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On Friday, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced it has proposed guidance for developing state rail plans that would provide an explanation of the plan development process.

The plans provide a basis for federal and state rail investments by describing how rail fits into a state’s overall transportation planning and presenting a series of goals, objectives and strategies for its rail system. The guidance includes the FRA’s review and acceptance procedures, a standardized state rail plan format, a list of minimum plan content requirements, and requirements established by the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act.

The FRA is accepting public comments on the proposed guidance until Oct. 15.

The FRA also announced a notice of proposed rulemaking that would boost protections for rail employees and contractors. The rulemaking would revise and clarify the FRA’s roadway worker protection regulations to further improve on-track safety for rail employees and contractors engaged in maintenance-of-way activities.

Specifically, the rulemaking proposes to define certain terms, establish new procedures for snow removal and cleaning on station platforms, resolve miscellaneous interpretive issues, codify certain FRA technical bulletins and seek comments on certain training requirements for roadway workers.

The FRA is accepting comments from interested parties until Oct. 19.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Small Business Innovation Research Program has selected 10 companies to receive awards to conduct research in transportation safety, infrastructure and other transportation-related topics. The companies will conduct research on behalf of the FRA, Federal Highway Administration and Federal Aviation Administration.

The two companies that obtained awards to conduct research on behalf of the FRA are: Mainstream Engineering Corp., to develop a small-scale diesel generator for railway applications; and Poly Adaptive L.L.C., to develop a system designed to prevent lens surface contamination.