The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has launched a new online public safety data website, as mandated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. The updated platform aims to improve user experience with enhanced functionality and data analysis capabilities.
Accessible at https://data.transportation.gov/stories/s/FRA-Safety-Data/dakf-i7zd, the site replaces two older legacy websites, including one from the 1990s. The previous Office of Safety Analysis website offered limited customization for queries and displayed results in static tables. In contrast, the new site integrates these reports into an interactive format featuring data tables, visuals, and narratives.
A redesign group consisting of stakeholders from FRA, railroads, industry associations, state DOTs, and researchers was formed to ensure the site's functionality and suitability. Users can now utilize dropdown filters and parameters to select specific data and sort results by different columns.
FRA Acting Administrator Drew Feeley said, "Our new public FRA Safety Data website increases transparency which is a Trump Administration priority." He added that the new features provide users with more flexibility in querying railroad safety data.
Site navigation has been improved with descriptive report titles and summaries, streamlined reports reducing multiple tables to one per report, expanded filter options across reports, and additional links for quicker navigation. Resource links are also included for better understanding of data queries.
The modernization effort enhances data assets by building new ones while maintaining access to existing data. It improves accessibility through a user-friendly interface for viewing, filtering, and exporting data. Data literacy is promoted with easy-to-read definitions and descriptions. Additionally, OData and API access enable direct connections to automatically refreshed data.
The new site aligns with the Department of Transportation’s Open Data Portal at data.transportation.gov and includes a Data Catalog listing available datasets by agency or topic.
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