Five Killer Quora Answers To Federal Railroad
The Federal Railroad Administration
The federal employers liability Railroad Administration is one of the DOT's 10 departments involved in intermodal transportation. Its mission is enabling the secure and reliable transportation of people and goods.
FRA field inspectors inspect the railroad track signals, train control and track systems, as well as operating practices. They also investigate complaints.
Definition
Federal railroads are rail transporters in the United States controlled by the federal government. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, creates and enforces railway regulations as well as manages funds from railroads and conducts research to improve 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 is responsible for all freight and passenger transport that is conducted through the nation's rail network. Additionally the agency is also involved in the rehabilitation of Northeast Corridor rail passenger service and consolidates support from the federal government for rail transportation activities. 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 duties also include establishing through regulation and following an opportunity for comment an procedure that anyone can inform the Secretary of Homeland Security any railroad security issues or deficiencies. The agency also develops policies, conducts inspections, and assesses compliance with its rail laws in six technical disciplines, which include track signal, track, and train control locomotive power and equipment; operating procedures hazardous materials and highway-rail grade intersections.
The agency is in charge of making sure that the railroad transportation system operates in a secure, efficient, and environmentally friendly manner. As a result, the agency requires railroads to maintain a safe working environment and provide the appropriate training to their employees. Additionally, the agency establishes and railroad regulates railroad rates to ensure that the public gets an equitable price for their transportation services.
The Federal Railroad Administration also enacts and enforces rules to prevent discrimination towards railroad employees. They also shield whistleblowers from retaliation by railroad carriers. The agency also establishes an avenue for railroad employees to file complaints about the company's conduct.
The agency's primary mission is to ensure the safe reliable and efficient movement of people and goods to ensure a secure America both now and in the future. The FRA achieves this by controlling rail safety, coordinating programs for assistance to railroads, conducting research to support improved railroad safety and national transportation policy, coordinating rail networking development and assisting private companies manage railroads. In the past, railroads were huge monopolies with little competition. As a result, railroads often misused their position in the market. Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission, as well as other regulatory agencies to control the monopolies' exploitation of railroads.
Purpose
The federal railroad is a government agency that sets regulations, manages rail funds and studies ways to improve the nation's rail transportation system. It oversees both freight and passenger railroads, and also manages the nation's railway infrastructure. It is one of the 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also responsible for maintaining and expanding the existing railroad infrastructure.
Safety is the main responsibility when it comes to 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 most important of these is the Office of Railroad Safety, which is home to approximately 350 safety inspectors and is responsible for conducting inspections to ensure the compliance with regulations in six technical disciplines that include track signal and train control, motive power and equipment, operating practices, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings.
FRA has other departments, including the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. It is responsible for the programs designed to improve passenger and freight rail transportation, including the Northeast Corridor Future. This department is also in charge of the grants that are given to railways and collaborates with other agencies to plan for the nation's rail needs.
The FRA also has a duty to enforce federal laws that pertain to railroads and their employees. This includes stopping railroads from discriminating against employees and ensuring 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 treatment to injured railway workers.
The FRA is the primary regulator for the rail passenger and freight industry, however other agencies 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 also responsible for regulating mergers in the railroad industry lines sales, construction and abandonment. Other responsibilities include establishing rules following an opportunity for public input, by which anyone may submit complaints about rail safety violations to the agency.
Functions
Railroads transport goods and people between cities in the developed countries as and remote villages in less-developed countries. They transport raw materials to manufacturing and processing factories, and then the final products from those factories to warehouses and stores. Railroads are an essential mode of transportation for many essential commodities, such as oil, coal and grains. In 2020, freight rail moved over a quarter of the nation's total freight volumes [PDF].
The federal railroad is run just like other businesses. It has departments for marketing and operations, sale, and an executive department. The department for marketing and sales works with current and potential customers to determine the type of rail services they need and the amount they should cost. The operations department then produces the rail services that meet those requirements at the cheapest cost to generate revenue for the railroad. The executive department supervises the entire operation and ensures that each department is operating efficiently.
The government offers support to the railways in a variety ways, from grants to subsidized rates for shipping government traffic. Congress also provides money to support and build new stations and tracks. These subsidy funds are often added to the revenue that railroads receive through ticket sales and freight contracts.
In the United States, the government owns the railway for passengers, Amtrak. It is a quasi public for-profit company, with the United States Government as a major stockholder.
A key purpose of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is establishing and enforcing safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical properties of trains and the health and safety of railroad employees. FRA also gathers and analyzes information on rail safety to identify trends and areas that need improved or increased regulatory attention.
In addition to these primary duties, FRA works on various other projects that aim to improve the economy and security of rail transportation in the United States. For instance, the agency is working to remove obstacles that might hinder railroads' introduction 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 another object or vehicle.
History
In the 1820s-1830s the first railroads in America were built, primarily in New England and Mid-Atlantic. Railroads significantly accelerated industrialization in those areas and also brought more food to the market. This made the country more independent and less dependent on imports.
In the latter part of the 19th century the railroad industry enjoyed a "Golden Age" during which new, more efficient raillines were built and passenger transportation became popular. This was in large part due to the government's efforts to expand the railroad system. For instance, the government, gave homesteaders land grants to encourage them to settle in the West. Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads also worked together to construct the first transcontinental railway, which allowed passengers 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 decreased and other modes of transport like cars and airplanes gained popularity, while regulations choked railroads competitiveness economically. A series of bankruptcies and delays in maintenance and service cuts followed. In addition, misguided railroad regulations from the federal government caused the decline of the industry.
Around 1970, federal government began loosening the regulations governing railroads. Surface Transportation Board was created to oversee economic aspects such as railroad rates and mergers. The Federal Railroad Administration, which oversees passenger and freight transportation and sets standards for rail safety, was also created.
Since then, a great amount of money has been made in the country's railway infrastructure. The Northeast Corridor has been rebuilt for instance, in order to accommodate faster and more modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT). There are also efforts to develop more efficient freight rail. FRA hopes to continue working with all transportation agencies to ensure safe and reliable rails in the near future. It is the agency's job to help make sure that the transportation system of the United States operates as efficiently as it can.