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Federal Railroad Administration

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Federal Railroad Administration
Logo of the United States Federal Railroad Administration.svg
Agency overview
FormedApril 1, 1967; 55 years ago (1967-04-01)
JurisdictionUnited States Government
HeadquartersWashington, DC
Employees850
Annual budget$1.561 billion (2008)[1]
Agency executive
Parent agencyU.S. Department of Transportation
Websiterailroads.dot.gov Edit this at Wikidata
For other uses, see FRA.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966.[3] The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce rail safety regulations, administer railroad assistance programs, conduct research and development in support of improved railroad safety and national rail transportation policy, provide for the rehabilitation of Northeast Corridor rail passenger service, and consolidate government support of rail transportation activities.[4]

The FRA is one of ten agencies within DOT concerned with intermodal transportation. It operates through seven divisions under the offices of the Administrator and Deputy Administrator. These divisions are: Financial Management and Administration, Chief Counsel, Civil Rights, Public Affairs, Public Engagement, Railroad Policy and Development, and Safety. It has a staff of about 850.[5]

Discover more about Federal Railroad Administration related topics

United States Department of Transportation

United States Department of Transportation

The United States Department of Transportation is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet.

Regulation

Regulation

Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For example:in biology, gene regulation and metabolic regulation allow living organisms to adapt to their environment and maintain homeostasis; in government, typically regulation means stipulations of the delegated legislation which is drafted by subject-matter experts to enforce primary legislation; in business, industry self-regulation occurs through self-regulatory organizations and trade associations which allow industries to set and enforce rules with less government involvement; and, in psychology, self-regulation theory is the study of how individuals regulate their thoughts and behaviors to reach goals.

Northeast Corridor

Northeast Corridor

The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Bridgeport, Stamford, New York City, Trenton, Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore to Washington, D.C. The NEC closely parallels Interstate 95 for most of its length, and is the busiest passenger rail line in the United States both by ridership and by service frequency as of 2013. The NEC carries more than 2,200 trains daily.

Intermodal freight transport

Intermodal freight transport

Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation, without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damage and loss, and allows freight to be transported faster. Reduced costs over road trucking is the key benefit for inter-continental use. This may be offset by reduced timings for road transport over shorter distances.

Function

The FRA oversees both passenger (top) and freight (bottom) rail operations in the United States.
The FRA oversees both passenger (top) and freight (bottom) rail operations in the United States.
The FRA oversees both passenger (top) and freight (bottom) rail operations in the United States.

All passenger and freight rail travel in the United States on the national interconnected rail infrastructure is subject to regulation by the FRA. FRA regulates public and intercity rail services, but does not regulate "closed" railways that operate exclusively on private property, such as a rail system between buildings at a steel mill, nor does it regulate subways, light rail or elevated intra-city passenger rail systems that do not connect to any public rail networks.[6] Most notably, the FRA enforces safety regulations, such as speed limits and requirements for safety features such as positive train control.[7] Non-legislative recommendations for FRA policy come from the Rail Safety Advisory Committee, established in 1996,[8] though much of FRA policy is created via congressional legislation; for example, the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 was an act of Congress, which the FRA enforced through a series of regulations published two years later.[9] These regulations include enforcement of positive train control and enforcement of more stringent conductor certification requirements.[10][11]

FRA Inspection Train in St. Johnsville, New York
FRA Inspection Train in St. Johnsville, New York

Recent safety initiatives

In 2011, the FRA began the process of updating its electronic device policy for active train operators.[12]

In June 2015, the FRA announced a railway safety initiative with Google that would include the FRAs GIS data into its mapping services. The data pinpoints the location of over 250,000 rail crossings in the United States. The FRA believes that providing the location of rail crossings in maps will enhance crossing safety by people who are using navigation systems while driving.[13][14] The agency also created a web portal for the public to report blocked crossings in order to collect data on the implication for safety and economy of stopped trains blocking crossings.[15][16]

Citing safety concerns, in 2016 the FRA proposed a rule to mandate train crew sizes[17] but the agency withdrew the rule in 2019 stating "that no regulation of train crew staffing is necessary or appropriate for railroad operations to be conducted safely at this time."[18] This was in part due to the improving safety record for rail and also the implementation of PTC across nearly 60,000 route miles of track.[19][20]

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Rail speed limits in the United States

Rail speed limits in the United States

Rail speed limits in the United States are regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration. Railroads also implement their own limits and enforce speed limits. Speed restrictions are based on a number of factors including curvature, signaling, track condition, and the presence of grade crossings. Like road speed limits in the United States, speed limits for tracks and trains are measured in miles per hour (mph).

Positive train control

Positive train control

Positive train control (PTC) is a family of automatic train protection systems deployed in the United States. Most of the United States' national rail network mileage has a form of PTC. These systems are generally designed to check that trains are moving safely and to stop them when they are not.

Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008

Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008

The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 is a United States federal law, enacted by Congress to improve railroad safety. Among its provisions, the most notable was the mandate requiring positive train control (PTC) technology to be installed on most of the US railroad network by 2015. This was spurred by the 2008 Chatsworth train collision the month prior to passage of the act. After two delays, the technology was operational on all required railroads by the end of 2020.

United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a governor's appointment. Congress has 535 voting members: 100 senators and 435 representatives. The U.S. vice president has a vote in the Senate only when senators are evenly divided. The House of Representatives has six non-voting members.

Google

Google

Google LLC is an American multinational technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. It has been referred to as "the most powerful company in the world" and one of the world's most valuable brands due to its market dominance, data collection, and technological advantages in the area of artificial intelligence. Its parent company Alphabet is considered one of the Big Five American information technology companies, alongside Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft.

List of administrators

Image Name Year began Year end Appointed by
A. Scheffer Lang 1967 1969 Lyndon B. Johnson
Reginald Whitman 1969 1970 Richard Nixon
John W. Ingram 1971 1974 Richard Nixon
Asaph H. Hall 1974 1977 Richard Nixon
John M. Sullivan 1977 1981 Jimmy Carter
Robert W. Blanchette 1981 1983 Ronald Reagan
John H. Riley 1983 1989 Ronald Reagan
Gilbert Carmichael 1989 1993 George H. W. Bush
Jolene M. Molitoris.gif Jolene Molitoris 1993 2000 Bill Clinton
Allan Rutter.jpg Allan Rutter 2001 2004 George W. Bush
Betty Monro.jpg Betty Monro (acting) 2004 2005 George W. Bush
Robert D. Jamison (acting) 2005 2005 George W. Bush
Jhboardman.jpg Joseph H. Boardman 2005 2008 George W. Bush
Clifford C. Eby.jpg Clifford C. Eby (acting) 2008 2009 George W. Bush
Joeszabo.jpg Joe Szabo 2009 2014 Barack Obama
Sarah Feinberg official photo.jpg Sarah Feinberg 2015 2017 Barack Obama
Patrick T. Warren.jpg Patrick T. Warren (acting) 2017 2017 Donald Trump
Heath Hall.png Heath Hall (acting) 2017 2018 Donald Trump
Juan D. Reyes III.jpg Juan Reyes (acting) 2018 2018 Donald Trump
Ronald Batory official photo.jpg Ronald Batory 2018 2021 Donald Trump
Amit-bose.png Amit Bose (acting)[21] 2021 2022 Joe Biden
Amit Bose, FRA Administrator.jpg Amit Bose 2022 Present Joe Biden

[22][23][24][25]

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John W. Ingram

John W. Ingram

John W. Ingram was the President of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad in its final years, from 1974 to 1979.

Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter

James Earl Carter Jr. is an American retired politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975 and as a Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1967.

John H. Riley

John H. Riley

John H. Riley was an American attorney and railroad transportation administrator.

George H. W. Bush

George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush was an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served as the 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 43rd vice president from 1981 to 1989 under President Ronald Reagan, in the U.S. House of Representatives, as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and as Director of Central Intelligence.

Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1983 to 1992, and as attorney general of Arkansas from 1977 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, Clinton became known as a New Democrat, as many of his policies reflected a centrist "Third Way" political philosophy. He is the husband of Hillary Clinton, who was a U.S. senator from New York from 2001 to 2009, secretary of state from 2009 to 2013 and the Democratic nominee for president in the 2016 presidential election.

George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American retired politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he previously served as the 46th governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.

Joseph H. Boardman

Joseph H. Boardman

Joseph Houston Boardman was an American transportation executive who served as President and CEO of Amtrak from 2008 to 2016. Boardman was the longest-serving Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) from July 1997 until resigning to head the FRA. Before taking over Amtrak, Boardman had been the Administrator of the United States Federal Railroad Administration. Boardman became the second-longest serving head of Amtrak, after W. Graham Claytor, Jr. in the 1980s. Railway Age magazine named Boardman as its 51st "Railroader of the Year" in its January 9, 2014, issue.

Joseph C. Szabo

Joseph C. Szabo

Joseph C. Szabo is a former government official who was the twelfth Federal Railroad Administrator of the United States. Nominated by President Barack Obama on March 20, 2009, he was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 29, 2009. Safety was the top priority of his administration. He stepped down from the position on January 9, 2015 and Sarah Feinberg became the Acting Administrator on January 12, 2015, and subsequently the permanent Administrator.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is an American former politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African-American president of the United States. Obama previously served as a U.S. senator from Illinois from 2005 to 2008 and as an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004, and previously worked as a civil rights lawyer before entering politics.

Donald Trump

Donald Trump

Donald John Trump is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.

Amit Bose (government official)

Amit Bose (government official)

Amitabha Bose is an American attorney and transportation policy advisor who is the administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration. Bose has served as deputy administrator since January 2021 and was confirmed by the senate on January 12, 2022. He is the first person of South Asian descent to lead the FRA.

Joe Biden

Joe Biden

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. is an American politician who is the 46th and current president of the United States. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 under President Barack Obama, and represented Delaware in the United States Senate from 1973 to 2009.

Northeast Corridor Future

The FRA's Northeast Corridor (NEC) Future is a long-term plan aimed at improving the nation's Northeast Corridor.[26] The NEC Future plan consists of four components, also known as the Selective Alternative, which are: Improve rail service, Modernize NEC infrastructure, Expand rail capacity, and Study New Haven to Providence capacity. These four components all aim to improve the reliability and performance of the NEC system, whether it be through intercity or regional means.[27] The Selective Alternative looks to do four major things: Improve rail service by increasing frequency of trains, decreasing travel time, and making better passenger convenience; Modernize NEC infrastructure by having corridor-wide repair and replacing and fixing parts to bring the entire system to increased reliability; Expand rail capacity by adding new infrastructure between cities and increasing train speeds and capacity; and Study New Haven to Providence capacity.[28]

The NEC Future ROD (Record of Decision) was issued in July 2017, which marked the completion of the Tier 1 environmental review process. The ROD lays out everything involved with the project, including the plan itself and feedback from individuals, organizations, and stakeholders.[26] There is no listed completion date for the NEC Future and Selective Alternative.

National Rail Plan

Background

The need for an NRP was brought up in the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008. However, before the official plan could be drafted, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) required a Preliminary National Rail Plan (PNRP) to be made first, which was submitted to congress on October 15, 2009. On December 16, 2009 the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010 was enacted into law and established the delivery date for the NRP. The delivery date for the NRP was September 15, 2010.[29]

The goal

With the nation's infrastructure growing, the transportation used in the nation also needs to grow. With that in mind, the NRP's main goal is to increase the size of the nation's railway capacity to include 70 million more people and 2.8 billion tons more of freight within the next 25 years, and 100 million more people and 4 billion tons more of freight within the next 40 years. The NRP also looks to continue improving the rail systems safety.[30]

High-speed intercity travel

Another one of the NRP's big goals is the introduction of a high-speed train made for intercity travel. These trains would be much faster than normal trains, ranging in speed from 125–250 mph (201–402 km/h), and capable of delivering a passenger 500 miles (800 km) in about 2–3 hours. In smaller, regional areas, the trains would not be as quick, only going somewhere between 90–125 mph (145–201 km/h). There are no set costs for this system, however. But the FRA argues that the benefits a high-speed rail system would bring outweigh the costs for the system, claiming that the high-speed rail system would reduce car traffic and eliminate the need for short-haul flights. It would also reduce congestion in America's more populated regions and boost manufacturing activity.[30]

Source: "Federal Railroad Administration", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 19th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Railroad_Administration.

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Further Reading

Transportation in the United States

Amtrak

United States Department of Transportation

Acela

Northeast Corridor

Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor

Rail transportation in the United States

High-speed rail in the United States

WES Commuter Rail

Track geometry car

Positive train control

Joseph H. Boardman

Flats Industrial Railroad

Rail speed limits in the United States

Dock Bridge

Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008

Higher-speed rail

Avelia Liberty
See also
Gallery
  • DOTX-218 Gage Restraint Measurement Vehicle

    DOTX-218 Gage Restraint Measurement Vehicle

  • DOTX-218 and DOTX-220 behind a BNSF locomotive

    DOTX-218 and DOTX-220 behind a BNSF locomotive

  • DOTX-220 Track Geometry Car

    DOTX-220 Track Geometry Car

References
  1. ^ "U.S. Department of Transportation Fiscal Year 2009 Budget In Brief". Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
  2. ^ "Government Officials at the US Department of Transportation | US Department of Transportation". www.transportation.gov. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  3. ^ United States. Department of Transportation Act. 49 U.S.C. § 103, section 3(e)(1).
  4. ^ Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). "Federal Railroad Administration: About Us." Archived 2008-05-19 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Federal Railroad Administration (2010). Washington, DC."About the FRA." Archived 2010-09-14 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2010-08-28.
  6. ^ In this article http://www.alexblock.net/blog/2015/10/06/wmata-the-ntsb-and-the-fra-or-what-do-you-mean-the-metro-doesnt-count-as-a-railroad/ Archived May 8, 2018, at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved May 7, 2018), a subway or metro system that does not use infrastructure accessible from other networks, such as Washington DC's Metrorail system, the Chicago "L", or the New York City Subway, is not a "railroad" and FRA lacks jurisdiction over its operations.
  7. ^ "Railroad Safety". Federal Railroad Administration. United States Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  8. ^ "Railroad Safety Advisory Committee". Federal Railroad Administration. United States Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on June 27, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  9. ^ "Positive Train Control Systems". Federal Register. United States Office of the Federal Register. January 15, 2010. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  10. ^ "Positive Train Control". Federal Railroad Administration. United States Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on June 27, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  11. ^ "Conductor Certification". Federal Railroad Administration. United States Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on June 27, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  12. ^ "Electronic Device Distraction". Federal Railroad Administration. United States Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on June 27, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  13. ^ "Google, FRA team up for safety; will add rail crossing data to maps". June 29, 2015. Archived from the original on February 19, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  14. ^ Mouawad, Jad (June 29, 2015). "Agency Taps Mapping Technology to Curb Rail Crossing Accidents". New York Times. Archived from the original on January 28, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  15. ^ "Blocked Crossings". www.fra.dot.gov. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  16. ^ "Blocked Crossing? FRA Wants to Know About It (and More)". Railway Age. June 14, 2022. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  17. ^ "Federal Register :: Request Access". unblock.federalregister.gov. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  18. ^ "Federal Register :: Request Access". unblock.federalregister.gov. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  19. ^ "FRA withdraws proposed minimum crew size rule | Trains Magazine". Trains. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  20. ^ "Rail News - FRA withdraws proposed train-crew staffing rule. For Railroad Career Professionals". Progressive Railroading. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  21. ^ "Amit Bose | US Department of Transportation". www.transportation.gov. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  22. ^ "Heads of Operating Administrations". United States Department of Transportation, Office of the Historian. Archived from the original on July 30, 2009. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  23. ^ "FRA Acting Administrator Named" Archived July 31, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, APTA:Passenger Transport Express, December 5, 2008, accessed December 8, 2008
  24. ^ "Joseph H. Boardman Begins Role as New Administrator for Federal Railroad Administration With Focus on Rail Safety and Intercity Passenger Rail Reform" (Press release). FRA. June 1, 2005. Archived from the original on October 28, 2005. Retrieved June 6, 2005.
  25. ^ Progressive Railroading (April 30, 2009). "Senate confirms Szabo's nomination as FRA administrator". Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
  26. ^ a b "NEC Future". Federal Railroad Administration. Archived from the original on January 10, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  27. ^ Reyes-Alicea, Rebecca (July 2017). "NEC Future: Record of Decision". Federal Railroad Administration. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  28. ^ "NEC Future: Selected Alternative Description". Federal Railroad Administration. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  29. ^ Rae, Karen (April 5, 2010). "National Rail Plan". Regulations.gov. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  30. ^ a b Federal Railroad Administration (September 20, 2010). "National Rail Plan Progress Report". Federal Railroad Administration. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
External links

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of Transportation.
Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Archives and Records Administration.


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