IIB 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2095 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 18, 2007 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

AN ACT 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to prevent railroad 

fatalities, injuries, and hazardous materials releases, to 

authorize the Federal Railroad Safety Administration, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—FEDERAL RAILROAD SAFETY ADMINISTRATION 

Sec. 101. Establishment of Federal Railroad Safety Administration. 

Sec. 102. Railroad safety strategy. 

Sec. 103. Reports. 

Sec. 104. Rulemaking process. 

Sec. 105. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE II—EMPLOYEE FATIGUE 

Sec. 201. Hours of service reform. 

Sec. 202. Employee sleeping quarters. 

Sec. 203. Fatigue management plans. 

Sec. 204. Regulatory authority. 

Sec. 205. Conforming amendment. 

TITLE III—BRIDGE SAFETY 

Sec. 301. Railroad bridge safety assurance. 

TITLE IV—GRADE CROSSINGS 

Sec. 401. Toll-free number to report grade crossing problems. 

Sec. 402. Roadway user sight distance at highway-rail grade crossings. 

Sec. 403. Grade crossing signal violations. 

Sec. 404. National crossing inventory. 

Sec. 405. Accident and incident reporting. 

Sec. 406. Authority to buy promotional items to improve railroad crossing safety and prevent railroad trespass. 

Sec. 407. Operation Lifesaver. 

Sec. 408. State action plan. 

Sec. 409. Fostering introduction of new technology to improve safety at highway-rail grade crossings. 

TITLE V—ENFORCEMENT 

Sec. 501. Enforcement. 

Sec. 502. Civil penalties. 

Sec. 503. Criminal penalties. 

Sec. 504. Expansion of emergency order authority. 

Sec. 505. Enforcement transparency. 

Sec. 506. Interfering with or hampering safety investigations. 

Sec. 507. Railroad radio monitoring authority. 

Sec. 508. Inspector staffing. 


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TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 601. Positive train control systems. 

Sec. 602. Warning in nonsignaled territory. 

Sec. 603. Track safety. 

Sec. 604. Certification of conductors. 

Sec. 605. Minimum training standards. 

Sec. 606. Prompt medical attention. 

Sec. 607. Emergency escape breathing apparatus. 

Sec. 608. Locomotive cab environment. 

Sec. 609. Tunnel information. 

Sec. 610. Museum locomotive study. 

Sec. 611. Certification of Carmen. 

Sec. 612. Train control systems deployment grants. 

Sec. 613. Infrastructure safety investment reports. 

Sec. 614. Emergency grade crossing safety improvements. 

Sec. 615. Locomotive horn requirement waiver. 

Sec. 616. Safety inspections in Mexico. 

Sec. 617. Surface Transportation Board jurisdiction over solid waste facilities. 

TITLE VII—RAIL PASSENGER DISASTER FAMILY ASSISTANCE 

Sec. 701. Short title. 

Sec. 702. Assistance by National Transportation Safety Board to families of 

passengers involved in rail passenger accidents. 

Sec. 703. Rail passenger carrier plans to address needs of families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents. 

Sec. 704. Establishment of task force. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 For purposes of this Act, the terms ‘‘railroad’’ and 

3 ‘‘railroad carrier’’ have the meaning given those terms in 

4 section 20102 of title 49, United States Code. 

5 TITLE I—FEDERAL RAILROAD 

6 SAFETY ADMINISTRATION 

7 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF FEDERAL RAILROAD SAFETY 

8 ADMINISTRATION. 

9 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 103 of title 49, United 

10 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘§ 103. Federal Railroad Safety Administration 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Railroad Safety Ad13 ministration (in this section referred to as the ‘AdminisVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:33 Oct 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2095.RFS H2095

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1 tration’) shall be an administration in the Department of 

2 Transportation. To carry out all railroad safety laws of 

3 the United States, the Administration shall be divided on 

4 a geographical basis into at least 8 safety offices. The Sec5 retary of Transportation shall be responsible for enforcing 

6 those laws and for ensuring that those laws are uniformly 

7 administered and enforced among the safety offices. 

8 ‘‘(b) SAFETY AS HIGHEST PRIORITY.—In carrying 

9 out its duties, the Administration shall consider the as10 signment and maintenance of safety as the highest pri11 ority, recognizing the clear intent, encouragement, and 

12 dedication of Congress to the furtherance of the highest 

13 degree of safety in railroad transportation. 

14 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATOR.—The head of the Administra15 tion shall be the Administrator who shall be appointed by 

16 the President, by and with the advice and consent of the 

17 Senate, and shall be an individual with professional experi18 ence in railroad safety, hazardous materials safety, or 

19 other transportation safety. The Administrator shall re20 port directly to the Secretary of Transportation. 

21 ‘‘(d) DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR.—The Administration 

22 shall have a Deputy Administrator who shall be appointed 

23 by the Secretary. The Deputy Administrator shall carry 

24 out duties and powers prescribed by the Administrator. 


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1 ‘‘(e) CHIEF SAFETY OFFICER.—The Administration 

2 shall have an Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety 

3 appointed in the competitive service by the Secretary. The 

4 Associate Administrator shall be the Chief Safety Officer 

5 of the Administration. The Associate Administrator shall 

6 carry out the duties and powers prescribed by the Admin7 istrator. 

8 ‘‘(f) DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE ADMINIS9 TRATOR.—The Administrator shall carry out— 

10 ‘‘(1) duties and powers related to railroad safe11 ty vested in the Secretary by section 20134(c) and 

12 chapters 203 through 211 of this title, and by chap13 ter 213 of this title for carrying out chapters 203 

14 through 211; and 

15 ‘‘(2) other duties and powers prescribed by the 

16 Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(g) LIMITATION.—A duty or power specified in sub18 section (f)(1) may be transferred to another part of the 

19 Department of Transportation or another Federal Govern20 ment entity only when specifically provided by law. A deci21 sion of the Administrator in carrying out the duties or 

22 powers of the Administration and involving notice and 

23 hearing required by law is administratively final. 

24 ‘‘(h) AUTHORITIES.—Subject to the provisions of 

25 subtitle I of title 40 and title III of the Federal Property 


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1 and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 251 

2 et seq.), the Secretary of Transportation may make, enter 

3 into, and perform such contracts, grants, leases, coopera4 tive agreements, and other similar transactions with Fed5 eral or other public agencies (including State and local 

6 governments) and private organizations and persons, and 

7 make such payments, by way of advance or reimburse8 ment, as the Secretary may determine to be necessary or 

9 appropriate to carry out functions at the Administration. 

10 The authority of the Secretary granted by this subsection 

11 shall be carried out by the Administrator. Notwith12 standing any other provision of this chapter, no authority 

13 to enter into contracts or to make payments under this 

14 subsection shall be effective, except as provided for in ap15 propriations Acts.’’. 

16 (b) REFERENCES AND CONFORMING AMEND17 MENTS.—(1) All references in Federal law to the Federal 

18 Railroad Administration shall be deemed to be references 

19 to the Federal Railroad Safety Administration. 

20 (2) The item relating to section 103 in the table of 

21 sections of chapter 1 of title 49, United States Code, is 

22 amended to read as follows: 

‘‘103. Federal Railroad Safety Administration.’’. 

23 SEC. 102. RAILROAD SAFETY STRATEGY. 

24 (a) SAFETY GOALS.—In conjunction with existing 

25 federally required strategic planning efforts, the Secretary 


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1 of Transportation shall develop a long-term strategy for 

2 improving railroad safety. The strategy shall include an 

3 annual plan and schedule for achieving, at a minimum, 

4 the following goals: 

5 (1) Reducing the number and rates of acci6 dents, injuries, and fatalities involving railroads. 

7 (2) Improving the consistency and effectiveness 

8 of enforcement and compliance programs. 

9 (3) Identifying and targeting enforcement at, 

10 and safety improvements to, high-risk highway-rail 

11 grade crossings. 

12 (4) Improving research efforts to enhance and 

13 promote railroad safety and performance. 

14 (b) RESOURCE NEEDS.—The strategy and annual 

15 plans shall include estimates of the funds and staff re16 sources needed to accomplish each activity. Such estimates 

17 shall also include the staff skills and training needed for 

18 timely and effective accomplishment of each goal. 

19 (c) SUBMISSION WITH THE PRESIDENT’S BUDG20 ET.—The Secretary of Transportation shall submit to the 

21 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

22 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com23 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate the 

24 strategy and annual plan at the same time as the Presi25 dent’s budget submission. 


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1 (d) ACHIEVEMENT OF GOALS.— 

2 (1) PROGRESS ASSESSMENT.—No less fre3 quently than semiannually, the Secretary of Trans4 portation and the Administrator of the Federal Rail5 road Safety Administration shall assess the progress 

6 of the Administration toward achieving the strategic 

7 goals described in subsection (a). The Secretary and 

8 the Administrator shall convey their assessment to 

9 the employees of the Federal Railroad Safety Ad10 ministration and shall identify any deficiencies that 

11 should be remediated before the next progress as12 sessment. 

13 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 

14 shall transmit a report annually to the Committee 

15 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

16 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

17 Science, and Transportation of the Senate on the 

18 performance of the Federal Railroad Safety Admin19 istration relative to the goals of the railroad safety 

20 strategy and annual plans under subsection (a). 

21 SEC. 103. REPORTS. 

22 (a) REPORTS BY THE INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Not 

23 later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

24 the Inspector General of the Department of Transpor25 tation shall submit to the Secretary of Transportation and 


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1 the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Safety Admin2 istration a report containing the following: 

3 (1) A list of each statutory mandate regarding 

4 railroad safety that has not been implemented. 

5 (2) A list of each open safety recommendation 

6 made by the National Transportation Safety Board 

7 or the Inspector General regarding railroad safety. 

8 (b) REPORTS BY THE SECRETARY.— 

9 (1) STATUTORY MANDATES.—Not later than 90 

10 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and 

11 every 180 days thereafter until each of the mandates 

12 referred to in subsection (a)(1) has been imple13 mented, the Secretary of Transportation shall trans14 mit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra15 structure of the House of Representatives and the 

16 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor17 tation of the Senate a report on the specific actions 

18 taken to implement such mandates. 

19 (2) NTSB AND INSPECTOR GENERAL REC20 OMMENDATIONS.—Not later than January 1st of 

21 each year, the Secretary of Transportation shall 

22 transmit to the Committee on Transportation and 

23 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 

24 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans25 portation of the Senate a report containing each recVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:33 Oct 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2095.RFS H2095

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1 ommendation referred to in subsection (a)(2), a copy 

2 of the Department of Transportation response to 

3 each such recommendation, and a progress report on 

4 implementing each such recommendation. 

5 SEC. 104. RULEMAKING PROCESS. 

6 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter I of chapter 201 of 

7 title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

8 section 20115 the following new section: 

9 ‘‘§ 20116. Rulemaking process 

10 ‘‘No rule or order issued by the Secretary under this 

11 part shall be effective if it incorporates by reference a 

12 code, rule, standard, requirement, or practice issued by an 

13 association or other entity that is not an agency of the 

14 Federal Government, unless that reference is to a par15 ticular code, rule, standard, requirement, or practice 

16 adopted before the date on which the rule is issued by 

17 the Secretary, and unless the date on which the code, rule, 

18 standard, requirement, or practice was adopted is specifi19 cally cited in the rule.’’. 

20 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

21 sections of subchapter I of chapter 201 of title 49, United 

22 States Code, is amended by adding after the item relating 

23 to section 20115 the following new item: 

‘‘20116. Rulemaking process.’’. 


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1 SEC. 105. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 Section 20117(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

3 amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) There are authorized to be 

5 appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation to carry 

6 out this part and to carry out responsibilities under chap7 ter 51 as delegated or authorized by the Secretary— 

8 ‘‘(A) $230,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

9 ‘‘(B) $260,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

10 ‘‘(C) $295,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

11 ‘‘(D) $335,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. 

12 ‘‘(2) With amounts appropriated pursuant to para13 graph (1), the Secretary shall purchase 6 Gage Restraint 

14 Measurement System vehicles and 5 track geometry vehi15 cles to enable the deployment of 1 Gage Restraint Meas16 urement System vehicle and 1 track geometry vehicle in 

17 each region. 

18 ‘‘(3) There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

19 Secretary $18,000,000 for the period encompassing fiscal 

20 years 2008 through 2011 to design, develop, and construct 

21 the Facility for Underground Rail Station and Tunnel at 

22 the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colo23 rado. The facility shall be used to test and evaluate the 

24 vulnerabilities of above-ground and underground rail tun25 nels to prevent accidents and incidents in such tunnels, 

26 to mitigate and remediate the consequences of any such 


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1 accidents or incidents, and to provide a realistic scenario 

2 for training emergency responders. 

3 ‘‘(4) Such sums as may be necessary from the 

4 amount appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) for each 

5 of the fiscal years 2008 through 2011 shall be made avail6 able to the Secretary for personnel in regional offices and 

7 in Washington, D.C., whose duties primarily involve rail 

8 security. 

9 ‘‘(5) There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

10 Secretary for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2011 

11 such sums as may be necessary to design and develop a 

12 pilot electric cargo conveyor system for the transportation 

13 of containers from ports to depots outside of urban 

14 areas.’’. 

15 TITLE II—EMPLOYEE FATIGUE 

16 SEC. 201. HOURS OF SERVICE REFORM. 

17 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 21101(4) of title 49, 

18 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘employed by 

19 a railroad carrier’’. 

20 (b) LIMITATION ON DUTY HOURS OF SIGNAL EM21 PLOYEES.—Section 21104 of title 49, United States Code, 

22 is amended— 

23 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol24 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(a) GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection (c) 

2 of this section, a railroad carrier and its officers and 

3 agents may not require or allow a signal employee, and 

4 a railroad contractor and its officers and agents may not 

5 require or allow a signal employee, to remain or go on 

6 duty— 

7 ‘‘(1) unless that employee has had at least 10 

8 consecutive hours off duty during the prior 24 

9 hours; 

10 ‘‘(2) for a period in excess of 12 consecutive 

11 hours; or 

12 ‘‘(3) unless that employee has had at least one 

13 period of at least 24 consecutive hours off duty in 

14 the past 7 consecutive days. 

15 The Secretary may waive paragraph (3) if a collective bar16 gaining agreement provides a different arrangement and 

17 such arrangement provides an equivalent level of safety.’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (b)(3) by striking ‘‘, except 

19 that up to one hour of that time spent returning 

20 from the final trouble call of a period of continuous 

21 or broken service is time off duty’’; 

22 (3) in subsection (c)— 

23 (A) by inserting ‘‘for not more than 3 days 

24 during a period of 7 consecutive days’’ after 

25 ‘‘24 consecutive hours’’; and 


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1 (B) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘A 

2 signal employee may not be allowed to remain 

3 or go on duty under the emergency authority 

4 provided under this subsection to conduct rou5 tine repairs, routine maintenance, or routine in6 spection of signal systems.’’; 

7 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub8 sections: 

9 ‘‘(d) COMMUNICATION DURING TIME OFF DUTY.— 

10 During a signal employee’s minimum off-duty period of 

11 10 consecutive hours, as provided under subsection (a), 

12 a railroad carrier, and its managers, supervisors, officers, 

13 and agents, shall not communicate with the signal em14 ployee by telephone, by pager, or in any other manner that 

15 could disrupt the employee’s rest. Nothing in this sub16 section shall prohibit communication necessary to notify 

17 an employee of an emergency situation posing potential 

18 risks to the employee’s safety or health. 

19 ‘‘(e) EXCLUSIVITY.—The hours of service, duty 

20 hours, and rest periods of signal employees shall be gov21 erned exclusively by this chapter. Signal employees oper22 ating motor vehicles shall not be subject to any hours of 

23 service rules, duty hours, or rest period rules promulgated 

24 by any Federal authority, including the Federal Motor 


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1 Carrier Safety Administration, other than the Federal 

2 Railroad Safety Administration.’’. 

3 (c) LIMITATION ON DUTY HOURS OF TRAIN EM4 PLOYEES.—Section 21103 of title 49, United States Code, 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol7 lows: 

8 ‘‘(a) GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection (c) 

9 of this section, a railroad carrier and its officers and 

10 agents may not require or allow a train employee to re11 main or go on duty— 

12 ‘‘(1) unless that employee has had at least 10 

13 consecutive hours off duty during the prior 24 

14 hours; 

15 ‘‘(2) for a period in excess of 12 consecutive 

16 hours; or 

17 ‘‘(3) unless that employee has had at least one 

18 period of at least 24 consecutive hours off duty in 

19 the past 7 consecutive days. 

20 The Secretary may waive paragraph (3) if a collective bar21 gaining agreement provides a different arrangement and 

22 such arrangement provides an equivalent level of safety.’’; 

23 (2) by amending subsection (b)(4) to read as 

24 follows: 


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1 ‘‘(4)(A)(i) Except as provided in clauses (ii) 

2 and (iii), time spent in deadhead transportation to 

3 a duty assignment, time spent waiting for deadhead 

4 transportation, and time spent in deadhead trans5 portation from a duty assignment to a place of final 

6 release is time on duty. 

7 ‘‘(ii) Time spent waiting for deadhead transpor8 tation and time spent in deadhead transportation 

9 from a duty assignment to a place of final release 

10 is neither time on duty nor time off duty in situa11 tions involving delays in the operations of the rail12 road carrier, when the delays were caused by any of 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(I) A casualty. 

15 ‘‘(II) An accident. 

16 ‘‘(III) A track obstruction. 

17 ‘‘(IV) An act of God. 

18 ‘‘(V) A weather event causing a delay. 

19 ‘‘(VI) A snowstorm. 

20 ‘‘(VII) A landslide. 

21 ‘‘(VIII) A track or bridge washout. 

22 ‘‘(IX) A derailment. 

23 ‘‘(X) A major equipment failure which pre24 vents a train from advancing. 


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1 ‘‘(XI) Other delay from a cause unknown 

2 or unforeseeable to a railroad carrier and its of3 ficers and agents in charge of the employee 

4 when the employee left a designated terminal. 

5 ‘‘(iii) In addition to any time qualifying as nei6 ther on duty nor off duty under clause (ii), at the 

7 election of the railroad carrier, time spent waiting 

8 for deadhead transportation and time spent in 

9 deadhead transportation to the place of final release 

10 may be treated as neither time on duty nor time off 

11 duty, subject to the following limitations: 

12 ‘‘(I) Not more than 40 hours a month may 

13 be elected by the railroad carrier, for an em14 ployee, during the period from the date of en15 actment of the Federal Railroad Safety Im16 provement Act of 2007 to one year after such 

17 date of enactment. 

18 ‘‘(II) Not more than 30 hours a month 

19 may be elected by the railroad carrier, for an 

20 employee, during the period beginning one year 

21 after the date of enactment of the Federal Rail22 road Safety Improvement Act of 2007 and end23 ing two years after such date of enactment. 

24 ‘‘(III) Not more than 10 hours a month 

25 may be elected by the railroad carrier, for an 


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1 employee, during the period beginning two 

2 years after the date of enactment of the Fed3 eral Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007. 

4 ‘‘(B) Each railroad carrier shall report to the 

5 Secretary of Transportation, in accordance with pro6 cedures contained in 49 CFR 228.19, each instance 

7 within 30 days after the calendar month in which 

8 the instance occurs that a member of a train or en9 gine crew or other employee engaged in or connected 

10 with the movement of any train, including a hostler, 

11 exceeds 12 consecutive hours, including— 

12 ‘‘(i) time on duty; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) time spent waiting for deadhead 

14 transportation and the time spent in deadhead 

15 transportation from a duty assignment to the 

16 place of final release, that is not time on duty. 

17 ‘‘(C) If— 

18 ‘‘(i) the time spent waiting for deadhead 

19 transportation, and the time spent in deadhead 

20 transportation from a duty assignment to the 

21 place of final release, that is not time on duty; 

22 plus 

23 ‘‘(ii) the time on duty, 

24 exceeds 12 consecutive hours, the railroad carrier 

25 and its officers and agents shall provide the train 


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1 employee with additional time off duty equal to the 

2 number of hours that such sum exceeds 12 hours.’’; 

3 and 

4 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub5 section: 

6 ‘‘(d) COMMUNICATION DURING TIME OFF DUTY.— 

7 During a train employee’s minimum off-duty period of 10 

8 consecutive hours, as provided under subsection (a), or 

9 during an interim period of at least 4 consecutive hours 

10 available for rest under subsection (b)(7), a railroad car11 rier, and its managers, supervisors, officers, and agents, 

12 shall not communicate with the train employee by tele13 phone, by pager, or in any other manner that could dis14 rupt the employee’s rest. Nothing in this subsection shall 

15 prohibit communication necessary to notify an employee 

16 of an emergency situation posing potential risks to the em17 ployee’s safety or health.’’. 

18 SEC. 202. EMPLOYEE SLEEPING QUARTERS. 

19 Section 21106 of title 49, United States Code, is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before 

22 ‘‘A railroad carrier’’; and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub24 section: 


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1 ‘‘(b) CAMP CARS.—Effective 12 months after the 

2 date of enactment of this subsection, a railroad carrier and 

3 its officers and agents may not provide sleeping quarters 

4 through the use of camp cars, as defined in Appendix C 

5 to part 228 of title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 

6 for employees and any individuals employed to maintain 

7 the right of way of a railroad carrier.’’. 

8 SEC. 203. FATIGUE MANAGEMENT PLANS. 

9 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 211 of title 49, United 

10 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing new section: 

12 ‘‘§ 21109. Fatigue management plans 

13 ‘‘(a) PLAN SUBMISSION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Each railroad carrier 

15 shall submit to the Secretary of Transportation, and 

16 update at least once every 2 years, a fatigue man17 agement plan that is designed to reduce the fatigue 

18 experienced by railroad employees and to reduce the 

19 likelihood of accidents and injuries caused by fa20 tigue. The plan shall address the safety effects of fa21 tigue on all employees performing safety sensitive 

22 functions, including employees not covered by this 

23 chapter. The plan shall be submitted not later than 

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1 tion, or not later than 45 days prior to commencing 

2 operations, whichever is later. 

3 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The fatigue man4 agement plan shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) identify and prioritize all situations 

6 that pose a risk for safety that may be affected 

7 by fatigue; 

8 ‘‘(B) include the railroad carrier’s— 

9 ‘‘(i) rationale for including and not in10 cluding each element described in sub11 section (b)(2) in the plan; 

12 ‘‘(ii) analysis supporting each element 

13 included in the plan; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) explanations for how each ele15 ment in the plan will reduce the risk asso16 ciated with fatigue; 

17 ‘‘(C) describe how every condition on the 

18 railroad carrier’s property, and every type of 

19 employee, that is likely to be affected by fatigue 

20 is addressed in the plan; and 

21 ‘‘(D) include the name, title, address, and 

22 telephone number of the primary person to be 

23 contacted with regard to review of the plan. 

24 ‘‘(3) APPROVAL.—(A) The Secretary shall re25 view each proposed plan and approve or disapprove 


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1 such plan based on whether the requirements of this 

2 section are sufficiently and appropriately addressed 

3 and the proposals are adequately justified in the 

4 plan. 

5 ‘‘(B) If the proposed plan is not approved, the 

6 Secretary shall notify the affected railroad carrier as 

7 to the specific points in which the proposed plan is 

8 deficient, and the railroad carrier shall correct all 

9 deficiencies within 30 days following receipt of writ10 ten notice from the Secretary. If a railroad carrier 

11 does not submit a plan (or, when directed by the 

12 Secretary, an amended plan), or if a railroad car13 rier’s amended plan is not approved by the Sec14 retary, the Secretary shall prescribe a fatigue man15 agement plan for the railroad carrier. 

16 ‘‘(4) EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION.—(A) Each af17 fected railroad carrier shall consult with, and employ 

18 good faith and use its best efforts to reach agree19 ment by consensus with, all of its directly affected 

20 employee groups on the contents of the fatigue man21 agement plan, and, except as provided in subpara22 graph (C), shall jointly with such groups submit the 

23 plan to the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(B) In the event that labor organizations rep25 resent classes or crafts of directly affected employees 


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1 of the railroad carrier, the railroad carrier shall con2 sult with these organizations in drafting the plan. 

3 The Secretary may provide technical assistance and 

4 guidance to such parties in the drafting of the plan. 

5 ‘‘(C) If the railroad carrier and its directly af6 fected employees (including any labor organization 

7 representing a class or craft of directly affected em8 ployees of the railroad carrier) cannot reach con9 sensus on the proposed contents of the plan, then— 

10 ‘‘(i) the railroad carrier shall file the plan 

11 with the Secretary; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) directly affected employees and labor 

13 organizations representing a class or craft of di14 rectly affected employees may, at their option, 

15 file a statement with the Secretary explaining 

16 their views on the plan on which consensus was 

17 not reached. 

18 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS OF THE FATIGUE MANAGEMENT

19 PLAN.— 

20 ‘‘(1) CONSIDERATION OF VARYING CIR21 CUMSTANCES.—Each plan filed with the Secretary 

22 under the procedures of subsection (a) shall take 

23 into account the varying circumstances of operations 

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1 tem, and shall prescribe appropriate fatigue counter2 measures to address those varying circumstances. 

3 ‘‘(2) ISSUES AFFECTING ALL EMPLOYEES PER4 FORMING SAFETY SENSITIVE FUNCTIONS.—The rail5 road carrier shall consider the need to include in its 

6 fatigue management plan elements addressing each 

7 of the following issues: 

8 ‘‘(A) Education and training on the phys9 iological and human factors that affect fatigue, 

10 as well as strategies to counter fatigue, based 

11 on current and evolving scientific and medical 

12 research and literature. 

13 ‘‘(B) Opportunities for identification, diag14 nosis, and treatment of any medical condition 

15 that may affect alertness or fatigue, including 

16 sleep disorders. 

17 ‘‘(C) Effects on employee fatigue of emer18 gency response involving both short-term emer19 gency situations, including derailments, and 

20 long-term emergency situations, including nat21 ural disasters. 

22 ‘‘(D) Scheduling practices involving train 

23 lineups and calling times, including work/rest 

24 cycles for shift workers and on-call employees 

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1 lative sleep loss by guaranteeing a minimum 

2 number of consecutive days off (exclusive of 

3 time off due to illness or injury). 

4 ‘‘(E) Minimizing the incidence of fatigue 

5 that occurs as a result of working at times 

6 when the natural circadian rhythm increases fa7 tigue. 

8 ‘‘(F) Alertness strategies, such as policies 

9 on napping, to address acute sleepiness and fa10 tigue while an employee is on duty. 

11 ‘‘(G) Opportunities to obtain restful sleep 

12 at lodging facilities, including sleeping quarters 

13 provided by the railroad carrier. 

14 ‘‘(H) In connection with the scheduling of 

15 a duty call, increasing the number of consecu16 tive hours of rest off duty, during which an em17 ployee receives no communication from the em18 ploying railroad carrier or its managers, super19 visors, officers, or agents. 

20 ‘‘(I) Avoiding abrupt changes in rest cycles 

21 for employees returning to duty after an ex22 tended absence due to circumstances such as ill23 ness or injury. 

24 ‘‘(J) Additional elements as the Secretary 

25 considers appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(c) COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT.— 

2 ‘‘(1) COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENT.—Effective 

3 upon approval or prescription of a fatigue manage4 ment plan, compliance with that fatigue manage5 ment plan becomes mandatory and enforceable by 

6 the Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—A fatigue manage8 ment plan may include effective dates later than the 

9 date of approval of the plan, and may include dif10 ferent effective dates for different parts of the plan. 

11 ‘‘(3) AUDITS.—To enforce this section, the Sec12 retary may conduct inspections and periodic audits 

13 of a railroad carrier’s compliance with its fatigue 

14 management plan. 

15 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section the 

16 term ‘directly affected employees’ means employees, in17 cluding employees of an independent contractor or subcon18 tractor, to whose hours of service the terms of a fatigue 

19 management plan specifically apply.’’. 

20 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

21 sections for chapter 211 of title 49, United States Code, 

22 is amended by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘21109. Fatigue management plans.’’. 


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1 SEC. 204. REGULATORY AUTHORITY. 

2 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 211 of title 49, United 

3 States Code, as amended by this Act, is further amended 

4 by adding at the end the following new section: 

5 ‘‘§ 21110. Regulatory authority 

6 ‘‘The Secretary of Transportation may by regula7 tion— 

8 ‘‘(1) reduce the maximum hours an employee 

9 may be required or allowed to go or remain on duty 

10 to a level less than the level established under this 

11 chapter, based on scientific and medical research; or 

12 ‘‘(2) increase the minimum hours an employee 

13 may be required or allowed to rest to a level greater 

14 than the level established under this chapter, based 

15 on scientific and medical research.’’. 

16 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

17 sections for chapter 211 of title 49, United States Code, 

18 is amended by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘21110. Regulatory authority.’’. 

19 SEC. 205. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 

20 Section 21303(c) of title 49, United States Code, is 

21 amended by striking ‘‘officers and agents’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘managers, supervisors, officers, and agents’’. 


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1 TITLE III—BRIDGE SAFETY 

2 SEC. 301. RAILROAD BRIDGE SAFETY ASSURANCE. 

3 Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment 

4 of this Act, the Federal Railroad Safety Administration 

5 shall implement regulations requiring owners of track car6 ried on one or more railroad bridges to adopt safety prac7 tices to prevent the deterioration of railroad bridges and 

8 reduce the risk of human casualties, environmental dam9 age, and disruption to the Nation’s transportation system 

10 that would result from a catastrophic bridge failure. The 

11 regulations shall, at a minimum— 

12 (1) require each track owner to— 

13 (A) develop and maintain an accurate in14 ventory of its railroad bridges, which shall iden15 tify the location of each bridge, its configura16 tion, type of construction, number of spans, 

17 span lengths, and all other information nec18 essary to provide for the safe management of 

19 the bridges; 

20 (B) ensure that a professional engineer 

21 competent in the field of railroad bridge engi22 neering, or a qualified person under the super23 vision of the track owner, determines bridge ca24 pacity; 


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1 (C) maintain, and update as appropriate, a 

2 record of the safe capacity of each bridge which 

3 carries its track and, if available, maintain the 

4 original design documents of each bridge and a 

5 documentation of all repairs, modifications, and 

6 inspections of the bridge; 

7 (D) develop, maintain, and enforce a writ8 ten procedure that will ensure that its bridges 

9 are not loaded beyond their capacities; 

10 (E) conduct regular comprehensive inspec11 tions of each bridge, at least once per year, and 

12 maintain records of those inspections that in13 clude the date on which the inspection was per14 formed, the precise identification of the bridge 

15 inspected, the items inspected, an accurate de16 scription of the condition of those items, and a 

17 narrative of any inspection item that is found 

18 by the inspector to be a potential problem; 

19 (F) ensure that the level of detail and the 

20 inspection procedures are appropriate to the 

21 configuration of the bridge, conditions found 

22 during previous inspections, and the nature of 

23 the railroad traffic moved over the bridge, in24 cluding car weights, train frequency and length, 

25 levels of passenger and hazardous materials 


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1 traffic, and vulnerability of the bridge to dam2 age; 

3 (G) ensure that an engineer who is com4 petent in the field of railroad bridge engineer5 ing— 

6 (i) is responsible for the development 

7 of all inspection procedures; 

8 (ii) reviews all inspection reports; and 

9 (iii) determines whether bridges are 

10 being inspected according to the applicable 

11 procedures and frequency, and reviews any 

12 items noted by an inspector as exceptions; 

13 and 

14 (H) designate qualified bridge inspectors 

15 or maintenance personnel to authorize the oper16 ation of trains on bridges following repairs, 

17 damage, or indications of potential structural 

18 problems; 

19 (2) instruct Administration bridge inspectors to 

20 obtain copies of the most recent bridge management 

21 programs and procedures of each railroad within the 

22 inspector’s areas of responsibility, and require that 

23 inspectors use those programs when conducting 

24 bridge inspections; and 


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1 (3) establish a program to review bridge inspec2 tion and maintenance data from railroads and Ad3 ministration bridge inspectors periodically. 

4 TITLE IV—GRADE CROSSINGS 

5 SEC. 401. TOLL-FREE NUMBER TO REPORT GRADE CROSS6 ING PROBLEMS. 

7 Section 20152 of title 49, United States Code, is 

8 amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘§ 20152. Emergency notification of grade crossing 

10 problems 

11 ‘‘Not later than 18 months after the date of enact12 ment of the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 

13 2007, the Secretary of Transportation shall require each 

14 railroad carrier to— 

15 ‘‘(1) establish and maintain a toll-free telephone 

16 service, for rights-of-way over which it dispatches 

17 trains, to directly receive calls reporting— 

18 ‘‘(A) malfunctions of signals, crossing 

19 gates, and other devices to promote safety at 

20 the grade crossing of railroad tracks on those 

21 rights-of-way and public or private roads; and 

22 ‘‘(B) disabled vehicles blocking railroad 

23 tracks at such grade crossings; 

24 ‘‘(2) upon receiving a report of a malfunction or 

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1 diately contact trains operating near the grade 

2 crossing to warn them of the malfunction or disabled 

3 vehicle; 

4 ‘‘(3) upon receiving a report of a malfunction or 

5 disabled vehicle pursuant to paragraph (1), and 

6 after contacting trains pursuant to paragraph (2), 

7 contact, as necessary, appropriate public safety offi8 cials having jurisdiction over the grade crossing to 

9 provide them with the information necessary for 

10 them to direct traffic, assist in the removal of the 

11 disabled vehicle, or carry out other activities appro12 priate to responding to the hazardous circumstance; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(4) ensure the placement at each grade cross15 ing on rights-of-way that it owns of appropriately lo16 cated signs, on which shall appear, at a minimum— 

17 ‘‘(A) a toll-free telephone number to be 

18 used for placing calls described in paragraph 

19 (1) to the railroad carrier dispatching trains on 

20 that right-of-way; 

21 ‘‘(B) an explanation of the purpose of that 

22 toll-free number as described in paragraph (1); 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(C) the grade crossing number assigned 

25 for that crossing by the National Highway-Rail 


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1 Crossing Inventory established by the Depart2 ment of Transportation. 

3 The Secretary of Transportation shall implement this sec4 tion through appropriate regulations.’’. 

5 SEC. 402. ROADWAY USER SIGHT DISTANCE AT HIGHWAY6 RAIL GRADE CROSSINGS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 201 of 

8 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following new section: 

10 ‘‘§ 20156. Roadway user sight distance at highway11 rail grade crossings 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

13 the date of enactment of the Federal Railroad Safety Im14 provement Act of 2007, the Secretary of Transportation 

15 shall prescribe regulations that require each railroad car16 rier to remove from its rights-of-way at all public highway17 rail grade crossings, and at all private highway-rail grade 

18 crossings open to unrestricted public access (as declared 

19 in writing by the holder of the crossing right), grass, 

20 brush, shrubbery, trees, and other vegetation which may 

21 obstruct the view of a pedestrian or a vehicle operator for 

22 a reasonable distance in either direction of the train’s ap23 proach, and to maintain its rights-of-way at all such cross24 ings free of such vegetation. In prescribing the regulaVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:33 Oct 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2095.RFS H2095

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1 tions, the Secretary shall take into consideration to the 

2 extent practicable— 

3 ‘‘(1) the type of warning device or warning de4 vices installed at the crossing; 

5 ‘‘(2) factors affecting the timeliness and effec6 tiveness of roadway user decisionmaking, including 

7 the maximum allowable roadway speed, maximum 

8 authorized train speed, angle of intersection, and to9 pography; 

10 ‘‘(3) the presence or absence of other sight dis11 tance obstructions off the railroad right-of-way; and 

12 ‘‘(4) any other factors affecting safety at such 

13 crossings. 

14 ‘‘(b) PROTECTED VEGETATION.—In promulgating 

15 regulations pursuant to this section, the Secretary may 

16 make allowance for preservation of trees and other orna17 mental or protective growth where State or local law or 

18 policy would otherwise protect the vegetation from removal 

19 and where the roadway authority or private crossing hold20 er is notified of the sight distance obstruction and, within 

21 a reasonable period specified by the regulation, takes ap22 propriate temporary and permanent action to abate the 

23 hazard to roadway users (such as by closing the crossing, 

24 posting supplementary signage, installing active warning 


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1 devices, lowering roadway speed, or installing traffic 

2 calming devices). 

3 ‘‘(c) NO PREEMPTION.—Notwithstanding section 

4 20106, subsections (a) and (b) of this section do not pro5 hibit a State from continuing in force, or from enacting, 

6 a law, regulation, or order requiring the removal of ob7 structive vegetation from a railroad right-of-way for safety 

8 reasons that is more stringent than the requirements of 

9 the regulations prescribed pursuant to this section. 

10 ‘‘(d) MODEL LEGISLATION.—Not later than 18 

11 months after the date of enactment of the Federal Rail12 road Safety Improvement Act of 2007, the Secretary, after 

13 consultation with the Federal Railroad Safety Administra14 tion, the Federal Highway Administration, and States, 

15 shall develop and make available to States model legisla16 tion providing for improving safety by addressing sight ob17 structions at highway-rail grade crossings that are 

18 equipped solely with passive warnings, such as permanent 

19 structures, temporary structures, and standing railroad 

20 equipment, as recommended by the Inspector General of 

21 the Department of Transportation in Report No. MH– 

22 2007–044.’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec24 tions for such subchapter II of chapter 201 is amended 


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1 by inserting after the item relating to section 20155 the 

2 following new item: 

‘‘20156. Roadway user sight distance at highway-rail grade crossings.’’. 

3 SEC. 403. GRADE CROSSING SIGNAL VIOLATIONS. 

4 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 20151 of title 49, 

5 United States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) by amending the section heading to read as 

7 follows: 

8 ‘‘§ 20151. Railroad trespassing, vandalism, and signal 

9 violation prevention strategy’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (a)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘and vandalism affecting 

12 railroad safety’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘, 

13 vandalism affecting railroad safety, and viola14 tions of grade crossing signals’’; 

15 (B) by inserting ‘‘, concerning trespassing 

16 and vandalism,’’ after ‘‘such evaluation and re17 view’’; and 

18 (C) by inserting ‘‘The second such evalua19 tion and review, concerning violations of grade 

20 crossing signals, shall be completed before April 

21 1, 2008.’’ after ‘‘November 2, 1994.’’; 

22 (3) in the subsection heading of subsection (b), 

23 by inserting ‘‘FOR TRESPASSING AND VANDALISM

24 PREVENTION’’ after ‘‘OUTREACH PROGRAM’’; 

25 (4) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 

2 (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘MODEL LEG4 ISLATION.—’’; and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

6 paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(2) Within 18 months after the date of enactment 

8 of the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007, 

9 the Secretary, after consultation with State and local gov10 ernments, railroad carriers, and rail labor organizations, 

11 shall develop and make available to State and local govern12 ments model State legislation providing for civil or crimi13 nal penalties, or both, for violations of grade crossing sig14 nals.’’; and 

15 (5) by adding at the end the following new sub16 section: 

17 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

18 term ‘violation of grade crossing signals’ includes any ac19 tion by a motorist, unless directed by an authorized safety 

20 officer— 

21 ‘‘(1) to drive around a grade crossing gate in 

22 a position intended to block passage over railroad 

23 tracks; 

24 ‘‘(2) to drive through a flashing grade crossing 

25 signal; 


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1 ‘‘(3) to drive through a grade crossing with pas2 sive warning signs without ensuring that the grade 

3 crossing could be safely crossed before any train ar4 rived; and 

5 ‘‘(4) in the vicinity of a grade crossing, that 

6 creates a hazard of an accident involving injury or 

7 property damage at the grade crossing.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating 

9 to section 20151 in the table of sections for subchapter 

10 II of chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, is 

11 amended to read as follows: 

‘‘20151. Railroad trespassing, vandalism, and signal violation prevention strategy.’’. 

12 SEC. 404. NATIONAL CROSSING INVENTORY. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 201 of 

14 title 49, United States Code, as amended by this Act, is 

15 further amended by adding at the end the following new 

16 section: 

17 ‘‘§ 20157. National crossing inventory 

18 ‘‘(a) INITIAL REPORTING OF INFORMATION ABOUT

19 PREVIOUSLY UNREPORTED CROSSINGS.—Not later than 

20 1 year after the date of enactment of the Federal Railroad 

21 Safety Improvement Act of 2007 or 6 months after a new 

22 crossing becomes operational, whichever occurs later, each 

23 railroad carrier shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) report to the Secretary of Transportation 

2 current information, including information about 

3 warning devices and signage, as specified by the Sec4 retary, concerning each previously unreported cross5 ing through which it operates; or 

6 ‘‘(2) ensure that the information has been re7 ported to the Secretary by another railroad carrier 

8 that operates through the crossing. 

9 ‘‘(b) UPDATING OF CROSSING INFORMATION.—(1) 

10 On a periodic basis beginning not later than 3 years after 

11 the date of enactment of the Federal Railroad Safety Im12 provement Act of 2007 and on or before September 30 

13 of every third year thereafter, or as otherwise specified 

14 by the Secretary, each railroad carrier shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) report to the Secretary current informa16 tion, including information about warning devices 

17 and signage, as specified by the Secretary, con18 cerning each crossing through which it operates; or 

19 ‘‘(B) ensure that the information has been re20 ported to the Secretary by another railroad carrier 

21 that operates through the crossing. 

22 ‘‘(2) A railroad carrier that sells a crossing or any 

23 part of a crossing on or after the date of enactment of 

24 the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007 

25 shall, not later than the date that is 18 months after the 


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1 date of enactment of that Act or 3 months after the sale, 

2 whichever occurs later, or as otherwise specified by the 

3 Secretary, report to the Secretary current information, as 

4 specified by the Secretary, concerning the change in own5 ership of the crossing or part of the crossing. 

6 ‘‘(c) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall 

7 prescribe the regulations necessary to implement this sec8 tion. The Secretary may enforce each provision of the De9 partment of Transportation’s statement of the national 

10 highway-rail crossing inventory policy, procedures, and in11 struction for States and railroads that is in effect on the 

12 date of enactment of the Federal Railroad Safety Improve13 ment Act of 2007, until such provision is superseded by 

14 a regulation issued under this section. 

15 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 ‘‘(1) CROSSING.—The term ‘crossing’ means a 

17 location within a State, other than a location where 

18 one or more railroad tracks cross one or more rail19 road tracks either at grade or grade-separated, 

20 where— 

21 ‘‘(A) a public highway, road, or street, or 

22 a private roadway, including associated side23 walks and pathways, crosses one or more rail24 road tracks either at grade or grade-separated; 

25 or 


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1 ‘‘(B) a pathway dedicated for the use of 

2 nonvehicular traffic, including pedestrians, 

3 bicyclists, and others, that is not associated 

4 with a public highway, road, or street, or a pri5 vate roadway, crosses one or more railroad 

6 tracks either at grade or grade-separated. 

7 ‘‘(2) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means a State 

8 of the United States, the District of Columbia, or 

9 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec11 tions for such subchapter II of chapter 201 is amended 

12 by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘20157. National crossing inventory.’’. 

13 (c) REPORTING AND UPDATING.—Section 130 of title 

14 23, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(l) NATIONAL CROSSING INVENTORY.— 

17 ‘‘(1) INITIAL REPORTING OF CROSSING INFOR18 MATION.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

19 enactment of the Federal Railroad Safety Improve20 ment Act of 2007 or within 6 months of a new 

21 crossing becoming operational, whichever occurs 

22 later, each State shall report to the Secretary of 

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1 fied by the Secretary, concerning each previously un2 reported crossing located within its borders. 

3 ‘‘(2) PERIODIC UPDATING OF CROSSING INFOR4 MATION.—On a periodic basis beginning not later 

5 than 3 years after the date of enactment of the Fed6 eral Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007 and 

7 on or before September 30 of every third year there8 after, or as otherwise specified by the Secretary, 

9 each State shall report to the Secretary current in10 formation, including information about warning de11 vices and signage, as specified by the Secretary, con12 cerning each crossing located within its borders. 

13 ‘‘(3) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 

14 shall prescribe the regulations necessary to imple15 ment this subsection. The Secretary may enforce 

16 each provision of the Department of Transpor17 tation’s statement of the national highway-rail cross18 ing inventory policy, procedures, and instructions for 

19 States and railroads that is in effect on the date of 

20 enactment of the Federal Railroad Safety Improve21 ment Act of 2007, until such provision is superseded 

22 by a regulation issued under this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 

24 terms ‘crossing’ and ‘State’ have the meaning given 


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1 those terms by section 20157(d)(1) and (2), respec2 tively, of title 49.’’. 

3 (d) CIVIL PENALTIES.—(1) Section 21301(a)(1) of 

4 title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘with section 20157 or’’ after 

6 ‘‘comply’’ in the first sentence; and 

7 (B) by inserting ‘‘section 20157 of this title or’’ 

8 after ‘‘violating’’ in the second sentence. 

9 (2) Section 21301(a)(2) of title 49, United States 

10 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘The Secretary shall im11 pose a civil penalty for a violation of section 20157 of this 

12 title.’’ after the first sentence. 

13 SEC. 405. ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT REPORTING. 

14 The Federal Railroad Safety Administration shall 

15 conduct an audit of each Class I railroad at least once 

16 every 2 years and conduct an audit of each non-Class I 

17 railroad at least once every 5 years to ensure that all grade 

18 crossing collisions and fatalities are reported to the na19 tional accident database. 

20 SEC. 406. AUTHORITY TO BUY PROMOTIONAL ITEMS TO IM21 PROVE RAILROAD CROSSING SAFETY AND 

22 PREVENT RAILROAD TRESPASS. 

23 Section 20134(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The Sec25 retary may purchase promotional items of nominal value 


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1 and distribute them to the public without charge as part 

2 of an educational or awareness program to accomplish the 

3 purposes of this section and of any other sections of this 

4 title related to improving the safety of highway-rail cross5 ings and to prevent trespass on railroad rights of way, 

6 and the Secretary shall prescribe guidelines for the admin7 istration of this authority.’’. 

8 SEC. 407. OPERATION LIFESAVER. 

9 (a) GRANT.—The Federal Railroad Safety Adminis10 tration shall make a grant or grants to Operation Life11 saver to carry out a public information and education pro12 gram to help prevent and reduce pedestrian, bicycle, motor 

13 vehicle, and other incidents, injuries, and fatalities, and 

14 to improve awareness along railroad rights-of-way and at 

15 highway-rail grade crossings. This includes development, 

16 placement, and dissemination of Public Service Announce17 ments in newspaper, radio, television, and other media. It 

18 will also include school presentations, brochures and mate19 rials, support for public awareness campaigns, and related 

20 support for the activities of Operation Lifesaver’s member 

21 organizations. 

22 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.—Funds provided under sub23 section (a) may also be used by Operation Lifesaver to 

24 implement a pilot program, to be known as the Railroad 

25 Safety Public Awareness Program, that addresses the 


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1 need for targeted, sustained community outreach on the 

2 subjects described in subsection (a). Such pilot program 

3 shall be established in States and communities where risk 

4 is greatest, in terms of the number of crashes and popu5 lation density near the railroad, including residences, busi6 nesses, and schools. Such pilot program shall be carried 

7 out through grants to Operation Lifesaver for work with 

8 community leaders, school districts, and public and private 

9 partners to identify the communities at greatest risk, and 

10 through development of an implementation plan. An eval11 uation component requirement shall be included in the 

12 grant to measure results. 

13 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated to the Federal Railroad 

15 Safety Administration for carrying out this section 

16 $1,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 

17 2011. 

18 SEC. 408. STATE ACTION PLAN. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall identify on an 

20 annual basis the top 10 States that have had the most 

21 highway-rail grade crossing collisions over the past year. 

22 The Secretary shall work with each of these States to de23 velop a State Grade Crossing Action Plan that identifies 

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1 ticularly at crossings that have experienced multiple acci2 dents. 

3 (b) REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—Not later than 60 days 

4 after the Secretary receives a plan under subsection (a), 

5 the Secretary shall review and approve or disapprove it. 

6 If the proposed plan is not approved, the Secretary shall 

7 notify the affected State as to the specific points in which 

8 the proposed plan is deficient, and the State shall correct 

9 all deficiencies within 30 days following receipt of written 

10 notice from the Secretary. 

11 SEC. 409. FOSTERING INTRODUCTION OF NEW TECH12 NOLOGY TO IMPROVE SAFETY AT HIGHWAY13 RAIL GRADE CROSSINGS. 

14 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 201 of title 49, United 

15 States Code, as amended by this Act, is further amended 

16 by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘§ 20165. Fostering introduction of new technology to 

18 improve safety at highway-rail grade 

19 crossings 

20 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—(1) Collisions between highway 

21 users and trains at highway-rail grade crossings continue 

22 to cause an unacceptable loss of life and serious personal 

23 injury and also threaten the safety of rail transportation. 

24 ‘‘(2) While elimination of at-grade crossings through 

25 consolidation of crossings and grade separations offers the 


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1 greatest long-term promise for optimizing the safety and 

2 efficiency of the two modes of transportation, over 

3 140,000 public grade crossings remain on the general rail 

4 system—approximately one for each route mile on the 

5 general rail system. 

6 ‘‘(3) Conventional highway traffic control devices 

7 such as flashing lights and gates are effective in warning 

8 motorists of a train’s approach to an equipped crossing. 

9 ‘‘(4) Since enactment of the Highway Safety Act of 

10 1973, over $4,200,000,000 of Federal funding has been 

11 invested in safety improvements at highway-rail grade 

12 crossings, yet a majority of public highway-rail grade 

13 crossings are not yet equipped with active warning sys14 tems. 

15 ‘‘(5) The emergence of new technologies supporting 

16 Intelligent Transportation Systems presents opportunities 

17 for more effective and affordable warnings and safer pas18 sage of highway users and trains at remaining highway19 rail grade crossings. 

20 ‘‘(6) Implementation of new crossing safety tech21 nology will require extensive cooperation between highway 

22 authorities and railroad carriers. 

23 ‘‘(7) Federal Railroad Safety Administration regula24 tions establishing performance standards for processor25 based signal and train control systems provide a suitable 


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1 framework for qualification of new or novel technology at 

2 highway-rail grade crossings, and the Federal Highway 

3 Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control De4 vices provides an appropriate means of determining high5 way user interface with such new technology. 

6 ‘‘(b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States 

7 to encourage the development of new technology that can 

8 prevent loss of life and injuries at highway-rail grade 

9 crossings. The Secretary of Transportation is designated 

10 to carry out this policy in consultation with States and 

11 necessary public and private entities.’’. 

12 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

13 sections for chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, 

14 as amended by this Act, is further amended by adding 

15 at the end the following new item: 

‘‘20165. Fostering introduction of new technology to improve safety at highwayrail grade crossings.’’. 

16 TITLE V—ENFORCEMENT 

17 SEC. 501. ENFORCEMENT. 

18 Section 20112(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) by inserting ‘‘this part or’’ in paragraph (1) 

21 after ‘‘enforce,’’; 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘21301’’ in paragraph (2) and 

23 inserting ‘‘21301, 21302, or 21303’’; 


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1 (3) by striking ‘‘subpena’’ in paragraph (3) and 

2 inserting ‘‘subpoena, request for admissions, request 

3 for production of documents or other tangible 

4 things, or request for testimony by deposition’’; and 

5 (4) by striking ‘‘chapter.’’ in paragraph (3) and 

6 inserting ‘‘part.’’. 

7 SEC. 502. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

8 (a) GENERAL VIOLATIONS OF CHAPTER 201.—Sec9 tion 21301(a)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘$25,000’’; and 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘$100,000’’. 

15 (b) ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT VIOLATIONS OF CHAP16 TER 201; VIOLATIONS OF CHAPTERS 203 THROUGH

17 209.—Section 21302(a)(2) of title 49, United States 

18 Code, is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘$25,000’’; and 

21 (2) by striking ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘$100,000’’. 

23 (c) VIOLATIONS OF CHAPTER 211.—Section 

24 21303(a)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘$25,000’’; and 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘$100,000’’. 

5 SEC. 503. CRIMINAL PENALTIES. 

6 Section 21311(b) of title 49, United States Code, is 

7 amended by striking ‘‘$500’’ both places it appears and 

8 inserting ‘‘$2,500’’. 

9 SEC. 504. EXPANSION OF EMERGENCY ORDER AUTHORITY. 

10 Section 20104(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code, 

11 is amended by striking ‘‘death or personal injury’’ and in12 serting ‘‘death, personal injury, or significant harm to the 

13 environment’’. 

14 SEC. 505. ENFORCEMENT TRANSPARENCY. 

15 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter I of chapter 201 of 

16 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

17 end the following: 

18 ‘‘§ 20118. Enforcement transparency 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31, 

20 2007, the Secretary of Transportation shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) provide a monthly updated summary to 

22 the public of all railroad enforcement actions taken 

23 by the Secretary or the Federal Railroad Safety Ad24 ministration, from the time a notice commencing an 


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1 enforcement action is issued until the enforcement 

2 action is final; 

3 ‘‘(2) include in each such summary identifica4 tion of the railroad carrier or person involved in the 

5 enforcement activity, the type of alleged violation, 

6 the penalty or penalties proposed, any changes in 

7 case status since the previous summary, the final as8 sessment amount of each penalty, and the reasons 

9 for a reduction in the proposed penalty, if appro10 priate; and 

11 ‘‘(3) provide a mechanism by which a railroad 

12 carrier or person named in an enforcement action 

13 may make information, explanations, or documents 

14 it believes are responsive to the enforcement action 

15 available to the public. 

16 ‘‘(b) ELECTRONIC AVAILABILITY.—Each summary 

17 under this section shall be made available to the public 

18 by electronic means. 

19 ‘‘(c) RELATIONSHIP TO FOIA.—Nothing in this sec20 tion shall be construed to require disclosure of information 

21 or records that are exempt from disclosure under section 

22 552 of title 5.’’. 

23 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

24 sections of subchapter I of chapter 201 of title 49, United 


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1 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing new item: 

‘‘20118. Enforcement transparency.’’. 

3 SEC. 506. INTERFERING WITH OR HAMPERING SAFETY IN4 VESTIGATIONS. 

5 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter II of chapter 213 of 

6 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

7 end the following new section: 

8 ‘‘§ 21312. Interfering with or hampering safety inves9 tigations 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any per11 son knowingly to interfere with, obstruct, or hamper an 

12 investigation by the Secretary of Transportation con13 ducted under section 20703 or 20902 of this title, or a 

14 railroad investigation by the National Transportation 

15 Safety Board under chapter 11 of this title. 

16 ‘‘(b) INTIMIDATION AND HARASSMENT.—It shall be 

17 unlawful for any person, with regard to an investigation 

18 conducted by the Secretary under section 20703 or 20902 

19 of this title, or a railroad investigation by the National 

20 Transportation Safety Board under chapter 11 of this 

21 title, knowingly or intentionally to use intimidation, har22 assment, threats, or physical force toward another person, 

23 or corruptly persuade another person, or attempt to do 

24 so, or engage in misleading conduct toward another per25 son, with the intent or effect of— 


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1 ‘‘(1) influencing the testimony or statement of 

2 any person; 

3 ‘‘(2) hindering, delaying, preventing, or dis4 suading any person from— 

5 ‘‘(A) attending a proceeding or interview 

6 with, testifying before, or providing a written 

7 statement to, a National Transportation Safety 

8 Board railroad investigator, a Federal railroad 

9 safety inspector or State railroad safety inspec10 tor, or their superiors; 

11 ‘‘(B) communicating or reporting to a Na12 tional Transportation Safety Board railroad in13 vestigator, a Federal railroad safety inspector, 

14 or a State railroad safety inspector, or their su15 periors, information relating to the commission 

16 or possible commission of one or more violations 

17 of this part or of chapter 51 of this title; or 

18 ‘‘(C) recommending or using any legal 

19 remedy available to the Secretary under this 

20 title; or 

21 ‘‘(3) causing or inducing any person to— 

22 ‘‘(A) withhold testimony, or a statement, 

23 record, document, or other object, from the in24 vestigation; 


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1 ‘‘(B) alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal a 

2 statement, record, document, or other object 

3 with intent to impair the integrity or avail4 ability of the statement, record, document, or 

5 other object for use in the investigation; 

6 ‘‘(C) evade legal process summoning that 

7 person to appear as a witness, or to produce a 

8 statement, record, document, or other object, in 

9 the investigation; or 

10 ‘‘(D) be absent from an investigation to 

11 which such person has been summoned by legal 

12 process. 

13 ‘‘(c) ELEMENTS OF VIOLATION.—(1) For the pur14 poses of this section, the testimony or statement, or the 

15 record, document, or other object, need not be admissible 

16 in evidence or free from a claim of privilege. 

17 ‘‘(2) In a prosecution for an offense under this sec18 tion, no state of mind need be proved with respect to the 

19 circumstance that the investigation is being conducted by 

20 the Secretary under section 20703 or 20902 of this title 

21 or by the National Transportation Safety Board under 

22 chapter 11 of this title. 

23 ‘‘(d) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—A person violating this 

24 section shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not 

25 more than 1 year, or both.’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

2 sections of subchapter II of chapter 213 of title 49, United 

3 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing new item: 

‘‘21312. Interfering with or hampering safety investigations.’’. 

5 SEC. 507. RAILROAD RADIO MONITORING AUTHORITY. 

6 Section 20107 of title 49, United States Code, is 

7 amended by inserting at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(c) RAILROAD RADIO COMMUNICATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the Sec10 retary’s responsibilities under this part and under 

11 chapter 51, the Secretary may authorize officers, 

12 employees, or agents of the Secretary to conduct the 

13 following activities in circumstances the Secretary 

14 finds to be reasonable: 

15 ‘‘(A) Intercepting a radio communication, 

16 with or without the consent of the sender or 

17 other receivers of the communication, but only 

18 where such communication is broadcast or 

19 transmitted over a radio frequency which is— 

20 ‘‘(i) authorized for use by one or more 

21 railroad carriers by the Federal Commu22 nications Commission; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) primarily used by such railroad 

24 carriers for communications in connection 

25 with railroad operations. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Communicating the existence, con2 tents, substance, purport, effect, or meaning of 

3 the communication, subject to the restrictions 

4 in paragraph (3). 

5 ‘‘(C) Receiving or assisting in receiving the 

6 communication (or any information therein con7 tained). 

8 ‘‘(D) Disclosing the contents, substance, 

9 purport, effect, or meaning of the communica10 tion (or any part thereof of such communica11 tion) or using the communication (or any infor12 mation contained therein), subject to the re13 strictions in paragraph (3), after having re14 ceived the communication or acquired knowl15 edge of the contents, substance, purport, effect, 

16 or meaning of the communication (or any part 

17 thereof). 

18 ‘‘(E) Recording the communication by any 

19 means, including writing and tape recording. 

20 ‘‘(2) ACCIDENT PREVENTION AND ACCIDENT

21 INVESTIGATION.—The Secretary, and officers, em22 ployees, and agents of the Department of Transpor23 tation authorized by the Secretary, may engage in 

24 the activities authorized by paragraph (1) for the 


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1 purpose of accident prevention and accident inves2 tigation. 

3 ‘‘(3) USE OF INFORMATION.—(A) Information 

4 obtained through activities authorized by paragraphs 

5 (1) and (2) shall not be admitted into evidence in 

6 any administrative or judicial proceeding except— 

7 ‘‘(i) in a prosecution of a felony under 

8 Federal or State criminal law; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) to impeach evidence offered by a 

10 party other than the Federal Government re11 garding the existence, electronic characteristics, 

12 content, substance, purport, effect, meaning, or 

13 timing of, or identity of parties to, a commu14 nication intercepted pursuant to paragraphs (1) 

15 and (2) in proceedings pursuant to section 

16 5122, 5123, 20702(b), 20111, 20112, 20113, 

17 or 20114 of this title. 

18 ‘‘(B) If information obtained through activities 

19 set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) is admitted into 

20 evidence for impeachment purposes in accordance 

21 with subparagraph (A), the court, administrative law 

22 judge, or other officer before whom the proceeding 

23 is conducted may make such protective orders re24 garding the confidentiality or use of the information 


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1 as may be appropriate in the circumstances to pro2 tect privacy and administer justice. 

3 ‘‘(C) No evidence shall be excluded in an ad4 ministrative or judicial proceeding solely because the 

5 government would not have learned of the existence 

6 of or obtained such evidence but for the interception 

7 of information that is not admissible in such pro8 ceeding under subparagraph (A). 

9 ‘‘(D) Information obtained through activities 

10 set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not be sub11 ject to publication or disclosure, or search or review 

12 in connection therewith, under section 552 of title 5. 

13 ‘‘(E) Nothing in this subsection shall be con14 strued to impair or otherwise affect the authority of 

15 the United States to intercept a communication, and 

16 collect, retain, analyze, use, and disseminate the in17 formation obtained thereby, under a provision of law 

18 other than this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION WITH OTHER LAW.—Section 

20 705 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

21 605) and chapter 119 of title 18 shall not apply to 

22 conduct authorized by and pursuant to this sub23 section.’’. 


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1 SEC. 508. INSPECTOR STAFFING. 

2 The Secretary shall increase the total number of posi3 tions for railroad safety inspection and enforcement per4 sonnel at the Federal Railroad Safety Administration so 

5 that by December 31, 2008, the total number of such posi6 tions is at least 500, by December 31, 2009, the total 

7 number of such positions is at least 600, by December 

8 31, 2010, the total number of such positions is at least 

9 700, and by December 31, 2011, the total number of posi10 tions is at least 800. 

11 TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS 

12 PROVISIONS 

13 SEC. 601. POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months after 

15 the date of enactment of this Act, each Class I railroad 

16 carrier shall develop and submit to the Secretary a plan 

17 for implementing a positive train control system by De18 cember 31, 2014, that will minimize the risk of train colli19 sions and over-speed derailments, provide protection to 

20 maintenance-of-way workers within established work zone 

21 limits, and minimize the risk of the movement of a train 

22 through a switch left in the wrong position. 

23 (b) SAFETY REDUNDANCY.—The positive train con24 trol system required under subsection (a) shall provide a 

25 safety redundancy to minimize the risk of accidents by 


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1 overriding human performance failures involving train 

2 movements on main line tracks. 

3 (c) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The Secretary may pro4 vide technical assistance and guidance to railroad carriers 

5 in developing the plans required under subsection (a), and 

6 shall require that each railroad carrier include in the plan, 

7 at a minimum— 

8 (1) measurable goals, including a strategy and 

9 timeline for implementation of such systems; 

10 (2) a prioritization of how the systems will be 

11 implemented, with particular emphasis on high-risk 

12 corridors such as those that have significant move13 ments of hazardous materials or where commuter 

14 and intercity passenger railroads operate; 

15 (3) identification of detailed steps the carriers 

16 will take to implement the systems; and 

17 (4) any other element the Secretary considers 

18 appropriate. 

19 (d) REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—Not later than 90 days 

20 after the Secretary receives a plan, the Secretary shall re21 view and approve it. If the proposed plan is not approved, 

22 the Secretary shall notify the affected railroad carrier as 

23 to the specific points in which the proposed plan is defi24 cient, and the railroad carrier shall correct all deficiencies 

25 within 30 days following receipt of written notice from the 


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1 Secretary. The Secretary shall annually conduct a review 

2 to ensure that the railroads are complying with their 

3 plans. 

4 (e) REPORT.—Not later than December 31, 2011, the 

5 Secretary shall transmit a report to the Committee on 

6 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep7 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

8 and Transportation of the Senate on the progress of the 

9 railroad carriers in implementing such positive train con10 trol systems. 

11 (f) AUTHORITY TO EXTEND DEADLINE.—The Sec12 retary may extend the date for implementation required 

13 under subsection (a) for any Class I railroad carrier for 

14 a period of not more than 24 months if the Secretary de15 termines such an extension is necessary— 

16 (1) to implement a more effective positive train 

17 control system than would be possible under the date 

18 established in subsection (a); 

19 (2) to obtain interoperability between positive 

20 train control systems implemented by railroad car21 riers; 

22 (3) for the Secretary to determine that a posi23 tive train control system meets the requirements of 

24 this section and regulations issued by the Secretary; 

25 or 


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1 (4) to otherwise enhance safety. 

2 (g) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall not permit 

3 the installation of any positive train control system or 

4 component unless the Secretary has certified that such 

5 system or component has not experienced a safety-critical 

6 failure during prior testing and evaluation. If such a fail7 ure has occurred, the system or component may be re8 paired and evaluated in accordance with part 236 of title 

9 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations and may be in10 stalled when the Secretary certifies that the factors caus11 ing the failure have been corrected and approves the sys12 tem for installation in accordance with such part 236. 

13 (h) NOTICE.—Not later than 30 days after the Sec14 retary grants an extension under subsection (f), the Sec15 retary shall publish a notice in the Federal Register that 

16 identifies the Class I railroad carrier that is being granted 

17 the extension, the reasons for granting the extension, and 

18 the length of the extension. 

19 SEC. 602. WARNING IN NONSIGNALED TERRITORY. 

20 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter II of chapter 201 of 

21 title 49, United States Code, as amended by this Act, is 

22 further amended by adding at the end the following new 

23 section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 20158. Warning in nonsignaled territory 

2 ‘‘Not later than 12 months after the date of enact3 ment of the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 

4 2007, the Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe reg5 ulations that require railroads, with respect to main lines 

6 in nonsignaled territory without a train speed enforcement 

7 system that would stop a train in advance of a misaligned 

8 switch, to either— 

9 ‘‘(1) install an automatically activated device, in 

10 addition to the switch banner, that will, visually or 

11 electronically, compellingly capture the attention of 

12 the employees involved with switch operations and 

13 clearly convey the status of the switch both in day14 light and darkness; or 

15 ‘‘(2) operate trains at speeds that will allow 

16 them to be safely stopped in advance of misaligned 

17 switches.’’. 

18 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

19 sections of subchapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United 

20 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing new item: 

‘‘20158. Warning in nonsignaled territory.’’. 

22 SEC. 603. TRACK SAFETY. 

23 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter II of chapter 201 of 

24 title 49, United States Code, as amended by this Act, is 


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1 further amended by adding at the end the following new 

2 section: 

3 ‘‘§ 20159. Track safety 

4 ‘‘(a) RAIL INTEGRITY.—Not later than 12 months 

5 after the date of enactment of the Federal Railroad Safety 

6 Improvement Act of 2007, the Secretary of Transpor7 tation shall prescribe regulations to require railroad car8 riers to manage the rail in their tracks so as to minimize 

9 accidents due to internal rail flaws. The regulations shall, 

10 at a minimum— 

11 ‘‘(1) require railroad carriers to conduct ultra12 sonic or other appropriate inspections to ensure that 

13 rail used to replace defective segments of existing 

14 rail is free from internal defects; 

15 ‘‘(2) require railroad carriers to perform rail in16 tegrity inspections to manage an annual service fail17 ure rate of less than .1 per track mile on high-risk 

18 corridors such as those that have significant move19 ments of hazardous materials or where commuter 

20 and intercity passenger railroads operate; and 

21 ‘‘(3) encourage railroad carrier use of advanced 

22 rail defect inspection equipment and similar tech23 nologies as part of a comprehensive rail inspection 

24 program. 


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1 ‘‘(b) CONCRETE CROSSTIES.—Not later than 18 

2 months after the date of enactment of the Federal Rail3 road Safety Improvement Act of 2007, the Secretary shall 

4 develop and implement regulations for all classes of track 

5 for concrete crossties that address, at a minimum— 

6 ‘‘(1) limits for rail seat abrasion; 

7 ‘‘(2) concrete crosstie pad wear limits; 

8 ‘‘(3) missing or broken rail fasteners; 

9 ‘‘(4) loss of appropriate toeload pressure; 

10 ‘‘(5) improper fastener configurations; and 

11 ‘‘(6) excessive lateral rail movement.’’. 

12 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

13 sections of subchapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United 

14 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing new item: 

‘‘20159. Track safety.’’. 

16 SEC. 604. CERTIFICATION OF CONDUCTORS. 

17 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter II of chapter 201 of 

18 title 49, United States Code, as amended by this Act, is 

19 further amended by adding at the end the following new 

20 section: 

21 ‘‘§ 20160. Certification of conductors 

22 ‘‘(a) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 18 months after 

23 the date of enactment of the Federal Railroad Safety Im24 provement Act of 2007, the Secretary of Transportation 

25 shall prescribe regulations and issue orders to establish 


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1 a program requiring the certification of train conductors. 

2 In prescribing such regulations, the Secretary shall require 

3 that conductors on passenger trains be trained in security, 

4 first aid, and emergency preparedness. 

5 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM DESIGN.—The program established 

6 under this section shall be designed based on the require7 ments of section 20135(b) through (e).’’. 

8 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

9 sections of subchapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United 

10 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing new item: 

‘‘20160. Certification of conductors.’’. 

12 SEC. 605. MINIMUM TRAINING STANDARDS. 

13 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter II of chapter 201 of 

14 title 49, United States Code, as amended by this Act, is 

15 further amended by adding at the end the following new 

16 section: 

17 ‘‘§ 20161. Minimum training standards 

18 ‘‘The Secretary of Transportation shall, not later 

19 than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Federal 

20 Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007, establish— 

21 ‘‘(1) minimum training standards for each class 

22 and craft of railroad employees, which shall require 

23 railroad carriers to qualify or otherwise document 

24 the proficiency of their employees in each class and 

25 craft regarding their knowledge of, and ability to 


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1 comply with, Federal railroad safety laws and regu2 lations and railroad carrier rules and procedures 

3 promulgated to implement those Federal railroad 

4 safety laws and regulations; 

5 ‘‘(2) a requirement for railroad carriers to sub6 mit their training and qualification programs to the 

7 Federal Railroad Safety Administration for ap8 proval; and 

9 ‘‘(3) a minimum training curriculum, and ongo10 ing training criteria, testing, and skills evaluation 

11 measures to ensure that railroad employees charged 

12 with the inspection of track or railroad equipment 

13 are qualified to assess railroad compliance with Fed14 eral standards to identify defective conditions and 

15 initiate immediate remedial action to correct critical 

16 safety defects that are known to contribute to 

17 derailments, accidents, or injury. In implementing 

18 the requirements of this paragraph, the Secretary 

19 shall take into consideration existing training pro20 grams of railroad carriers.’’. 

21 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

22 sections of subchapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United 

23 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing new item: 

‘‘20161. Minimum training standards.’’. 


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1 SEC. 606. PROMPT MEDICAL ATTENTION. 

2 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter II of chapter 201 of 

3 title 49, United States Code, as amended by this Act, is 

4 further amended by adding at the end the following new 

5 section: 

6 ‘‘§ 20162. Prompt medical attention 

7 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—A railroad or person covered 

8 under this title shall not deny, delay, or interfere with the 

9 medical or first aid treatment of an employee who is in10 jured during the course of employment. If transportation 

11 to a hospital is requested by an employee who is injured 

12 during the course of employment, the railroad shall 

13 promptly arrange to have the injured employee trans14 ported to the nearest medically appropriate hospital. 

15 ‘‘(b) DISCIPLINE.—A railroad or person covered 

16 under this title shall not discipline, or threaten discipline 

17 to, an employee for requesting medical or first aid treat18 ment, or for following orders or a treatment plan of a 

19 treating physician. For purposes of this subsection, dis20 cipline means to bring charges against a person in a dis21 ciplinary proceeding, suspend, terminate, place on proba22 tion, or make note of reprimand on an employee’s 

23 record.’’. 

24 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

25 sections of subchapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United 


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1 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing new item: 

‘‘20162. Prompt medical attention.’’. 

3 SEC. 607. EMERGENCY ESCAPE BREATHING APPARATUS. 

4 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter II of chapter 201 of 

5 title 49, United States Code, as amended by this Act, is 

6 further amended by adding at the end the following new 

7 section: 

8 ‘‘§ 20163. Emergency escape breathing apparatus 

9 ‘‘Not later than 18 months after the date of enact10 ment of the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 

11 2007, the Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe reg12 ulations that require railroads to— 

13 ‘‘(1) provide emergency escape breathing appa14 ratus for all crewmembers on freight trains carrying 

15 hazardous materials that would pose an inhalation 

16 hazard in the event of release; and 

17 ‘‘(2) provide their crewmembers with appro18 priate training for using the breathing apparatus.’’. 

19 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

20 sections of subchapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United 

21 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing new item: 

‘‘20163. Emergency escape breathing apparatus.’’. 


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1 SEC. 608. LOCOMOTIVE CAB ENVIRONMENT. 

2 Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall transmit 

4 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

5 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

6 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 

7 report on the effects of the locomotive cab environment 

8 on the safety, health, and performance of train crews. 

9 SEC. 609. TUNNEL INFORMATION. 

10 Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 

11 of this Act, each railroad carrier (as defined in section 

12 20102 of title 49, United States Code) shall, with respect 

13 to each of its tunnels which— 

14 (1) are longer than 1000 feet and located under 

15 a city with a population of 400,000 or greater; or 

16 (2) carry 5 or more scheduled passenger trains 

17 per day, or 500 or more carloads of Toxic Inhalation 

18 Hazardous materials per year, 

19 maintain for at least two years historical documentation 

20 of structural inspection and maintenance activities for 

21 such tunnels, including information on the methods of in22 gress and egress into and out of the tunnel, the types of 

23 cargos typically transported through the tunnel, and sche24 matics or blueprints for the tunnel, when available. Upon 

25 request, a railroad carrier shall also provide periodic briefVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:33 Oct 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00070 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2095.RFS H2095

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1 ings to the government of the local jurisdiction in which 

2 the tunnel is located, including updates whenever a repair 

3 or rehabilitation project substantially alters the methods 

4 of ingress and egress. Such governments shall use appro5 priate means to protect and restrict the distribution of any 

6 security sensitive information provided by the railroad car7 rier under this section, consistent with national security 

8 interests. 

9 SEC. 610. MUSEUM LOCOMOTIVE STUDY. 

10 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Transportation shall 

11 conduct a study of its regulations relating to safety inspec12 tions of diesel-electric locomotives and equipment and the 

13 safety consequences of requiring less frequent inspections 

14 of such locomotives which are operated by museums, in15 cluding annual inspections or inspections based on accu16 mulated operating hours. The study shall include an anal17 ysis of the safety consequences of requiring less frequent 

18 air brake inspections of such locomotives. 

19 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor21 tation shall transmit a report on the results of the study 

22 conducted under subsection (a) to the Committee on 

23 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep24 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

25 and Transportation of the Senate. 


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1 SEC. 611. CERTIFICATION OF CARMEN. 

2 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter II of chapter 201 of 

3 title 49, United States Code, as amended by this Act, is 

4 further amended by adding at the end the following new 

5 section: 

6 ‘‘§ 20164. Certification of carmen 

7 ‘‘(a) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 18 months after 

8 the date of enactment of the Federal Railroad Safety Im9 provement Act of 2007, the Secretary of Transportation 

10 shall prescribe regulations and issue orders to establish 

11 a program requiring the certification of carmen, including 

12 all employees performing mechanical inspections, brake 

13 system inspections, or maintenance on freight and pas14 senger rail cars. 

15 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM DESIGN.—The program established 

16 under this section shall be designed by the Secretary of 

17 Transportation based on the requirements of parts 215, 

18 221, 231, 232, and 238 of title 49 of the Code of Federal 

19 Regulations.’’. 

20 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

21 sections of subchapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United 

22 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing new item: 

‘‘20164. Certification of carmen.’’. 


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1 SEC. 612. TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS DEPLOYMENT GRANTS. 

2 (a) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Transpor3 tation shall establish a grant program for the deployment 

4 of train control and component technologies, including— 

5 (1) communications-based train control systems 

6 designed to prevent train movement authority viola7 tions, over-speed violations, and train collision acci8 dents caused by noncompliance with authorities as 

9 well as to provide additional protections to roadway 

10 workers and protect against open switches in non11 signal territories; 

12 (2) remote control power switch technology; 

13 (3) switch point monitoring technology; and 

14 (4) track integrity circuit technology. 

15 (b) GRANT CRITERIA.— 

16 (1) ELIGIBILITY.—Grants shall be made under 

17 this section to eligible passenger and freight railroad 

18 carriers and State and local governments for 

19 projects described in subsection (a) that have a pub20 lic benefit of improved safety or network efficiency. 

21 (2) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—An applicant for 

22 a grant made pursuant to this section shall file with 

23 the Secretary a train control implementation plan 

24 that shall describe the overall safety and efficiency 

25 benefits of installing systems described in subsection 

26 (a) and the stages for implementing such systems. 


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1 (3) CONSIDERATION.—The Secretary shall give 

2 priority consideration to applications that benefit 

3 both passenger and freight safety and efficiency, or 

4 incentivize train control technology deployment on 

5 high-risk corridors such as those that have signifi6 cant movements of hazardous materials or where 

7 commuter and intercity passenger railroads operate. 

8 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—(1) 

9 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

10 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

11 2008 through 2011 to carry out this section. 

12 (2) Amounts made available pursuant to this sub13 section shall remain available until expended. 

14 SEC. 613. INFRASTRUCTURE SAFETY INVESTMENT RE15 PORTS. 

16 Not later than February 15th of each year, each 

17 Class I railroad shall file a report with both the Federal 

18 Railroad Safety Administration and the Surface Transpor19 tation Board detailing, by State, the infrastructure invest20 ments and maintenance they have performed on their sys21 tem, including but not limited to track, locomotives, rail22 cars, and grade crossings, in the previous calendar year 

23 to ensure the safe movement of freight, and their plans 

24 for such investments and maintenance in the current cal25 endar year. Such reports shall be publicly available, and 


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1 any interested party may file comments about the reports, 

2 which also shall be made public. 

3 SEC. 614. EMERGENCY GRADE CROSSING SAFETY IMPROVE4 MENTS. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary 

6 of Transportation shall establish a grant program to pro7 vide for emergency grade crossing safety improvements, 

8 including the installation, repair, or improvement of— 

9 (1) railroad crossing signals, gates, and related 

10 technologies, including median barriers and four 

11 quadrant gates; 

12 (2) highway traffic signalization, including 

13 highway signals tied to railroad signal systems; 

14 (3) highway lighting and crossing approach 

15 signage; 

16 (4) roadway improvements, including railroad 

17 crossing panels and surfaces; and 

18 (5) related work to mitigate dangerous condi19 tions. 

20 (b) GRANT CRITERIA.— 

21 (1) ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary may make 

22 grants to State and local governments under this 

23 section to provide emergency grade crossing safety 

24 improvements at a location where there has been a 

25 railroad grade crossing collision with a school bus, or 


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1 collision involving three or more serious bodily inju2 ries or fatalities. 

3 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—Grants awarded 

4 under paragraph (1) shall not exceed $250,000 per 

5 crossing. 

6 (3) NO STATE OR LOCAL SHARE.—The Sec7 retary shall not require the contribution of a State 

8 or local share as a condition of the grant. 

9 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such 

11 sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2008 

12 through 2011 to carry out this section. Amounts made 

13 available under this subsection shall remain available until 

14 expended. 

15 SEC. 615. LOCOMOTIVE HORN REQUIREMENT WAIVER. 

16 Section 20153(c) of title 49, United States Code, is 

17 amended by adding at the end the following new para18 graph: 

19 ‘‘(3) The Secretary, in reviewing applications for 

20 waivers or exemptions, shall consider horn noise and the 

21 impact of such noise on the local community and the 

22 unique characteristics of the community.’’. 

23 SEC. 616. SAFETY INSPECTIONS IN MEXICO. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Mechanical and brake inspections 

25 of rail cars performed in Mexico shall not be treated as 


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1 satisfying United States rail safety laws or regulations un2 less the Secretary of Transportation certifies that— 

3 (1) such inspections are being performed under 

4 regulations and standards equivalent to those appli5 cable in the United States, including comparable en6 forcement procedures; 

7 (2) the Mexican counterparts to the Federal 

8 Railroad Safety Administration are effectively en9 forcing such standards; 

10 (3) the inspections are being performed by em11 ployees receiving comparable classroom and on the 

12 job training as is the norm in the United States; 

13 (4) inspection records are maintained in both 

14 English and Spanish, and such records are available 

15 to the Federal Railroad Safety Administration for 

16 review; and 

17 (5) the Federal Railroad Safety Administration 

18 is permitted to perform onsite inspections for the 

19 purpose of ensuring compliance with the require20 ments of this subsection. 

21 (b) HAZARDOUS MATERIAL INSPECTIONS.—Notwith22 standing subsection (a), no hazardous material inspections 

23 performed in Mexico shall be treated as having satisfied 

24 the applicable United States rail safety laws and regula25 tions. 


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1 SEC. 617. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD JURISDIC2 TION OVER SOLID WASTE FACILITIES. 

3 Section 10501 of title 49, United States Code, is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘facilities,’’ in subsection (b)(2) 

6 and inserting ‘‘facilities (except solid waste rail 

7 transfer facilities as defined in subsection 

8 (c)(3)(C)),’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end of subsection (c)(3) 

10 the following new subparagraph: 

11 ‘‘(C) Nothing in this section preempts a State or local 

12 governmental authority from regulating solid waste rail 

13 transfer facilities. For purposes of this subparagraph, the 

14 term ‘solid waste rail transfer facility’ means the portion 

15 of any facility owned or operated by or on behalf of a rail 

16 carrier, at which occurs the— 

17 ‘‘(i) collection, storage, or transfer, outside of 

18 original shipping containers; 

19 ‘‘(ii) separation; or 

20 ‘‘(iii) processing (including baling, crushing, 

21 compacting, and shredding), 

22 of solid waste, as defined in section 1004 of the Solid 

23 Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6903).’’. 


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1 TITLE VII—RAIL PASSENGER 

2 DISASTER FAMILY ASSISTANCE 

3 SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Rail Passenger Dis5 aster Family Assistance Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 702. ASSISTANCE BY NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION 

7 SAFETY BOARD TO FAMILIES OF PAS8 SENGERS INVOLVED IN RAIL PASSENGER AC9 CIDENTS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 11 of 

11 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

12 end the following: 

13 ‘‘§ 1139. Assistance to families of passengers involved 

14 in rail passenger accidents 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

16 being notified of a rail passenger accident within the 

17 United States involving a rail passenger carrier and result18 ing in a major loss of life, the Chairman of the National 

19 Transportation Safety Board shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) designate and publicize the name and 

21 phone number of a director of family support serv22 ices who shall be an employee of the Board and shall 

23 be responsible for acting as a point of contact within 

24 the Federal Government for the families of pas25 sengers involved in the accident and a liaison beVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:33 Oct 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00079 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2095.RFS H2095

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1 tween the rail passenger carrier and the families; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(2) designate an independent nonprofit organi4 zation, with experience in disasters and posttrauma 

5 communication with families, which shall have pri6 mary responsibility for coordinating the emotional 

7 care and support of the families of passengers in8 volved in the accident. 

9 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD.—The Board 

10 shall have primary Federal responsibility for— 

11 ‘‘(1) facilitating the recovery and identification 

12 of fatally injured passengers involved in an accident 

13 described in subsection (a); and 

14 ‘‘(2) communicating with the families of pas15 sengers involved in the accident as to the roles of— 

16 ‘‘(A) the organization designated for an ac17 cident under subsection (a)(2); 

18 ‘‘(B) Government agencies; and 

19 ‘‘(C) the rail passenger carrier involved, 

20 with respect to the accident and the post-accident 

21 activities. 

22 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF DESIGNATED ORGANIZA23 TION.—The organization designated for an accident under 

24 subsection (a)(2) shall have the following responsibilities 


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1 with respect to the families of passengers involved in the 

2 accident: 

3 ‘‘(1) To provide mental health and counseling 

4 services, in coordination with the disaster response 

5 team of the rail passenger carrier involved. 

6 ‘‘(2) To take such actions as may be necessary 

7 to provide an environment in which the families may 

8 grieve in private. 

9 ‘‘(3) To meet with the families who have trav10 eled to the location of the accident, to contact the 

11 families unable to travel to such location, and to 

12 contact all affected families periodically thereafter 

13 until such time as the organization, in consultation 

14 with the director of family support services des15 ignated for the accident under subsection (a)(1), de16 termines that further assistance is no longer needed. 

17 ‘‘(4) To arrange a suitable memorial service, in 

18 consultation with the families. 

19 ‘‘(d) PASSENGER LISTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) REQUESTS FOR PASSENGER LISTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) REQUESTS BY DIRECTOR OF FAMILY

22 SUPPORT SERVICES.—It shall be the responsi23 bility of the director of family support services 

24 designated for an accident under subsection 

25 (a)(1) to request, as soon as practicable, from 


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1 the rail passenger carrier involved in the acci2 dent a list, which is based on the best available 

3 information at the time of the request, of the 

4 names of the passengers that were aboard the 

5 rail passenger carrier’s train involved in the ac6 cident. A rail passenger carrier shall use rea7 sonable efforts, with respect to its unreserved 

8 trains, and passengers not holding reservations 

9 on its other trains, to ascertain the names of 

10 passengers aboard a train involved in an acci11 dent. 

12 ‘‘(B) REQUESTS BY DESIGNATED ORGANI13 ZATION.—The organization designated for an 

14 accident under subsection (a)(2) may request 

15 from the rail passenger carrier involved in the 

16 accident a list described in subparagraph (A). 

17 ‘‘(2) USE OF INFORMATION.—The director of 

18 family support services and the organization may 

19 not release to any person information on a list ob20 tained under paragraph (1) but may provide infor21 mation on the list about a passenger to the family 

22 of the passenger to the extent that the director of 

23 family support services or the organization considers 

24 appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(e) CONTINUING RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE

2 BOARD.—In the course of its investigation of an accident 

3 described in subsection (a), the Board shall, to the max4 imum extent practicable, ensure that the families of pas5 sengers involved in the accident— 

6 ‘‘(1) are briefed, prior to any public briefing, 

7 about the accident and any other findings from the 

8 investigation; and 

9 ‘‘(2) are individually informed of and allowed to 

10 attend any public hearings and meetings of the 

11 Board about the accident. 

12 ‘‘(f) USE OF RAIL PASSENGER CARRIER RE13 SOURCES.—To the extent practicable, the organization 

14 designated for an accident under subsection (a)(2) shall 

15 coordinate its activities with the rail passenger carrier in16 volved in the accident to facilitate the reasonable use of 

17 the resources of the carrier. 

18 ‘‘(g) PROHIBITED ACTIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) ACTIONS TO IMPEDE THE BOARD.—No 

20 person (including a State or political subdivision) 

21 may impede the ability of the Board (including the 

22 director of family support services designated for an 

23 accident under subsection (a)(1)), or an organization 

24 designated for an accident under subsection (a)(2), 

25 to carry out its responsibilities under this section or 


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1 the ability of the families of passengers involved in 

2 the accident to have contact with one another. 

3 ‘‘(2) UNSOLICITED COMMUNICATIONS.—No un4 solicited communication concerning a potential ac5 tion for personal injury or wrongful death may be 

6 made by an attorney (including any associate, agent, 

7 employee, or other representative of an attorney) or 

8 any potential party to the litigation to an individual 

9 (other than an employee of the rail passenger car10 rier) injured in the accident, or to a relative of an 

11 individual involved in the accident, before the 45th 

12 day following the date of the accident. 

13 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION ON ACTIONS TO PREVENT

14 MENTAL HEALTH AND COUNSELING SERVICES.—No 

15 State or political subdivision may prevent the em16 ployees, agents, or volunteers of an organization des17 ignated for an accident under subsection (a)(2) from 

18 providing mental health and counseling services 

19 under subsection (c)(1) in the 30-day period begin20 ning on the date of the accident. The director of 

21 family support services designated for the accident 

22 under subsection (a)(1) may extend such period for 

23 not to exceed an additional 30 days if the director 

24 determines that the extension is necessary to meet 


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1 the needs of the families and if State and local au2 thorities are notified of the determination. 

3 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

4 definitions apply: 

5 ‘‘(1) RAIL PASSENGER ACCIDENT.—The term 

6 ‘rail passenger accident’ means any rail passenger 

7 disaster occurring in the provision of— 

8 ‘‘(A) interstate intercity rail passenger 

9 transportation (as such term is defined in sec10 tion 24102); or 

11 ‘‘(B) interstate or intrastate high-speed 

12 rail (as such term is defined in section 26105) 

13 transportation, 

14 regardless of its cause or suspected cause. 

15 ‘‘(2) RAIL PASSENGER CARRIER.—The term 

16 ‘rail passenger carrier’ means a rail carrier pro17 viding— 

18 ‘‘(A) interstate intercity rail passenger 

19 transportation (as such term is defined in sec20 tion 24102); or 

21 ‘‘(B) interstate or intrastate high-speed 

22 rail (as such term is defined in section 26105) 

23 transportation, 

24 except that such term shall not include a tourist, 

25 historic, scenic, or excursion rail carrier. 


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1 ‘‘(3) PASSENGER.—The term ‘passenger’ in2 cludes— 

3 ‘‘(A) an employee of a rail passenger car4 rier aboard a train; 

5 ‘‘(B) any other person aboard the train 

6 without regard to whether the person paid for 

7 the transportation, occupied a seat, or held a 

8 reservation for the rail transportation; and 

9 ‘‘(C) any other person injured or killed in 

10 the accident. 

11 ‘‘(i) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 

12 Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the 

13 actions that a rail passenger carrier may take, or the obli14 gations that a rail passenger carrier may have, in pro15 viding assistance to the families of passengers involved in 

16 a rail passenger accident. 

17 ‘‘(j) RELINQUISHMENT OF INVESTIGATIVE PRI18 ORITY.— 

19 ‘‘(1) GENERAL RULE.—This section (other than 

20 subsection (g)) shall not apply to a railroad accident 

21 if the Board has relinquished investigative priority 

22 under section 1131(a)(2)(B) and the Federal agency 

23 to which the Board relinquished investigative pri24 ority is willing and able to provide assistance to the 


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1 victims and families of the passengers involved in 

2 the accident. 

3 ‘‘(2) BOARD ASSISTANCE.—If this section does 

4 not apply to a railroad accident because the Board 

5 has relinquished investigative priority with respect to 

6 the accident, the Board shall assist, to the maximum 

7 extent possible, the agency to which the Board has 

8 relinquished investigative priority in assisting fami9 lies with respect to the accident.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec11 tions for such chapter is amended by inserting after the 

12 item relating to section 1138 the following: 

‘‘1139. Assistance to families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents.’’. 

13 SEC. 703. RAIL PASSENGER CARRIER PLANS TO ADDRESS 

14 NEEDS OF FAMILIES OF PASSENGERS IN15 VOLVED IN RAIL PASSENGER ACCIDENTS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part C of subtitle V of title 49, 

17 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

18 following new chapter: 

19 ‘‘CHAPTER 251—FAMILY ASSISTANCE 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘25101. Plans to address needs of families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents. 


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1 ‘‘§ 25101. Plans to address needs of families of pas2 sengers involved in rail passenger acci3 dents 

4 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF PLANS.—Not later than 6 

5 months after the date of the enactment of this section, 

6 each rail passenger carrier shall submit to the Secretary 

7 of Transportation and the Chairman of the National 

8 Transportation Safety Board a plan for addressing the 

9 needs of the families of passengers involved in any rail 

10 passenger accident involving a train of the rail passenger 

11 carrier and resulting in a major loss of life. 

12 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—A plan to be submitted 

13 by a rail passenger carrier under subsection (a) shall in14 clude, at a minimum, the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) A plan for publicizing a reliable, toll-free 

16 telephone number, and for providing staff, to handle 

17 calls from the families of the passengers. 

18 ‘‘(2) A process for notifying the families of the 

19 passengers, before providing any public notice of the 

20 names of the passengers, either by utilizing the serv21 ices of the organization designated for the accident 

22 under section 1139(a)(2) of this title or the services 

23 of other suitably trained individuals. 

24 ‘‘(3) An assurance that the notice described in 

25 paragraph (2) will be provided to the family of a 

26 passenger as soon as the rail passenger carrier has 


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1 verified that the passenger was aboard the train 

2 (whether or not the names of all of the passengers 

3 have been verified) and, to the extent practicable, in 

4 person. 

5 ‘‘(4) An assurance that the rail passenger car6 rier will provide to the director of family support 

7 services designated for the accident under section 

8 1139(a)(1) of this title, and to the organization des9 ignated for the accident under section 1139(a)(2) of 

10 this title, immediately upon request, a list (which is 

11 based on the best available information at the time 

12 of the request) of the names of the passengers 

13 aboard the train (whether or not such names have 

14 been verified), and will periodically update the list. 

15 The plan shall include a procedure, with respect to 

16 unreserved trains and passengers not holding res17 ervations on other trains, for the rail passenger car18 rier to use reasonable efforts to ascertain the names 

19 of passengers aboard a train involved in an accident. 

20 ‘‘(5) An assurance that the family of each pas21 senger will be consulted about the disposition of all 

22 remains and personal effects of the passenger within 

23 the control of the rail passenger carrier. 

24 ‘‘(6) An assurance that if requested by the fam25 ily of a passenger, any possession of the passenger 


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1 within the control of the rail passenger carrier (re2 gardless of its condition) will be returned to the fam3 ily unless the possession is needed for the accident 

4 investigation or any criminal investigation. 

5 ‘‘(7) An assurance that any unclaimed posses6 sion of a passenger within the control of the rail 

7 passenger carrier will be retained by the rail pas8 senger carrier for at least 18 months. 

9 ‘‘(8) An assurance that the family of each pas10 senger or other person killed in the accident will be 

11 consulted about construction by the rail passenger 

12 carrier of any monument to the passengers, includ13 ing any inscription on the monument. 

14 ‘‘(9) An assurance that the treatment of the 

15 families of nonrevenue passengers will be the same 

16 as the treatment of the families of revenue pas17 sengers. 

18 ‘‘(10) An assurance that the rail passenger car19 rier will work with any organization designated 

20 under section 1139(a)(2) of this title on an ongoing 

21 basis to ensure that families of passengers receive an 

22 appropriate level of services and assistance following 

23 each accident. 

24 ‘‘(11) An assurance that the rail passenger car25 rier will provide reasonable compensation to any orVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:33 Oct 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00090 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2095.RFS H2095

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1 ganization designated under section 1139(a)(2) of 

2 this title for services provided by the organization. 

3 ‘‘(12) An assurance that the rail passenger car4 rier will assist the family of a passenger in traveling 

5 to the location of the accident and provide for the 

6 physical care of the family while the family is stay7 ing at such location. 

8 ‘‘(13) An assurance that the rail passenger car9 rier will commit sufficient resources to carry out the 

10 plan. 

11 ‘‘(14) An assurance that the rail passenger car12 rier will provide adequate training to the employees 

13 and agents of the carrier to meet the needs of sur14 vivors and family members following an accident. 

15 ‘‘(15) An assurance that, upon request of the 

16 family of a passenger, the rail passenger carrier will 

17 inform the family of whether the passenger’s name 

18 appeared on any preliminary passenger manifest for 

19 the train involved in the accident. 

20 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—A rail passenger 

21 carrier shall not be liable for damages in any action 

22 brought in a Federal or State court arising out of the per23 formance of the rail passenger carrier in preparing or pro24 viding a passenger list, or in providing information con25 cerning a train reservation, pursuant to a plan submitted 


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1 by the rail passenger carrier under subsection (b), unless 

2 such liability was caused by conduct of the rail passenger 

3 carrier which was grossly negligent or which constituted 

4 intentional misconduct. 

5 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

6 ‘‘(1) the terms ‘rail passenger accident’ and 

7 ‘rail passenger carrier’ have the meanings such 

8 terms have in section 1139 of this title; and 

9 ‘‘(2) the term ‘passenger’ means a person 

10 aboard a rail passenger carrier’s train that is in11 volved in a rail passenger accident. 

12 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 

13 Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the 

14 actions that a rail passenger carrier may take, or the obli15 gations that a rail passenger carrier may have, in pro16 viding assistance to the families of passengers involved in 

17 a rail passenger accident.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of chap19 ters for subtitle V of title 49, United States Code, is 

20 amended by adding after the item relating to chapter 249 

21 the following new item: 

‘‘251. FAMILY ASSISTANCE ................................................................ 25101’’. 

22 SEC. 704. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor24 tation, in cooperation with the National Transportation 

25 Safety Board, organizations potentially designated under 


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1 section 1139(a)(2) of title 49, United States Code, rail 

2 passenger carriers, and families which have been involved 

3 in rail accidents, shall establish a task force consisting of 

4 representatives of such entities and families, representa5 tives of passenger rail carrier employees, and representa6 tives of such other entities as the Secretary considers ap7 propriate. 

8 (b) MODEL PLAN AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The 

9 task force established pursuant to subsection (a) shall de10 velop— 

11 (1) a model plan to assist passenger rail car12 riers in responding to passenger rail accidents; 

13 (2) recommendations on methods to improve 

14 the timeliness of the notification provided by pas15 senger rail carriers to the families of passengers in16 volved in a passenger rail accident; 

17 (3) recommendations on methods to ensure that 

18 the families of passengers involved in a passenger 

19 rail accident who are not citizens of the United 

20 States receive appropriate assistance; and 

21 (4) recommendations on methods to ensure that 

22 emergency services personnel have as immediate and 

23 accurate a count of the number of passengers on24 board the train as possible. 


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1 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit 

3 to Congress a report containing the model plan and rec4 ommendations developed by the task force under sub5 section (b). 

Passed the House of Representatives October 17, 

2007. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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