It is under the supervision and direction of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport and is headed by a president.

To date 11 states, with the exception of Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse and Lower Saxony have chosen to do so.

Since 1 January 2007 the EBA has run the railway vehicle register for Germany in accordance with § 5 Abs.

Since 1 January 2006 the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) has been responsible for overseeing access to the railway infrastructure.

In 2019, German Centre for Rail Traffic Research was founded at the Federal Railway Agency.