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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 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. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, develops and enforces regulations governing railways as well as manages funds from railroads and conducts research to improve rail transportation. The FRA is one of 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation that are concerned with intermodal transportation, and its chief executive officers are the Administrator and Deputy Administrator.

The agency supervises all freight and passenger transportation that utilizes the nation's railway network. The agency also coordinates government funding for rail transportation and supports the rehabilitation of Northeast Corridor passenger service. In addition, the agency oversees the ownership and operation of all intermodal facilities such as tracks, rights-of-way, equipment and real property as well as rolling stock, and also provides the overall coordination of federal rail transportation programs.

FRA's duties also include establishing through regulation and following an opportunity for comments an procedure that anyone can notify the Secretary Homeland Security any railroad security issues or deficiencies. Additionally, the FRA creates policies and conducts inspections to assess the compliance with its rail safety regulations in six technical disciplines: track signals and train control, motive power and equipment, operating practices, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings.

The agency has the responsibility of ensuring that the rail transportation system is safe, economical and environmentally sustainable. The agency also requires that railroads maintain a safe work environment and provide adequate training to their employees. Furthermore, the agency sets and enforces railroad rates to ensure that the public gets fair prices for their transportation services.

Additionally the Federal Railroad Administration enacts and enforces rules to prevent discrimination against railroad employees as well as protects whistleblowers from retaliation from railroad carriers. The agency also establishes a complaint procedure for railroad employees to file complaints about the company's conduct.

The primary goal of the FRA is to facilitate the safe, reliable, and efficient movement of goods and people to build a stronger America today and into the future. The FRA accomplishes this through overseeing the regulation of rail safety, managing railroad assistance programmes conducting research in support of improved railroad safety and national transportation policies as well as coordinating the development of rail networks and assisting private companies manage railroads. In the past, railroads were essentially monopolies that had no competition. The railroad industry abused its dominance in the market as a result. Therefore, Congress established the Interstate Commerce Commission and other regulatory agencies to prevent the abuses committed by railroad monopolies.

Purpose

The federal railroad is a government agency that sets rules, oversees funds for rail and studies ways to improve the nation's rail transportation system. fela lawyers manages the rail infrastructure of the United States and oversees passenger and freight railroads. It is one of ten agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also responsible for maintaining and expanding the current railroad infrastructure.

Safety is the main responsibility in rail transportation. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is responsible for this, and has several divisions that manage the country's freight and passenger railroad operations. The most important of these is the Office of Railroad Safety, with around 350 safety inspectors and is responsible for conducting inspections that determine compliance with the regulations in six technical disciplines: 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. It is responsible for the programs that aim to improve passenger and freight rail transportation, 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 in planning for the country's rail needs.

Another important duty of the FRA is the enforcement of certain federal laws pertaining to railroads and their employees. This includes stopping railroads from discriminating against employees and ensuring that injured railway workers are provided with transportation to the nearest hospital for first aid treatment. The law also prohibits railroads from delay or deny medical treatment for injured railway workers.

The FRA is the primary regulator of the passenger and freight rail industry, but other organizations oversee the economic aspects of rail transportation. The Surface Transportation Board, for example, is in charge of setting rates and managing the financial aspects of the industry. It is the regulatory authority for railroad mergers, line-sales, construction and abandonment. Other responsibilities include the establishment of rules after opportunity for public input and participation, where anyone can complain about alleged safety violations to the agency.

Functions

Rails transport goods and people from and to cities in the developed world as and villages in less developed countries. They transport raw materials from processing and manufacturing facilities, and finished goods 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 railroads carried more than a quarter of all freight volume in the United America [PDF(PDF).

Federal railroads operate like any other business with departments for marketing, operations, sales 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 how much they should cost. The operations department then develops the rail services that satisfy those requirements at the cheapest cost to generate revenue for the railroad. The executive department is responsible for the entire operation, ensuring that every department is running smoothly.

The government supports the railways in a variety of ways from grants to subsidised rates for shipping government traffic. Congress also offers funds to help build new stations and tracks. These subsidies are often a part of the revenues 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 company, with the United States Government as a major stockholder.

A key role of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is establishing and enforcing safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical state of trains, as well as the health and safety of railroad employees. FRA also collects data on security of rail lines to identify patterns, areas that need improvement or attention from the regulatory side and to track trends.

In addition to these primary functions, FRA works on various other projects that aim to improve the economy and security 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 safety technology that makes use of sensors and computers to stop a train in the event that it is too close to another object or vehicle.

History

In the 1820s and 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 allowed the country become more independent and less dependent on imports.

In the latter part of the nineteenth century the railroad industry went through an "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 because of the government's efforts to expand the railroad system. For instance, the government gave homesteaders grants of land to encourage them to settle in the West and the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads worked together to complete the first transcontinental railroad which made it possible to travel from New York to San Francisco in just six days.

In the first half century, however the demand for passenger rail services dwindled, while other modes of transportation like planes and automobiles gained in popularity. Meanwhile, stifling regulation hindered railroads' ability to compete. The industry was plagued by a string of bankruptcies service cuts, bankruptcy, and delayed maintenance. Misguided federal rail regulations also contributed to the decline.

Around the year 1970 the federal government started to ease the regulatory burdens on railroads. Surface Transportation Board was created to oversee economic aspects such as railroad rates and mergers. The Federal Railroad Administration was also established to set standards for rail safety and is among the 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation that oversees freight and passenger transportation.





Since then, the railroad infrastructure of the United States has seen a significant amount of investment. The Northeast Corridor, for example has been renovated to accommodate more efficient, faster and modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT) trains. The effort has also been made to create more efficient freight rail systems. FRA hopes to continue working with all transportation agencies to ensure reliable and safe rails in the future. FRA's mission is to ensure that the nation's transportation system operates as efficiently as it can.