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The Federal Railroad Administration

The Federal Railroad Administration is one of the DOT's 10 departments that deal with intermodal transportation. Its mission is enabling the secure and reliable transportation of people and goods.

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

Definition

Federal railroads are rail transporters in the United States controlled by the federal government. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, develops and enforces railway regulations as well as manages funds from railroads and conducts research to improve railway transportation. The FRA is one of 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation that are concerned with intermodal transportation. Its chief executive officers are the Administrator and Deputy Administrator.

The agency is responsible for all freight and passenger transport that utilizes the railway system of the United States. In addition the agency is also involved in the rehabilitation of the Northeast Corridor rail passenger service and consolidates the government's support for rail transportation. The agency also regulates ownership and operation of intermodal facilities, such as tracks, right of way equipment, real estate and rolling stock. It also manages federal rail transportation programs.

FRA's duties also include establishing through regulation and following an opportunity for comment an procedure that anyone can report to the Secretary Homeland Security any railroad security problems or deficiencies. The agency also establishes policies, conducts inspections, and evaluates the compliance of its railroad laws in six technical disciplines, including track signals, track and train control as well as motive power and equipment; operating practices; hazmat and highway-rail grade intersections.

The agency is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that the railroad transportation system is secure, economical and environmentally sustainable. The agency also demands that railroads to provide a safe working environment and provide adequate training to their employees. Furthermore, the agency sets and enforces railroad rates to ensure that the public receives a fair rate for their transportation services.

The Federal Railroad Administration also enacts and implements rules to prevent discrimination towards railroad employees. It also protects whistleblowers against retaliation from railroad companies. The agency also establishes procedures for railroad employees can make complaints against the company's actions.

The main goal of the FRA is to ensure secure, reliable and efficient movement of goods and people to ensure a secure America today and in the future. The FRA accomplishes this by controlling safety of railroads, coordinating railroad assistance programs, federal employers liability conducting research to support improved railroad safety and national rail transportation policies and coordination, as well as supporting the development of rail networks and assisting the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads were essentially monopolies that had no competition. As a result, the industry often abused its position in the marketplace. Hence, Congress established the Interstate Commerce Commission and other regulatory agencies to curb the abuses committed by railroad monopolies.

Purpose

The federal railroad is a government agency that establishes rules, oversees funds for rail and researches ways to improve the nation's rail transportation system. It oversees both passenger and freight railroads, and also manages the nation's railway infrastructure. It is one of the ten agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also responsible for maintaining and expanding the existing railroad infrastructure.

The government's primary responsibility in the railway industry is safety. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is in charge of this, and has several divisions responsible for overseeing the country's freight and passenger rail operations. The largest of these is the Office of Railroad Safety, which is home to around 350 safety inspectors and is responsible for conducting inspections to ensure compliance with regulations in six technical disciplines that include track signals, train control, motive power and equipment, operating practices as well as hazmat and highway rail grade crossings.

FRA has various departments, including the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. This department oversees programs aimed at improving freight and passenger rail transportation, like the Northeast Corridor Future. This department is responsible for the grants given to railways and works with other agencies in order to determine the nation's rail requirements.

The FRA also has a duty to enforce federal laws pertaining to railroads and their employees. This includes stopping railroads from discriminating against workers, and making sure that injured railway workers receive transportation to the nearest hospital for initial aid treatment. It also prohibits railroads to deny or delay medical treatment for injured railway workers.

The FRA is the main regulator of the passenger and freight rail industry, however other agencies manage the economic aspects of rail transportation. The Surface Transportation Board, for example, is in charge of setting rates and governing the economics of the industry. It is also the regulator for railroad mergers, line-sales, construction, and abandonment. Other responsibilities include the establishment of a process through regulations, after a public input opportunity that allows anyone to complain about alleged safety violations to the agency.

Functions

Railroads transport people and goods between cities in the developed nations as and remote villages in less developed countries. They transport raw materials to processing and manufacturing factories, and the finished products from those factories to warehouses and stores. Railroads are a critical form of transportation for many essential commodities, including coal, oil and grains. In 2020, freight rail moved more than a quarter of nation's total freight volume [PDF(PDF).

Federal railroads function like any other business with departments for marketing, operations, sales and an executive department. The marketing and sales department works with potential and existing customers as well as clients to determine what services they require and how much they should cost. The operations department then develops the rail services that meet those requirements at the cheapest cost in order to earn money for the railroad. The executive department oversees the entire operation, making sure each department is functioning efficiently.

The government helps the railways by a variety of means such as grants and subsidised rates for government-owned traffic. Congress also offers funds to help build new track and stations. These subsidies are often in addition to the earnings the railroads earn from ticket sales and freight contracts.

In the United States, the government is the owner of the passenger railway Amtrak. It is a quasi-public for-profit corporation with a significant stockholder, which is the United States government.

A key purpose of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is developing and enforcing safety regulations for railroads. This involves regulating the mechanical condition of trains as well as the health and safety of railroad employees. FRA also collects data on security of rail lines to determine trends areas that require improvement or attention from regulators and to identify trends.

FRA also works on other projects that help improve the safety and efficiency of railroad transportation in the United States. For instance, FRA is working to eliminate obstacles that can hinder railroads in adopting positive train control (PTC). PTC is a safety technology that makes use of sensors and computers to stop a train at the moment it is too close to another vehicle or object.

History

In the 1820s-1830s, the first railroads in America were built, mostly in New England and Mid-Atlantic. Railroads helped speed up industrialization and brought more food to markets in these regions. This development allowed the country to become more self-sufficient and less dependent upon foreign imports, which contributed to a stronger economic base.

In the latter part of the 19th century the railroad industry experienced a "Golden Age" during which new, more efficient rail lines were built and passenger transportation became popular. The government's efforts in expanding the railroad system was a major factor. For instance, the government provided homesteaders land grants to encourage them to settle the West. Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads also collaborated to build the first transcontinental railway, which allowed passengers to travel from New York City to San Francisco within six days.

However in the early part of the 20th century, demand for passenger railroad services decreased and other transportation options like cars and airplanes gained popularity, while regulations choked railroads' ability to compete economically. The industry was plagued by a series of bankruptcy, service cuts, and deferred maintenance. Uninformed federal rail regulations also contributed to the decline.

Around the year 1970, the federal government began to loosen the restrictions on railroads' regulatory requirements. The Surface Transportation Board was established to oversee economic aspects of the industry such as mergers and rates for railroads. The Federal Railroad Administration was also created, which sets rail safety regulations and is one of the 10 agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation which oversees passenger and freight transportation.

Since then, a significant amount of investment has been made in the nation's railroad infrastructure. The Northeast Corridor has been rebuilt for instance, in order to accommodate more efficient and modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT). There have also been efforts to develop more efficient systems for freight rail. FRA hopes to continue working with all transportation agencies to ensure safe and reliable rails in the future. The agency's role is to ensure that the nation's transportation system is running as efficiently as is possible.