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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 reliable transportation of people and goods.

FRA field inspectors examine the railroad track as well as train control and signal systems, as well as operating practices. 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 railway funding, and studies 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 Fela case settlements all passenger and freight transport that uses the railway system of the United States. In addition the agency is also involved in the rehabilitation of the Northeast Corridor rail passenger service and consolidates the government's support for rail transportation activities. Moreover, the agency regulates 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.

The FRA's responsibilities are to establish through regulation, after notice and comments are allowed the procedure by which anyone can submit a submit a report to the Secretary of Homeland Security concerning railroad security problems or shortcomings. In addition, the agency sets up policies and conducts inspections in order to evaluate the compliance of its rail safety laws in six technical disciplines tracks signals and train control, motive power and machinery, operating practices, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings.

The agency has the responsibility to make sure the railroad transportation system is safe, efficient and environmentally sustainable. The agency also demands that railroads to maintain a safe workplace and provide adequate training to their employees. The agency also determines and enforces the cost of railroad services to ensure that the public is billed fairly for transportation services.

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

The agency's main mission is to ensure the secure, reliable and efficient transportation of people and goods for a strong America today and in the future. The FRA accomplishes this by overseeing the regulation of rail safety, managing programs for assistance to railroads conducting research to support improved railroad safety and national transportation policies as well as coordinating the development of rail networks and assisting the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads were large monopolies with little competition. This meant that railroads often misused their position in the marketplace. This is why Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission and other regulatory agencies to limit the abuses of railroad monopolies.

Purpose

Federal railroads are federal agencies that set regulations, manage rail funds and conduct research to improve rail transportation in the United America. It is responsible for both freight and passenger railroads and operates the nation's rail infrastructure. It is one of 10 agencies in the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also responsible for maintaining and expanding current rail infrastructure.

The government's primary responsibility in the rail transportation industry is safety. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is responsible for this, and it has several divisions that oversee the country's freight and passenger rail operations. The largest of these is the Office of Railroad Safety, with about 350 safety inspectors. It is responsible for conducting inspections to ensure the compliance with regulations in six technical disciplines that include track signal and train control, motive power and equipment, operating procedures, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings.

FRA has several departments, including the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. This department is responsible for programs aimed at improving freight and passenger rail transport, such as the Northeast Corridor Future. This department is also in charge of the grants that help railways, and it collaborates with other agencies to plan for the nation's rail requirements.

The FRA also has a duty to enforce federal laws that pertain to railroads and their employees. This includes stopping railroads from using their power to discriminate against workers and making sure that railway workers injured are taken to the nearest hospital for treatment. It also prohibits railroads from denying or delaying medical treatment to injured railway employees.

The FRA is the main regulator of the freight and passenger rail industries, however there are other organizations which manage the economic aspects of rail transportation. Surface Transportation Board is responsible for setting rates and managing economics in the industry. It has regulatory authority on railroad mergers, line-sales construction, and abandonment. Other responsibilities include establishing a process through regulations, after opportunity for public input, by which anyone may submit complaints about rail safety violations to the agency.

Functions

Railroads carry people and goods to and from cities in developed nations as also remote villages in less developed countries. They transport raw materials from manufacturing and processing facilities, and then finished goods from these facilities to stores or warehouses. Railroads are a critical form of transportation for many vital commodities, such as oil, coal and grains. In 2020, freight rail carried more than a quarter of the country's total freight volume [PDF].

A federal railroad operates as a business just like other businesses, with departments for marketing and operations, sales and an executive department. The department for marketing and sales talks with customers and potential clients to determine what services they need and how much they should cost. The operations department then produces the rail services that meet these requirements at the cheapest cost to earn money for the railroad. The executive department oversees the entire operation, ensuring that every department is running smoothly.

The government provides support to the railways in various ways, from grants to subsidized rates for government-owned transport. Congress also provides funds to help build and maintain new stations and tracks. These subsidies are often added to the revenue that railroads receive through tickets and freight contracts.

In the United States, the government is the owner of the railway for passengers, Amtrak. It is a quasi-public for-profit corporation with a large stockholder, which is the United States government.

The Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) main 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 on rail security to identify patterns, areas that need improvement or attention from regulators and to identify trends.

In addition to these fundamental duties, FRA works on various other projects related to improving the security and economy of railway transportation in the United States. For instance, the agency is working to remove obstacles that could hinder railroads' implementation of positive train control systems (PTC). PTC is a safety technology that uses sensors and computers to stop a train automatically when it is too close to an vehicle or object.

History

The first railroads in the United States were constructed in the 1820s and 1830s, mostly in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. The railroads increased industrialization and brought more food products to the market in these regions. This made the country more self-sufficient and less dependent on imports.

In the latter part of the 19th century, Federal Employers’ the railroad industry enjoyed an "Golden Age" during which new, more efficient raillines were constructed and passenger travel became popular. This was in large part because of the government's efforts to expand the railroad system. For instance, the government granted land grants to homesteaders to encourage them to settle in the West. Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads also collaborated to construct the first transcontinental railroad which allowed travelers to travel from New York City to San Francisco within six days.

However in the first half of the 20th century, the demand for passenger railroad services decreased and other transportation options like airplanes and cars gained popularity, while the stifling of regulations hindered railroads competitiveness economically. A series of bankruptcies and service cuts, and deferred maintenance were the result. Additionally, a misguided railroad regulations from the federal government caused the demise of the industry.

Around 1970 the federal government started to ease the regulatory burdens 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 rail safety regulations and is one of the 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation that supervises passenger and freight transportation.

Since then, a great amount of investment has been made in the country's railway infrastructure. The Northeast Corridor, for example was rebuilt to accommodate faster, more modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT) trains. There have also been efforts to develop more efficient systems for freight rail. In the future, FRA hopes to continue its relationship with all transportation agencies 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 is possible.