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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 purpose is to ensure secure and reliable transportation 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 Federal railroads are rail carriers 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 regulations governing railways and regulates funds for railroads, and conducts research to improve railway transportation. fela claims railroad employees is one of 10 agencies within 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 is responsible for all freight and passenger transport that utilizes the nation's railway network. The agency also coordinates the funding provided by the federal government for rail transportation, and helps with the rehabilitation of the Northeast Corridor passenger service. 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. The FRA's responsibilities are to establish through regulation, following the notice and comments are allowed an avenue through which anyone can submit a make a complaint to the Secretary of Homeland Security concerning railroad security problems or deficiencies. In addition, the agency sets up policies and conducts inspections to assess the compliance with its rail safety regulations in six technical disciplines tracks signal and train control motive power and equipment, operating practices, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings. The agency has the responsibility of ensuring that the rail transportation system is secure, economical and sustainable. In turn, the agency requires railroads to ensure a safe working environment and provide adequate training for their employees. In addition, the agency sets and enforces railroad rates to ensure that the public gets fair prices for their transportation services. The Federal Railroad Administration also enacts and enforces rules to prevent discrimination against railroad employees. It also protects whistleblowers from retaliation from railroad carriers. The agency also has a complaint procedure for railroad employees to file complaints about the company's conduct. The main goal of the agency is to ensure the safe efficient, reliable, and secure movement of people and goods for a strong America both now and in the future. The FRA accomplishes this through controlling safety of railroads, coordinating programs for assistance to railroads, conducting research to support better safety of railroads and national rail transportation policy and coordination, as well as supporting rail networking development as well as helping the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads were large monopolies that had no competition. The railroad industry took advantage of its dominance in the market due to. Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission, as well as other regulatory agencies to control railroad monopolies' abuses. Purpose The federal railroad is a government agency that sets rules, oversees funds for rail and researches ways to improve the nation's rail transportation system. It is responsible for the railway infrastructure of the United States and supervises passenger and freight railroads. It is one of the 10 agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also charged with maintaining and expanding the current rail systems, ensuring the capacity of the rail industry to meet the growing demand for freight and travel as well as providing leadership in regional and national system planning. Safety is the main responsibility in rail transportation. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is responsible for this, and it has several divisions that manage the country's passenger and freight rail operations. The largest of these is the Office of Railroad Safety, which has approximately 350 safety inspectors and is responsible for conducting inspections that determine compliance with the regulations in six technical disciplines including track, signal and train control, motive power and equipment, operating practices, hazmat and highway-rail grade crossings. FRA has various departments, including the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. This department is responsible for programs aimed to improve passenger and freight rail transportation, like the Northeast Corridor Future. The department also is in charge of the grants that are made to railways and works with other agencies to plan for the nation's rail needs. Another essential duty of the FRA is the enforcement of certain federal laws regarding railroads and their employees. This includes preventing railroads from discriminating against workers and ensuring that injured railway workers are transported to the nearest hospital for first aid treatment. Railroads are also prohibited from delay or refuse medical treatment for injured railway workers. The FRA is the main regulator for the rail passenger and freight industry, but other agencies oversee the economic aspects of rail transportation. The Surface Transportation Board, for example is responsible for setting rates and governing the economics of the industry. It is the regulatory authority for railroad mergers, line sales, construction, and abandonment. Other responsibilities include establishing rules after opportunity for public input and participation, where anyone can complain about alleged safety violations to the agency. Functions Railroads carry people and goods between cities in developed nations as and remote villages in less-developed countries. They transport raw materials from processing and manufacturing facilities, and final products from these facilities to stores or warehouses. Rail is an essential mode of transportation for a variety of essential commodities including grain, oil, and coal. In 2020, freight railroads moved more than a quarter of all freight in the United States [PDF(PDF). The federal railroad is managed as a business. It has departments for marketing and operations, sale, and an executive department. The department of marketing and sales works with current and potential customers to determine what kind of rail services they need and how much they will cost. The operations department then develops rail services that meet these requirements at the lowest cost possible to generate revenue for railroads. The executive department oversees the entire operation and makes sure that every department is operating efficiently. The government offers support to railways in a variety of ways including grants, to subsidised rates for shipping government traffic. Congress also provides money to support and build new stations and tracks. 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 purpose is to create and enforce safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical properties of trains and the health and safety of railroad employees. FRA also analyzes and collects data on rail safety in order to identify patterns and areas that might need improved or increased regulatory attention. FRA also has other projects that improve the economy and safety of railroad transportation in the United States. For instance, FRA is working to eliminate obstacles that hinder railroads in the implementation of positive train control (PTC). PTC is a safety technology that uses sensors and computers to stop a train at the moment it is too close to an object or vehicle. History In the 1820s-1830s the first railroads in America were built, mostly in New England and Mid-Atlantic. The railroads increased industrialization and brought more food items to markets in these regions. This helped the country to become more self-sufficient and less dependent on foreign imports, which resulted in a solid economic base. In the late 19th century, the railroad industry enjoyed the benefits of a “Golden Age” in which new, more efficient rail lines were built and passenger travel became popular. The government's efforts to expand the railroad system was an important reason. The government, for instance, gave homesteaders land grants to encourage them to settle in the West. Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads also partnered to construct the first transcontinental railroad, which allowed passengers to travel from New York City to San Francisco within six days. However in the first half of the 20th century, the demand for passenger railroad services decreased and other modes of transportation such as cars and airplanes gained popularity, while the stifling of regulations hindered railroads in their ability to compete economically. A string of bankruptcies, delays in maintenance and service cuts was the next step. In addition, a misguided federal railway regulations contributed to the decline of the railroad industry. Around 1970, federal government began to loosen the regulations governing railroads. 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 established, which is responsible for establishing standards for rail safety and is one of the 10 agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation which oversees passenger and freight transportation. Since then, a great deal of investment has been made in the nation's railroad infrastructure. The Northeast Corridor, for example has been renovated to accommodate faster, more modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT) trains. Efforts have also been made to improve the efficiency of freight rail systems. FRA hopes to continue working with all transportation agencies to ensure reliable and safe rails in the future. It is the agency's job to ensure that the nation's transportation system is as efficient as it can be.