7 Things About Federal Railroad You'll Kick Yourself For Not Knowing

The Federal Railroad Administration

The Federal Railroad Administration is among the 10 agencies of DOT that are responsible for intermodal transportation. Its mission is enabling the secure and reliable transportation of both people and goods.

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

Definition

A federal railroad is a rail carrier in the United States that is controlled by the federal government. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, formulates and enforces railway regulations, administers railroad funds, and conducts research to improve the efficiency of rail transportation. The FRA is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's intermodal transportation division, and its chief executives are the Administrator as well as the Deputy Administrator.

The agency supervises all freight and passenger transportation that uses the nation's railway network. The agency also consolidates government funding for rail transportation, and helps with the rehabilitation of Northeast Corridor passenger service. The agency also regulates the ownership and operation of intermodal facilities like tracks, rights of way equipment, real estate, and rolling stock. It also coordinates federal rail transportation programs.

FRA's responsibilities also include establishing through regulation and following an opportunity to comment the procedure through which anyone can inform the Secretary of Homeland Security any railroad security issues or issues. Additionally, the FRA establishes policies and conducts inspections to assess compliance with its rail safety regulations in six technical disciplines: track, signal and train control, motive power and equipment, operating practices, hazmat, and highway-rail grade crossings.

The agency is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that the rail transportation system is safe, economical, and environmentally friendly. As a result, the agency requires railroads to provide a safe working environment and provide appropriate training for their employees. Furthermore, the agency sets and enforces railroad rates to ensure that the public is receiving fair prices for their transportation services.

The Federal Railroad Administration also enacts and enforces rules to stop discrimination against railroad employees. The agency also safeguards whistleblowers from retaliation by railroad carriers. The agency also establishes an procedure through which railroad employees can file complaints about the actions of the company.

The main goal of the FRA is to ensure safe, reliable and effective movement of goods and people for a stronger America now and in future. The FRA accomplishes this by controlling safety of railroads, coordinating railroad assistance programs, conducting research to support better safety of railroads and national rail transportation policy as well as coordinating and assisting with the development of a rail network, and helping the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads were large monopolies with little competition. In the end, the industry often abused its position in the marketplace. Congress established the Interstate Commerce Commission, as well as other regulatory agencies, to curb the monopolies' exploitation of railroads.

Purpose

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

The government's primary responsibility in the rail transportation industry is safety. The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for this. It has a variety of divisions that oversee the country's passenger and freight railway operations. The largest of them is the Office of Railroad Safety, which is home to approximately 350 safety inspectors and is responsible for conducting inspections that determine compliance with the regulations in six technical disciplines including track signal and train control, motive power and equipment, operating practices hazardous materials and highway-rail grade crossings.

FRA has additional departments that include the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. This department oversees programs that aim at enhancing passenger and freight rail transportation, like the Northeast Corridor Future. This department is responsible for granting grants for railways and collaborates with other agencies in order to plan the nation's railway requirements.

The FRA also has a responsibility to enforce federal laws that pertain to railroads and their employees. This includes stopping railroads from discriminating against workers, and making sure that all injured railway employees receive transportation to the nearest hospital for first aid treatment. Additionally, railroads are prohibited from refusing 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 organizations which manage the economic aspects of rail transport. The Surface Transportation Board, for example is responsible for setting rates and governing the economics of the sector. 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, following an opportunity for public input that allows anyone to complain about alleged safety violations to the agency.

Functions

Railroads transport goods and people to and from cities in the developed nations, as also remote villages in less-developed countries. They transport raw materials to processing and manufacturing factories, and the finished products from those facilities to warehouses and stores. Railroads are a critical form of transportation for many essential commodities, such as coal, oil, and grains. In 2020, freight rail carried over a quarter of the nation's total freight volumes [PDF(PDF).

Federal railroads operate like any other business, with departments for marketing and operations, sales, and an executive department. The department for marketing and sales works with potential and current customers to determine the kind of rail services they need and how much they will cost. The operations department then develops rail services that meet these needs at the lowest price possible to make money for railroads. The executive department oversees the entire operation and ensures that every department is operating efficiently.

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

In the United States, the government owns the passenger railway Amtrak. It is a quasi-public for-profit company with a huge stockholder, which is the United States government.

The Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) principal task is to formulate and enforce safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical properties of trains and the safety and health 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.

FRA also has other projects that help improve the safety and efficiency of rail transportation in the United States. For  fela case settlements , FRA seeks to lower the obstacles that hinder railroads in the implementation of positive train control (PTC). PTC is a safety technology that uses sensors and computers on board to stop a train at the moment it is too close to another object or vehicle.

History

The nation's first railroads were built in the 1820s and 1830s largely in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. The railroads accelerated industrialization and brought more food items to markets in these regions. This development 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 19th century's final years the railroad industry experienced 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. The government, for instance, gave homesteaders land grants to encourage them to settle the West. Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads also collaborated 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 transportation like planes and cars increased in popularity. Meanwhile, stifling regulation stifled railroads' economic ability to compete. The industry was plagued by a string of bankruptcies, service cuts, and deferred maintenance. Additionally, a misguided railroad regulations from the federal government led to the decline of the railroad industry.

Around 1970, federal authorities began to ease the regulatory restrictions on railroads. The Surface Transportation Board was established to oversee economic aspects of the industry, such as mergers and rates for railroads. The Federal Railroad Administration, which regulates freight and passenger transport and sets rail safety standards was also established.

Since then, the railroad infrastructure of the United States has seen a significant amount of investment. The Northeast Corridor has been rebuilt for instance, in order to accommodate faster and more modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT). Efforts have also been made to improve the efficiency of freight rail systems. In the future, FRA hopes to continue its relationship with all transportation agencies in order to ensure reliable and safe railroads. It is the agency's job to help make sure that the transportation system of the United States operates as efficiently as possible.