The Federal Railroad Administration
The Federal Railroad Administration is among the 10 agencies of the DOT that are responsible for intermodal transportation. Its mission is to enable the safe and reliable movement of people and goods.
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), which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, creates and enforces regulations for railways, administers railroad funds, and conducts research to improve rail transportation. The FRA is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's intermodal transportation division and its top executives are the Administrator as well as the Deputy Administrator.
The agency oversees all freight and passenger transport that utilizes the nation's railway network. The agency also coordinates government funding for rail transportation and assists in the rehabilitation of the Northeast Corridor passenger service. The agency also regulates ownership and operation of intermodal facilities, like tracks, rights of way, equipment, real estate, and rolling stock. It also manages federal rail transportation programs.
FRA's responsibilities include establishing through regulation, following the opportunity for notice and comment, a process by which any person may submit a report to the Secretary of Homeland Security concerning railroad security issues or inconsistencies. The agency also develops policies, conducts inspections and evaluates the compliance with its railroad laws in six technical disciplines, which include track signal, track, and train control as well as motive power and equipment; operating practices as well as hazmat and highway-rail grade intersections.
The agency is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the railroad transportation system is secure, economical, and environmentally friendly. In turn, the agency requires railroads to ensure the safety of their workers and provide adequate training for their employees. The agency also sets and enforces railroad prices to ensure that the public is billed fairly for transportation services.
The Federal Railroad Administration also enacts and enforces rules to prevent discrimination towards railroad employees. It also protects whistleblowers against retaliation from railroad companies. The agency also sets up a complaint procedure for railroad employees to submit complaints about the conduct of the company.
The main goal of the agency is to enable the secure reliable and efficient movement of goods and people for a strong America, now and in the future. The FRA achieves this by overseeing the safety of railroads, regulating programs for assistance to railroads and conducting research that supports improved railroad safety and national rail transportation policy and coordination, as well as supporting the development of rail networks and assisting the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads were huge monopolies, with no competition. As a result, railroads often misused their position in the marketplace. Therefore, Congress established the Interstate Commerce Commission and other regulatory agencies to curb abuses by railroad monopolies.
Purpose
The federal railroad is a government agency that makes regulations, manages rail funds and studies ways to improve the nation's rail transport system. It is responsible for the rail infrastructure of the United States and manages passenger and freight railroads. It is one of 10 agencies in the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also tasked with maintaining and expanding current railway systems, ensuring capacity of the rail industry to meet the growing demand for freight and travel as well as providing leadership in national and regional system planning.
The main responsibility of the federal government in the railway industry is safety. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is in charge of this, and it has several divisions responsible for overseeing the country's passenger and freight rail operations. The largest of them is the Office of Railroad Safety, which has around 350 safety inspectors and is responsible for conducting inspections to ensure compliance with the regulations in six technical disciplines: track signal and train control, motive power and equipment, operating procedures, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings.
FRA has other departments that include the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. It oversees programs that are meant to improve passenger and freight rail transportation, such as the Northeast Corridor Future. This department is responsible for grants for railways and collaborates with other agencies to plan the nation's railway requirements.
Another important duty of the FRA is the enforcement of federal laws pertaining to railroads and their employees. This includes preventing railroads from discriminating against workers and ensuring that all injured railway employees are provided with transportation to the nearest hospital for initial aid treatment. Railroads are also prohibited from delay or refuse medical treatment for injured railway workers.
The FRA is the primary regulator of the rail passenger and freight industry, but other agencies manage the economic aspects of rail transportation. Surface Transportation Board is responsible for setting rates and managing the economics of the industry. It has regulatory authority over mergers in the railroad industry, line sales construction, and abandonment. Other responsibilities include the establishment of a process through regulations, after a public input opportunity 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 developed countries as well as villages in countries that are less developed. They transport raw materials from processing and manufacturing facilities, and then finished products from these facilities to stores or warehouses. Railroads are a vital mode of transportation for many vital commodities, including coal, oil and grains. 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 and sales, operations and an executive department. The department for marketing and sales works with potential and existing customers as well as clients to determine the services they need and how much they should cost. The operations department then develops the rail services that meet these needs at the lowest cost to earn money for the railroad. The executive department supervises the entire operation and ensures that each department is operating efficiently.
The government provides support to railways by a variety of means, including grants and subsidized rates for government-owned traffic. Congress also provides funds to build new tracks and stations. These subsidies are often added to the revenue that railroads receive through ticket sales and freight contracts.
Amtrak is owned by the United States government. It is a quasi public for-profit corporation, which has the United States Government as a major stockholder.
The Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) main purpose is to create and enforce safety regulations for railroads. This involves regulating the mechanical condition of trains as well as the safety and health of railroad employees. FRA also gathers and analyzes data on rail safety to identify trends and areas that require improvement or more regulatory attention.
FRA also works on other projects that improve the safety and economy of railway transportation in the United States. For instance, FRA seeks to eliminate obstacles that could delay railroads' introduction of positive train control systems (PTC). fela settlements is a security technology that utilizes sensors and computers on board to stop a train at the moment it is too close to an vehicle or object.
History
The nation's first railroads were constructed in the 1820s and 1830s mostly in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. The railroads significantly accelerated the industrialization process in those areas and also brought more food items to the market. This helped 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 constructed and passenger travel via train became more popular. This was largely due to the government's efforts to expand the railroad system. The government, for example, gave land grants to homesteaders in order to encourage them to settle in 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.
However in the first half of the 20th century, demand for railroad passenger services slowed and other modes of transportation such as cars and airplanes gained popularity, while the stifling of regulations hindered railroads competitiveness economically. A series of bankruptcies, service cuts and deferred maintenance were the result. In addition, misguided federal railway regulation led to the demise of the industry.
Around 1970 the federal government began to loosen the regulatory burdens 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 established.
Since then, the railroad 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 develop more efficient systems for freight rail. FRA hopes to continue to work with all transportation agencies to ensure reliable and safe rails in the coming years. It is the responsibility of FRA to ensure that the nation's transportation system is as efficient as it can be.