The Federal Railroad Administration
The Federal Railroad Administration is among the 10 agencies of the DOT that are accountable for intermodal transportation. Its goal is to facilitate the safe and secure movement of goods and people.
FRA field inspectors routinely inspect railroad track, signal and train control systems as well as operating practices. They also investigate complaints.
Definition
Federal railroads are the rail carriers in the United States controlled by the federal government. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, develops and enforces regulations for railways as well as manages funds from railroads and conducts research to improve the efficiency of rail transportation. The FRA is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's intermodal transportation division, and its chief executives are the Administrator as well as the 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 the funding provided by the federal government for rail transportation, and helps with the rehabilitation of the Northeast Corridor passenger service. Additionally, the agency oversees the operation and ownership of all intermodal facilities such as tracks, rights-of-way, equipment and real property as well as rolling stock. It also handles the overall coordination of federal rail transportation programs.
The FRA's duties include establishing, through regulation, following an notification and comment the procedure by anyone can submit a report to the Secretary of Homeland Security concerning railroad security problems or shortcomings. The agency also develops policies, conducts inspections, and evaluates compliance with its rail laws in six different technical disciplines, which include track signals, track and train control; motive power and equipment; operating procedures hazardous materials and highway-rail grade intersections.
The agency has the responsibility of making sure that the railroad transportation system operates in a secure, efficient and sustainable way. This is why the agency requires railroads to provide the safety of their workers and provide appropriate training for their employees. The agency also sets and enforces railroad prices to ensure that the public is billed in a fair manner for transportation services.
Additionally to that, the Federal Railroad Administration enacts and enforces rules to prevent discrimination against railroad workers, as well as protects whistleblowers from being retaliated against by railroad carriers. The agency also establishes a procedure for railroad employees to submit complaints regarding the conduct of their company.
The main goal of the agency is to facilitate the secure efficient, reliable, and secure movement of goods and people for a strong America today and into the future. The FRA achieves this by regulating railroad safety, managing railroad assistance programs and conducting research that supports improved railroad safety and national rail transportation policies as well as coordinating and assisting with rail networking development as well as helping the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads were large monopolies, with no competition. The railroad industry was able to abuse its dominant position in the market as a result. Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission, as well as other regulatory agencies, to limit railroad monopolies' abuses.
Purpose
The federal railroad is a government agency that sets regulations, manages rail funds and researches ways to improve the nation's rail transportation system. It operates the railway infrastructure of the United States and supervises passenger and freight railroads. It is one of 10 agencies in the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also responsible for maintaining and expanding the existing rail systems.
Security is the primary responsibility when it comes to rail transportation. The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for this. It has several divisions which oversee the country's freight and passenger rail operations. The largest of them is the Office of Railroad Safety, which is home to about 350 safety inspectors. It is responsible for conducting inspections to determine compliance with regulations in six technical disciplines: track signals, train control, motive power and equipment, operating practices hazardous materials and highway-rail grade crossings.
FRA has several departments, including the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. It oversees programs that are meant to improve passenger and freight rail transportation, including the Northeast Corridor Future. This department also is responsible for the grants that are made to help railways, and it collaborates with other agencies to plan for the country's rail needs.
fela lawsuits of the FRA is the enforcement of certain federal laws regarding railroads and their employees. This includes stopping railroads from discriminating against employees and ensuring that all injured railway employees are transported to the nearest hospital for first aid treatment. It also prohibits railroads from refusing or delaying medical treatment for injured railway workers.
The FRA is the primary regulator of the passenger and freight rail industries, however there are other agencies which manage the economic aspects of rail transport. Surface Transportation Board is responsible for establishing rates and managing economics in the sector. It has regulatory authority over mergers in the railroad industry, line sales construction, and abandonment. Other responsibilities include the establishment of rules after opportunity for public input that allows anyone to submit complaints about rail safety violations to the agency.
Functions
Rails transport goods and people from and to cities in developed countries as also to villages in countries that are less developed. They transport raw materials from processing and manufacturing facilities, and final goods from these facilities to stores or warehouses. Railroads are a vital mode of transportation for many essential commodities, including coal, oil and grains. In 2020, freight railroads carried more than a quarter of all freight in the United States [PDF].
The federal railroad is managed as a business. It has departments for marketing, operations, sales and an executive department. The department for marketing and sales collaborates with potential and current customers to determine the kind of rail services they need and what those services should cost. The operations department then develops rail services that meet these requirements at the lowest cost possible to generate revenue for railroads. The executive department oversees the entire operation and makes sure that each department is operating efficiently.
The government provides support to railways with a variety methods, including grants and subsidized rates on government-owned traffic. Congress also provides funds to help build and maintain new stations and tracks. These subsidies are usually in addition to the revenue railroads receive from ticket sales and freight contracts.
Amtrak is owned by the United States government. It is a quasi-public for-profit corporation, which has the United States Government as a major stockholder.
The Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) main task is to formulate 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 collects data on rail security to determine trends areas that require improvement or attention from regulators and to track trends.
In addition to these core functions, FRA works on various other projects that aim to improve the security and economy of rail transportation in the United States. The agency, for example is working to eliminate obstacles that hinder railroads in implementing positive train control (PTC). PTC is a safety system that utilizes sensors and computers to stop a train in the event that it is too close to another vehicle or object.
History
In the 1820s-1830s the first railroads in the United States were built, primarily in New England and Mid-Atlantic. The railroads greatly accelerated industrialization in these regions and also brought more food to the market. This allowed the country become more independent and less dependent on imports.
In the late nineteenth century the railroad industry went through an "Golden Age," during which many new railway lines that were more efficient were constructed and passenger travel on train became increasingly popular. This was largely due to the government's efforts to expand the railroad system. For instance, the government provided land grants to homesteaders to encourage them to settle the West. Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads also partnered to build the first transcontinental railroad which allowed passengers to travel from New York City to San Francisco within six days.
In the first half century, however, the demand for rail passenger services decreased, and other modes of transport like planes and cars gained in popularity. However, stifling regulations hindered railroads' ability to compete. The industry was plagued by a succession of bankruptcies, service cuts, and delayed maintenance. Uninformed federal rail regulations also contributed to the decline.
In the year 1970, the federal government began to loosen the restrictions on railroads' regulatory requirements. Surface Transportation Board was created to oversee economic matters such as railroad rates and mergers. The Federal Railroad Administration, which oversees passenger and freight transportation and sets standards for rail safety was also established.
Since then, the railway infrastructure of the United States has seen a significant amount of investment. 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 create more efficient freight rail. In the future, FRA hopes to continue its collaboration with all transportation agencies to ensure reliable and safe railroads. It is the job of FRA to ensure that the transportation system of the United States is as efficient as it can be.