The Federal Railroad Administration

The Federal Railroad Administration is one of the 10 DOT agencies concerned with intermodal transportation. Its purpose is to ensure secure and reliable transportation of people and goods.

FRA field inspectors regularly inspect railroad track, signal and Liability act fela train control systems as and 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) is a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, develops and enforces regulations for railways as well as manages funds from railroads and conducts research to improve railway transportation. The FRA is one of 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation that are concerned with intermodal transportation. Its chief executive officers are the Administrator and Deputy Administrator.

The agency is responsible for all freight and passenger transport that uses the nation's railway network. The agency also consolidates the funding provided by the federal government for rail transportation and assists in the rehabilitation of the Northeast Corridor passenger service. In addition, the agency oversees the ownership and operation 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 duties also include establishing through regulation and following an opportunity for comment an procedure that anyone can inform the Secretary of Homeland Security any railroad security issues or deficiencies. Additionally, the FRA establishes policies and conducts inspections to assess compliance with its rail safety laws in six technical disciplines that include track signal and train control, motive power and equipment operating practices, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings.

The agency is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the railway transportation system is secure, economical, and environmentally friendly. In turn, the agency requires railroads to ensure an environment that is safe for workers and provide adequate training for their employees. Additionally, the agency establishes and enforces railroad rates to ensure that the public gets a fair rate for their transportation services.

The Federal Railroad Administration also enacts and enforces rules to prevent discrimination against railroad employees. It also protects whistleblowers against retaliation from railroad carriers. The agency also establishes an procedure through which railroad employees can file complaints about the actions of the company.

The primary goal of the FRA is to ensure the safe efficient, reliable, and secure movement of people and goods to ensure a secure America today and into the future. The FRA achieves this by controlling safety of railroads, coordinating programs for assistance to railroads conducting research to help improved railroad safety and national rail transportation policy, coordinating and supporting the development of a rail network, and helping the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads controlled the market, with very little competition. This meant that the industry often abused its position in the marketplace. This is why Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission and other regulatory agencies to limit abuses by railroad monopolies.

Purpose

Federal railroads are federal agencies that establish rules, regulate rail funds and conduct research to improve rail transportation in the United States. It operates the railway infrastructure of the United States and supervises passenger and freight railroads. It is one of ten agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also charged with maintaining and expanding the current rail systems, ensuring the capability of the railroad industry to meet increasing demand for freight and travel as well as providing leadership in national and regional system planning.

Security is the primary responsibility in the field of rail transportation. 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 around 350 safety inspectors and is responsible for conducting inspections to ensure the compliance with regulations in six technical disciplines: track signals, train control, motive power and equipment, operating practices hazardous materials and highway-rail grade crossings.

FRA has several departments, including the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. This department oversees programs that aim at improving freight and passenger rail transport, such as the Northeast Corridor Future. The department also is responsible for grants that are made to railways and works with other agencies to plan for the country's rail needs.

Another important duty of the FRA is the enforcement of federal laws regarding railroads and their employees. This includes stopping railroads from discriminating against workers, and making sure that all injured railway employees are transported to the nearest hospital for first aid treatment. The law also prohibits railroads from refusing or delaying medical care to injured railway workers.

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

Functions

Railroads carry people and goods between cities in developed countries as and remote villages in less developed countries. 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 number of essential commodities, including grain, oil, and coal. In 2020, freight railroads transported more than a quarter of all freight in the United States [PDFThe PDF file contains more information about.

Federal railroads function just like any other company with departments for marketing and sales, operations and an executive department. The department for marketing and sales talks with customers and potential clients to determine the services they need and how much they should cost. The operations department then develops the rail services that meet 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 operating efficiently.

The government helps the railways through a variety of means, including grants and subsidized rates for government traffic. Congress also offers funds to help build new stations and tracks. These subsidies are often added to the revenue that railroads receive through ticket sales and freight contracts.

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

The primary 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 safety and health of railroad employees. FRA also collects data about rail security to identify trends, areas that need improvement or regulatory attention and to identify trends.

In addition to these fundamental tasks, FRA works on various other projects related to improving the economy and security of rail 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 makes use of sensors and on-board computers to stop the train when it is too close to a vehicle or object.

History

In the 1820s-1830s, the first railroads in America were built, primarily in New England and Mid-Atlantic. Railroads helped speed up industrialization and brought more food to the market in these regions. This allowed the country to become more self-sufficient and less dependent upon foreign imports, which contributed to a stronger economic base.

In the late nineteenth century the railroad industry was experiencing a "Golden Age," during which many new railway lines that were more efficient were built and passenger travel via train became more popular. The government's efforts to expand the railroad system were a major reason. For instance the government offered land grants to homesteaders to encourage them to move to the West and the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads collaborated to build the first transcontinental railroad which made it possible to travel from New York to San Francisco in 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. In the meantime, the stifling of regulation made it difficult for railroads to compete. A series of bankruptcies and service cuts, and deferred maintenance followed. In addition, a misguided federal railway regulation led to the demise of the industry.

Around 1970 the federal government started to loosen the regulatory burdens on railroads. Surface Transportation Board was created to oversee economic issues such as railroad rates and mergers. The Federal Railroad Administration, which supervises freight and passenger transportation and sets rail safety standards, was also created.

Since then, the railroad infrastructure of the United States has seen a significant amount of investment. The Northeast Corridor has been rebuilt for instance, in order to accommodate faster and more modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT). There have also been efforts to develop more efficient freight rail. In the future, FRA hopes to continue its collaboration with all transportation agencies in order to ensure the safety and reliability of railroads. The role of FRA is to ensure that the nation's transportation system is running as efficiently as it can.