Federal Railroad Administration

The Federal agency set up in 1966 to promote railroad safety, consolidate government activities for railroads, and rehabilitate rail passenger service in the Northeast United States. The agency manages federal law pertaining to rail safety and educates the public about safety at highway railroad crossings. The agency’s safety force inspects 230,000 miles of railroad track, 1.4 million freight cars, 20,000 locomotives, and signal and train control systems on 89,000 miles of tracks. The FRA oversees and provides financial assistance to Amtrak, the passenger railroad service.