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15 Presents For The Federal Railroad Lover In Your Life
The Federal Railroad Administration

The Federal Railroad Administration is among the 10 agencies of DOT that are accountable for intermodal transportation. Its goal is to facilitate the secure and reliable transportation of both people and goods.

FRA field inspectors examine the railroad track signals, train control and track systems as well operating practices. They also investigate complaints.

Definition

A federal railroad is a railway in the United States that is controlled by the federal government. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, creates 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 of the U.S. Department of Transportation that are concerned with intermodal transportation. Its chief executive officers are the Administrator and Deputy Administrator.

The agency is responsible for all freight and passenger transportation that uses the nation's railway network. The agency also consolidates government funding for rail transportation and supports the rehabilitation of the Northeast Corridor passenger service. In addition, the agency oversees the operation and ownership of all intermodal infrastructures such as tracks, right-of-way equipment real property, and rolling stock, and also provides the overall coordination of federal rail transportation programs.

The FRA's responsibilities also include the establishment through regulation, and after an opportunity for comment, a procedure by which anyone can notify the Secretary Homeland Security any railroad security issues or issues. Additionally, the FRA sets up policies and conducts inspections to determine the compliance with its rail safety laws in six technical disciplines tracks, signal and train control, motive power and machinery operating practices, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings.

The agency has the responsibility of making sure the rail transportation system is safe, economical, and environmentally friendly. The agency also requires that railroads maintain a safe work environment and provide adequate training to their employees. Additionally, the agency establishes and regulates railroad rates to ensure that the public is receiving fair prices for their transportation services.

Additionally to that, the Federal Railroad Administration enacts and enforces regulations to prevent discrimination against railroad employees, as well as protects whistleblowers from retaliation from railroad carriers. The agency also has a procedure by which railroad employees can file complaints regarding the company's actions.

The main goal of the FRA is to ensure safe, reliable and efficient movement of goods and people for a stronger America both now and in the future. The FRA accomplishes this through controlling safety of railroads, coordinating railroad assistance programs, conducting research to support improved railroad safety and national rail transportation policy, coordinating and supporting rail networking development, and helping the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads were essentially monopolies that had no competition. In the end, the industry frequently abused its position in the marketplace. Therefore, Congress established the Interstate Commerce Commission and other regulatory agencies to prevent abuses 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 is responsible for the railway infrastructure of the United States and manages freight and passenger railroads. It is one of ten agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also responsible for maintaining and expanding the current railroad systems.

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

FRA has various departments, including the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. This department oversees programs that aim at improving freight and passenger rail transport, such as the Northeast Corridor Future. The department is also in charge of the grants that help railways, and it collaborates with other agencies in planning for the nation's rail needs.


The FRA also has a duty to enforce federal laws related to railroads and their workers. This includes stopping railroads from discriminating against workers, and making sure that all railway employees injured are transported to the nearest hospital for initial aid treatment. Additionally, railroads are prohibited from denying or delaying medical treatment to 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 transportation. The Surface Transportation Board, for instance, is in charge of setting rates and managing the economics of the sector. It is also responsible for regulating mergers in the railroad industry lines sales construction and abandonment. Other responsibilities include establishing a process through regulations, after opportunity for public input that allows anyone to submit complaints about rail safety violations to the agency.

Functions

Railroads transport people and goods to and from cities in developed countries as also remote 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 critical form of transportation for a variety of essential commodities, such as coal, oil, and grains. In fela railroad settlements , freight railroads carried more than a quarter of the freight volumes in the United States [PDF].

Federal railroads operate just like any other company with departments for marketing and operations, sales and an executive department. The department for marketing and sales talks with customers and potential clients to determine the services they require and what they will cost. The operations department then produces rail services that meet these needs at the lowest cost possible to earn money for 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 for government-owned traffic. Congress also offers funds to help construct new tracks and stations. These subsidies are often a part of the revenue that railroads receive through tickets and freight contracts.

Amtrak is owned by the United States government. 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 to develop and enforce safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical condition of trains as well as the health and safety of railroad employees. FRA also collects data about rail security to identify trends and areas that require improvement or attention from regulators and to identify trends.

FRA also has other projects that help improve the safety and efficiency of rail transportation in the United States. For instance, FRA is working to remove obstacles that could hinder railroads' introduction of positive train control systems (PTC). PTC is an emergency safety system that utilizes sensors and computers on board to stop the train automatically when it is too close to a vehicle or object.

History

In the 1820s-1830s, the first railroads in the United States were built, primarily in New England and Mid-Atlantic. Railroads helped speed up industrialization and brought more food products to markets in these regions. This allowed the country to become more self-sufficient and less dependent upon imports from abroad, which in turn contributed to a stronger economic base.

In the latter part of the 19th century the railroad industry enjoyed the benefits of a "Golden Age" in which new, more efficient rail lines were constructed and passenger travel became popular. This was largely because of 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 collaborated to build the first transcontinental railroad, which allowed travelers to travel from New York City to San Francisco in just six days.

However in the first half of the 20th century, the demand for railroad passenger services slowed and other modes of transportation such as automobiles and planes gained in popularity, while regulations hampered railroads in their ability to compete economically. A series of bankruptcies, delays in maintenance and service cuts were the result. Additionally, a misguided federal railway regulations caused the decline of the industry.

Around 1970, the federal government began to ease the regulatory burdens on railroads. Surface Transportation Board was created to oversee economic aspects like railroad rates and mergers. The Federal Railroad Administration, which regulates freight and passenger transport and sets rail safety standards, was also created.

Since then, a significant amount of investment has been made in the nation's railway infrastructure. The Northeast Corridor has been rebuilt, for instance, to accommodate faster and more modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT). Efforts have also been made to develop more efficient freight rail systems. FRA hopes to continue working with all transportation agencies to ensure safe and reliable rails in the coming years. FRA's mission is to ensure that the nation's transportation system runs as efficiently as is possible.

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