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The Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration is one of the DOT's 10 departments involved in intermodal transportation. Its goal is to facilitate the safe and reliable transportation of people and goods. FRA field inspectors regularly check railroad tracks, signals and train control systems as well as operating procedures. They also investigate complaints. Definition Federal railroads are rail transporters in the United States controlled by the federal government. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, formulates and enforces regulations governing railways and regulates funds for railroads, 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 and the Deputy Administrator. The agency is responsible for all freight and passenger transport that is made possible by the rail network of the United States. In addition the agency is also involved in the rehabilitation of Northeast Corridor rail passenger service and consolidates the government's support for rail transportation activities. Additionally, the agency oversees the operation and ownership of all intermodal infrastructures such as tracks, right-of-way, equipment real property, and rolling stock. It also handles the overall coordination of federal rail transportation programs. FRA's responsibilities also include establishing, through regulation and after an opportunity for comment the procedure through which anyone can notify the Secretary Homeland Security any railroad security issues or deficiencies. The agency also develops policies, conducts inspections and evaluates the compliance with its rail laws in six technical disciplines, including track signal, track, and train control locomotive power and equipment; operating procedures as well as hazmat and highway-rail grade intersections. The agency is in charge of ensuring that the railway transportation system operates in a safe, economic and sustainable way. In turn, the agency requires railroads to provide an environment that is safe for workers and provide the appropriate training to their employees. The agency also sets and enforces railroad prices to ensure that the public is billed fair prices for transportation services. In addition, the Federal Railroad Administration enacts and enforces rules to prevent discrimination against railroad employees as well as protects whistleblowers from retaliation from railroad companies. The agency also sets up a procedure for railroad employees to submit complaints about the company's conduct. The primary goal of the FRA is to enable the safe efficient, reliable, and secure transportation of goods and people to ensure a secure America today and into the future. The FRA achieves this by overseeing the safety of railroads, regulating programs for assistance to railroads, conducting research to support better safety of railroads and national rail transportation policy as well as coordinating and assisting with rail networking development and assisting 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. This is why Congress established 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 regulations, manages funds for rail and researches ways to improve the nation's rail transportation system. It manages the rail infrastructure of the United States and manages freight and passenger railroads. It is one of the 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also tasked with maintaining and expanding current rail systems, as well as ensuring the capacity of the rail industry to meet growing demand for freight and travel, as well as providing leadership in regional and national system planning. Security is the primary responsibility in the field of rail transportation. The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for this. It has a variety of divisions that oversee the country's passenger and freight railroad operations. The Office of Railroad Safety is the largest of them, with around 350 inspectors. It is responsible for conducting safety inspections in six different technical disciplines, including track signalling, train control as well as motive and equipment, operating procedures, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings. FRA has several departments, including the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. It is responsible for the programs that aim to improve passenger and freight 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 rail requirements. The FRA also has a duty to enforce federal laws that pertain to railroads and workers. This includes preventing railroads from discriminating against workers and ensuring that all injured railway employees are transported to the nearest hospital for first aid treatment. Railroads are also prohibited from delay or refuse medical treatment for injured railway employees. The FRA is the primary regulator of the freight and passenger rail industry, however other agencies oversee the economic aspects of rail transportation. Surface Transportation Board is responsible for setting rates and managing the economics of the industry. It is also the regulator for railroad mergers, line-sales, construction and abandonment. Other responsibilities include establishing rules following an opportunity for public input and participation, where anyone can 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 to processing and manufacturing plants, and finished products from those factories to warehouses and stores. Rail is a vital form of transportation for a variety of essential commodities, including grain, oil, and coal. In 2020, freight rail carried more than a quarter of nation's total freight volume [PDFThe PDF file contains. The federal railroad is managed just like other businesses. It has departments for marketing and operations, sale, and an executive department. The marketing and sales department collaborates with potential and current customers to determine the type of rail services they need and how much they will cost. The operations department then produces rail services that meet these needs at the lowest price possible to make money for railroads. The executive department supervises the entire operation, ensuring that every department is operating efficiently. The government supports railways in a variety ways including grants, to subsidised rates for government-owned transport. Congress also provides funds to help build and maintain new tracks and stations. These subsidies are often in addition to the earnings the railroads receive from ticket sales and freight contracts. Amtrak is owned by the United States government. It is a quasi-public for-profit corporation, which has the United States Government as a major stockholder. A key purpose of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is to develop and enforce safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical state of trains, as well as the health and safety of railroad employees. FRA also gathers and analyzes data on rail safety to identify patterns and areas that might require improvement or more regulation. FRA also participates in other projects that improve the economy and safety of rail transportation in the United States. For instance, FRA seeks to eliminate obstacles that might hinder railroads' implementation of positive train control systems (PTC). PTC is a security technology that makes use of sensors and computers on board 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 constructed, mostly in New England and Mid-Atlantic. The railroads increased industrialization and brought more food to the market in these regions. This helped 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 late nineteenth century the railroad industry went through an “Golden Age,” during which many new, more efficient rail lines were constructed and passenger travel on train became increasingly popular. The government's efforts in expanding the railroad system were a major factor. The government, for instance provided land grants to homesteaders to encourage them to settle the West. Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads also worked together to build the first transcontinental railroad, which allowed passengers to travel from New York City to San Francisco in just six days. However, in the first half of the 20th century, demand for passenger railroad services decreased and other modes of transportation such as cars and airplanes gained popularity, while stifling regulations choked railroads' ability to compete economically. A series of bankruptcies, service cuts and deferred maintenance was the next step. Misguided federal rail regulations also contributed to the decline. In the year 1970, the federal government began to loosen the restrictions on railroads' regulatory requirements. The Surface Transportation Board was established to oversee economic aspects of the industry such as mergers and rates for railroads. The Federal Railroad Administration was also created, which sets rail safety regulations and is one of 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation which oversees passenger and freight transportation. Since then, the railroad infrastructure of the United States has seen a lot of investment. The Northeast Corridor, for example has been renovated to accommodate more efficient, faster and modern high speed ground transportation (HSGT) trains. There are also efforts to create more efficient freight rail. fela railroad settlements hopes to continue working with all transportation agencies to ensure the safety and reliability of rails in the future. The agency's role is to ensure that the nation's transport system is running as efficiently as is possible.