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The Federal Railroad Administration

The federal employers Railroad Administration is one of the DOT's 10 agencies that deal with intermodal transportation. Its goal is to facilitate the secure and reliable transportation of people and goods.

FRA field inspectors inspect the railroad track signals, train control and track systems as well as operating procedures. They also investigate complaints.

Definition

Federal railroads are the rail carriers in the United States controlled by the federal government. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, creates and enforces regulations governing railways and regulates funds for railroads, and conducts research to improve railway transportation. The FRA is one of the 10 agencies of 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 railway system of the United States. The agency also consolidates government funding for rail transportation, and helps with the rehabilitation of Northeast Corridor passenger service. In addition, the agency oversees the ownership and operation 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 responsibilities also include the establishment through regulation, and after an opportunity for comment the procedure through which anyone can notify the Secretary Homeland Security any railroad security problems or deficiencies. The agency also develops policies, conducts inspections, and evaluates the compliance of its rail laws in six different technical disciplines, including track signal, track, and train control; motive power and equipment; operating procedures; hazmat and highway-rail grade intersections.

The agency is tasked with the responsibility of making sure the rail transportation system is secure, economical and sustainable. The agency also requires that railroads to maintain a safe workplace and provide adequate training to their employees. The agency also sets and enforces railroad prices to ensure that the public is billed in a fair manner for transportation services.

The Federal Railroad Administration also enacts and implements rules to prevent discrimination against railroad employees. The agency also safeguards whistleblowers against retaliation from railroad carriers. The agency also has an avenue for railroad employees to submit complaints regarding the conduct of their company.

The primary goal of the FRA is to facilitate the secure reliable and efficient transportation of goods and people for a strong America both now and in the future. The FRA accomplishes this by regulating railroad safety, managing programs for assistance to railroads conducting research to help better safety of railroads and national rail transportation policies as well as coordinating and assisting with rail networking development, and helping the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads were dominant in the market with no competition. As a result, the industry often abused its position in the market. Hence, Congress established the Interstate Commerce Commission and other regulatory agencies to prevent the abuses committed by railroad monopolies.

Purpose

The federal railroad is a federal agency that sets regulations, manages funds for rail and researches ways to improve the nation's rail transport system. It is responsible for both freight and passenger railroads and manages the nation's rail infrastructure. It is one of 10 agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also responsible for maintaining and expanding current rail systems.

Safety is the government's main responsibility in the field of rail transportation. The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for this. It has a number of divisions that supervise the country's freight and passenger railway operations. The largest of these is the Office of Railroad Safety, with approximately 350 safety inspectors and is responsible for conducting inspections to determine compliance with regulations in six technical disciplines that include track signal and train control, motive power and equipment, operating procedures as well as hazmat and highway rail grade crossings.

FRA has several departments, such as the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. It oversees programs designed to improve freight and passenger rail transportation, including the Northeast Corridor Future. This department is responsible for grants given to railways and works with other agencies to determine the nation's rail requirements.

Another important duty of the FRA is the enforcement of 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 all injured railway staff are taken to the nearest hospital for treatment. It also prohibits railroads to delay or deny medical treatment for injured railway employees.

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

Functions

Railroads transport goods and people to and from cities in the developed nations as and remote villages in countries that are less developed. They transport raw materials to processing and manufacturing factories, and the finished products from these facilities to warehouses and stores. Rail is a crucial mode of transportation for a number of essential commodities including oil, grains and coal. In 2020, freight rail moved over a quarter of the country's total freight volume [PDF].

The federal railroad is managed just like other businesses. 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 what services they require and what they need to cost. The operations department then creates 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 ensures that each department is running efficiently.

The government provides support to the railways in a variety of ways including grants, to subsidised rates for shipping government traffic. Congress also provides funds to help construct new tracks and stations. These subsidies are often a part of the revenues 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, which has the United States Government as a major stockholder.

A key function of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is establishing and enforcing safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical properties of trains as well as the health and safety of railroad employees. FRA also collects and analyzes information on rail safety to identify trends and areas that may require more or better regulatory attention.

In addition to these fundamental tasks, FRA works on various other projects related to improving the economy and security of railroad transportation in the United States. For instance, the agency seeks to eliminate obstacles that could delay railroads' implementation of positive train control systems (PTC). PTC is a safety technology that makes use of sensors and computers to stop a train in the event that it is too close to an object or vehicle.

History

The first railroads in the United States were built in the 1820s and 1830s, mostly in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. Railroads significantly accelerated industrialization in these areas, and also brought more food to the market. This helped the country to become more self-sufficient and less dependent upon imports from abroad, which helped to foster a strong economic base.

In the late 19th century the railroad industry experienced a "Golden Age" during which new, more efficient rail lines were built and passenger transportation became popular. The government's efforts to expand the railroad system were an important aspect. For example the government offered land grants to homesteaders to encourage them to move to the West, and the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads worked together to complete the first transcontinental railroad which enabled 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 such as cars and planes became more popular. However, stifling regulations hindered railroads' ability to compete. A series of bankruptcies, service cuts and deferred maintenance were the result. In addition, misguided federal railway regulations caused the decline of the railroad industry.

Around the year 1970, the federal employers’ liability act government began to loosen the regulatory restrictions on railroads. The Surface Transportation Board was established to oversee economic aspects of the industry, such as mergers and rates for railroads. The Federal Railroad Administration, which supervises freight and passenger transportation and sets rail safety standards, was also created.

Since then, a great amount of money has been made in the country's railroad infrastructure. The Northeast Corridor, for example, has been rebuilt to accommodate faster, more modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT) trains. There are also efforts to develop more efficient freight rail. FRA hopes to continue to work with all transportation agencies to ensure safe and reliable rails in the near future. The agency's role is to ensure that the nation's transportation system is running as efficiently as it can.