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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 secure movement of people and goods.

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

Definition

Federal railroads are the rail carriers in the United States controlled by the federal government. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is 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 rail transportation. The FRA is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's intermodal transportation division and its top officers are the Administrator and the Deputy Administrator.

The agency oversees all freight and passenger transportation that is conducted through the nation's rail network. The agency also consolidates the funding provided by the federal government for rail transportation and supports the rehabilitation of the Northeast Corridor passenger service. The agency also regulates ownership and operation of intermodal facilities, such as tracks, right of way, equipment, real estate, and rolling stock. It also oversees federal rail transportation programs.

FRA's responsibilities also include establishing through regulation, and after an opportunity for comment the procedure through which anyone can inform the Secretary of Homeland Security any railroad security issues or deficiencies. The agency also formulates policies, conducts inspections and assesses the compliance with its rail laws in six technical disciplines, including track signal, track, and train control; motive power and equipment; operating practices; hazmat and highway-rail grade intersections.

The agency is tasked with the responsibility to make sure the railway transportation system is secure, economical, and environmentally friendly. The agency also demands that railroads maintain a safe work environment 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.

The Federal Railroad Administration also enacts and implements rules to prevent discrimination towards railroad employees. The agency also safeguards whistleblowers from retaliation by railroad carriers. The agency also establishes a procedure for railroad employees to file complaints regarding the conduct of their company.

The agency's primary mission is to facilitate the safe reliable and efficient movement of goods and people to ensure a secure America both now and in the future. The FRA accomplishes this through controlling safety of railroads, coordinating programs for assistance to railroads, conducting research to support the improvement of safety for railroads and national rail transportation policies as well as coordinating and assisting with rail networking development as well as helping the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads controlled the market with no competition. As a result, railroads often misused their position in the marketplace. Therefore, Congress established the Interstate Commerce Commission and other regulatory agencies to curb abuses by railroad monopolies.

Purpose

Federal railroads are government-owned agencies that set rules, regulate funds for rail and conduct research to improve the rail system in the United States. It operates the railroad infrastructure of the United States and supervises passenger and fela freight railroads. It is one of the 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also tasked with maintaining and expanding existing rail systems, as well as ensuring the capacity of the rail industry to meet growing travel and freight demands and providing leadership in regional and national system planning.

Safety is the government's main responsibility when it comes to rail transportation. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is responsible for this, and it has several divisions responsible for overseeing the country's passenger and freight rail operations. The Office of Railroad Safety is the largest of them with approximately 350 inspectors. It is responsible for conducting safety inspections in six technical disciplines, including track signal, and train control equipment and motives operating procedures, hazmat and highway-rail grade crosses.

FRA has several departments, including the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. This oversees the programs that are meant to improve freight and passenger railway transportation, including the Northeast Corridor Future. This department is responsible for grants given to railways and works with other agencies in order to plan the nation's railway requirements.

Another important function of the FRA is the enforcement of federal laws that pertain to railroads and their employees. This includes preventing railroads from discriminating against workers and ensuring that all railway employees injured are transported to the nearest hospital for initial aid treatment. The law also prohibits railroads from delay or deny medical treatment for injured railway employees.

The FRA is the main regulator of the freight and passenger rail industries, but there are other organizations which manage the economic aspects of rail transport. Surface Transportation Board is responsible for determining rates and governing economics in the industry. It has regulatory authority on railroad mergers, line-sales, construction, and abandonment. Other responsibilities include the establishment of a process through regulations, after opportunity for public input that allows anyone to submit complaints about rail safety violations to the agency.

Functions

Rails transport people and goods from and to cities in the developed world as and villages in less developed countries. They transport raw materials to manufacturing and processing factories, and then the final products from these factories to warehouses and stores. Railroads are a critical form of transportation for many vital commodities, including coal, oil and grains. In 2020, freight rail carried more than a quarter of the nation's total freight volume [PDF(PDF).

A federal railroad operates like any other business, with departments for marketing, operations, sales, and an executive department. The department for marketing and sales works with potential and existing customers as well as clients to determine the services they need and how much they should cost. The operations department then creates rail services that meet these requirements at the lowest price possible to make money for railroads. The executive department supervises the entire operation and makes sure that every department is operating efficiently.

The government helps the railways through a variety of methods, including grants and subsidized rates on government-owned traffic. Congress also offers funds to help build new stations and tracks. These subsidies are usually in addition to the revenues the railroads receive from tickets and freight contracts.

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

The primary purpose of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is establishing 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 analyzes and collects data on rail safety to identify patterns and areas that might require more or better regulatory attention.

FRA also works on other projects to improve the safety and economy of railroad transportation in the United States. For instance, FRA seeks to lower the obstacles that hinder railroads in implementing positive train control (PTC). PTC is a safety system that uses sensors and computers on board to automatically stop the train when it gets too close to another vehicle or other object.

History

In the 1820s and 1830s, the first railroads in America were built, primarily in New England and Mid-Atlantic. The railroads significantly accelerated the industrialization process in those areas, and also brought more food items to the market. This development allowed the country to become more self-sufficient and less dependent upon foreign imports, which resulted in a solid economic base.

In the latter part of the 19th century the railroad industry enjoyed a "Golden Age" in which new, more efficient rail lines were constructed and passenger travel became popular. This was largely due to the government's efforts to expand the railroad system. The government, for example granted land grants to homesteaders in order to encourage them to move to the West. Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads also worked together to build the first transcontinental railroad which allowed travelers to travel from New York City to San Francisco within six days.

However in the first half of the 20th century, the demand for railroad passenger services slowed and other transportation options like automobiles and planes gained in popularity, while stifling regulations hampered railroads' ability to compete economically. The industry was plagued by a series of bankruptcy, service cuts, and deferred maintenance. Additionally, a misguided federal railway regulation led to the decline of the railroad industry.

Around the year 1970 the federal government began to ease the regulatory shackles on railroads. The Surface Transportation Board was established to oversee the economic aspects of the industry, such as mergers and rates for railroads. The Federal Railroad Administration, which regulates freight and passenger transport and sets standards for rail safety, was also created.

Since then, the railway infrastructure of the United States has seen a significant amount of investment. The Northeast Corridor has been rebuilt for instance, in order to accommodate more efficient and modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT). Efforts have also been made to create more efficient freight rail systems. In the future, FRA hopes to continue its collaboration with all transportation agencies in order to ensure the safety and reliability of railroads. It is the agency's job to help make sure that the transportation system of the United States operates as efficiently as it can.