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The Federal Railroad Administration

The Federal Railroad Administration is one of the 10 DOT agencies involved in intermodal transportation. Its mission is to enable the safe and reliable movement of people and goods.

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

Definition

A federal railroad is a rail carrier in the United States that is controlled by the government. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, develops and enforces regulations governing railways, administers railroad funds, and conducts research to improve the efficiency of rail transportation. The FRA is one of the 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation which is responsible for intermodal transportation. Its chief executive officers are the Administrator and Deputy Administrator.

The agency is responsible for all passenger and freight transportation that utilizes the nation's railway network. In addition the agency supports the rehabilitation of the Northeast Corridor rail passenger service and consolidates government 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 coordinates federal rail transportation programs.

The FRA's responsibilities also include the establishment through regulation and following an opportunity for comment the procedure through which anyone can notify the Secretary Homeland Security any railroad security issues or deficiencies. In addition, the agency sets up policies and conducts inspections to assess compliance with its rail safety regulations in six technical disciplines tracks signals and train control motive power and equipment operating practices, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings.

The agency is responsible of making sure that the railroad transportation system operates in a safe, economical and sustainable manner. The agency also demands that railroads to maintain a safe workplace and provide adequate training to their employees. The agency also sets and enforces railroad prices to ensure that the public is charged in a fair manner for transportation services.

The Federal Railroad Administration also enacts and enforces rules to prevent discrimination towards railroad employees. It also protects whistleblowers from retaliation by railroad carriers. The agency also has an avenue for railroad employees to file complaints about the conduct of the company.

The agency's primary mission is to enable the safe, reliable, and efficient movement of people and goods to ensure a secure America today and into the future. The FRA accomplishes this by controlling safety of railroads, coordinating railroad assistance programs, conducting research to support improved railroad safety and national rail transportation policy and coordination, as well as supporting rail networking development and assisting the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads dominated the market, with very little competition. The railroad industry took advantage of its dominance in the market as a result. Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission, as and other regulatory agencies, to curb the monopolies' exploitation of railroads.

Purpose

The federal railroad is a government agency that sets rules, oversees funds for rail and researches ways to improve the nation's rail transport system. It supervises passenger and freight railroads, and operates the nation's rail infrastructure. It is one of ten agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also responsible for maintaining and expanding existing rail systems, ensuring the capacity of the rail industry to meet growing demand for freight and travel, as well as providing leadership in regional and national system planning.

The primary responsibility of the government in the railway industry is safety. The federal railroad (sm.sdsu.edu) 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 technical disciplines, including track signal, and train control as well as motive and equipment operating procedures, hazmat, and highway-rail grade crosses.

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

The FRA also has a duty to enforce federal laws that pertain to railroads and their employees. This includes stopping railroads from using their power to discriminate against workers and making sure that all injured railway staff are taken to the nearest hospital for treatment. Additionally, railroads are prohibited from refusing or delaying medical treatment to injured railway workers.

The FRA is the main regulator of the freight and passenger rail industries, but there are other agencies which manage the economic aspects of rail transportation. Surface Transportation Board is responsible for setting rates and managing the economics of the industry. It is the regulatory authority for railroad mergers, line-sales construction, and abandonment. After a period of public consultation the agency is accountable for establishing regulations that permit anyone to file a complaint about any alleged rail safety violations.

Functions

Railroads transport goods and people between cities in the developed nations, as well as remote villages in countries that are less developed. They transport raw materials from manufacturing and processing facilities, and final products from these facilities to warehouses or stores. Railroads are a critical form of transportation for a variety of essential commodities, including coal, oil, and grains. In 2020, freight rail transported more than a quarter of nation's total freight volume [PDFThe PDF file contains.

A federal railroad operates like any other business, with departments for marketing, sales, operations and an executive department. The marketing and sales department works with potential and current customers to determine the kind of rail services they require and what those services should cost. The operations department then produces rail services that meet these needs at the lowest cost possible to generate revenue for railroads. The executive department oversees the entire operation, ensuring that each department is functioning efficiently.

The government helps the railways through a variety of methods that include grants and subsidized rates for government-owned traffic. Congress also provides funds to help build and maintain new tracks and stations. These subsidy funds are often added to the revenue that railroads receive through tickets and freight contracts.

In the United States, the government owns the passenger railway Amtrak. It is a quasi-public for-profit corporation, which has the United States Government as a major stockholder.

The primary purpose of the federal employers liability fela railroad settlements Administration (FRA) is to develop and enforce safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical condition of trains and the health and safety of railroad employees. FRA also analyzes and collects data on rail safety in order to identify trends and areas that may require more or better regulatory attention.

In addition to these fundamental tasks, FRA works on various other projects that aim to improve the security and economy of railway transportation in the United States. For instance, the agency is working to remove obstacles that could hinder railroads' implementation of positive train control systems (PTC). PTC is a safety system that makes use of sensors and on-board computers to stop the train automatically when it gets too close to a vehicle or other object.

History

In the 1820s-1830s the first railroads in the United States were constructed, mostly in New England and Mid-Atlantic. Railroads helped speed up industrialization and brought more food products to the market in these regions. This allowed the country become more self-sufficient and less dependent on imports.

In the late 19th century the railroad industry enjoyed a "Golden Age" during which new, more efficient rail lines were built and passenger travel became popular. This was largely due to the government's efforts to expand the railroad system. For example the government provided homesteaders land grants to encourage them to move to the West, and the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads worked together to complete the first transcontinental railroad which enabled travel from New York to San Francisco in just six days.

In the first half century however the demand for rail passenger services dwindled, while other modes of transport like planes and automobiles gained in popularity. Meanwhile, stifling regulation stifled railroads' economic ability to compete. A series of bankruptcies and service cuts, and deferred maintenance were the result. In addition, a misguided railroad regulations from the federal government caused the decline of the industry.

Around the year 1970, the federal government began loosening the regulatory restrictions on railroads. The Surface Transportation Board was established to oversee economic aspects of the industry, such as railroad rates and mergers. The Federal Railroad Administration was also established to set standards for rail safety and is one of 10 agencies in the U.S. Department of Transportation that supervises passenger and freight transportation.

Since then, the railroad infrastructure of the United America has seen a great deal of investment. The Northeast Corridor has been rebuilt, for instance, 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 working with all transportation agencies to ensure safe and reliable rails in the future. It is the agency's job to ensure that the nation's transportation system operates as efficiently as possible.