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The Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration is among the 10 agencies of the DOT that are accountable for intermodal transportation. Its goal is to facilitate the secure and reliable transportation of both people and goods. FRA field inspectors examine the railroad track signals, train control and track systems as well operating practices. They also investigate complaints. Definition A federal railroad is a railway in the United States that is controlled by the federal government. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, formulates and enforces regulations governing railways, administers railroad funds, and conducts research to improve the efficiency of rail transportation. The FRA is one of the 10 agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation that is concerned with intermodal transportation. Its chief executive officers are the Administrator and Deputy Administrator. The agency supervises all freight and passenger transport that uses the nation's railway network. In addition the agency is also involved in the rehabilitation of Northeast Corridor rail passenger service and consolidates support from the federal government for rail transportation. Additionally, the agency oversees the operation and ownership of all intermodal facilities such as tracks, right-of-way equipment, real property and rolling stock. It also handles the overall coordination of federal rail transportation programs. The FRA's duties include establishing, through regulation, following an notification and comment, a process by anyone can report to the Secretary of Homeland Security concerning railroad security issues or inconsistencies. In addition, the agency establishes policies and conducts inspections to assess the compliance of its rail safety regulations in six technical disciplines: track, signal and train control, motive power and machinery operating practices, hazmat, and highway-rail grade crossings. The agency is responsible of ensuring that the railway transportation system is operating in a secure, efficient, and environmentally friendly manner. In turn, the agency requires railroads to maintain the safety of their workers and provide adequate training for their employees. Furthermore, the agency sets and regulates railroad rates to ensure that the public receives a fair rate for their transportation services. Additionally the Federal Railroad Administration enacts and enforces rules to stop discrimination against railroad workers, as well as protects whistleblowers from retaliation by railroad companies. The agency also has a procedure by which railroad employees can make complaints about the actions of the company. The primary goal of the FRA is to enable the secure efficient, reliable, and secure transportation of goods and people to build a stronger America, now and in the future. The FRA achieves this by controlling safety of railroads, coordinating 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 rail networking development as well as helping the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads were huge monopolies, with no competition. The railroad industry was able to abuse its dominant position in the market due to. Therefore, Congress established the Interstate Commerce Commission and other regulatory agencies to curb the abuses committed by railroad monopolies. Purpose The federal railroad is a government agency that establishes rules, oversees funds for rail and researches ways to improve the nation's rail transport system. It manages the rail infrastructure of the United States and manages passenger and freight railroads. It is one of ten agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also responsible for maintaining and expanding the current railway systems, ensuring capability of the railroad industry to meet the growing demand for freight and travel, as well as providing leadership in national and regional system planning. The primary responsibility of the government in the railway industry is safety. The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for this. It has a number of divisions that supervise 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 across six technical disciplines, including track, signalling, and train control, motive and equipment, operating procedures, hazmat, and highway-rail grade crossings. FRA has several departments, including the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. This department oversees programs that aim at improving freight and passenger railway transport, including the Northeast Corridor Future. This department also is responsible for the grants that are made to help railways, and it collaborates with other agencies in planning for the nation's rail needs. fela railroad accident lawyer of the FRA is the enforcement of federal laws regarding railroads and their employees. This includes preventing railroads to discriminate against workers and making sure that all injured railway staff are taken to the nearest hospital to receive treatment. Additionally, railroads are prohibited from denying or delaying medical care to injured railway workers. The FRA is the primary regulator of the freight and passenger rail industry, but other organizations manage the economic aspects of rail transportation. Surface Transportation Board is responsible for determining rates and governing economics in the sector. It is the regulatory authority for railroad mergers, line-sales construction, and abandonment. Other responsibilities include establishing rules following an opportunity for public input that allows anyone to submit complaints about rail safety violations to the agency. Functions Rails transport people and goods from and to cities in developed countries as and villages in less developed countries. They transport raw materials to processing and manufacturing factories, and then the final products from those facilities to stores and warehouses. Rail is a vital form of transportation for a number of essential commodities, including grain, oil and coal. In 2020, freight rail transported more than a quarter of nation's total freight volume [PDF(PDF). A federal railroad operates just like any other company, with departments for marketing and operations, sales, and an executive department. The marketing and sales department collaborates with potential and current customers to determine the kind of rail services they require and what those services should 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, making sure every department is running smoothly. The government provides support to railways through a variety of ways such as grants and subsidised rates on government traffic. Congress also provides funds to help build and maintain new stations and tracks. These subsidy funds are often added to the revenues that railroads receive through tickets and freight contracts. In the United States, the government has the railway for passengers, Amtrak. It is a quasi-public, for-profit company with a huge shareholder that is the United States government. The primary purpose of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is to develop and enforce safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical condition of trains, as well as the health and safety of railroad employees. FRA also gathers and analyzes data on rail safety in order to identify trends and areas that may require more or better regulation. In addition to these core tasks, FRA works on various other projects related to improving the economy and security of railway transportation in the United States. The agency, for example seeks to lower the barriers that could delay railroads in adopting positive train control (PTC). PTC is a safety technology that makes use of sensors and computers on board to stop a train automatically when it is too close to an object or vehicle. History In the 1820s and 1830s, the first railroads in America were built, mostly in New England and Mid-Atlantic. The railroads accelerated industrialization and brought more food products to markets in these regions. This development allowed the country to become more independent and less dependent on foreign imports, which helped to foster a strong economic base. In the latter part of the nineteenth century the railroad industry was experiencing an “Golden Age,” during which many new railway lines that were more efficient were built and passenger travel via train became increasingly popular. This was in large part due to the government's efforts to expand the railroad system. For instance, the government gave homesteaders grants of land to encourage them to move to the West, and the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads joined forces to construct the first transcontinental railroad, which allowed travel from New York to San Francisco in six days. In the first half century however, the demand for rail passenger services decreased, and other modes of transport like planes and cars increased in popularity. Meanwhile, stifling regulation hindered railroads' ability to compete. A string of bankruptcies, service cuts and deferred maintenance followed. In addition, misguided railroad regulations from the federal government caused the decline of the railroad industry. Around 1970, the federal government began to ease the regulatory burdens 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 established to set standards for rail safety and is one of the 10 agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation that oversees freight and passenger transportation. Since then, a great deal of investment has been made in the nation's railroad infrastructure. The Northeast Corridor has been rebuilt, for instance, to accommodate faster and more modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT). There have also been efforts to develop more efficient freight rail systems. 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 ensure that the nation's transportation system operates as efficiently as possible.