The 12 Best Federal Railroad Accounts To Follow On Twitter
The Federal Railroad Administration
The Federal Railroad Administration is among the 10 agencies of DOT that are responsible for intermodal transportation. Its goal is to facilitate the safe and reliable transportation of goods and people.
FRA field inspectors regularly check railroad track, signal and train control systems, as well as operating practices. They also investigate complaints.
Definition
A federal railroad is a type of rail transport 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 one of the 10 agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation that are concerned with intermodal transportation, and its chief executive officers are the Administrator and 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 the ownership and operation of intermodal facilities such as tracks, right of way, equipment, real estate and rolling stock. It also manages federal rail transportation programs.
The FRA's responsibilities are to establish through regulation, following the opportunity for notice and comment, a process by which anyone can submit a make a complaint to the Secretary of Homeland Security concerning railroad security problems or deficiencies. The agency also establishes policies, conducts inspections and assesses the compliance of its railroad laws in six technical disciplines, which include track signals, track and train control as well as motive power and equipment; operating practices; hazmat and highway-rail grade intersections.
The agency has the responsibility of making sure the railway transportation system is secure, economical and sustainable. The agency also demands that railroads to provide a safe working environment and provide adequate training for their employees. Additionally, the agency establishes and enforces railroad rates to ensure that the public receives a fair rate 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 from railroad carriers. The agency also sets up an avenue for railroad employees to make complaints regarding the conduct of their company.
The main goal of the agency is to ensure the secure, reliable, and efficient movement of people and goods for a strong America today and into the future. The FRA accomplishes this through controlling safety of railroads, coordinating programs for assistance to railroads and conducting research that supports the improvement of safety for railroads and national rail transportation policies and coordination, as well as supporting the development of a rail network as well as helping the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads were essentially monopolies that had no competition. This meant that the industry often abused its position in the marketplace. This is why Congress established the Interstate Commerce Commission and other regulatory agencies to prevent the abuses committed by railroad monopolies.
Purpose
The federal railroad is a federal agency that sets regulations, manages funds for rail and researches ways to improve the nation's rail transportation system. It supervises passenger and freight railroads, and also manages the nation's railway infrastructure. It is one of 10 agencies in the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also responsible for maintaining and expanding the existing railroad infrastructure.
Safety is the government's main responsibility in the field of rail transportation. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is in charge of this, and it has several divisions that manage the country's freight and passenger railway operations. The Office of Railroad Safety is the largest of them with a staff of around 350. It is responsible for conducting safety inspections in six different technical disciplines, including track, signal, and train control equipment and motives operating procedures, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings.
FRA has several departments, including the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. This oversees the programs designed to improve freight and passenger railway transportation, including the Northeast Corridor Future. This department is responsible for the grants given to railways, and collaborates with other agencies to plan the nation's railway requirements.
Another important function of the FRA is the enforcement of federal laws regarding railroads and their employees. 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. The law also prohibits railroads from deny or delay medical treatment for injured railway workers.
The FRA is the main regulator of the passenger and freight rail industries, but there are other organizations that manage the economic aspects of rail transportation. Surface Transportation Board is responsible for establishing rates and managing the economics of the industry. It has regulatory authority over mergers in the railroad industry lines sales construction and abandonment. After a period of public consultation the agency is accountable for establishing regulations that allow anyone to report any suspected safety issues with rail.
Functions
Railroads transport goods and people to and from cities in developed nations, as also remote villages in less developed countries. They transport raw materials from processing and manufacturing facilities, and final products from these facilities to warehouses or stores. Railroads are a vital mode of transportation for many vital products, including coal, oil and grains. In 2020, freight railroads moved more than a quarter of all freight in the United States [PDF].
The federal railroad is managed as a business. It has departments for marketing and sale, operations and an executive department. The marketing and sales department works with potential and current customers to determine the type of rail services they need and how much they will cost. The operations department then creates rail services that meet these needs at the lowest cost possible to make money for railroads. The executive department supervises the entire operation and makes sure that each department is operating efficiently.
The government helps the railways by a variety of means such as grants and subsidised rates for government traffic. Congress also offers funds to help construct new tracks and stations. These subsidies are usually in addition to the earnings railroads receive from ticket sales and freight contracts.
In the United States, the government has the railway for passengers, Amtrak. It is a quasi-public for profit corporation with a significant stockholder, which is the United States government.
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 and the health and safety 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 track trends.
FRA also participates in other projects that help improve the safety and economy of railroad transportation in the United States. For instance, FRA is working to remove obstacles that could delay railroads' implementation of positive train control systems (PTC). PTC is a safety technology that uses sensors and computers to stop a train in the event that it is too close to an object or vehicle.
History
In the 1820s-1830s, the first railroads in the United States were built, mostly in New England and Mid-Atlantic. The railroads accelerated industrialization and brought more food items to market in these areas. This development allowed the country to become more self-sufficient and less dependent upon foreign imports, which contributed to a stronger economic base.
In the latter part of the 19th century the railroad industry experienced an "Golden Age" in which new, more efficient raillines 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 granted land grants to homesteaders to encourage them to settle in the West. Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads also collaborated to construct the first transcontinental railroad, which allowed travelers to travel from New York City to San Francisco within 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 series of bankruptcies as well as service cuts and delayed maintenance. The misguided federal rail regulations contributed to the decline.
Around the year 1970, the federal government began loosening the regulatory restrictions on railroads. The Surface Transportation Board was established to oversee economic aspects of the industry such as mergers and railroad rates. The Federal Railroad Administration, which regulates freight and passenger transport and sets safety standards for rail, was also created.
Since then, the railway infrastructure of the United States has seen a lot of investment. The Northeast Corridor has been rebuilt for instance, to allow for faster and more modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT). There have also been efforts to create more efficient freight rail systems. FRA hopes to continue working with all transportation agencies to ensure reliable and safe rails in the coming years. It is the agency's job to help make sure that the nation's transportation system is as efficient as it can be.