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The Federal Railroad Administration

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

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

Definition

A federal railroad is a type of rail transport in the United States that is controlled by the government. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) establishes and enforces safety rules, oversees railroad funding, and researches ways to improve the efficiency of rail transportation systems. The FRA is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's intermodal transportation division, and its top executives are the Administrator and the Deputy Administrator.

The agency is responsible for all freight and passenger transport that utilizes the railway network of the United States. In addition the agency is also involved in the rehabilitation of Northeast Corridor rail passenger service and consolidates government support for rail transportation. Additionally, the agency oversees the operation and ownership of all intermodal facilities, such as tracks, right-of-way, equipment and real property as well as rolling stock, and also provides the overall coordination of federal rail transportation programs.

The FRA's responsibilities are to establish through regulation, after notification and comment an avenue through which any person may report to the Secretary of Homeland Security concerning railroad security issues or inconsistencies. The agency also formulates policies, conducts inspections and reviews the compliance with its railroad laws in six technical disciplines, which include track, signal, and train control locomotive power and equipment; operating procedures; hazmat and highway-rail grade intersections.

The agency is tasked with the responsibility of making sure the rail transportation system is secure, economical and sustainable. In turn, the agency requires railroads to provide the safety of their workers and provide adequate training for their employees. The agency also determines and enforces the cost of railroad services to ensure that the public is charged fairly for transportation services.

Additionally the federal employers liability Railroad Administration enacts and enforces rules to prevent discrimination against railroad employees, as well as protects whistleblowers from retaliation from railroad companies. The agency also sets up a complaint procedure for railroad employees to submit complaints about the company's conduct.

The main goal of the agency is to enable the safe efficient, reliable, and secure movement of people and goods to ensure a secure America today and into the future. The FRA achieves this by overseeing the regulation of rail safety, managing railroad assistance programmes and conducting research to support better safety of railroads and national transportation policies, coordinating rail networking development and assisting private companies manage railroads. In the past, railroads controlled the market, with very little competition. As a result, the industry frequently abused its position in the market. Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission, as along with other regulatory agencies, to limit railroad monopolies' abuses.

Purpose

The federal railroad is a government agency that establishes regulations, manages funds for rail and studies ways to improve the nation's rail transportation system. It operates the rail infrastructure of the United States and oversees freight and passenger railroads. It is one of 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also responsible for maintaining and expanding current rail systems, ensuring the capability of the railroad industry to meet growing demand for freight and travel as well as providing leadership in regional and national system planning.

Safety is the main responsibility in the field of rail transportation. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is in charge of this, and has several divisions that manage the country's passenger and freight railroad operations. The Office of Railroad Safety is the largest, with around 350 inspectors. It is responsible for conducting safety inspections in six different technical disciplines, which include track, signalling, train control equipment and motives operating procedures, hazmat, and highway-rail grade crosses.

FRA has other departments that include the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. This department oversees programs aimed to improve passenger and freight railway transport, including the Northeast Corridor Future. The department also is responsible for the grants that are given to help railways, and it collaborates with other agencies to develop plans for the country's rail needs.

The FRA also has a responsibility to enforce federal laws that pertain to railroads and their workers. This includes stopping railroads from using their power to discriminate against workers and making sure that railway workers injured are taken to the nearest hospital to receive treatment. It also prohibits railroads from denying or delaying medical treatment to injured railway employees.

The FRA is the main regulator of the freight and passenger rail industry, but other organizations manage the economic aspects of rail transportation. Surface Transportation Board is responsible for setting rates and managing economics in the industry. It also has the authority to regulate mergers in the railroad industry and line sales construction and abandonment. Other responsibilities include establishing rules after opportunity for public input and participation, where anyone can submit complaints about rail safety violations to the agency.

Functions

Railroads transport goods and people between cities in developed countries as and remote villages in less-developed countries. They transport raw materials from processing and manufacturing facilities, and finished goods from these facilities to stores or warehouses. Rail is a crucial mode of transportation for a variety of essential commodities, including oil, grains and coal. In 2020, freight railroads moved more than a quarter of all freight volume in the United States [PDF].

The federal railroad is managed as a business. It has departments for marketing, operations, sale, and an executive department. The department of marketing and sales works with potential and existing customers as well as clients to determine the services they need and what they need to cost. The operations department then develops the rail services that meet those requirements at the lowest possible cost in order to earn money for the railroad. The executive department supervises the entire operation and ensures that each department is operating efficiently.

The government helps the railways by a variety of means such as grants and subsidised rates on government traffic. Congress also provides funds to help build and maintain new tracks and stations. These subsidies are often in addition to the revenue railroads receive from tickets and freight contracts.

Amtrak is owned by the United States government. It is a quasi public for-profit corporation, with the United States Government as a major stockholder.

The Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) primary function is to develop and enforce safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical properties of trains and the safety and health of railroad employees. FRA also analyzes and collects information on rail safety to identify patterns and areas that might require improvement or more regulation.

In addition to these primary tasks, FRA works on various other projects that aim to improve the security and economy of railway transportation in the United States. The agency, for example, aims to reduce the barriers that could delay railroads in the implementation of positive train control (PTC). PTC is a safety system that uses sensors and computers on board to stop a train in the event that it is too close to another object or vehicle.

History

In the 1820s-1830s, the first railroads in the United States were built, primarily in New England and Mid-Atlantic. Railroads helped speed up industrialization and brought more food items to the market in these regions. This helped the country to become more self-sufficient and less dependent on foreign imports, which helped to foster a strong economic base.

In the latter part of the nineteenth century the railroad industry was experiencing a "Golden Age," during which many new railway lines that were more efficient were constructed and passenger travel on train became increasingly popular. This was largely due to the government's efforts to expand the railroad system. For example the government offered homesteaders land grants to encourage them to move to 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 federal employers liability for passenger railroad services declined and other modes of transport like airplanes and cars gained popularity, while regulations hindered railroads competitiveness economically. A series of bankruptcies, service cuts, and deferred maintenance were the result. Misguided federal rail regulations also contributed to the decline.

Around 1970, federal government began to loosen the regulations governing railroads. Surface Transportation Board was created to oversee economic matters such as railroad rates and mergers. The Federal Railroad Administration was also created, which sets standards for rail safety and is among the 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation that supervises passenger and freight transportation.

Since then, the railway infrastructure of the United States has seen a significant amount of investment. The Northeast Corridor has been rebuilt for instance, to allow for faster and more modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT). The effort has also been made to improve the efficiency of freight rail systems. In the future, FRA hopes to continue its partnership with all transportation agencies in order to ensure reliable and safe railroads. The role of FRA is to ensure that the nation's transportation system is running as efficiently as is possible.