I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2125 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to ensure competition in the rail 

industry, enable rail customers to obtain reliable rail service, and provide 

those customers with a reasonable process for challenging rate and service disputes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 3, 2007 

Mr. OBERSTAR (for himself, Mr. BAKER, Mr. BERRY, Mr. WALZ of Minnesota, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. KIND, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. 

BOUSTANY, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. SIMPSON, Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN, and 

Mr. POMEROY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to ensure competition 

in the rail industry, enable rail customers to obtain reliable rail service, and provide those customers with a 

reasonable process for challenging rate and service disputes. 

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; AMEND2 MENT OF TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE. 

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

4 ‘‘Railroad Competition and Service Improvement Act of 

5 2007’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; amendment of title 49, United States 

Code. 

TITLE I—ENSURING COMPETITION IN THE RAIL INDUSTRY 

Sec. 101. Clarification of rail transportation policy and directives for implementation. 

Sec. 102. Requirement for Railroads to Provide Rates for Transportation. 

Sec. 103. Elimination of barriers to competition between Class I, Class II, and 

Class III rail carriers. 

Sec. 104. Reciprocal switching. 

Sec. 105. Areas of inadequate rail competition. 

TITLE II—IMPROVING SERVICE TO RAIL CUSTOMERS 

Sec. 201. Rail service. 

Sec. 202. Railroad obligation to serve. 

Sec. 203. Rail customer advocate. 

TITLE III—PROVIDING ACCESS TO A REASONABLE RATE 

PROCESS 

Sec. 301. Rights of rail customers. 

Sec. 302. Improvement of rate reasonableness standard. 

Sec. 303. Filing fees on petitions for captive rate relief. 

Sec. 304. Arbitration of rail disputes. 

TITLE IV—AUTHORITY TO INVESTIGATE 

Sec. 401. Authority of Board to investigate and suspend certain railroad actions. 

8 (c) AMENDMENT OF TITLE 49, UNITED STATES

9 CODE.—Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever 

10 in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

11 of an amendment to, or a repeal of, a section or other 

12 provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to 


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1 a section or other provision of title 49, United States 

2 Code. 

3 TITLE I—ENSURING COMPETI4 TION IN THE RAIL INDUSTRY 

5 SEC. 101. CLARIFICATION OF RAIL TRANSPORTATION POL6 ICY AND DIRECTIVES FOR IMPLEMENTATION. 

7 Section 10101 is amended— 

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

9 ‘‘In regulating’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION DIRECTIVES.—In imple12 menting subtitle IV, the Board shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) ensure, to the maximum extent possible, 

14 effective competition among rail carriers at origins 

15 and destinations; 

16 ‘‘(2) ensure reasonable rates for rail customers 

17 in the absence of competition; and 

18 ‘‘(3) ensure consistent, efficient, and reliable 

19 rail transportation service for rail customers, includ20 ing the timely provision of rail cars requested by rail 

21 customers.’’. 

22 SEC. 102. REQUIREMENT FOR RAILROADS TO PROVIDE 

23 RATES FOR TRANSPORTATION. 

24 Section 11101(a) is amended— 

25 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’; 


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1 (2) by redesignating the second and third sen2 tences as paragraph (3) and indenting accordingly; 

3 and 

4 (3) by inserting a new paragraph (2) as follows: 

5 ‘‘(2) Upon the request of a shipper, a rail carrier 

6 shall establish a rate for transportation and provide serv7 ice requested by the shipper between any two points on 

8 the system of that carrier where traffic originates, termi9 nates, or may reasonably be interchanged. A carrier shall 

10 establish a rate and provide service upon such request 

11 without regard to— 

12 ‘‘(A) the location of the movement on the rail 

13 system, including terminal areas; 

14 ‘‘(B) whether the rate established is for part of 

15 a movement between a point of origin and a destina16 tion; 

17 ‘‘(C) whether the shipper has made arrange18 ments for transportation for any other part of that 

19 movement; or 

20 ‘‘(D) whether the shipper has a contract with 

21 any rail carrier for part or all of its transportation 

22 needs over the route of movement.’’. 


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1 SEC. 103. ELIMINATION OF BARRIERS TO COMPETITION BE2 TWEEN CLASS I, CLASS II, AND CLASS III RAIL 

3 CARRIERS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 10901 is amended by 

5 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(e)(1) The Board may not issue a certificate author7 izing an activity described in subsection (a), section 

8 10902, or section 11323, or exempt a person, class of per9 sons, or a transaction or service from the applicability of 

10 this section with respect to such an activity under section 

11 10502, if the activity involves a transfer of interest in a 

12 line of railroad, from a Class I rail carrier to a Class II 

13 rail carrier or Class III rail carrier and the activity directly 

14 or indirectly would— 

15 ‘‘(A) restrict or limit the ability of the Class II 

16 or Class III rail carrier to interchange traffic with 

17 other rail carriers; 

18 ‘‘(B) restrict or limit competition of rail car19 riers in the region affected by the activity in a man20 ner that would violate antitrust laws of the United 

21 States (notwithstanding any exemption from the ap22 plicability of antitrust laws that is provided under 

23 section 10706 or any other provision of law); or 

24 ‘‘(C) require higher per car interchange rates 

25 for Class II or Class III rail carriers to interchange 

26 traffic with other rail carriers. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Any party to an activity described in paragraph 

2 (1) that has been carried out, or any rail shipper affected 

3 by such an activity, may request that the Board review 

4 the activity to determine whether the activity has resulted 

5 in a restriction described in that paragraph. If, upon re6 view of the activity, the Board determines that the activity 

7 resulted in such a restriction, the Board shall declare the 

8 restriction to be unlawful and terminate the restriction un9 less the Board determines that the termination of the re10 striction would materially impair the ability of an affected 

11 rail carrier to provide service to the public or would other12 wise be inconsistent with the public interest. 

13 ‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘antitrust laws’ has 

14 the meaning given that term in subsection (a) of the first 

15 section of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12(a)), except that 

16 such term also means section 5 of the Federal Trade Com17 mission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) to the extent that section 5 

18 applies to unfair methods of competition.’’. 

19 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Paragraph (2) of section 

20 10901(e) (as added by subsection (a) of this section) shall 

21 apply with respect to any activity referred to in that para22 graph for which the Surface Transportation Board issued 

23 a certificate authorizing the activity under section 10502 

24 before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 104. RECIPROCAL SWITCHING. 

2 Section 11102(c) is amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘may require’’ in the first 

5 sentence and inserting ‘‘shall require’’; and 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘may establish’’ in the sec7 ond sentence and inserting ‘‘shall establish’’; 

8 and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(3) In making any finding under paragraph (1), the 

12 Board shall not require that there be evidence of anti13 competitive conduct by a rail carrier from which access 

14 is sought.’’. 

15 SEC. 105. AREAS OF INADEQUATE RAIL COMPETITION. 

16 (a) DESIGNATION AND REMEDIES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 105 is amended by 

18 adding at the end the following new section: 

19 ‘‘§ 10503. Areas of inadequate rail competition 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall designate any 

21 State or substantial part of a State as an area of inad22 equate rail competition after finding that— 

23 ‘‘(1) the State or substantial part of the State 

24 encompasses rail shipping origins and destinations 

25 that are served exclusively by one Class I railroad; 

26 and 


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1 ‘‘(2) persons that ship by rail or receive rail 

2 shipments in the State or substantial part of the 

3 State— 

4 ‘‘(A) pay rates for the rail shipments that 

5 exceed the rates necessary to yield recovery by 

6 the rail carrier of 180 percent of revenue-vari7 able costs, as determined under standards ap8 plied in the administration of section 10707(d); 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(B) have experienced competitive dis11 advantage in the marketplace or other economic 

12 adversity because of high cost or poor quality of 

13 rail service in the State or substantial part of 

14 the State. 

15 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIC COMMODITIES.—An area of inad16 equate rail competition may be composed of the facilities 

17 of a group of shippers or receivers of one or more specific 

18 commodities within a geographic area. 

19 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZED PETITIONERS.—A Governor of a 

20 State is authorized to petition the Board for a designation 

21 of a State or substantial part of a State as an area of 

22 inadequate rail competition. 

23 ‘‘(d) ACTIONS.—Upon designating a State or sub24 stantial part of a State as an area of inadequate rail com25 petition, the Board shall resolve, not later than 60 days 


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1 after the date of the designation, the conditions described 

2 in subsection (a) that justify the designation. In taking 

3 such action, the Board shall not require rates lower than 

4 those necessary to yield recovery of 180 percent of rev5 enue-variable costs. In addition to providing other rem6 edies authorized by law, the Board may order any of the 

7 following actions: 

8 ‘‘(1) Provision of reciprocal switching as pro9 vided for in section 11102(c) and terminal trackage 

10 rights beyond the limits specified in section 

11 11102(a). 

12 ‘‘(2) Haulage transportation of railroad cars by 

13 a rail carrier to or from facilities that such carrier 

14 physically serves on behalf of another rail carrier, 

15 for a fee prescribed by the Board. 

16 ‘‘(3) Regarding rates on any rail segments 

17 within or connected to the area of inadequate rail 

18 competition on which rail service is susceptible to 

19 delay or interruption due to traffic congestion, expe20 dited final offer arbitration under section 11708(e). 

21 ‘‘(4) Expedited review of whether a rate violates 

22 the prohibition against discriminatory rates con23 tained in section 10741, without regard to sub24 section (b)(2) of such section. 


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1 ‘‘(e) PROCEDURES.—In the case of a petition for an 

2 order for reciprocal switching or terminal trackage rights 

3 under subsection (d)(1), the Board may not require that 

4 there be evidence of anticompetitive conduct by a rail car5 rier as a prerequisite for ordering such action.’’. 

6 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec7 tions at the beginning of chapter 105 is amended by 

8 adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘10503. Areas of inadequate rail competition.’’. 

9 (b) STUDY ON AREAS OF INADEQUATE RAIL COM10 PETITION.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact11 ment of this Act, the Rail Customer Advocate of the De12 partment of Transportation shall— 

13 (1) review the effectiveness of the procedures 

14 under section 10503 for challenging and remedying 

15 conditions adversely affecting rail shippers of agri16 cultural and forestry commodities and products, in17 cluding commodities and products shipped by rail in 

18 annual volumes of 1500 rail cars or less, and the ap19 plicability of such procedures for ameliorating rail 

20 rate and service problems, in areas of inadequate 

21 rail competition; and 

22 (2) report the results of the study, together 

23 with any recommendations that the Rail Customer 

24 Advocate may have for improving the procedures, to 

25 Congress. 


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1 TITLE II—IMPROVING SERVICE 

2 TO RAIL CUSTOMERS 

3 SEC. 201. RAIL SERVICE. 

4 (a) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The Surface Transportation 

5 Board shall, within 7 days after receipt by the Board or 

6 any Member or staff of the Board of a complaint from 

7 a customer about rail service, post on the Board’s Internet 

8 Web site a description of the complaint, including informa9 tion identifying the railroad or railroads providing the 

10 service that is the subject of the complaint, the general 

11 geographic area of the customer’s movement, the date 

12 upon which the service problem occurred and the date no13 tice of the complaint was made to the Board or any Mem14 ber or staff of the Board. The Internet posting shall iden15 tify the rail customer only upon the written consent of the 

16 rail customer. Not later than 5 days after the date the 

17 complaint is resolved, the Board shall update the informa18 tion posted on the Board’s Internet Web site to indicate 

19 that the complaint has been resolved, the means of its res20 olution, and the date of its resolution. 

21 (b) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

22 March 15, 2008, and annually thereafter, the Surface 

23 Transportation Board shall transmit to Congress a report 

24 regarding the service complaints received by the Board, 

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1 endar year for each Class I railroad. The report shall in2 clude a description of each service complaint, including in3 formation identifying the railroad in question, the geo4 graphic area of the customer’s movements, the date upon 

5 which the service problem occurred, the date notice of the 

6 service complaint was made to the Board or any Member 

7 or staff of the Board, and the date of, and a detailed de8 scription of, the resolution of the complaint. The report 

9 shall be posted on the Board’s Internet Web site. 

10 (c) TIME LIMITS ON PETITIONS FOR INJUNCTIVE

11 RELIEF.—Section 721(b)(4) is amended by adding at the 

12 end the following: ‘‘Where a complaint is filed and injunc13 tive or similar relief is sought within 20 days after the 

14 publication of a new or revised rail rate, rule, or practice, 

15 based on an allegation of unlawfulness other than an alle16 gation that a rate level is not reasonable within the mean17 ing of section 10701(d), the Board shall determine, based 

18 on applicable law, not later than 90 days after receiving 

19 the request for injunctive or similar relief, whether or not 

20 to grant such relief. If the moving party establishes that 

21 the rule or practice involved in the complaint is unlawful 

22 per se, there shall be a strong presumption of irreparable 

23 harm regardless of the availability of monetary relief. The 

24 Board shall not deny injunctive or similar relief based in 

25 whole or in part on the absence of irreparable harm due 


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1 to the availability of adequate monetary relief unless mon2 etary damages have been awarded to the complaining 

3 party.’’. 

4 SEC. 202. RAILROAD OBLIGATION TO SERVE. 

5 Section 11101(a) is amended by inserting ‘‘The 

6 transportation provided shall be reliable and efficient.’’ 

7 after ‘‘on reasonable request.’’. 

8 SEC. 203. RAIL CUSTOMER ADVOCATE. 

9 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter II of chapter 7 is 

10 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

11 ‘‘§ 728. Office of Rail Customer Advocacy 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Rail Customer Ad13 vocacy shall be an office in the Department of Transpor14 tation. 

15 ‘‘(b) RAIL CUSTOMER ADVOCATE.—The head of the 

16 Office of Rail Customer Advocacy shall be the Rail Cus17 tomer Advocate, who shall be appointed in the competitive 

18 service by the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation 

19 with the Secretary of Agriculture. 

20 ‘‘(c) DUTIES AND POWERS OF RAIL CUSTOMER AD21 VOCATE.—The Rail Customer Advocate shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) accept rail customer complaints; 

23 ‘‘(2) participate as a party in proceedings of the 

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1 ing the regulation of rail transportation, and may 

2 initiate such an action; 

3 ‘‘(3) collect, compile, and maintain information 

4 regarding the cost and efficiency of rail transpor5 tation; and 

6 ‘‘(4) carry out other duties and powers pre7 scribed by the Board. 

8 ‘‘(d) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—To carry out the 

9 duties and powers under subsection (c), the Rail Customer 

10 Advocate shall have access to information, including data11 bases, of the Board.’’. 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec13 tions for chapter 7 is amended by inserting after the item 

14 relating to section 727 the following: 

‘‘728. Office of Rail Customer Advocacy.’’. 

15 TITLE III—PROVIDING ACCESS 

16 TO A REASONABLE RATE 

17 PROCESS 

18 SEC. 301. RIGHTS OF RAIL CUSTOMERS. 

19 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 107 of title 49, United 

20 States Code, is amended by inserting before section 10701 

21 the following new section: 

22 ‘‘§ 10700. Rights of rail customers 

23 ‘‘Rail customers that are subject to railroad market 

24 dominance shall have a right of access to a process main25 tained by the Board for determining if the rate in question 


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1 is reasonable. The Board shall ensure that the process is 

2 accessible by all affected rail customers and is cost effec3 tive.’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF SECTION AMENDMENT.—The table of 

5 section for chapter 107 of title 49, United States Code, 

6 is amended by inserting before the item relating to section 

7 10701 the following new item: 

‘‘10700. Rights of rail customers.’’. 

8 SEC. 302. IMPROVEMENT OF RATE REASONABLENESS 

9 STANDARD. 

10 Section 10701(d) is amended by adding the following 

11 new paragraphs: 

12 ‘‘(4)(A) Not later than one year after the date of en13 actment of this paragraph, the Board shall adopt a meth14 od for determining the reasonableness of rail rates based 

15 on the railroad’s actual costs, including a portion of fixed 

16 costs and an adequate return on debt and equity. The 

17 method adopted shall permit a final determination within 

18 9 months after filing a complaint, shall ensure that nec19 essary cost and operational information is available to the 

20 complainant, and shall not require excessive litigation 

21 costs. 

22 ‘‘(B) The Board shall not use any method for deter23 mining the reasonableness of rail rates based on the costs 

24 of a hypothetical competitor, except that, in any rate rea25 sonableness proceeding filed before the method required 


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1 under subparagraph (A) is adopted, the complaint, upon 

2 the election of the complainant, shall be decided based on 

3 applicable rate standards in effect on the date of the filing, 

4 including small rate guidelines. 

5 ‘‘(C) The Board shall adopt a method under this 

6 paragraph that applies the ‘phasing constraint’ in its ex7 isting rail rate method so that it can be practically admin8 istered without substantial litigation-related costs in any 

9 proceeding involving a challenge to a rail rate in which 

10 the Board determines that the phasing constraint applies. 

11 ‘‘(5) Upon receiving notification of a challenge made 

12 by a shipper to the reasonableness of any rate established 

13 by a rail carrier, the Board shall determine the reasonable14 ness of the rate without regard to— 

15 ‘‘(A) whether the rate is for part of a movement 

16 between a point of origin and a destination; 

17 ‘‘(B) whether the shipper has made arrange18 ments for transportation for any other part of that 

19 movement; or 

20 ‘‘(C) any other contract the shipper has with a 

21 rail carrier for any part of the rail traffic involved.’’. 

22 SEC. 303. FILING FEES ON PETITIONS FOR CAPTIVE RATE 

23 RELIEF. 

24 Section 721 is amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(f) LIMITATION ON FEES.—The Board may not 

2 charge a fee for the filing of a complaint, protest, or other 

3 request for relief in an amount greater than fees charged 

4 by district courts of the United States for a comparable 

5 filing.’’. 

6 SEC. 304. ARBITRATION OF RAIL DISPUTES. 

7 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 117 is amended by add8 ing the following section after section 11707: 

9 ‘‘§ 11708. Arbitration of rail disputes 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whenever a dispute described in 

11 subsection (b) arises between a rail shipper and a rail car12 rier under this part, the Board shall, upon written request 

13 of any party to the dispute, submit the dispute to final 

14 offer arbitration. 

15 ‘‘(b) COVERED DISPUTES.—(1) Except as provided 

16 in paragraph (2), subsection (a) shall apply to any dispute 

17 between a party and a rail carrier that— 

18 ‘‘(A) arises under section 10701(c), 10701(d), 

19 10702, 10704(a)(1), 10707, 10741, 10745, 10746, 

20 11101(a), 11102, 11121, 11122, or 11706; 

21 ‘‘(B) involves the transportation of any agricul22 tural product, including timber, paper, and fertilizer; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(C) involves— 

25 ‘‘(i) the payment of money; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a rate or charge imposed by the rail 

2 carrier; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) transportation or other service by the 

4 rail carrier. 

5 ‘‘(2) Subsection (a) shall not apply to a dispute if 

6 the resolution of the dispute would necessarily involve the 

7 promulgation of regulations generally applicable to all rail 

8 carriers. 

9 ‘‘(c) SELECTION OF ARBITRATORS.—The rail carrier 

10 or carriers that are parties to arbitration under this sec11 tion shall collectively name one arbitrator, and the rail 

12 shipper or shippers that are parties to the arbitration shall 

13 collectively name one arbitrator. The two arbitrators thus 

14 chosen shall select a third arbitrator from the roster of 

15 arbitrators established under subsection (d). If the arbi16 trators chosen by the parties fail to name the third arbi17 trator within 5 days after their first meeting, such third 

18 arbitrator shall be named by the Secretary of Transpor19 tation from the roster of arbitrators established under 

20 subsection (d). 

21 ‘‘(d) ROSTER OF ARBITRATORS.—The Secretary of 

22 Transportation shall establish, maintain, and revise as 

23 necessary a roster of arbitrators who— 

24 ‘‘(1) are experienced in transportation or eco25 nomic issues; 


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1 ‘‘(2) satisfy requirements for neutrality and 

2 other qualification requirements prescribed by the 

3 Secretary; 

4 ‘‘(3) consent to serve as arbitrators under this 

5 section; and 

6 ‘‘(4) are not officers or employees of the United 

7 States. 

8 ‘‘(e) RULES FOR ARBITRATION.—The arbitrators 

9 shall organize and select and make all necessary rules for 

10 conducting hearings. The arbitrators shall give the parties 

11 to the dispute a full and fair hearing, which shall include 

12 an opportunity to present evidence in support of their 

13 claims, and an opportunity to present their case in person, 

14 by counsel, or by other representative as they may elect. 

15 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITED METHODS OF DECISION.—Dis16 putes concerning rates and charges shall not be considered 

17 or decided under this section using any method based on 

18 stand-alone cost or the costs of a hypothetical competitor, 

19 or in reliance on precedent adopting or applying such 

20 methods. 

21 ‘‘(g) DECISION.—The decision of the arbitrators shall 

22 be the final offer of one of the parties to the dispute. 

23 ‘‘(h) REVENUE-VARIABLE COST PERCENTAGE.—The 

24 decision may not provide for a rate for transportation by 

25 a rail carrier that would result in a revenue-variable cost 


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1 percentage of such transportation that is less than 180 

2 percent, as determined under standards applied in the ad3 ministration of section 10707(d). 

4 ‘‘(i) CONSIDERATION OF OTHER RATES OR

5 CHARGES.—The arbitrators, in making an award on the 

6 dispute, shall consider the rates or charges that are im7 posed by rail carriers for the transportation of similar 

8 goods under similar circumstances in rail transportation 

9 markets where there is effective competition, as deter10 mined under standards applied by the Board in the admin11 istration of section 10707(a). 

12 ‘‘(j) DURATION OF RATES PRESCRIBED.—A rate pre13 scribed under this section may not remain in effect for 

14 longer than 5 years after the date on which the arbitra15 tors’ decision becomes final. 

16 ‘‘(k) COPIES OF AWARD.—The arbitrators shall fur17 nish a certified copy of its award to the parties to the 

18 dispute, and shall transmit the original, together with the 

19 paper and proceedings and a transcript of the evidence 

20 taken at the hearings, certified under the hands of at least 

21 a majority of the arbitrators, to the Board, to be filed in 

22 its office. Not later than 7 days after receiving an award 

23 under this subsection, the Board shall make the award 

24 and all supporting documents available to the public. 


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1 ‘‘(l) OATHS; SUBPOENAS.—All testimony before arbi2 trators under this section shall be given under oath or af3 firmation, and any arbitrator shall have the power to ad4 minister oaths or affirmations. The arbitrators shall have 

5 the power to require the attendance of witnesses and the 

6 production of such books, papers, contracts, agreements, 

7 and documents as may be necessary to a just determina8 tion of the matters submitted to arbitration, and may re9 quest the district court of the United States for the dis10 trict where the arbitration is being conducted to issue the 

11 necessary subpoenas. Any witness appearing before arbi12 trators under this section shall receive the same fees and 

13 mileage reimbursement as witnesses in courts of the 

14 United States, to be paid by the party securing the sub15 poena, or in the case of a subpoena secured by the arbitra16 tors, to be paid by the Board. 

17 ‘‘(m) TIME FOR ISSUANCE OF ARBITRATION DECI18 SION.—The arbitration panel shall issue a final decision 

19 on a dispute under this section not later than 180 days 

20 after the date on which the panel of arbitrators is com21 pleted to resolve the dispute. 

22 ‘‘(n) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after 

23 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of 

24 Transportation shall issue final regulations establishing 

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1 bitration, in accordance with the requirements of this sec2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(o) APPLICABILITY OF TITLE 9.—The following 

4 provisions of title 9, United States Code, shall apply to 

5 an arbitration decision issued in a dispute under this sec6 tion: 

7 ‘‘(1) Section 9 (relating to confirmation of an 

8 award in an arbitration decision), which shall be ap9 plied as if the parties had entered into an agreement 

10 under title 9 to submit the dispute to the arbitration 

11 and had provided in that agreement for a judgement 

12 of an unspecified court to be entered on the award 

13 made pursuant to the arbitration. 

14 ‘‘(2) Sections 10 and 11 (relating to judicial va15 cation, modification, or correction of an award in an 

16 arbitration decision).’’. 

17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

18 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

19 after the item relating to section 11707 the following: 

‘‘11708. Arbitration of rail disputes.’’. 

20 TITLE IV—AUTHORITY TO 

21 INVESTIGATE 

22 SEC. 401. AUTHORITY OF BOARD TO INVESTIGATE AND SUS23 PEND CERTAIN RAILROAD ACTIONS. 

24 Section 11701(a) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(a)(1) The Board may begin an investigation under 

2 this part on its own initiative. If the Board finds that a 

3 rail carrier is violating this part, the Board shall take ap4 propriate action to compel compliance with this part. 

5 ‘‘(2) When the Board receives a complaint alleging 

6 that a rail carrier may be violating this part, the Board 

7 shall initiate an investigation. When the alleged violation 

8 applies to more than one person and the Board has sub9 stantial reason to believe that the allegations in the com10 plaint are likely to have merit and, if the allegations prove 

11 to have merit, it will be difficult to make complete restitu12 tion for the damage, the Board shall suspend the rail car13 rier activity in question, and shall not revoke that suspen14 sion unless the rail carrier justifies the practice to the sat15 isfaction of the Board.’’. 

Æ 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS