The Federal Railroad Administration

The Federal Railroad Administration is one of the DOT's 10 agencies involved in intermodal transportation. Its goal is to facilitate the safe and efficient transportation of people and goods.

FRA field inspectors inspect the railroad track signals, train control and track systems as well 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. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is responsible for the creation and enforcement of railway safety regulations, administers railroad funding, and researches ways to improve the efficiency of 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 as well as the Deputy Administrator.

The agency is responsible for all passenger and freight transport that utilizes the rail network of the United States. Additionally 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. Additionally, the agency oversees the management and ownership of all intermodal facilities such as tracks, right-of-way, equipment real property, and rolling stock, and provides the overall coordination of federal rail transportation programs.

FRA's responsibilities include establishing through regulation, following the notice and comments are allowed an avenue through anyone can report to the Secretary of Homeland Security concerning railroad security problems or inconsistencies. In addition, the agency sets up policies and conducts inspections to determine the compliance of its rail safety regulations in six technical disciplines: track, signal and train control, motive power and machinery, operating practices, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings.

The agency is responsible of ensuring that the railroad transportation system is operating in a secure, efficient and sustainable manner. As a result, the agency requires railroads to provide 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 receives fair prices for their transportation services.

Additionally, the Federal Railroad Administration enacts and enforces regulations to prevent discrimination against railroad employees as well as protects whistleblowers from retaliation by railroad carriers. The agency also has an avenue for railroad employees to file complaints about the company's conduct.

The main goal of the agency is to ensure the secure efficient, reliable, and secure movement of goods and people to build a stronger America today and into the future. The FRA achieves this by regulating railroad safety, managing railroad assistance programs conducting research to help better safety of railroads and national rail transportation policy and coordination, as well as supporting the development of rail networks, and helping the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads were essentially monopolies that had no competition. The railroad industry was able to abuse its dominance in the market as a result. Congress established the Interstate Commerce Commission, as and other regulatory agencies, to limit railroad monopolies' abuses.

Purpose

Federal railroads are government-owned institutions that make regulations, manage rail funds and conduct research to improve rail transportation in the United America. It manages the railway infrastructure of the United States and manages passenger and freight railroads. It is one of the ten agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also tasked with maintaining and expanding the current rail systems, ensuring the ability of the rail industry to meet the growing demand for freight and travel as well as providing leadership in regional and national system planning.

The main responsibility of the federal government in the railway industry is safety. The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for this. It has a variety of divisions that oversee the country's passenger and freight railway operations. The largest of them is the Office of Railroad Safety, which has about 350 safety inspectors. It is responsible for conducting inspections to ensure compliance with regulations in six technical disciplines: track signal and train control, motive power and equipment, operating practices as well as hazmat and highway rail grade crossings.

FRA has several departments, including the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. It is responsible for the programs that aim to improve passenger and freight railway transportation, including the Northeast Corridor Future. This department is responsible for granting grants given to railways, and collaborates with other agencies in order to plan the nation's rail requirements.

Another essential duty of the FRA is the enforcement of certain federal employers’ liability act laws regarding railroads and their employees. This includes stopping railroads from discriminating against workers and ensuring that all injured railway employees are transported to the nearest hospital for initial aid treatment. It also prohibits railroads to deny or delay medical treatment for injured railway workers.

The FRA is the main regulator of the freight and passenger railway industries, but there are other agencies which manage the economic aspects of rail transport. 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 following an opportunity for public input and participation, where anyone can report alleged rail safety violations to the agency.

Functions

Rails transport goods and people from and to cities in the developed world as well as villages in countries that are less developed. They transport raw materials from manufacturing and processing facilities, and final goods from these facilities to stores or warehouses. Rail is a vital form of transportation for a range 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 [PDFThe PDF file contains more information about.

Federal railroads function as a business just like other businesses with departments for marketing, operations, sales and an executive department. The department for marketing and sales consults with customers and potential clients to determine what services they need and what they will cost. The operations department then develops the rail services that meet these needs at the lowest cost to earn money for the railroad. The executive department oversees the entire operation and makes sure that every department is operating efficiently.

The government provides support to railways by a variety of methods that include grants and subsidized rates for government-owned traffic. Congress also provides funds to support and build new stations and tracks. These subsidies are often added to the revenues that railroads receive through ticket sales and freight contracts.

In the United States, the government owns the railway for passengers, Amtrak. It is a quasi public for-profit company, with the United States Government as a major stockholder.

The Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) main purpose is to create and enforce safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical conditions of trains, as well as the safety and health of railroad employees. FRA also collects and analyzes data on rail safety to identify patterns and areas that might require improvement or more regulation.

FRA also participates in other projects that help improve the safety and economy of railway transportation in the United States. For instance, FRA, aims to reduce the obstacles that can hinder railroads in adopting positive train control (PTC). PTC is a safety system that makes use of sensors and on-board computers to stop the train when it gets too close to a vehicle or object.

History

The first railroads in the United States were built in the 1820s and 1830s, mostly in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. The railroads accelerated industrialization and brought more food products to markets in these regions. This helped the country to become more self-sufficient and less dependent upon imports from abroad, which in turn contributed to a stronger economic base.

In the late nineteenth century the railroad industry was experiencing an "Golden Age," during which many new trains that were more efficient were built and passenger travel on train became more popular. This was largely due to the government's efforts to expand the railroad system. For instance, the government granted land grants to homesteaders in order to encourage them to move to the West. Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads also worked together to construct the first transcontinental railway, which allowed passengers to travel from New York City to San Francisco within six days.

In the first half century however the demand for rail passenger services dwindled, while other modes of transportation such as cars and planes gained in popularity. However, stifling regulations made it difficult for railroads to compete. A series of bankruptcies, delays in maintenance and service cuts were the result. Uninformed federal rail regulations also contributed to the decline.

Around the year 1970, the federal government began to ease the regulatory shackles on railroads. The Surface Transportation Board was established to oversee the 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 the 10 agencies in the U.S. Department of Transportation that oversees freight and passenger transportation.

Since then, the railroad infrastructure of the United States has seen a lot of investment. The Northeast Corridor, for example has been renovated to accommodate more efficient, faster and modern high speed ground transportation (HSGT) trains. Efforts have also been made to develop more efficient freight rail systems. FRA hopes to continue working with all transportation agencies to ensure the safety and reliability of rails in the coming years. The role of FRA is to ensure that the nation's transport system runs as efficiently as is possible.