Buzzwords De-Buzzed: 10 Alternative Ways Of Saying Federal Railroad
The Federal Railroad Administration
The Federal Railroad Administration is one of the 10 DOT agencies concerned with intermodal transportation. Its purpose is to ensure secure and reliable transportation of people and goods.
FRA field inspectors inspect the railroad track as well as train control and signal systems as well operating practices. They also investigate complaints.
Definition
Federal railroads are the rail carriers in the United States controlled by the federal government. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) creates and enforces railway safety regulations, administers funds for railroads, and investigates ways to improve rail transportation systems. The FRA is one of 10 agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation which is responsible for intermodal transportation. Its chief executive officers are the Administrator and Deputy Administrator.
The agency oversees all freight and passenger transportation that uses the nation's railway network. In addition the agency supports the rehabilitation of the Northeast Corridor rail passenger service and consolidates support from the federal government for rail transportation. fela lawyer regulates the ownership and operation of intermodal facilities including tracks, right of way equipment, real estate, and rolling stock. It also oversees federal rail transportation programs.
The FRA's responsibilities also include the establishment through regulation, and after an opportunity for comment an procedure that anyone can inform the Secretary of Homeland Security any railroad security problems or issues. In addition, the agency establishes policies and conducts inspections to determine compliance with its rail safety regulations in six technical disciplines tracks signals and train control, motive power and machinery, operating practices, hazmat, and highway-rail grade crossings.
The agency has the responsibility to make sure the railroad transportation system is safe, economical and environmentally sustainable. As a result, the agency requires railroads to maintain a safe working environment and provide the appropriate training to their employees. In addition, the agency sets and enforces railroad rates to ensure that the public receives a fair rate 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 companies. The agency also establishes procedures for railroad employees can file complaints against the company's actions.
The primary goal of the agency is to ensure the safe, reliable and effective movement of goods and people for a stronger America now and in future. The FRA achieves this by overseeing the safety of railroads, regulating railroad assistance programs, conducting research to support better safety of railroads and national rail transportation policy, coordinating and supporting rail networking development as well as helping the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads were large monopolies, with no competition. This meant that the industry frequently abused its position in the market. Congress established the Interstate Commerce Commission, as and other regulatory agencies, to curb railroad monopolies' abuses.
Purpose
The federal railroad is a federal agency that establishes regulations, manages funds for rail and studies ways to improve the nation's rail transportation system. It is responsible for the railroad infrastructure of the United States and supervises freight and passenger railroads. It is one of the ten agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also responsible for maintaining and expanding current railway infrastructure.
The government's primary responsibility in the field of rail transportation is safety. The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for this. It has a variety of divisions that oversee the country's passenger and freight rail operations. The largest of them is the Office of Railroad Safety, with approximately 350 safety inspectors and is responsible for conducting inspections to determine compliance with regulations in six technical disciplines: track signals, train control, motive power and equipment, operating procedures as well as hazmat and highway rail grade crossings.
FRA has various departments, including the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. This department oversees programs that aim to improve passenger and freight rail transport, such as the Northeast Corridor Future. This department is responsible for grants given to railways, and collaborates with other agencies in order to plan the nation's railway requirements.
The FRA also has a responsibility to enforce federal laws related to railroads and their workers. This includes preventing railroads from discriminating against workers, and making sure that all railway employees injured are provided with transportation to the nearest hospital for initial aid treatment. The law also prohibits railroads from refusing or delaying medical treatment for injured railway employees.
The FRA is the main regulator of the freight and passenger rail industries, however there are other agencies that manage the economic aspects of rail transportation. Surface Transportation Board is responsible for setting rates and managing the economics of the industry. It is the regulatory authority for railroad mergers, line-sales, construction, and abandonment. After the public consultation period the agency is responsible for establishing regulations that will allow anyone to file a complaint about any alleged rail safety violations.
Functions
Rails transport people and goods from and to cities in the developed world as well as villages in countries that are less developed. They transport raw materials from processing and manufacturing facilities, and final products from these facilities to stores or warehouses. Railroads are a vital mode of transportation for many essential products, including coal, oil, and grains. In 2020, freight rail carried more than a quarter of nation's total freight volumes [PDF].
The federal railroad is run as a business. It has departments for marketing and sale, operations, and an executive department. The marketing and sales department collaborates with potential and current customers to determine what kind of rail services they require and how much they will cost. The operations department then develops the rail services that meet these needs at the lowest cost to earn money for the railroad. The executive department oversees the entire operation, making sure each department is functioning efficiently.
The government offers support to railways in a variety ways, from grants to subsidized rates for shipping government traffic. Congress also provides money to help build and maintain new stations and tracks. These subsidies are often a part of the revenues that railroads receive through ticket sales and freight contracts.
In the United States, the government owns the passenger railway Amtrak. It is a quasi-public, for-profit corporation with a large shareholder that is the United States government.
The Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) main function is to develop and enforce safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical state of trains, as well as the safety and health of railroad employees. FRA also collects data on security of rail lines to determine trends areas that require improvement or attention from the regulatory side and to track trends.
FRA also works on other projects to improve the safety and economy of rail 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 security 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 constructed, mostly in New England and Mid-Atlantic. Railroads significantly accelerated industrialization in these regions, and also brought more food items to the market. This helped the country to become more self-sufficient and less dependent on imports from abroad, which resulted in a solid economic base.
In the latter half 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 on train became popular. The government's efforts in expanding the railroad system were an important factor. For example the government provided land grants to homesteaders to encourage them to settle in the West, and the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads worked together to complete the first transcontinental railroad which allowed travel from New York to San Francisco in six days.
However, in the first half of the 20th century, the demand for railroad passenger services slowed and other modes of transport like automobiles and planes gained in popularity, while the stifling of regulations hampered railroads' ability to compete economically. The industry was plagued by a string of bankruptcy as well as service cuts and delayed maintenance. Misguided federal rail regulations also contributed to the decline.
Around the year 1970, the federal authorities began to ease the regulations governing railroads. The Surface Transportation Board was established to oversee the economic aspects of the industry, such as railroad rates and mergers. 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 that supervises passenger and freight transportation.
Since then, the railway infrastructure of the United States has seen a lot of investment. The Northeast Corridor, for example was rebuilt to accommodate more efficient, faster and modern high-speed ground transportation (HSGT) trains. The effort has also been made to create more efficient freight rail systems. In the future, FRA hopes to continue its collaboration with all transportation agencies in order to ensure reliable and safe railroads. It is the job of FRA to help make sure that the transportation system of the United States operates as efficiently as it can.