@Hot Water posted:What are you talking about? The ICC was changed to the FRA, which still exists today, plus there is the powerful Surface Transportation Board. What more could you ask for?
The FRA was not a conversion from the ICC. It was a part of DOT which was created at the same time under the Secretary of Transportation. FRA had no economic regulation power then and does not now. The ICC was quite alive and an important part of the railroad reorganization in the 70's. When it was later dissolved, the remaining economic regulation moved to the STB.
The safety regulation powers of the ICC were moved to the FRA when it was established in 1967. For a good summary of safety regulation, go to hdsl.org and search for "Federal Railroad Safety Program: 100 Years of Safer Railroads"
Both the ICC and the STB were independent agencies not under the executive branch of the government. The FRA was under the executive authority of POTUS and the Secretary of Transportation.
