The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has responsibility for determining policy affecting the safety, efficiency, and conformance with international standards of rail commerce between the United States and its contiguous neighbors, Canada and Mexico. FRA participates in domestic and international forums, and maintains working relationships with the rail transportation carriers and agencies of its NAFTA partners, as well as with domestic rail carriers and related organizations.
Over the past two decades, changes in international trade policy, and domestic and international changes in rail ownership structures, including restructuring of the rail system in the United States following deregulation, have generated changes in the nature of international rail transportation and shaped the issues confronting FRA. Recent issues FRA has addressed include privatization of the Mexican national railroads; implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); and economic development and border rail transportation facilitation and safety issues along the United States / Mexico and United States / Canada borders.
Mexican Railroad Privatization:
The Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Mexico (FNM) formerly operated all common carrier railways under the supervision of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (SCT). The FNM was considered a strategic enterprise protected by the Mexican Constitution from private as well as foreign ownership. As the Mexican economy opened to international markets, the Mexican Congress amended the Constitution, paving the way for privatization of the 16,415-mile rail system. Concessions of 50 years have been awarded to investors to operate and develop routes and services, and to maintain track and infrastructure. The new operators reflect the increased globalization of trade through their multi-national ownership and international operations, connecting with U.S. rail carriers at numerous ports on the US / Mexico border. The railroads haul NAFTA- generated increases in traffic, including cars and automotive parts, metals and minerals, manufactured and chemical products, grains and other agricultural products.
NAFTA Implementation:
FRA's Office of Policy and Program Development chaired the U.S. Delegation to the Land Transportation Standards Subcommittee's Rail Working Group, responsible for implementing the rail transportation provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The Working Group's mission was to increase the compatibility of technical and safety regulations with respect to the operation of railroad transportation between Mexico, the United States, and Canada, and specifically, to improve safety, efficiency, and quality in the delivery of rail services in North America. The Rail Working Group reviewed and analyzed the three countries' regulations relating to railroad equipment, rail infrastructure, safety regulations, and operating practices to assess their compatibility. The Working Group's 1995 report concluded that current regulations did not pose major impediments to cross-border rail operations between the three countries and that these regulations were essentially compatible. The report recognized, however, that additional harmonization could improve efficiency and traffic flows, as long as safety was not compromised.
Ongoing regulatory and other cross-border rail transportation facilitation issues between the NAFTA countries are addressed in the Rail Safety and Economics Working Group, part of the Transportation Consultative Group. Both the Land Transportation Standards Subcommittee and the Transportation Consultative Group are forums for representatives of the governments of the United States, Mexico, and Canada to meet and discuss ways to improve cross-border transportation and trade. FRA's Offices of Safety and Chief Counsel provide technical expertise to help shape FRA policy on related safety and operating issues.
Economic Development and Border Rail Transportation:
FRA seeks to improve transportation systems while mitigating the negative effects of transportation infrastructure and operations on border regions near Canada and Mexico by providing information to communities on the funding opportunities provided under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). One TEA-21 grant program, the Coordinated Border Infrastructure Program, provides grants to border states and Metropolitan Planning Organizations to fund transportation and safety infrastructure improvements, and to make other changes to ensure border communities are able to experience the positive benefits of increased trade and modern transportation without bearing a disproportionate financial burden or experiencing an undue decrement in their quality of life.
FRA also participates in inter-agency and multi-national groups, which address various transportation issues and their relationship to economic development and trade and traffic facilitation, particularly in border regions. For example, the Binational Committee on Bridges and Border Crossings, headed by the U.S. Department of State, oversees construction, staffing, operation, and improvement of transportation infrastructure along the United States / Mexico border.
And in March 2000, in recognition of Mexico's increasing importance as a trade partner, FRA signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Mexico's Secretariat for Transportation and Communications. This agreement provides a framework for Mexico and the United States to exchange information on issues of mutual interest, particularly safety, and to undertake cooperative activities to improve rail operations safety by identifying and employing new technologies which may be appropriate for rail applications, and by developing joint strategies in organizational and operational system restructuring through increased information exchange.
