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The Federal Railroad Administration

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

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 rail transporters in the United States controlled by the federal government. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) creates and enforces railway safety regulations, manages funds for railroads, and investigates ways to improve rail transportation systems. The FRA is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's intermodal transportation division, and its chief officers are the Administrator and the Deputy Administrator.

The agency oversees all freight and passenger transportation that utilizes the nation's railway network. The agency also consolidates the funding provided by the federal government for rail transportation and assists in the rehabilitation of Northeast Corridor passenger service. The agency also regulates ownership and operation of intermodal facilities including 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 an procedure that anyone can notify the Secretary Homeland Security any railroad security problems or deficiencies. Additionally, the FRA sets up policies and conducts inspections to determine the compliance of its rail safety laws in six technical disciplines: track, signal and train control, motive power and equipment operating practices, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings.

The agency is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the rail transportation system is secure, economical and environmentally sustainable. This is why the agency requires railroads to ensure a safe working environment and provide appropriate training for their employees. In addition, the agency sets and enforces railroad rates to ensure that the public gets an equitable price for their transportation services.

Additionally to that, the Federal Railroad Administration enacts and enforces rules to stop discrimination against railroad employees as well as protects whistleblowers from retaliation from railroad companies. The agency also has an procedure through which railroad employees can file complaints against the company's actions.

The primary goal of the FRA is to ensure the secure, reliable, and efficient transportation of goods and people to ensure a secure America both now and in the future. The FRA accomplishes this by regulating rail safety, managing programs to assist railroads and conducting research in support of improving safety in the railroad industry and national transportation policy as well as coordinating the development of rail networks and helping the private industry manage railroads. In the past, railroads dominated the market, with very little competition. This meant that the industry frequently abused its position in the marketplace. Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission, as along with other regulatory agencies to control the monopolies' exploitation of railroads.

Purpose

federal employers’ railroads are government-owned institutions that make rules, regulate funds for rail and conduct research to improve the rail system in the United States. It supervises freight and passenger railroads, and also manages the nation's railway infrastructure. It is one of ten agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also tasked with maintaining and expanding existing railway systems, ensuring capability of the railroad industry to meet the growing demand for freight and travel, as well as providing leadership in national and regional system planning.

The primary responsibility of the government in the railway industry is safety. The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for this. It has a number of divisions that supervise the country's freight and passenger railroad operations. The Office of Railroad Safety is the largest with a staff of around 350. It is responsible for conducting safety inspections in six different technical disciplines, including track, signalling, and train control, motive and equipment, operating procedures, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings.

FRA has other departments, including the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. It is responsible for the programs designed to improve passenger and freight rail transportation, including the Northeast Corridor Future. This department also is responsible for grants that are made to railways and works with other agencies in planning for the nation's rail requirements.

The FRA also has a duty to enforce federal laws pertaining to railroads and workers. This includes preventing railroads from discriminate against employees and ensuring that all injured railway staff are transported to the nearest hospital for treatment. Additionally, railroads are prohibited from denying or delaying medical care to injured railway employees.

The FRA is the primary regulator for the passenger and freight rail industry, but other agencies oversee the economic aspects of rail transportation. Surface Transportation Board is responsible for establishing rates and managing economics in the sector. It is also the regulator for railroad mergers, line-sales, construction and abandonment. After an open consultation period the agency is responsible for establishing regulations that permit anyone to file a complaint about any alleged rail safety violations.

Functions

Railroads transport people and goods to and from cities in the developed nations, as also remote villages in less developed countries. They transport raw materials to manufacturing and processing factories, and then the final products from those facilities to warehouses and stores. Rail is a vital form of transportation for a range of essential commodities like grains, oil, and coal. In 2020, freight rail transported more than a quarter of the nation's total freight volumes [PDF].

A federal railroad operates as a business just like other businesses with departments for marketing and sales, operations and an executive department. The department of marketing and sales talks with customers and potential clients to determine the services they need and what they need to cost. The operations department then produces rail services that meet these needs at the lowest price possible to earn money for railroad. The executive department oversees the entire operation and makes sure that each department is operating efficiently.

The government supports railways in a variety of ways, from grants to subsidized rates for shipping government traffic. Congress also provides money to support and build stations and tracks. These subsidies are often in addition to the earnings 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 a huge shareholder that is the United States government.

A key purpose of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is developing and enforcing safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical properties of trains and the safety and health of railroad employees. FRA also gathers and analyzes information on rail safety to identify patterns and areas that might require improvement or more regulatory attention.

FRA also participates in other projects that help improve the safety and economy of railway transportation in the United States. For instance, FRA seeks to lower the barriers that could delay railroads in adopting positive train control (PTC). PTC is a security technology that uses sensors and computers on board to stop a train at the moment it is too close to another object or vehicle.

History

In the 1820s and 1830s, the first railroads in America were constructed, mostly in New England and Mid-Atlantic. The railroads greatly accelerated industrialization in these regions and also brought more food products to the market. This made the country more self-sufficient and less dependent on imports.

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 by train became increasingly popular. This was largely due to the government's efforts to expand the railroad system. For instance the government offered homesteaders grants of land 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 enabled travel from New York to San Francisco in six days.

In the first half century, however the demand for passenger rail services decreased, and other modes of transport like planes and cars became more popular. Meanwhile, stifling regulation hindered railroads' ability to compete. The industry was plagued by a succession of bankruptcy, service cuts, and deferred maintenance. The misguided federal rail regulations contributed to the decline.

Around 1970, the federal government began to ease the regulatory shackles on railroads. Surface Transportation Board was created to oversee economic matters such as railroad rates and mergers. The Federal Railroad Administration was also established to set rail safety regulations and is one of 10 agencies in the U.S. Department of Transportation that oversees freight and passenger transportation.

Since then, the railway infrastructure of the United America has seen a great deal of investment. The Northeast Corridor has been rebuilt for instance, in order to allow for faster and more modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT). There have also been efforts to develop more efficient freight rail. FRA hopes to continue to work with all transportation agencies to ensure safe and reliable rails in the coming years. It is the job of FRA to help make sure that the transportation system of the United States operates as efficiently as it can.