The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) was created by the Department ofTransportation Act of 1966. It is one of ten agencies within the U.S. Department ofTransportation concerned with intermodal transportation. FRA promotes safe,environmentally sound, successful railroad transportation to meet the needs of all customers today and tomorrow.
FRA's Office of Railroad Safety promotes and regulates safety throughout the Nation's railroad industry. The office executes its regulatory and inspection responsibilities through a diverse staff of railroad safety experts.
The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for working with stakeholders to develop cohesive goals and policies for maintaining and improving the U.S. freight and passenger rail networks. This section covers various efforts across America and the world in helping to deliver safe, reliable, and efficient rail transportation.
FRA Research & Development (R&D) projects contribute to the FRA's safety regulatory processes, to railroad suppliers, to railroads involved in the transportation of freight, intercity passengers, commuters, and to railroad employees and their labor organizations.
In this section, we provide descriptions and comprehensive, official sources for FRA's regulations (also called rules), selected legislation, as well as policy and guidance documents. Additionally, you will find current topics of high interest or significant impact to Congress, railroads, employees, labor, public interest groups and other stakeholders.
FRA supports passenger and freight railroading through a variety of competitive grant, dedicated grant, and loan programs to develop safety improvements, relieve congestion, and encourage the expansion and upgrade of passenger and freight rail infrastructure and services. FRA also provides training and technical assistance to grantees and stakeholders.
The Federal Railroad Administration Office of Communications is the primary link between the agency and reporters, the public and others who have an interest in our nation's rail network.
The FRA eLibrary contains all the documents that are found throughout the FRA Public Website. Multiple pages on the website may link to the same eLibrary item based on its set of metadata.
Under authority delegated to FRA by the Secretary of Transportation, the Hazardous Materials Division administers a safety program that oversees the movement of hazardous materials (including dangerous goods), such as petroleum, chemical, and nuclear products, throughout the Nation’s rail transportation system, including shipments transported to and from international organizations. The Division also has authority to oversee the movement of a package marked to indicate compliance with a Federal or international hazardous materials standard, even if such a package does not contain a hazardous material.
Federal Railroad Administration
RRS-12 Mail Stop 25
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE Washington, DC 20590
202-493-6245
202-493-6478
Hazardous Materials Guidance (HMG101-127)
Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel Transportation Safety
Use of Dedicated Trains For Transportation of High-Level Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel
NAFTA: Hazardous Materials Standard Related Measures
Safe Placement of Train Cars: A Report