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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 safe and reliable transportation of both 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 rail carriers 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 top executives are the Administrator and the Deputy Administrator.

The agency supervises all freight and passenger transportation that utilizes the nation's railway network. In addition the agency supports the rehabilitation of the Northeast Corridor rail passenger service and consolidates support from the federal government for rail transportation activities. 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 duties also include establishing through regulation and following an opportunity for comments an procedure that anyone can report to the Secretary Homeland Security any railroad security problems or issues. The agency also develops policies, conducts inspections, and evaluates the compliance of its rail laws in six technical disciplines, including track signal, track, and train control locomotive power and equipment; operating procedures as well as hazmat and highway-rail grade intersections.

The agency is charged with the responsibility of making sure the railroad transportation system is safe, economical and sustainable. This is why the agency requires railroads to provide the safety of their workers and provide the appropriate training to their employees. The agency also determines and enforces the cost of railroad services to ensure that the public is charged in a fair manner for transportation services.

In addition to that, the Federal Railroad Administration enacts and enforces rules to stop discrimination against railroad employees and protect whistleblowers from being retaliated against by railroad companies. The agency also establishes an avenue for railroad employees to file complaints regarding the conduct of their company.

The primary goal of the FRA is to facilitate the secure reliable and efficient movement of people and goods to ensure a secure America, now and in the future. The FRA achieves this by overseeing the safety of railroads, regulating programs for assistance to railroads, conducting research to support better safety of railroads and national rail transportation policy, coordinating and supporting rail networking development, and helping the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads were essentially monopolies, with no competition. The railroad industry took advantage of its dominance in the market due to. 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 federal agency that makes rules, oversees funds for rail and researches ways to improve the nation's rail transportation system. It oversees both freight and passenger railroads, and also manages the nation's railway infrastructure. It is one of the 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also charged with maintaining and expanding the current rail systems, ensuring the ability of the rail industry to meet growing travel and freight demands and providing leadership in national and regional system planning.

The government's primary responsibility in the field of rail transportation is safety. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is in charge of this, and has several divisions that oversee the country's freight and passenger railroad operations. The Office of Railroad Safety is the largest of these with approximately 350 inspectors. It is responsible for conducting safety inspections in six different technical disciplines, including track signal, and train control as well as motive and equipment, operating procedures, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings.

FRA has several departments, such as the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. This oversees the programs that aim to improve passenger and freight railway transportation, including the Northeast Corridor Future. This department also is responsible for grants that are made to help railways, and it collaborates with other agencies in planning for the nation's rail requirements.

The FRA also has a duty to enforce federal laws related to railroads and their workers. federal employers liability includes preventing railroads from discriminating against workers, and making sure that all injured railway employees receive transportation to the nearest hospital for initial aid treatment. Additionally, railroads are prohibited from refusing or delaying medical care to injured railway workers.

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

Functions

Rails transport people and goods from and to cities in the developed world as also to villages in less developed countries. They transport raw materials from processing and manufacturing facilities, and final products from these facilities to stores or warehouses. Rail is a vital form of transportation for a number of essential commodities including grains, oil, and coal. In 2020, freight railroads moved more than a quarter of all freight volumes in the United America [PDF].

Federal railroads operate like any other business, with departments for marketing, operations, sales 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 creates the rail services that meet these requirements at the cheapest cost to earn money for the railroad. The executive department is responsible for the entire operation, making sure each department is functioning efficiently.





The government offers support to railways in a variety of ways, from grants to subsidized rates for shipping government traffic. Congress also provides funds to help build and maintain new stations and tracks. These subsidy funds are often added to the revenues that railroads receive through ticket sales and freight contracts.

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

A key role of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is to develop and enforce safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical state 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 need improved or increased regulation.

FRA also participates in other projects that help improve the safety and economy of railway transportation in the United States. For instance, the agency seeks to eliminate obstacles that might hinder railroads' implementation of positive train control systems (PTC). PTC is a safety system that uses sensors and computers on board to stop the train when it is too close to a vehicle or object.

History

The nation's first railroads were constructed in the 1820s and 1830s mostly in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. Railroads significantly accelerated industrialization in these regions and also brought more food to the market. This allowed the country to become more self-sufficient and less dependent on imports from abroad, which in turn resulted in a solid economic base.

In the latter part of the nineteenth century the railroad industry was experiencing a "Golden Age," during which many new, more efficient rail lines were built and passenger travel via train became more popular. The government's efforts to expand the railroad system was an important aspect. For example the government provided homesteaders land grants 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 allowed 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 such as cars and planes increased in popularity. Meanwhile, stifling regulation hindered railroads' ability to compete. A series of bankruptcies, service cuts and deferred maintenance were the result. In addition, misguided federal railway regulation contributed to the decline of the industry.

In the year 1970, the federal government began to loosen the regulatory restrictions 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 railroad infrastructure of the United States has seen a lot 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 improve the efficiency of freight rail systems. In the future, FRA hopes to continue its relationship with all transportation agencies to ensure safe and reliable railroads. The agency's role is to ensure that the nation's transport system operates as efficiently as it can.