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Function
editAll passenger and freight rail travel in the United States is subject to regulations enforced by the FRA. Most notably, the FRA enforces safety regulations, such as speed limits and requirements for safety features such as positive train control.[1] Non-legislative recommendations for FRA policy come from the Rail Safety Advisory Committee, established in 1996,[2] though much of FRA policy is created via congressional legislation; for example, the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 was an act of Congress, to which the FRA enforced through a series of regulations published two years later.[3] These regulations include enforcement of positive train control and enforcement of more stringent conductor certification requirements.[4][5]
In 2011, the FRA began the process of updating its electronic device policy for active train operators.[6]
List of administrators
editYear began | Year end | Name | Appointed by | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1967 | 1969 | A. Scheffer Lang | Lyndon B. Johnson |
2 | 1969 | 1970 | Reginald Whitman | Richard Nixon |
3 | 1971 | 1974 | John Ingram | Richard Nixon |
4 | 1974 | 1977 | Asaph H. Hall | Richard Nixon |
5 | 1977 | 1981 | John M. Sullivan | Jimmy Carter |
6 | 1981 | 1983 | Robert W. Blanchette | Ronald Reagan |
7 | 1983 | 1989 | John H. Riley | Ronald Reagan |
8 | 1989 | 1993 | Gilbert Carmichael | George H. W. Bush |
9 | 1993 | 2000 | Jolene Molitoris | Bill Clinton |
10 | 2001 | 2004 | Allan Rutter | George W. Bush |
11 | 2004 | 2005 | Betty Munro | George W. Bush |
12 | 2005 | 2008 | Joseph H. Boardman | George W. Bush |
13 | 2008 | 2009 | Clifford C. Eby | George W. Bush |
14 | 2009 | 2014 | Joe Szabo | Barack Obama |
15 | 2015 | 2017 | Sarah Feinberg | Barack Obama |
16 | 2017 | present | Patrick T. Warren | Donald Trump |
Sarah Feinberg was the Administrator of the FRA from 2015 to 2017.[11] Feinberg was the second woman to lead the agency. Her appointment was announced by United States Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx on January 12, 2015 and confirmed on October 28, 2015.[11] Feinberg had previously served as Foxx's Chief of Staff, managing DOT's ten modal organizations, and spearheading its legislative, policy, and communications efforts.[12] Feinberg's tenure as Administrator featured a greater emphasis on the enforcement of safety rules and regulations relative to her predecessors.[13]
Joe Szabo was the first FRA Administrator to be chosen from the ranks of railroad employment.[14][15][16].
Patrick T. Warren, Executive Director of the FRA, is the current acting Administrator pending the appointment and confirmation of a new Administrator.[citation needed]
- ^ "Railroad Safety". Federal Railroad Administration. United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- ^ "Railroad Safety Advisory Committee". Federal Railroad Administration. United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- ^ "Positive Train Control Systems". Federal Register. United States Office of the Federal Register. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- ^ "Positive Train Control". Federal Railroad Administration. United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- ^ "Conductor Certification". Federal Railroad Administration. United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- ^ "Electronic Device Distraction". Federal Railroad Administration. United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- ^ "Heads of Operating Administrations". United States Department of Transportation, Office of the Historian. Archived from the original on 2009-07-30. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- ^ "FRA Acting Administrator Named", APTA:Passenger Transport Express, December 5, 2008, accessed December 8, 2008
- ^ "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 2005-10-28. Retrieved 2005-06-06.
- ^ Progressive Railroading (April 30, 2009). "Senate confirms Szabo's nomination as FRA administrator". Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- ^ a b Michael Laris; Ashley Halsey III (28 October 2015). "Sarah Feinberg confirmed as new head of Federal Railroad Administration". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
- ^ "U.S Transportation Secretary Foxx Names Sarah Feinberg Acting Administrator of FRA". Briefing Room. Federal Railroad Administration. 2015-01-12. Press release.
- ^ "Exiting rail safety chief Feinberg looks to technology to save lives". lohud.com. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
- ^ Progressive Railroading (April 30, 2009). "Senate confirms Szabo's nomination as FRA administrator". Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- ^ "FRA's Szabo announces resignation". Metro Magazine. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ^ "Senate confirms UTU's Szabo to FRA". UTU News. United Transportation Union. April 29, 2009. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved May 3, 2009.