The Federal Railroad Administration

The Federal Railroad Administration is one of the DOT's 10 departments concerned with intermodal transportation. Its goal is to facilitate the safe and efficient transportation of people and goods.

FRA field inspectors routinely inspect railroad track, signal and train control systems, as well as 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. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, creates and enforces railway regulations as well as manages funds from railroads and conducts research to improve rail transportation. 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 all freight and passenger transport that utilizes the rail network of the United States. In addition the agency is also involved in the rehabilitation of Northeast Corridor rail passenger service and consolidates the government's support for rail transportation activities. The agency also regulates the ownership and operation of intermodal facilities, like tracks, rights of way equipment, real estate and rolling stock. It also coordinates federal rail transportation programs.

The FRA's responsibilities also include the establishment through regulation and following an opportunity to comment an procedure that anyone can notify the Secretary Homeland Security any railroad security issues or issues. Additionally, the FRA establishes policies and conducts inspections to assess the compliance of its rail safety regulations in six technical disciplines: track 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, economical, and environmentally friendly. As a result, the agency requires railroads to maintain the safety of their workers and provide adequate training for their employees. The agency also determines and enforces the cost of railroad services to ensure that the public is charged 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 from retaliation by railroad carriers. The agency also has procedures for railroad employees can file complaints against the company's actions.

The agency's main mission is to ensure secure, reliable and efficient transportation of people and goods for a strong America today and in the future. The FRA achieves this by overseeing the regulation of rail safety, managing programs for assistance to railroads conducting research in support of improving safety in the railroad industry and national transportation policy and coordinating the development of rail networks and assisting private companies manage railroads. In the past, railroads dominated the market with little competition. The railroad industry took advantage of its dominance in the market as a result. Hence, Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission and other regulatory agencies to limit the abuses committed by railroad monopolies.

Purpose

The federal railroad is a government agency that makes rules, oversees funds for rail and studies ways to improve the nation's rail transport system. It manages the railway infrastructure of the United States and manages freight and passenger railroads. It is one of 10 agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also responsible for maintaining and expanding the existing railway systems.

Security is the primary responsibility when it comes to rail transportation. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is responsible for this, and it has several divisions that manage the country's freight and passenger railway operations. The Office of Railroad Safety is the largest of them with approximately 350 inspectors. It is responsible for conducting safety inspections in six different technical disciplines, including track signalling, and train control equipment and motives, operating procedures, hazmat, and highway-rail grade crossings.

FRA has additional departments that include the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. This department oversees programs aimed at improving freight and passenger rail transport, such as the Northeast Corridor Future. This department is also responsible for the grants that railways and works with other agencies to plan for the nation's rail needs.

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 ensuring that injured railway employees are transported to the nearest hospital for treatment. Additionally, railroads are prohibited from refusing or delaying medical treatment for injured railway workers.

The FRA is the main regulator of the freight and passenger railway industries, but there are other organizations that oversee the economic aspects of rail transport. Surface Transportation Board is responsible for establishing rates and managing economics in the industry. It has regulatory authority on railroad mergers, line sales, construction, and abandonment. After the public consultation period the agency is responsible for establishing regulations that will allow anyone to report any suspected safety issues with rail.

Functions

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

The federal railroad is managed like any other business. It has departments for marketing, operations, sales and an executive department. The department for marketing and sales talks with customers and potential clients to determine what services they require and how much they should cost. The operations department then creates rail services that meet these needs at the cheapest cost to generate revenue for railroads. The executive department supervises the entire operation and ensures that each department is running efficiently.

The government supports the railways in a variety ways including grants, to subsidised rates for shipping government traffic. Congress also provides funds to support and railroad build stations and tracks. These subsidies are usually in addition to the earnings railroads receive from ticket sales and freight contracts.

In the United States, the government owns the railway for passengers, Amtrak. It is a quasi-public for-profit company with a huge stockholder that is the United States government.

A key function of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is developing and enforcing safety regulations for railroads. This involves regulating the mechanical condition of trains, as well as the safety and health of railroad employees. FRA also analyzes and collects data on rail safety in order to identify trends and areas that require improvement or more regulation.

In addition to these primary tasks, FRA works on various other projects aimed at improving the security and economy of railway transportation in the United States. For instance, the agency aims to reduce barriers that might hinder railroads' implementation of positive train control systems (PTC). PTC is a safety technology that uses sensors and computers on board to stop a train at the moment it is too close to another object or vehicle.

History

The first railroads in the United States were constructed in the 1820s and 1830s largely in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. Railroads significantly accelerated industrialization in those areas, and also brought more food items to the market. This helped the country become more independent and less dependent on imports.

In the latter half of the nineteenth century the railroad industry was experiencing a "Golden Age," during which many new trains that were more efficient were built, and passenger travel by train became increasingly popular. The government's efforts in expanding the railroad system was an important reason. For instance the government offered homesteaders land grants to encourage them to settle in the West, and the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads collaborated to build the first transcontinental railroad which enabled travel from New York to San Francisco in six days.

However in the first half of the 20th century, demand for railroad passenger services slowed and other modes of transportation such as cars and airplanes gained popularity, while stifling regulations hampered railroads competitiveness economically. The industry was plagued by a series of bankruptcy, service cuts, and deferred maintenance. The misguided federal rail regulations contributed to the decline.

Around 1970 the federal government began to ease the regulatory shackles on railroads. The Surface Transportation Board was established to oversee economic aspects of the industry such as mergers and railroad rates. The Federal Railroad Administration was also created, which sets rules for safety in rail and is among the 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation which oversees passenger and freight transportation.

Since then, a great deal of investment has been made in the country's railway infrastructure. The Northeast Corridor, for example has been renovated to accommodate more efficient, faster and modern high speed ground transportation (HSGT) trains. There are also efforts to develop more efficient systems for freight rail. In the future, FRA hopes to continue its partnership with all transportation agencies in order to ensure reliable and safe railroads. The role of FRA is to ensure that the nation's transportation system runs as efficiently as possible.