The Federal Railroad Administration

The Federal Railroad Administration is one of the DOT's 10 departments concerned with intermodal transportation. Its purpose is to ensure the safe and reliable movement of goods and people.

FRA field inspectors regularly inspect railroad track, signal and train control systems, as and 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 federal government. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) creates and enforces railway safety regulations, administers funds for railroads, and investigates ways to improve 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 and the Deputy Administrator.

The agency supervises all freight and passenger transportation that utilizes the nation's railway network. The agency also consolidates the federal employers liability funding for rail transportation and assists in the rehabilitation of Northeast Corridor passenger service. The agency also regulates ownership and operation of intermodal facilities including tracks, right of way equipment, real estate and rolling stock. It also oversees federal rail transportation programs.

The FRA's responsibilities also include the establishment through regulation, and after an opportunity for comments, a procedure by which anyone can inform the Secretary of Homeland Security any railroad security problems or issues. The agency also develops policies, conducts inspections, and reviews compliance with its rail laws in six different technical disciplines, including track, signal, and train control locomotive power and equipment; operating practices hazardous materials and highway-rail grade intersections.

The agency is tasked with the responsibility of making sure the railroad transportation system is safe, economical and environmentally sustainable. The agency also requires railroads maintain a safe work environment and provide adequate training for their employees. Furthermore, the agency sets and enforces railroad rates to ensure that the public gets fair prices for their transportation services.

The Federal Railroad Administration also enacts and enforces rules to stop discrimination towards railroad employees. The agency also safeguards whistleblowers from retaliation by railroad carriers. The agency also has a complaint procedure for railroad employees to file complaints about the company's conduct.

The main goal of the FRA is to ensure the safe, reliable and efficient movement of goods and people for a strong America both now and in 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 policies, coordinating and supporting rail networking development as well as 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 marketplace. This is why Congress established the Interstate Commerce Commission and other regulatory agencies to curb abuses by railroad monopolies.

Purpose

Federal railroads are government agencies that set rules, regulate funds for rail and conduct research to improve rail transport in the United States. It is responsible for both freight and passenger railroads and operates the nation's rail infrastructure. It is one of the 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also responsible for maintaining and expanding current railway systems.

The primary responsibility of the government in the field of rail transportation is safety. The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for this. It has a variety of divisions that oversee the country's passenger and freight railroad operations. The Office of Railroad Safety is the largest of them, with around 350 inspectors. It is responsible for conducting safety inspections in six different technical disciplines, including track signal, and train control, motive and equipment operating procedures, hazmat and highway-rail grade crosses.

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

The FRA also has a responsibility to enforce federal laws pertaining to railroads and workers. This includes stopping railroads from using their power to discriminate against employees and ensuring that injured railway employees are transported to the nearest hospital for treatment. The law also prohibits railroads from deny or delay medical treatment for injured railway employees.

The FRA is the main regulator of the freight and passenger rail industries, but there are other agencies that manage the economic aspects of rail transportation. Surface Transportation Board is responsible for establishing rates and managing economics in the industry. It also has the authority to regulate railroad mergers lines sales, construction and abandonment. Other responsibilities include establishing rules following an opportunity for public input and participation, where anyone can complain about alleged safety violations to the agency.

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 then finished products from these facilities to warehouses or stores. Rail is a crucial mode of transportation for a variety of essential commodities, including grains, oil, and coal. In 2020, freight rail moved more than a quarter of the nation's total freight volumes [PDF(PDF).

A federal railroad operates like any other business, with departments for marketing, operations, sales, and an executive department. The department for marketing and sales works with potential and current customers to determine what kind of rail services they need and the amount they should cost. The operations department then develops the rail services that satisfy those needs at the lowest cost in order to earn money for the railroad. The executive department supervises the entire operation, ensuring that every department is operating efficiently.

The government provides support to railways through a variety of means such as grants and subsidised rates on government traffic. Congress also provides funds to support and build stations and tracks. These subsidies are usually in addition to the earnings railroads receive from 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 the United States Government as a major stockholder.

The primary role of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is to develop and enforce safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical properties of trains and the health and safety of railroad employees. FRA also collects data on security of rail lines to identify patterns and areas that require improvement or attention from the regulatory side and to track trends.

In addition to these primary functions, 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' introduction of positive train control systems (PTC). PTC is a safety system that uses sensors and computers to stop a train automatically when it is too close to an vehicle or object.

History

In the 1820s-1830s the first railroads in the United States were constructed, mostly in New England and Mid-Atlantic. Railroads significantly accelerated industrialization in these regions, and also brought more food items to the market. This development allowed the country to become more self-sufficient and less dependent on imports from abroad, which in turn resulted in a solid economic base.

In the latter part of the 19th century, the railroad industry enjoyed a "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 in order to encourage them to move to the West. Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads also collaborated to construct the first transcontinental railway, which allowed passengers to travel from New York City to San Francisco in just six days.

In the first half century however, the demand for passenger rail services decreased, and other modes of transportation such as cars and planes increased in popularity. Meanwhile, stifling regulation made it difficult for railroads to compete. The industry was plagued by a succession of bankruptcies, service cuts, and deferred maintenance. Additionally, a misguided federal railway regulations caused the decline of the railroad industry.

Around 1970, federal government began loosening the regulations governing 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 was also established to set rules for safety in rail and is among the 10 agencies in the U.S. Department of Transportation that oversees freight and passenger transportation.

Since then, the infrastructure of the railroads of the United America has seen a great deal of investment. The Northeast Corridor has been rebuilt, for instance, to accommodate more efficient and modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT). Efforts have also been made to create more efficient 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 job of FRA to help make sure that the nation's transportation system operates as efficiently as it can.