Its inspectors audit track, signals, and locomotives across roughly 140,000 miles of railroad. It also disburses the federal grants rebuilding intercity passenger corridors.
Open the interactive page for FRA →Created byDepartment of Transportation Act of 1966, P.L. 89-670, § 3(e), 80 Stat. 931 (one of DOT's original operating administrations, effective 1967)
Head appointed49 U.S.C. § 103(d): Administrator appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; must be 'an individual with professional experience in railroad safety, hazardous materials safety, or other transportation safety'; reports directly to the Secretary; no fixed term (PAS)
Removal standardno statutory protection — at will
Funded underAnnual Transportation-HUD appropriations act (Safety and Operations; rail grant accounts incl. Federal-State Partnership and Amtrak grants administered through FRA); general fund — no rail trust fund
Congressional oversightHouse Transportation and Infrastructure · Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Inspector generalDepartment of Transportation OIG (PAS IG under the Inspector General Act, 5 U.S.C. § 403)
Judicial reviewRail-safety final agency actions reviewed directly in the courts of appeals under the Hobbs Act — 49 U.S.C. § 20114(c) routes review through 28 U.S.C. § 2342(7) ('all final agency actions described in section 20114(c) of title 49'); other actions via APA
Comment on rail-safety rules; petition the FRA for a rulemaking; report safety problems through its hotline; ask your members of Congress, who set rail-safety mandates.
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