applies to certain maintenance activities. Section 214.335, On-track safety procedures for roadway work groups, paragraph (c) states: “Roadway work groups engaged in large-scale maintenance or construction shall be provided with train approach warning in accordance with Section 214.327, Inaccessible Track, for movements on adjacent tracks that are not included within working limits.” 

Are there any minimum distance requirements between railroad tracks and structures, such as overhead bridges or buildings? 
Like track centers, FRA does not prescribe distances or thresholds relating to structures near railroad trackage. Each state, through its Department of Transportation or other agency, prescribes railroad “clearance” dimensions, which include minimum distances between railroad tracks and structures.

For additional information regarding clearances, visit AREMA, which develops construction standards and material specifications for the railroad industry, and the Railway Industrial Clearance Association. 

What specifications does FRA prescribe for the construction of track? 
The TSS establish minimum requirements for structural components and track geometry of all existing railroad tracks in the general system of transportation. FRA does not prescribe the standards for the construction of track nor does it determine what specifications must be used during the manufacturing of track-work components.

For additional information, visit AREMA.