Federal Railroad Administration

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The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation. The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966.^[1] The purpose of 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.^[2]

Organization

The FRA is one of 10 agencies within the Department of Transportation concerned with intermodal transportation. It operates through seven divisions under the offices of the Administrator and Deputy Administrator. These divisions are: Administration and Finance, Chief Counsel, Civil Rights, Policy and Communications, Railroad Development, and Safety. It has a staff of about 850.^[3]

Leadership

In December 2008, Clifford C. Eby was named acting administrator, replacing Joseph H. Boardman, who took over as head of Amtrak.^[4] Boardman headed the agency since the United States Senate confirmed him on May 3, 2005. Until his appointment with the FRA, Boardman was transportation commissioner for the state of New York. He began working as FRA Administrator on June 1, 2005.^[5][6]

On April 29, 2009, the United States Senate confirmed the nomination of Joe Szabo to become the new FRA Administrator. Szabo is the first FRA Administrator to be chosen from the ranks of railroad employment. Szabo's first railroad job began in 1976 with the Illinois Central Railroad^[7] as a switchman; he most recently served as Illinois state legislative director for the United Transportation Union (UTU). An informal swearing-in ceremony is expected to be held on May 5 to enable Szabo to begin work immediately with an official ceremony to be scheduled at a future date.^[8][9]

Criticism

The FRA's safety regulations focus almost entirely on "crash worthiness," rather than "collision avoidance," as most other rail regulators focus on. As a result, American trains are considerably heavier than their counterparts governed by regulations of the Paris, France-based International Union of Railways (UIC) and rail operations are generally less flexible. As a result, attempts to introduce competitive rail operations to the United States like the California High-Speed Rail project rely on being exempt from FRA regulations.^[10]

See also

• The Federal Transit Administration provides financial and technical assistance to local public transit agencies.
• The Interstate Commerce Commission regulated railroad safety prior to creation of the FRA.
• The United States Railroad Administration operated from 1917 to 1920.

References

External links

• Federal Railroad Administration

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