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The Federal Railroad Administration

The Federal Railroad Administration is one of the 10 DOT agencies concerned with intermodal transportation. Its purpose is to ensure the safe and reliable transportation of goods and people.

FRA field inspectors routinely inspect railroad track, signal and train control systems as and operating practices. They also investigate complaints.

Definition

A federal railroad is a railway in the United States that is controlled by the federal government. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, creates and enforces regulations for railways, administers railroad funds, and conducts research to improve the efficiency of rail transportation. The FRA is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's intermodal transportation division, and its top executives are the Administrator as well as the Deputy Administrator.

The agency is responsible for all freight and passenger transport that is made possible by the railway system of the United States. In addition, the agency also supports the rehabilitation of the Northeast Corridor rail passenger service and consolidates government support for rail transportation activities. The agency also regulates the ownership and operation of intermodal facilities, like tracks, rights of way equipment, real estate and rolling stock. It also manages federal rail transportation programs.

The FRA's responsibilities also include the establishment through regulation, and after an opportunity to comment, a procedure by which anyone can inform the Secretary of Homeland Security any railroad security issues or deficiencies. Additionally, the FRA establishes policies and conducts inspections in order to evaluate the compliance with its rail safety laws in six technical disciplines that include track signal and train control, motive power and machinery operating practices, hazmat, and highway-rail grade crossings.

The agency is tasked with the responsibility of making sure the railway transportation system is secure, economical and sustainable. This is why the agency requires railroads to ensure a safe working environment and provide appropriate training for their employees. The agency also sets and enforces railroad prices to ensure that the public is billed in a fair manner for transportation services.

The Federal Railroad Administration also enacts and implements rules to prevent discrimination towards railroad employees. They also shield whistleblowers from retaliation from railroad companies. The agency also establishes a procedure by which railroad employees can file complaints regarding the company's actions.

The agency's main mission is to ensure the safe, reliable and effective movement of goods and people for a strong America now and in future. The FRA achieves this by controlling safety of railroads, coordinating programs for assistance to railroads, conducting research to support improved railroad safety and national rail transportation policy as well as coordinating and assisting with the development of a rail network and assisting the private sector injury manage railroads. In the past, railroads were huge monopolies, with no competition. As a result, railroads often misused their position in the market. Congress established the Interstate Commerce Commission, as along with other regulatory agencies to control railroad monopolies' abuses.

Purpose

The federal railroad is a government agency that makes rules, oversees funds for rail and studies ways to improve the nation's rail transport system. It is responsible for the railroad infrastructure of the United States and supervises freight and passenger railroads. It is one of the 10 agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also responsible for maintaining and expanding the existing railway systems.

Security is the primary responsibility in the field of rail transportation. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is in charge of this, and has several divisions responsible for overseeing the country's freight and passenger railway operations. The largest of them is the Office of Railroad Safety, with approximately 350 safety inspectors and is responsible for conducting inspections to ensure compliance with the regulations in six technical disciplines including track signals, train control, motive power and equipment, operating procedures as well as hazmat and highway rail grade crossings.

FRA has several departments, such as the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. This department oversees programs aimed to improve passenger and freight railway transport, including the Northeast Corridor Future. This department also is in charge of the grants that help railways, and it works with other agencies in planning for the nation's rail needs.

The FRA also has a duty to enforce federal laws that pertain to railroads and their workers. This includes stopping railroads from discriminating against employees and ensuring that all injured railway employees receive transportation to the nearest hospital for initial aid treatment. The law also prohibits railroads from denying or delaying medical care to injured railway employees.

The FRA is the primary regulator for the rail passenger and freight industry, but other agencies manage the economic aspects of rail transportation. Surface Transportation Board is responsible for determining rates and governing economics in the industry. It is also responsible for regulating railroad mergers, line sales, construction and abandonment. After an open consultation period, the agency is also responsible for establishing rules that allow anyone to report any alleged rail safety violations.

Functions

Rails transport people and goods from and to cities in developed countries as well as villages in less developed countries. They transport raw materials from manufacturing and processing facilities, and then finished products from these facilities to warehouses or stores. Railroads are an essential mode of transportation for many essential commodities, such as oil, coal and grains. In 2020, freight railroads carried more than a quarter of all freight volumes in the United America [PDF(PDF).

The federal railroad is run like any other business. It has departments for marketing and operations, sales and an executive department. The department of marketing and sales works with potential and existing customers as well as clients to determine what services they need and how much they should cost. The operations department then produces rail services that meet these needs at the lowest cost possible to earn money for railroad. The executive department is responsible for the entire operation, ensuring that every department is running smoothly.

The government provides support to the railways in a variety of ways including grants, to subsidised rates for government-owned transport. Congress also provides funds to support and build new track and stations. These subsidies are usually in addition to the revenues the railroads receive from ticket sales and freight contracts.

In the United States, the government owns the railway for passengers, Amtrak. It is a quasi-public for profit corporation with a significant shareholder that is the United States government.

The primary function of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is developing and enforcing safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical conditions of trains and the health and safety of railroad employees. FRA also collects data on rail security to identify trends, areas that need improvement or regulatory attention and to determine trends.

FRA also participates in other projects that help improve the safety and efficiency of rail transportation in the United States. For instance, FRA seeks to eliminate obstacles that could hinder railroads' implementation of positive train control systems (PTC). PTC is a security technology that makes use of sensors and computers on board to stop a train at the moment it is too close to an object or vehicle.

History

The nation's first railroads were constructed in the 1820s and 1830s, mostly in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. Railroads helped speed up industrialization and brought more food products to markets in these regions. This development allowed the country to become more independent and less dependent on imports from abroad, which in turn resulted in a solid economic base.

In the late 19th century, the railroad industry enjoyed an "Golden Age" that saw new, more efficient rail lines were constructed and passenger travel became popular. The government's efforts to expand the railroad system were a major factor. For example the government offered land grants to homesteaders to encourage them to settle in the West and the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads joined forces to construct the first transcontinental railroad which allowed travel from New York to San Francisco in just six days.

However in the first half of the 20th century, demand for railroad passenger services slowed and other transportation options like automobiles and planes gained in popularity, while the stifling of regulations hampered railroads competitiveness economically. The industry was plagued by a succession of bankruptcy, service cuts, and delayed maintenance. The misguided federal rail regulations contributed to the decline.

In the year 1970 the federal government started to loosen the regulatory burdens on railroads. The Surface Transportation Board was established to oversee economic aspects of the industry such as mergers and railroad rates. The Federal Railroad Administration, which supervises freight and passenger transportation and sets rail safety standards, was also created.

Since then, a great amount of investment has been made in the nation's railroad infrastructure. The Northeast Corridor, for example has been renovated to accommodate more efficient, faster and modern high speed ground transportation (HSGT) trains. Efforts have also been made to develop more efficient freight rail systems. In the future, FRA hopes to continue its partnership with all transportation agencies in order to ensure the safety and reliability of railroads. The agency's role is to ensure that the nation's transportation system operates as efficiently as is possible.