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The Federal Railroad Administration

The Federal Railroad Administration is among the 10 agencies of DOT that are responsible for intermodal transportation. Its purpose is to ensure safe and efficient transportation of people and goods.

FRA field inspectors regularly 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. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) establishes and enforces safety regulations, manages railroad funding, and researches ways to improve the efficiency of rail transportation systems. The FRA is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's intermodal transportation division, and its chief officers are the Administrator and the Deputy Administrator.

The agency supervises all passenger and freight transportation that utilizes the nation's railway network. The agency also coordinates the federal funding for rail transportation and supports the rehabilitation of the Northeast Corridor passenger service. Additionally, the agency oversees the ownership and operation of all intermodal facilities such as tracks, right-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 comments the procedure through which anyone can inform the Secretary of Homeland Security any railroad security problems or deficiencies. The agency also develops policies, conducts inspections, and evaluates compliance with its rail laws in six technical disciplines, which include track signals, track and train control as well as motive power and equipment; operating practices as well as hazmat and highway-rail grade intersections.

The agency has the responsibility of ensuring that the railway transportation system is operated in a safe, economical, and environmentally friendly manner. This is why the agency requires railroads to provide an environment that is safe for 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 billed fair prices for transportation services.

The Federal Railroad Administration also enacts and enforces rules to stop discrimination towards railroad employees. The agency also safeguards whistleblowers from retaliation from railroad carriers. The agency also establishes a procedure by which railroad employees can file complaints against the company's actions.

The primary goal of the FRA is to ensure the safe reliable and efficient movement of people and goods to ensure a secure America both now and in the future. The FRA achieves this by controlling rail safety, coordinating programs for assistance to railroads conducting research in support of improved railroad safety and national transportation policy, coordinating rail networking development and assisting the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads were huge monopolies, with no competition. The railroad industry was able to abuse its dominant position in the market as a result. This is why Congress established the Interstate Commerce Commission and other regulatory agencies to curb the abuses of railroad monopolies.

Purpose

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

The main responsibility of the federal government in the rail transportation industry is safety. The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for this. It has a number of divisions that supervise the country's passenger and freight railway operations. The Office of Railroad Safety is the largest, with around 350 inspectors. It is responsible for conducting safety inspections in six different technical disciplines, which include track, signal, and train control equipment and motives, operating procedures, hazmat, and highway-rail grade crosses.

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

Another essential duty of the FRA is the enforcement of federal laws pertaining to railroads and their employees. This includes preventing railroads to discriminate against workers and making sure that all injured railway staff are taken to the nearest hospital to receive treatment. It also prohibits railroads to deny or delay medical treatment for injured railway workers.

The FRA is the primary regulator of the freight and passenger rail industries, however there are other agencies that manage the economic aspects of rail transportation. Surface Transportation Board is responsible for determining rates and governing economics in the sector. It also has the authority to regulate railroad mergers, line sales, construction and abandonment. After an open consultation period the agency is responsible for establishing regulations that will allow anyone to report any alleged safety issues with rail.

Functions

Rails transport people and goods from and to cities in the developed world as well as villages in countries that are less developed. They transport raw materials to manufacturing and processing factories, and the finished products from those factories to warehouses and stores. Rail is an essential mode of transportation for a number of essential commodities, including oil, grains, and coal. In 2020, freight rail transported more than a quarter of nation's total freight volumes [PDF].

Federal railroads function just like any other company with departments for marketing, sales, operations and an executive department. The department of marketing and sales talks with customers and potential clients to determine what services they require and what they will cost. The operations department then develops rail services that meet these needs at the cheapest cost to generate revenue for railroads. The executive department oversees the entire operation, making sure every department is running smoothly.

The government supports the railways with a variety means, including grants and subsidized rates for government-owned traffic. Congress also provides funds to support and build new stations and tracks. These subsidies are usually in addition to the revenue railroads receive from tickets and freight contracts.

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

A major role of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is to develop and enforce safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical conditions of trains as well as the health and safety of railroad employees. FRA also analyzes and collects data on rail safety in order to identify patterns and areas that might require improvement or more regulation.

FRA also works on other projects that help improve the safety and efficiency of rail transportation in the United States. For instance, the agency is working to eliminate obstacles that hinder railroads in adopting positive train control (PTC). PTC is a safety system that uses sensors and on-board computers to stop the train when it is too close to a vehicle or other object.

federal employers’ liability

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

In the latter half of the nineteenth century the railroad industry went through an "Golden Age," during which many new railway lines that were more efficient were built and passenger travel via train became more popular. The government's efforts to expand the railroad system were a major factor. For instance, the government gave homesteaders land grants 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 allowed travel from New York to San Francisco in just six days.

However, in the first half of the 20th century, demand for passenger railroad services declined and other modes of transportation such as automobiles and planes gained in popularity, while regulations hampered railroads competitiveness economically. The industry was plagued by a string of bankruptcies, service cuts, and deferred maintenance. Uninformed federal rail regulations also contributed to the decline.

Around the year 1970, the federal government began to ease the regulatory shackles on railroads. Surface Transportation Board was created to oversee economic aspects 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, a significant amount of money has been made in the nation's railroad infrastructure. The Northeast Corridor has been rebuilt, for instance, to accommodate more efficient and modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT). There have also been efforts to develop more efficient freight rail. FRA hopes to continue working with all transportation agencies to ensure safe and reliable rails in the future. It is the agency's job to help make sure that the transportation system of the United States operates as efficiently as it can.

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