Rail Safety

The Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) rail-safety oversight framework relies on inspections to ensure railroads comply with federal safety regulations. FRA inspects railroad infrastructure and operations, identifies safety defects, and may, if warranted, cite the railroads for violations of federal safety regulations. This book examines the overall framework that FRA, the states, and the railroads use to ensure rail safety; the extent to which FRA and the railroads assess safety risks and allocate resources to address those risks; and what challenges, if any, exist to FRA's current safety framework, and what ongoing and emerging issues FRA faces.