The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) mandated the installation of both inward-facing and outward-facing image (video) recording devices on all mainline passenger train locomotives providing regular passenger or intercity rail service.
In this way, the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) is launched, which requires such regulation in response to a recommendation from the National Transportation Safety Board, with the aim of improving safety throughout the industry. passenger railway.
The FAST Act final rule requires that locomotive video recording devices must remain operational while the locomotive controlling a passenger train is in motion.
To ensure the integrity and accessibility of the arrangement, it is stipulated that the data captured by the videos must retain at least the last 12 hours of recorded footage and be stored in a fail-safe memory module.
The Federal Railroad Administration also noted that since locomotive-mounted recording devices on passenger trains are classified as “safety devices,” tampering with or disabling these vital recording systems is prohibited.
"While video recorders cannot directly prevent accidents, they help maintain a higher level of safety," said FRA administrator Amit Bose. "In addition, these devices play a vital role in post-accident investigations, providing valuable evidence that helps us understand the circumstances that led to accidents and take appropriate measures to prevent similar events in the future," he added.
The final rule also establishes guidelines for the use of recordings on passenger locomotives for operational testing, allowing for the evaluation of employees' compliance with applicable railroad operating rules and federal regulations.
