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What Will Federal Railroad Be Like In 100 Years?
The Federal Railroad Administration

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


FRA field inspectors inspect the railroad track as well as train control and signal systems as well operating practices. They also investigate complaints.

Definition

A federal railroad is a rail carrier in the United States that is controlled by the government. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, formulates and enforces regulations governing railways and regulates funds for railroads, and conducts research to improve the efficiency of rail transportation. The FRA is one of the 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation which is responsible for intermodal transportation, and its chief executive officers are the Administrator and Deputy Administrator.

The agency is responsible for all freight and passenger 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 Northeast Corridor passenger service. Additionally, the agency oversees the operation and ownership 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.

FRA's responsibilities also include establishing through regulation and following an opportunity for comments an procedure that anyone can notify the Secretary Homeland Security any railroad security problems or deficiencies. In addition, the agency sets up policies and conducts inspections to determine compliance with its rail safety laws in six technical disciplines tracks signal and train control, motive power and equipment, operating practices, hazmat, and highway-rail grade crossings.

The agency is charged with the responsibility of making sure the railway transportation system is safe, economical and sustainable. As a result, the agency requires railroads to maintain an environment that is safe for workers and provide appropriate training for their employees. Furthermore, the agency sets and regulates railroad rates to ensure that the public gets fair prices for their transportation services.

Additionally, the Federal Railroad Administration enacts and enforces regulations to prevent discrimination against railroad employees, as well as protects whistleblowers from being retaliated against by railroad carriers. The agency also has a complaint procedure for railroad employees to make complaints regarding the conduct of their company.

The agency's main mission is to ensure the safe, reliable and effective transportation of people and goods to ensure a secure America both now and in the future. The FRA accomplishes this through controlling safety of railroads, coordinating programs for assistance to railroads, conducting research to support improved railroad safety and national rail transportation policy as well as coordinating and assisting with rail networking development, and helping the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads were large monopolies with little competition. This meant that the industry frequently abused its position in the market. Congress established the Interstate Commerce Commission, as along with other regulatory agencies, to curb the monopolies' exploitation of railroads.

Purpose

Federal railroads are federal agencies that establish rules, regulate funds for rail and conduct research to improve rail transport in the United America. It is responsible for the rail infrastructure of the United States and supervises passenger and freight railroads. It is one of the ten agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also responsible for maintaining and expanding existing railway systems, ensuring ability of the rail industry to meet increasing demand for freight and travel, as well as providing leadership in national and regional system planning.

The primary responsibility of the government in the railway industry is safety. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is in charge of this, and has several divisions that oversee 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, including track, signalling, train control as well as motive and equipment operating procedures, hazmat, and highway-rail grade crosses.

FRA has other departments which 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 responsible for grants given to railways, and collaborates with other agencies in order to determine the nation's rail requirements.

fela accident attorney of the FRA is the enforcement of certain federal laws regarding railroads and their employees. This includes preventing railroads from discriminating against employees, and making sure that all railway employees injured are provided with transportation to the nearest hospital for first aid treatment. The law also prohibits railroads from denying or delaying medical care to injured railway employees.

The FRA is the primary regulator of the passenger and freight rail industries, however there are other agencies that oversee the economic aspects of rail transport. Surface Transportation Board is responsible for setting rates and managing the economics of the industry. It is also the regulator for railroad mergers, line-sales, construction, and abandonment. After a period of public consultation, the agency is also responsible for establishing rules that will allow anyone to report any suspected safety issues with rail.

Functions

Railroads transport people and goods between cities in developed countries as also remote villages in countries that are less developed. They transport raw materials from manufacturing and processing facilities, and final products from these facilities to warehouses or stores. Rail is an essential mode of transportation for a variety of essential commodities, including oil, grains and coal. In 2020, freight rail carried more than a quarter of the country's total freight volume [PDF(PDF).

A federal railroad operates as a business just like other businesses with departments for marketing and sales, operations and an executive department. The department of marketing and sales works with current and potential customers to determine the kind of rail services they need and how much they will cost. The operations department then creates rail services that meet these requirements at the lowest price possible to generate revenue for railroads. The executive department supervises the entire operation and makes sure that each department is operating efficiently.

The government provides support to railways in various ways, from grants to subsidized rates for shipping government traffic. Congress also provides funds to help build new track and stations. These subsidies are usually in addition to the revenue the railroads earn from tickets and freight contracts.

In the United States, the government owns 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 role of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is developing and enforcing safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical state of trains and the safety and health of railroad employees. FRA also gathers and analyzes data on rail safety in order to identify trends and areas that need improved or increased regulation.

In addition to these core duties, FRA works on various other projects aimed at improving the security and economy of railway transportation in the United States. For example, the agency is working to remove obstacles that might hinder railroads' introduction of positive train control systems (PTC). PTC is a safety system that utilizes sensors and computers to stop a train automatically when it is too close to another vehicle or object.

History

The nation's first railroads were built in the 1820s and 1830s mostly in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. Railroads helped speed up industrialization and brought more food items to market in these areas. This allowed the country to become more self-sufficient and less dependent upon foreign imports, which contributed to a stronger economic base.

In the latter part of the nineteenth century the railroad industry went through a "Golden Age," during which many new, more efficient rail lines were built and passenger travel on train became increasingly popular. This was in large part due to the government's efforts to expand the railroad system. For example, the government gave land grants to homesteaders to encourage them to move to the West, and the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads collaborated to build the first transcontinental railroad which allowed travel from New York to San Francisco in six days.

However in the first half of the 20th century, the demand for passenger railroad services decreased and other modes of transport like airplanes and cars gained popularity, while stifling regulations choked railroads competitiveness economically. A string of bankruptcies, delays in maintenance and service cuts were the result. Misguided federal rail regulations also contributed to the decline.

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

Since then, the infrastructure of the railroads of the United America has seen a great deal 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 partnership with all transportation agencies in order to ensure the safety and reliability of railroads. The role of FRA is to ensure that the nation's transportation system runs as efficiently as it can.

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