The Federal Railroad Administration

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

FRA field inspectors routinely inspect railroad tracks, signals and train control systems as well as operating procedures. 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, creates and enforces regulations for railways as well as manages funds from railroads and conducts research to improve railway 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 is also involved in 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 responsibilities also include establishing through regulation, and after an opportunity for comments an procedure that anyone can notify the Secretary Homeland Security any railroad security issues or deficiencies. In addition, the agency creates policies and conducts inspections to assess compliance with its rail safety regulations in six technical disciplines tracks signal and train control, motive power and equipment, operating practices, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings.

The agency is responsible of ensuring that the railroad transportation system operates in a secure, efficient and sustainable way. This is why the agency requires railroads to ensure a safe working environment and provide adequate training for their employees. In addition, the agency sets and enforces railroad rates to ensure that the public gets a fair rate for their transportation services.

In addition, the Federal Railroad Administration enacts and enforces rules to stop discrimination against railroad workers, and also protects whistleblowers from being retaliated against by railroad carriers. The agency also establishes procedures for railroad employees can file complaints regarding the company's actions.

The primary goal of the agency is to ensure safe, reliable and effective transportation of people and goods for a stronger America both now and in the future. The FRA accomplishes this by controlling rail safety, coordinating programs for assistance to railroads, conducting research in support of improved railroad safety and national transportation policy, coordinating rail networking development and helping the private industry manage railroads. In the past, railroads were huge monopolies, with no competition. The railroad industry was able to abuse its dominance in the market, resulting in. This is why Congress established the Interstate Commerce Commission and other regulatory agencies to curb the abuses committed by railroad monopolies.

Purpose

Federal railroads are government agencies that establish regulations, manage rail funds and conduct research to improve rail transportation in the United States. It oversees both freight and passenger railroads, and operates the nation's rail infrastructure. It is one of the 10 agencies in the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also charged with maintaining and expanding existing rail systems, ensuring the capability of the railroad industry to meet the growing travel and freight demands and providing leadership in national and regional system planning.

The main responsibility of the federal government in the railway industry is safety. The federal employers’ Railroad Administration is responsible for this. It has several divisions which 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 that include the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. This oversees the programs designed to improve passenger and freight railway transportation, including the Northeast Corridor Future. This department is responsible for granting grants given to railways and works with other agencies in order to determine the nation's rail requirements.

Another essential duty of the FRA is the enforcement of certain federal laws pertaining to railroads and their employees. This includes preventing railroads from discriminating against workers and ensuring that injured railway workers are provided with transportation to the nearest hospital for initial aid treatment. It also prohibits railroads to delay or refuse medical treatment for injured railway workers.

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

Functions

Railroads carry people and goods to and from cities in the developed countries as well as remote villages in less developed countries. They transport raw materials to manufacturing and processing factories, and the finished products from those factories to warehouses and stores. Railroads are an essential mode of transportation for many vital products, including oil, coal and grains. In 2020, freight rail transported more than a quarter of the nation's total freight volumes [PDF].

Federal railroads function as a business just like other businesses, with departments for marketing and operations, sales, and an executive department. The department for marketing and sales collaborates with potential and current customers to determine the kind of rail services they require and how much they will cost. The operations department then produces rail services that meet these needs at the lowest cost possible to make money for railroads. The executive department supervises the entire operation, ensuring that every department is running smoothly.

The government supports the railways with a variety methods, including grants and subsidized rates on government traffic. Congress also provides funds to build new stations and tracks. These subsidy funds are often added to the money that railroads earn through tickets and freight contracts.

Amtrak is owned by the United States government. It is a quasi-public, for-profit corporation with a significant shareholder that is the United States government.

The Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) primary function is to develop and enforce safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical condition of trains, as well as the safety and health of railroad employees. FRA also collects data about rail security to identify patterns and areas that require improvement or regulatory attention and to identify trends.

In addition to these fundamental functions, FRA works on various other projects related to improving the security and economy of rail transportation in the United States. The agency, for example is working to eliminate barriers that could delay railroads in implementing positive train control (PTC). PTC is a safety system that utilizes sensors and computers to stop a train in the event that it is too close to an object or vehicle.

History

In the 1820s-1830s the first railroads in the United States 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 made the country more self-sufficient and less dependent on imports.

In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the railroad industry experienced a "Golden Age," during which many new trains that were more efficient were constructed and passenger travel on train became more popular. The government's efforts in expanding the railroad system was an important factor. For instance, the government provided homesteaders land grants in order to encourage them to move to the West. Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads also partnered to construct the first transcontinental railroad, which allowed travelers to travel from New York City to San Francisco within six days.

In the first half century, however the demand for passenger rail services dwindled, while other modes of transportation like planes and automobiles increased in popularity. Meanwhile, stifling regulation stifled railroads' economic ability to compete. The industry was plagued by a series of bankruptcy, service cuts, and deferred maintenance. The misguided federal rail regulations contributed to the decline.

Around 1970, 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 was also established to set standards for rail safety and is among the 10 agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation that oversees freight and passenger transportation.

Since then, the infrastructure of the railroads of the United States has seen a lot of investment. The Northeast Corridor, for example was rebuilt to accommodate more efficient, faster and modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT) trains. There are also efforts to create more efficient systems for freight rail. FRA hopes to continue working with all transportation agencies to ensure the safety and reliability of rails in the coming years. It is the job of FRA to help make sure that the nation's transportation system operates as efficiently as it can.