The Federal Railroad Administration

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

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

Definition

Federal railroads are rail carriers in the United States controlled by the federal government. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, formulates and enforces railway regulations and regulates funds for railroads, and conducts research to improve railway transportation. The FRA is one of the 10 agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation that is concerned with intermodal transportation. Its chief executive officers are the Administrator and Deputy Administrator.

The agency supervises all passenger and freight transportation that uses the nation's railway network. In addition the agency supports the rehabilitation of the Northeast Corridor rail passenger service and consolidates the government's support for rail transportation activities. The agency also regulates ownership and operation of intermodal facilities including tracks, right of way equipment, real estate and rolling stock. It also oversees federal rail transportation programs.

The FRA's duties include establishing, through regulation, following an notice and comments are allowed an avenue through which anyone can submit a make a complaint to the Secretary of Homeland Security concerning railroad security issues or deficiencies. In addition, the agency establishes policies and conducts inspections in order to evaluate compliance with its rail safety laws in six technical disciplines that include track signal and train control motive power and equipment, operating practices, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings.

The agency is charged with the responsibility to make sure the rail transportation system is safe, economical and sustainable. The agency also requires that railroads to maintain a safe workplace and provide adequate training to their employees. In addition, the agency sets and regulates railroad rates to ensure that the public receives fair prices for their transportation services.

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

The main goal of the FRA is to ensure secure, reliable and efficient transportation of people and goods 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 as well as coordinating and assisting with rail networking development and assisting the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads were large monopolies, with no competition. This meant that railroads often misused their position in the market. Hence, Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission and other regulatory agencies to prevent abuses by railroad monopolies.

Purpose

Federal railroads are government agencies that set regulations, manage rail funds and conduct research to improve the rail system in the United America. It oversees both passenger and freight railroads, and also manages the nation's railway infrastructure. It is one of ten agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also responsible for maintaining and expanding the current railroad infrastructure.

Security is the primary responsibility in the field of rail transportation. 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 a staff of around 350. It is responsible for conducting safety inspections across six technical disciplines, including track, signalling, and train control, motive and equipment, operating procedures, hazmat, and highway-rail grade crosses.

FRA has several departments that include the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. It is responsible for the programs that are meant to improve passenger and freight rail transportation, including the Northeast Corridor Future. This department also is responsible for grants that railways and works with other agencies to plan for the nation's rail requirements.

The FRA also has a duty to enforce federal employers’ laws related to railroads and their employees. This includes preventing railroads from discriminating against workers, and making sure that all injured railway employees are transported to the nearest hospital for initial aid treatment. The law also prohibits railroads from refusing or delaying medical care to injured railway workers.

The FRA is the primary regulator of the freight and passenger rail industries, however there are other agencies which manage the economic aspects of rail transport. The Surface Transportation Board, for example, is in charge of setting rates and managing the financial aspects of the industry. It has regulatory authority on railroad mergers, line-sales construction, and abandonment. After a period of public consultation the agency is responsible for establishing rules that will allow anyone to report any alleged safety issues with rail.

Functions

Railroads carry people and goods between cities in the developed nations, as also remote villages in less developed countries. They transport raw materials from processing and manufacturing facilities, and finished goods from these facilities to stores or warehouses. Rail is a vital form of transportation for a range of essential commodities, including grain, oil and coal. In 2020, freight railroads carried more than a quarter of the freight in the United America [PDF(PDF).

Federal railroads function as a business just like other businesses with departments for marketing and operations, sales, and an executive department. The department of marketing and sales works with current and potential customers to determine what kind of rail services they need and the amount they should cost. The operations department then develops rail services that meet these requirements at the lowest price possible to make money for railroads. The executive department is responsible for the entire operation, making sure each department is functioning efficiently.

The government supports railways in a variety of ways including grants, to subsidised 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 receive from ticket sales and freight contracts.

In the United States, the government is the owner of 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 function of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is establishing and enforcing safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical properties of trains, as well as the safety and health of railroad employees. FRA also collects data on security of rail lines 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 economy and safety of railroad transportation in the United States. For instance, the agency is working to remove obstacles that could delay railroads' introduction of positive train control systems (PTC). PTC is a security technology that utilizes sensors and computers to stop a train automatically when it is too close to another vehicle or object.

History

In the 1820s and 1830s, the first railroads in the United States were constructed, mostly in New England and Mid-Atlantic. The railroads accelerated industrialization and brought more food products to markets in these regions. This allowed the country to become more self-sufficient and less dependent on imports from abroad, which in turn helped to foster a strong economic base.

In the late nineteenth century the railroad industry was experiencing a "Golden Age," during which many new trains that were more efficient were constructed, and passenger travel by train became popular. This was largely because of the government's efforts to expand the railroad system. The government, for instance granted land grants to homesteaders in order 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 within six days.

However, in the first half of the 20th century, the demand for passenger railroad services declined and other modes of transportation such as airplanes and cars gained popularity, while stifling regulations hindered railroads competitiveness economically. A series of bankruptcies, service cuts and deferred maintenance were the result. Misguided 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 issues like railroad rates and mergers. The Federal Railroad Administration, which supervises freight and passenger transportation and sets rail safety standards, was also created.

Since then, the railway infrastructure of the United America has seen a great deal of investment. The Northeast Corridor, for example has been renovated to accommodate faster, more modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT) trains. There are also efforts to create more efficient systems for freight rail. FRA hopes to continue to work with all transportation agencies to ensure safe and reliable rails in the coming years. It is the job of FRA to ensure that the transportation system of the United States is as efficient as it can be.