5 Killer Quora Answers On Federal Railroad
The Federal Railroad Administration
The Federal Railroad Administration is one of the DOT's 10 agencies that deal with intermodal transportation. Its mission is enabling the secure and reliable transportation of both people and goods.
FRA field inspectors routinely inspect railroad tracks, signals and train control systems as well as operating practices. They also investigate complaints.
Definition
A federal railroad is a rail carrier in the United States that is controlled by the government. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, develops and enforces regulations for railways and regulates funds for railroads, and conducts research to improve railway transportation. The FRA is one of 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 supervises all freight and passenger transport that is conducted through the nation's rail network. Additionally, the agency also supports the rehabilitation of Northeast Corridor rail passenger service and consolidates government support for rail transportation. 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 coordinates federal rail transportation programs.
The FRA's responsibilities also include the establishment through regulation and following an opportunity for comments an procedure that anyone can report to the Secretary Homeland Security any railroad security problems or issues. In addition, the agency establishes policies and conducts inspections in order to evaluate the compliance of its rail safety laws in six technical disciplines: track signals and train control, motive power and equipment, operating practices, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings.
The agency has the responsibility of ensuring that the railway transportation system operates in a safe, economical and sustainable manner. The agency also requires that railroads to maintain a safe workplace and provide adequate training for their employees. In addition, the agency sets and enforces railroad rates to ensure that the public is receiving fair prices for their transportation services.
Additionally, the Federal Railroad Administration enacts and enforces regulations to prevent discrimination against railroad employees as well as protects whistleblowers from being retaliated against by railroad companies. The agency also sets up a complaint procedure for railroad employees to submit complaints about the conduct of the company.
The agency's primary mission is to facilitate the safe reliable and efficient movement of goods and people for a strong America both now and in the future. The FRA accomplishes this through overseeing the safety of railroads, regulating railroad assistance programs conducting research to help the improvement of safety for railroads and national rail transportation policy as well as coordinating and assisting with the development of rail networks, and helping the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads dominated the market with little competition. As a result, the industry often abused its position in the market. Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission, as and other regulatory agencies, to curb railroad monopolies' abuses.
Purpose
Federal railroads are government agencies that set regulations, manage rail funds and conduct research to improve rail transportation in the United America. It manages the rail infrastructure of the United States and supervises passenger and freight railroads. 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.
Security is the primary responsibility in rail transportation. The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for this. It has several divisions which oversee the country's freight and passenger railroad operations. The Office of Railroad Safety is the largest of them with approximately 350 inspectors. It is responsible for conducting safety inspections across six technical disciplines, including track, signalling, train control, motive and equipment, operating procedures, hazmat, and highway-rail grade crosses.
FRA has additional departments that include the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. This oversees the programs that are meant 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 in order to plan the nation's railway requirements.
The FRA also has a responsibility to enforce federal laws pertaining to railroads and their employees. This includes stopping railroads from discriminating against employees and ensuring that all injured railway employees are provided with transportation to the nearest hospital for initial aid treatment. It also prohibits railroads from refusing or delaying medical care to injured railway employees.
The FRA is the main regulator of the passenger and freight rail industries, but there are other organizations that oversee the economic aspects of rail transportation. The Surface Transportation Board, for instance, is in charge of setting rates and governing the economics of the sector. It is the regulatory authority for railroad mergers, line-sales, construction and abandonment. Other responsibilities include the establishment of regulations following an opportunity for public input, by which anyone may report alleged rail safety violations to the agency.
Functions
Rails transport people and goods from and to cities in the developed world as well as villages in less developed countries. They transport raw materials from processing and manufacturing facilities, and then finished products from these facilities to warehouses or stores. Railroads are a critical form of transportation for many vital products, including coal, oil and grains. In 2020, freight rail moved more than a quarter of the country's total freight volume [PDF(PDF).
Federal railroads operate like any other business with departments for marketing, operations, sales and an executive department. The department for marketing and sales talks with customers and potential clients to determine what services they require and how much they should cost. The operations department then produces the rail services that meet those requirements at the lowest possible cost to generate revenue for the railroad. The executive department oversees 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 money to help build and maintain new tracks and stations. These subsidies are usually in addition to the earnings 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 the United States Government as a major stockholder.
The Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) principal function is to develop and enforce safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical conditions of trains as well as the health and safety of railroad employees. FRA also gathers and analyzes data on rail safety to identify trends and areas that may require more or better regulatory attention.
FRA also works on other projects to improve the economy and safety of railway transportation in the United States. For example, the agency is working to remove obstacles that could hinder railroads' introduction of positive train control systems (PTC). PTC is an emergency safety system that utilizes sensors and computers on board to stop the train automatically when it is too close to a vehicle or object.
History
The first railroads in the United States were constructed in the 1820s and 1830s mostly in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. The railroads increased industrialization and brought more food to the market in these regions. This allowed the country become more self-sufficient and less dependent on imports.
In the latter part of the 19th century the railroad industry experienced a "Golden Age" during which new, more efficient raillines were built and passenger travel became popular. This was in large part because of the government's efforts to expand the railroad system. The government, for example, gave homesteaders land grants in order to encourage them to settle in the West. Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads also partnered to construct 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, demand for passenger railroad services declined and other transportation options like cars and airplanes gained popularity, while regulations hindered railroads in their ability to compete economically. A string of bankruptcies, service cuts, and deferred maintenance was the next step. Additionally, a misguided federal railway regulations caused the demise of the industry.
Around 1970 the federal government started to ease the regulatory shackles 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 was also created, which sets standards for rail safety and is among the 10 agencies in the U.S. Department of Transportation that oversees freight and passenger transportation.
Since then, a great amount of money has been made in the country's railway infrastructure. The Northeast Corridor has been rebuilt, for instance, to allow for faster and more modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT). There are also efforts to develop more efficient freight rail. In the future, FRA hopes to continue its relationship with all transportation agencies in order to ensure the safety and reliability of railroads. It is the agency's job to help make sure that the transportation system of the United States operates as efficiently as it can.
