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The Federal Railroad Administration

The Federal Railroad Administration is one of the 10 DOT agencies concerned with intermodal transportation. Its purpose is to ensure safe and reliable transportation of both people and goods.

FRA field inspectors regularly inspect railroad tracks, signals and train control systems as well as operating practices. They also investigate complaints.

Definition

Federal railroads are 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, creates and enforces regulations for railways, administers railroad funds, and conducts research to improve railway transportation. The FRA is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's intermodal transportation division, and its top officers are the Administrator and the Deputy Administrator.

The agency is responsible for all passenger and freight transportation that is conducted through the nation's rail network. The agency also coordinates 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 ownership and operation of all intermodal infrastructures such as tracks, right-of-way, equipment and real property as well as rolling stock. It also handles the overall coordination of federal rail transportation programs.

FRA's responsibilities also include establishing, through regulation and after an opportunity for comment the procedure through which anyone can report to the Secretary Homeland Security any railroad security issues or deficiencies. Additionally, the FRA sets up policies and conducts inspections in order to evaluate the compliance with its rail safety laws in six technical disciplines: track, signal and train control, motive power and equipment operating practices, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings.

The agency has the responsibility of ensuring that the railroad transportation system is secure, economical and environmentally sustainable. The agency also requires railroads to maintain a safe workplace and provide adequate training for their employees. The agency also sets and enforces railroad prices to ensure that the public is charged fairly for transportation services.

The Federal Railroad Administration also enacts and enforces rules to prevent discrimination against railroad employees. They also shield whistleblowers from retaliation by railroad carriers. The agency also establishes procedures for railroad employees can file complaints against the company's actions.

The agency's main mission is to ensure the secure, reliable and efficient transportation of people and goods for a stronger America now and in future. The FRA accomplishes this by regulating railroad safety, managing railroad assistance programs, conducting research to support the improvement of safety for railroads and national rail transportation policy, coordinating and supporting rail networking development, and helping the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads controlled the market with no competition. As a result, the industry often abused its position in the market. Hence, Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission and other regulatory agencies to limit 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 transport system. It oversees both freight and passenger railroads, and also manages the nation's railway infrastructure. It is one of the 10 agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also responsible for maintaining and expanding the existing railway infrastructure.

Safety is the government's main responsibility when it comes to 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 with a staff of around 350. 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 several departments, such as the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. This department is responsible for programs aimed at improving freight and passenger rail transportation, like the Northeast Corridor Future. The department also is in charge of the grants that are made to railways and works with other agencies to plan for the country's rail needs.

Another essential duty of the FRA is the enforcement of certain federal laws regarding railroads and their employees. This includes preventing railroads to discriminate against employees and making sure that all injured railway staff are taken to the nearest hospital for treatment. Additionally, railroads are prohibited from denying or delaying medical care to injured railway employees.

The FRA is the main regulator for the freight and passenger rail industry, but other agencies oversee the economic aspects of rail transportation. Surface Transportation Board is responsible for establishing rates and managing economics in the industry. It is also responsible for regulating mergers in the railroad industry and line sales construction, and abandonment. Other responsibilities include establishing regulations following an opportunity for public input and participation, where anyone can submit complaints about rail safety violations to the agency.

Functions

Rails transport goods and people from and to cities in the developed world as also to villages in countries that are less developed. They transport raw materials to manufacturing and processing factories, and the finished products from these factories to warehouses and stores. Rail is a vital form of transportation for a number of essential commodities, including grains, oil and coal. In 2020, freight railroads transported more than a quarter of all freight in the United America [PDF].

Federal railroads function as a business just like other businesses with departments for marketing and sales, operations and an executive department. The department of marketing and sales consults with customers and potential clients to determine what services they need and what they need to cost. The operations department then creates the rail services that meet these needs at the lowest cost to generate revenue for the railroad. The executive department oversees the entire operation, making sure each department is functioning efficiently.

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

Amtrak is owned by the United States government. It is a quasi-public for profit corporation with a significant shareholder that is the United States government.

The primary role of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is developing and enforcing safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical condition of trains and the health and safety of railroad employees. FRA also collects data about rail security to identify trends and areas that require improvement or regulatory attention and to track trends.

In addition to these primary duties, FRA works on various other projects related to improving the economy and security of rail transportation in the United States. The agency, for example seeks to lower the obstacles that can hinder railroads in the implementation of positive train control (PTC). PTC is a security technology that makes use of sensors and computers to stop a train automatically when it is too close to an object or vehicle.

History

In the 1820s-1830s the first railroads in America were built, primarily in New England and Mid-Atlantic. The railroads significantly accelerated the industrialization process 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 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 by train became popular. This was largely due to the government's efforts to expand the railroad system. The government, for example provided homesteaders land grants to encourage them to move to the West. Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads also partnered to build the first transcontinental railway, which allowed travelers to travel from New York City to San Francisco in just six days.

In the first half century, however, the demand for passenger rail services decreased, and other modes of transport like planes and automobiles gained in popularity. However, stifling regulations made it difficult for railroads to compete. The industry was plagued by a string of bankruptcies service cuts, bankruptcy, and delayed maintenance. Uninformed federal rail regulations also contributed to the decline.

Around 1970, federal government began to loosen the restrictions on railroads' regulatory requirements. The Surface Transportation Board was established to oversee the economic aspects of the industry, such as railroad rates and mergers. The Federal Railroad Administration was also established, which is responsible for establishing rules for safety in rail and is one of 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation that supervises passenger and freight transportation.

Since then, the fela railroad settlements infrastructure of the United States has seen a significant amount of investment. The Northeast Corridor, for example, has been rebuilt to accommodate more efficient, faster and modern high speed ground transportation (HSGT) trains. There have also been efforts to develop more efficient systems for freight rail. FRA hopes to continue to work with all transportation agencies to ensure the safety and reliability of rails in the coming years. The agency's role is to ensure that the nation's transport system operates as efficiently as is possible.