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The Federal Railroad Administration

The Federal Railroad Administration is one of the 10 DOT agencies involved in intermodal transportation. Its mission is enabling the secure and efficient transportation of people and goods.

FRA field inspectors examine the railroad track, train control and signal 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. Federal Employers’ Liability Act Railroad Administration (FRA) is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, formulates and enforces regulations for railways, administers railroad funds, and conducts research to improve railway transportation. The FRA is one of 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation that is concerned with intermodal transportation. Its chief executive officers are the Administrator and Deputy Administrator.

The agency is responsible for all passenger and freight transport that is made possible by the rail network of the United States. The agency also consolidates government funding for rail transportation, and helps with the rehabilitation of the Northeast Corridor passenger service. Additionally, the agency oversees the management and ownership of all intermodal facilities, such as tracks, rights-of-way, equipment real property, and rolling stock, and provides the overall coordination of federal rail transportation programs.

The FRA's duties include establishing, through regulation, after notice and comments are allowed an avenue through which anyone can submit a make a complaint to the Secretary of Homeland Security concerning railroad security problems or inconsistencies. Additionally, the FRA establishes policies and conducts inspections in order to evaluate the 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 tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that the railroad transportation system is safe, efficient and environmentally sustainable. The agency also requires that railroads to maintain a safe workplace and provide adequate training to their employees. Furthermore, the agency sets and enforces railroad rates to ensure that the public receives an equitable price for their transportation services.

In addition to that, the Federal Railroad Administration enacts and enforces regulations to prevent discrimination against railroad employees and also protects whistleblowers from retaliation by railroad carriers. The agency also has a complaint procedure for railroad employees to make complaints about the conduct of the company.

The agency's primary mission is to facilitate the secure, reliable, and efficient movement of goods and people for a strong America, now and in the future. The FRA achieves this by regulating rail safety, managing programs for assistance to railroads, conducting research in support of improving safety in the railroad industry and national transportation policies as well as coordinating the development of rail networks and assisting private companies manage railroads. In the past, railroads were essentially monopolies that had no competition. In the end, the industry often abused its position in the marketplace. Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission, as along with other regulatory agencies to control railroad monopolies' abuses.

Purpose

The federal railroad is a federal agency that establishes rules, oversees funds for rail and researches ways to improve the nation's rail transport system. It is responsible for the rail infrastructure of the United States and supervises passenger and freight railroads. It is one of 10 agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also charged with maintaining and expanding existing railway systems, ensuring capability of the railroad industry to meet the growing travel and freight demands and providing leadership in national and regional system planning.

Safety is the main responsibility when it comes to rail transportation. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is in charge of this, and has several divisions that oversee the country's freight and passenger rail operations. The most important of these is the Office of Railroad Safety, which is home to approximately 350 safety inspectors and is responsible for conducting inspections to ensure compliance with regulations in six technical disciplines: track signals, train control, motive power and equipment, operating procedures, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings.

FRA has various departments, including the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. It is responsible for the programs designed to improve freight and passenger rail transportation, such as the Northeast Corridor Future. The department also is in charge of the grants that are given to railways and works with other agencies to develop plans for the nation's rail requirements.

The FRA also has a duty to enforce federal laws pertaining to railroads and their employees. This includes preventing railroads from discriminating against employees and ensuring that all railway employees injured are transported to the nearest hospital for first aid treatment. It also prohibits railroads from denying or delaying medical care to injured railway workers.

The FRA is the primary regulator of the passenger and freight rail industries, but there are other organizations which manage the economic aspects of rail transport. The Surface Transportation Board, for instance, is in charge of setting rates and governing 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 rules that allow anyone to report any suspected rail safety violations.

Functions

Rails transport people and goods from and to cities in developed countries as well as villages in countries that are less developed. They transport raw materials from processing and manufacturing facilities, and final goods from these facilities to warehouses or stores. Railroads are a vital mode of transportation for many essential commodities, including oil, coal and grains. In 2020, freight rail carried more than a quarter of country's total freight volume [PDF].

The federal railroad is run as a business. It has departments for marketing, operations, sales, and an executive department. The department for marketing and sales consults with customers and potential clients to determine the services they require and what they need to cost. The operations department then produces rail services that meet these needs at the lowest cost possible to generate revenue for railroads. The executive department is responsible for the entire operation, ensuring that each department is functioning efficiently.

The government supports the railways by a variety of ways such as grants and subsidised rates for government-owned traffic. Congress also offers funds to help construct new tracks and stations. These subsidies are often added to the money that railroads earn through tickets and freight contracts.

In the United States, the government is the owner of the passenger railway 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 involves regulating the mechanical condition of trains as well as the health and safety of railroad employees. FRA also analyzes and collects information on rail safety to identify patterns and areas that might require improvement or more regulatory attention.

In addition to these primary functions, FRA works on various other projects that aim to improve the security and economy of railroad transportation in the United States. For instance, FRA, aims to reduce the barriers that could delay railroads in adopting positive train control (PTC). PTC is a safety system that makes use of sensors and computers to stop a train in the event that it is too close to an vehicle or object.

History

In the 1820s and 1830s, the first railroads in America were built, mostly in New England and Mid-Atlantic. The railroads greatly accelerated industrialization in these regions, and also brought more food products to the market. This allowed the country become more independent and less dependent on imports.

In the late 19th century the fela railroad industry experienced the benefits of a "Golden Age" during which new, more efficient rail lines were built and passenger travel became popular. This was largely because of the government's efforts to expand the railroad system. The government, for example provided homesteaders land grants in order to encourage them to settle the West. Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads also worked together to construct the first transcontinental railroad, which allowed travelers to travel from New York City to San Francisco within six days.

However in the early part of the 20th century, demand for railroad passenger services slowed and other transportation options like airplanes and cars gained popularity, while the stifling of regulations hampered railroads' ability to compete economically. A series of bankruptcies, service cuts and deferred maintenance followed. Additionally, a misguided federal railway regulations contributed to the decline of the railroad industry.

Around 1970, the federal government began 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, which is responsible for establishing standards for rail safety and is one of the 10 agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation that oversees freight and passenger 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 more efficient, faster and modern high speed ground transportation (HSGT) trains. There have also been efforts to improve the efficiency of freight rail systems. FRA hopes to continue working with all transportation agencies to ensure the safety and reliability of rails in the near future. It is the agency's job to help make sure that the transportation system of the United States is as efficient as it can be.