Five Killer Quora Answers To Federal Railroad
The Federal Railroad Administration
The Federal Railroad Administration is one of the DOT's 10 agencies that deal with intermodal transportation. Its goal is to facilitate the safe and reliable movement of people and goods.
FRA field inspectors regularly inspect railroad tracks, signals and train control systems as well as operating procedures. 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 part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, develops and enforces regulations for railways as well as manages funds from railroads and Fela Railroad Settlements conducts research to improve railway transportation. The FRA is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's intermodal transportation division and its top officers are the Administrator and the Deputy Administrator.
The agency is responsible for all freight and passenger transport that utilizes the railway network of the United States. The agency also coordinates government funding for rail transportation and supports the rehabilitation of the Northeast Corridor passenger service. Additionally, the agency oversees the operation and ownership of all intermodal infrastructures such as tracks, right-of-way equipment and real property as well as rolling stock. It also handles the overall coordination of federal rail transportation programs.
The FRA's duties include establishing, through regulation, after notification and comment, a process by which anyone can submit a make a complaint to the Secretary of Homeland Security concerning railroad security issues or deficiencies. The agency also formulates policies, conducts inspections, and reviews the compliance with its rail laws in six technical disciplines, including track, signal, and train control; motive power and equipment; operating procedures hazardous materials and highway-rail grade intersections.
The agency is tasked with the responsibility of making sure the railroad transportation system is safe, economical and sustainable. As a result, the agency requires railroads to ensure the safety of their workers and provide appropriate training for their employees. The agency also sets and enforces railroad prices to ensure that the public is billed in a fair manner for transportation services.
The Federal Railroad Administration also enacts and implements rules to prevent discrimination against railroad employees. They also shield whistleblowers from retaliation by railroad carriers. The agency also establishes an avenue for railroad employees to make complaints about the conduct of the company.
The primary goal of the FRA is to facilitate the secure reliable and efficient transportation of goods and people to build a stronger America today and into the future. The FRA achieves this by regulating railroad safety, managing railroad assistance programs conducting research to help improved railroad safety 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, with no competition. As a result, railroads often misused their position in the marketplace. This is why Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission and other regulatory agencies to curb the abuses of railroad monopolies.
Purpose
The federal railroad is a government agency that makes rules, oversees funds for rail and researches ways to improve the nation's rail transportation system. It manages the railway infrastructure of the United States and oversees freight and passenger railroads. It is one of ten agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also charged with maintaining and expanding current rail systems, ensuring the capacity of the rail industry to meet increasing demand for freight and travel, as well as providing leadership in regional and national system planning.
The primary responsibility of the government in the railway industry is safety. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is in charge of this, and it has several divisions that manage the country's passenger and freight railway operations. The Office of Railroad Safety is the largest of these, with around 350 inspectors. It is responsible for conducting safety inspections in six technical disciplines, including track signalling, and train control, motive and equipment operating procedures, hazmat, and highway-rail grade crossings.
FRA has various departments, including the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. This department oversees programs aimed to improve passenger and freight rail transportation, like the Northeast Corridor Future. The department is also responsible for grants that are given to help railways, and it collaborates with other agencies to plan for the nation's rail requirements.
Another important duty of the FRA is the enforcement of federal laws that pertain to railroads and their employees. This includes preventing railroads to discriminate against employees and making sure that all injured railway staff are taken to the nearest hospital to receive treatment. It also prohibits railroads from refusing or delaying medical care to injured railway workers.
The FRA is the primary regulator for the rail passenger and freight industry, however other agencies manage the economic aspects of rail transportation. Surface Transportation Board is responsible for establishing rates and managing economics in the industry. It has regulatory authority on railroad mergers, line-sales, construction, and abandonment. Other responsibilities include the establishment of rules after opportunity for public input that allows anyone to complain about alleged safety violations to the agency.
Functions
Rails transport goods and people from and to cities in developed countries as and villages in countries that are less developed. They transport raw materials from processing and manufacturing facilities, and then finished goods from these facilities to stores or warehouses. Rail is a vital form of transportation for a number of essential commodities like grains, oil and coal. In 2020, freight rail transported more than a quarter of nation's total freight volumes [PDF(PDF).
The federal railroad is managed as a business. It has departments for marketing and operations, sales, and an executive department. The department of marketing and sales works with potential and current customers to determine what kind of rail services they need and how much they will cost. The operations department then creates rail services that meet these requirements at the lowest cost possible to generate revenue for railroads. The executive department supervises the entire operation, ensuring that each department is functioning efficiently.
The government supports the railways with a variety means that include grants and subsidized rates for government-owned traffic. Congress also provides funds to support and build stations and tracks. 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 with a significant stockholder, which is the United States government.
A key role of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is developing and enforcing safety regulations for railroads. This involves regulating the mechanical condition of trains and the safety and health of railroad employees. FRA also collects data on rail security to identify patterns and areas that require improvement or attention from the regulatory side and to track trends.
FRA also has other projects that improve the economy and safety of railway transportation in the United States. For instance, FRA is working to eliminate obstacles that can hinder railroads in adopting positive train control (PTC). PTC is a safety system that makes use of sensors and on-board computers to stop the train when it is too close to a vehicle or object.
History
The first railroads in the United States were built in the 1820s and 1830s, largely in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. The railroads significantly accelerated the industrialization process in these regions, and also brought more food items to the market. This development allowed the country to become more self-sufficient and less dependent on imports from abroad, which resulted in a solid economic base.
In the late nineteenth century the railroad industry was experiencing an "Golden Age," during which many new trains that were more efficient were constructed and passenger travel via train became popular. This was in large part because of the government's efforts to expand the railroad system. The government, for example granted land grants to homesteaders 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 passengers to travel from New York City to San Francisco within six days.
In the first half century however the demand for rail passenger services dwindled, while other modes of transport like planes and automobiles increased in popularity. Meanwhile, stifling regulation hindered railroads' ability to compete. The industry was plagued by a succession of bankruptcy as well as service cuts and delayed maintenance. In addition, misguided federal railway regulation led to the decline of the railroad industry.
Around the year 1970 the federal government started to ease the regulatory shackles on railroads. Surface Transportation Board was created to oversee economic matters like railroad rates and mergers. The Federal Railroad Administration was also established, which is responsible for establishing rules for safety in rail and is among the 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation that supervises passenger and freight transportation.
Since then, the infrastructure of the railroads of the United America has seen a great deal 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 create more efficient freight rail systems. In the future, FRA hopes to continue its partnership with all transportation agencies in order to ensure reliable and safe railroads. It is the job of FRA to ensure that the nation's transportation system operates as efficiently as it can.