II 

Calendar No. 284 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 576 

To enhance safety requirements for trains transporting hazardous materials, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 1, 2023 

Mr. BROWN (for himself, Mr. VANCE, Mr. CASEY, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. 

FETTERMAN, Mr. HAWLEY, Ms. SMITH, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BRAUN, 

Mr. ROMNEY, Mr. MARSHALL, and Ms. BALDWIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

DECEMBER 13, 2023 

Reported by Ms. CANTWELL, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To enhance safety requirements for trains transporting 

hazardous materials, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Railway Safety Act of 2023’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Defined term. 

Sec. 3. Safety requirements for trains transporting hazardous materials. 

Sec. 4. Rail car inspections. 

Sec. 5. Defect detectors. 

Sec. 6. Safe Freight Act of 2023. 

Sec. 7. Increasing maximum civil penalties for violations of rail safety regulations. 

Sec. 8. Safer tank cars. 

Sec. 9. Hazardous materials training for first responders. 

Sec. 10. Rail safety infrastructure research and development grants. 

Sec. 11. Appropriations for tank car research and development. 

3 SEC. 2. DEFINED TERM. 

4 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec5 retary of Transportation. 

6 SEC. 3. SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR TRAINS TRANS7 PORTING HAZARDOUS MATERIALS. 

8 (a) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 

10 regulations, or modify existing regulations, establishing 

11 safety requirements, in accordance with subsection (b), 

12 with which a shipper or rail carrier operating a train 

13 transporting hazardous materials that is not subject to the 

14 requirements for a high-hazard flammable train under sec15 tion 174.310 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, 

16 shall comply with respect to the operation of each such 

17 train and the maintenance of specification tank cars. 

18 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations issued pursu19 ant to subsection (a) shall require shippers and rail car20 riers— 


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1 (1) to provide advance notification and informa2 tion regarding the transportation of hazardous mate3 rials described in subsection (a) to each State emer4 gency response commissioner, the tribal emergency 

5 response commission, or any other State or tribal 

6 agency responsible for receiving the information no7 tification for emergency response planning informa8 tion; 

9 (2) to include, in the notification provided pur10 suant to paragraph (1), a written gas discharge plan 

11 with respect to the applicable hazardous materials 

12 being transported; and 

13 (3) to reduce or eliminate blocked crossings re14 sulting from delays in train movements. 

15 (c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the 

16 regulations required under subsection (a), the Secretary 

17 shall include requirements regarding— 

18 (1) train length and weight; 

19 (2) train consist; 

20 (3) route analysis and selection; 

21 (4) speed restrictions; 

22 (5) track standards; 

23 (6) track, bridge, and rail car maintenance; 

24 (7) signaling and train control; 

25 (8) response plans; and 


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1 (9) any other requirements that the Secretary 

2 determines are necessary. 

3 (d) HIGH-HAZARD FLAMMABLE TRAINS.—The Sec4 retary may modify the safety requirements for trains sub5 ject to section 174.310 of title 49, Code of Federal Regu6 lations, to satisfy, in whole or in part, the rulemaking re7 quired under subsection (a). 

8 SEC. 4. RAIL CAR INSPECTIONS. 

9 (a) RULEMAKING.— 

10 (1) INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS.—Not later 

11 than 1 year after date of the enactment of this Act, 

12 the Secretary shall review and update, as necessary, 

13 applicable regulations under chapters I and II of 

14 subtitle B of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations— 

15 (A) to create minimum time requirements 

16 that a qualified mechanical inspector must 

17 spend when inspecting a rail car or locomotive; 

18 and 

19 (B) to ensure that all rail cars and loco20 motives in train consists that carry hazardous 

21 materials are inspected by a qualified mechan22 ical inspector at intervals determined by the 

23 Secretary. 

24 (2) ABBREVIATED PRE-DEPARTURE INSPEC25 TION.—The Secretary shall immediately amend secVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576

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1 tion 215.13(c) of title 49, Code of Federal Regula2 tions (permitting an abbreviated pre-departure in3 spection procedure) with respect to rail cars in train 

4 consists carrying hazardous materials. 

5 (b) AUDITS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

8 shall initiate audits of Federal rail car inspection 

9 programs, subject to the requirements under part 

10 215 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, 

11 which— 

12 (A) consider whether such programs are in 

13 compliance with such part 215; 

14 (B) assess the type and content of training 

15 and performance metrics that such programs 

16 provide rail car inspectors; 

17 (C) determine whether such programs pro18 vide inspectors with adequate time to inspect 

19 rail cars; 

20 (D) determine whether such programs re21 flect the current operating practices of the rail22 road carrier; and 

23 (E) ensure that inspection programs are 

24 not overly reliant on train crews. 


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1 (2) AUDIT SCHEDULING.—The Secretary 

2 shall— 

3 (A) schedule the audits required under 

4 paragraph (1) to ensure that— 

5 (i) each Class I railroad is audited not 

6 less frequently than once every 5 years; 

7 and 

8 (ii) a select number, as determined by 

9 the Secretary, of Class II and Class III 

10 railroads are audited annually; and 

11 (B) conduct the audits described in sub12 paragraph (A)(ii) in accordance with— 

13 (i) the Small Business Regulatory En14 forcement Fairness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 

15 601 note); and 

16 (ii) appendix C of part 209 of title 49, 

17 Code of Federal Regulations. 

18 (3) UPDATES TO INSPECTION PROGRAM.—If, 

19 during an audit required under this subsection, the 

20 auditor identifies a deficiency in a railroad’s inspec21 tion program, the railroad shall update the program 

22 to eliminate such deficiency. 

23 (4) CONSULTATION AND COOPERATION.— 

24 (A) CONSULTATION.—In conducting any 

25 audit required under this subsection, the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576

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1 retary shall consult with the railroad being au2 dited and its employees, including any nonprofit 

3 employee labor organization representing the 

4 mechanical employees of the railroad. 

5 (B) COOPERATION.—The railroad being 

6 audited and its employees, including any non7 profit employee labor organization representing 

8 mechanical employees, shall fully cooperate with 

9 any audit conducted pursuant to this sub10 section— 

11 (i) by providing any relevant docu12 ments requested; and 

13 (ii) by making available any employees 

14 for interview without undue delay or ob15 struction. 

16 (C) FAILURE TO COOPERATE.—If the Sec17 retary determines that a railroad or any of its 

18 employees, including any nonprofit employee 

19 labor organization representing mechanical em20 ployees of the railroad is not fully cooperating 

21 with an audit conducted pursuant to this sub22 section, the Secretary shall electronically notify 

23 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

24 Transportation of the Senate and the Com25 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 


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1 the House of Representatives of such non2 cooperation. 

3 (c) REVIEW OF REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall 

4 triennially determine whether any update to part 215 of 

5 title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, is necessary to en6 sure the safety of rail cars transported by rail carriers. 

7 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall publish 

8 an annual report on the public website of the Federal Rail9 road Administration that— 

10 (1) summarizes the findings of the prior year’s 

11 audits; 

12 (2) summarizes any updates made pursuant to 

13 this section; and 

14 (3) excludes any confidential business informa15 tion or sensitive security information. 

16 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec17 tion may be construed— 

18 (1) to limit the deployment of pilot programs 

19 for the installation, test, verification, and review of 

20 automated rail and train inspection technologies; or 

21 (2) to direct the Secretary to waive any existing 

22 inspection requirements under chapter I or II of 

23 subtitle B of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, 

24 as part of pilot programs. 


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1 SEC. 5. DEFECT DETECTORS. 

2 (a) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 

4 regulations establishing requirements for the installation, 

5 repair, testing, maintenance, and operation of wayside de6 fect detectors for each rail carrier operating a train consist 

7 carrying hazardous materials. 

8 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations issued pursu9 ant to subsection (a) shall include requirements regard10 ing— 

11 (1) the frequency of the placement of wayside 

12 defect detectors, including a requirement that all 

13 Class I railroads install a hotbox detector along 

14 every 10-mile segment of rail track over which trains 

15 carrying hazardous materials operate; 

16 (2) performance standards for such detectors; 

17 (3) the maintenance and repair requirements 

18 for such detectors; 

19 (4) reporting data and maintenance records of 

20 such detectors; 

21 (5) appropriate steps the rail carrier must take 

22 when receiving an alert of a defect or failure from 

23 or regarding a wayside defect detector; and 

24 (6) the use of hotbox detectors to prevent 

25 derailments from wheel bearing failures, including— 


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1 (A) the temperatures, to be specified by 

2 the Secretary, at which an alert from a hotbox 

3 detector is triggered to warn of a potential 

4 wheel bearing failure; and 

5 (B) any actions that shall be taken by a 

6 rail carrier upon receiving an alert from a hot7 box detector of a potential wheel bearing fail8 ure. 

9 (c) DEFECT AND FAILURE IDENTIFICATION.—The 

10 Secretary shall specify the categories of defects and fail11 ures that wayside defect detectors covered by regulations 

12 issued pursuant to subsection (a) shall address, includ13 ing— 

14 (1) axles; 

15 (2) wheel bearings; 

16 (3) brakes; 

17 (4) signals; 

18 (5) wheel impacts; and 

19 (6) other defects or failures specified by the 

20 Secretary. 

21 SEC. 6. SAFE FREIGHT ACT OF 2023. 

22 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 

23 ‘‘Safe Freight Act of 2023’’. 


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1 (b) FREIGHT TRAIN CREW SIZE.—Subchapter II of 

2 chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

3 by inserting after section 20153 the following: 

4 ‘‘§ 20154. Freight train crew size safety standards 

5 ‘‘(a) MINIMUM CREW SIZE.—No freight train may be 

6 operated without a 2-person crew consisting of at least 1 

7 appropriately qualified and certified conductor and 1 ap8 propriately qualified and certified locomotive engineer. 

9 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—Except as provided in subsection 

10 (c), the requirement under subsection (a) shall not apply 

11 with respect to— 

12 ‘‘(1) train operations on track that is not a 

13 main line track; 

14 ‘‘(2) a freight train operated— 

15 ‘‘(A) by a railroad carrier that has fewer 

16 than 400,000 total employee work hours annu17 ally and less than $40,000,000 annual revenue 

18 (adjusted for inflation, as calculated by the Sur19 face Transportation Board Railroad Inflation20 Adjusted Index and Deflator Factor Table); 

21 ‘‘(B) at a speed of not more than 25 miles 

22 per hour; and 

23 ‘‘(C) on a track with an average track 

24 grade of less than 2 percent for any segment of 

25 track that is at least 2 continuous miles; 


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1 ‘‘(3) locomotives performing assistance to a 

2 train that has incurred mechanical failure or lacks 

3 the power to traverse difficult terrain, including 

4 traveling to or from the location where assistance is 

5 provided; 

6 ‘‘(4) locomotives that— 

7 ‘‘(A) are not attached to any equipment or 

8 are attached only to a caboose; and 

9 ‘‘(B) do not travel further than 30 miles 

10 from the point of origin of such locomotive; and 

11 ‘‘(5) train operations staffed with fewer than a 

12 2-person crew at least 1 year before the date of en13 actment of this section, if the Secretary determines 

14 that such operations achieve an equivalent level of 

15 safety as would result from compliance with the re16 quirement under subsection (a). 

17 ‘‘(c) TRAINS INELIGIBLE FOR EXCEPTION.—The ex18 ceptions under subsection (b) may not be applied to— 

19 ‘‘(1) a train transporting 1 or more loaded cars 

20 carrying material toxic by inhalation (as defined in 

21 section 171.8 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula22 tions); 

23 ‘‘(2) a train transporting— 


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1 ‘‘(A) 20 or more loaded tank cars of a 

2 Class 2 material or a Class 3 flammable liquid 

3 in a continuous block; or 

4 ‘‘(B) 35 or more loaded tank cars of a 

5 Class 2 material or a Class 3 flammable liquid 

6 throughout the train consist; or 

7 ‘‘(3) a train with a total length of at least 

8 7,500 feet. 

9 ‘‘(d) WAIVER.—A railroad carrier may seek a waiver 

10 of the requirements under this section in accordance with 

11 section 20103(d).’’. 

12 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for sub13 chapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, 

14 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

15 20153 the following: 

‘‘20154. Freight train crew size.’’. 

16 SEC. 7. INCREASING MAXIMUM CIVIL PENALTIES FOR VIO17 LATIONS OF RAIL SAFETY REGULATIONS. 

18 (a) CIVIL PENALTIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTING

19 HAZARDOUS MATERIALS.—Section 5123(a) of title 49, 

20 United States Code, is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 

22 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘$75,000’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘the greater of 0.5 percent of the person’s an24 nual income or annual operating income or 

25 $750,000’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘$175,000’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘the greater of 1 percent of the per3 son’s annual income or annual operating income or 

4 $1,750,000’’. 

5 (b) GENERAL VIOLATIONS OF CHAPTER 201.—Sec6 tion 21301(a)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘$25,000.’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

9 greater of 0.5 percent of the person’s annual income 

10 or annual operating income or $250,000’’; and 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘$100,000.’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

12 greater of 1 percent of the person’s annual income 

13 or annual operating income or $1,000,000’’. 

14 (c) ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT VIOLATIONS OF CHAP15 TER 201; VIOLATIONS OF CHAPTERS 203 THROUGH

16 209.—Section 21302(a) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘203–209’’ 

18 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘203 through 

19 209’’; and 

20 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘the greater of 0.5 percent of the person’s an23 nual income or annual operating income or 

24 $250,000’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘the greater of 1 percent of the person’s annual 

3 income or annual operating income or 

4 $1,000,000’’. 

5 (d) VIOLATIONS OF CHAPTER 211.—Section 

6 21303(a)(2) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘$25,000.’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

8 greater of 0.5 percent of the person’s annual income 

9 or annual operating income or $250,000’’; and 

10 (2) by striking ‘‘$100,000.’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

11 greater of 1 percent of the person’s annual income 

12 or annual operating income or $1,000,000’’. 

13 SEC. 8. SAFER TANK CARS. 

14 (a) PHASE-OUT SCHEDULE.—Beginning on May 1, 

15 2025, a rail carrier may not use DOT–111 specification 

16 railroad tank cars that do not comply with DOT–117, 

17 DOT–117P, or DOT–117R specification requirements, as 

18 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act, to transport 

19 Class 3 flammable liquids regardless of the composition 

20 of the train consist. 

21 (b) CONFORMING REGULATORY AMENDMENTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary— 

23 (A) shall immediately remove or revise the 

24 date-specific deadlines in any applicable regula25 tions or orders to the extent necessary to conVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576

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1 form with the requirement under subsection (a); 

2 and 

3 (B) may not enforce any date-specific 

4 deadlines or requirements that are inconsistent 

5 with the requirement under subsection (a). 

6 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Except as re7 quired under paragraph (1), nothing in this section 

8 may be construed to require the Secretary to issue 

9 regulations to implement this section. 

10 SEC. 9. HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TRAINING FOR FIRST RE11 SPONDERS. 

12 (a) ANNUAL REGISTRATION FEE.—Section 5108(g) 

13 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

14 the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL FEE FOR CLASS I RAIL CAR16 RIERS.—In addition to the fees collected pursuant to 

17 paragraphs (1) and (2), the Secretary shall establish 

18 and annually impose and collect from each Class I 

19 rail carrier a fee in an amount equal to 

20 $1,000,000.’’. 

21 (b) ASSISTANCE FOR LOCAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE

22 TRAINING.—Section 5116(j)(1)(A) of title 49, United 

23 States Code, is amended— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘liquids’’ and inserting ‘‘mate25 rials’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (3), by amending subpara2 graph (A) to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the 

4 grant program established pursuant to para5 graph (1),the Secretary may expend, during 

6 each fiscal year— 

7 ‘‘(i) the amounts collected pursuant to 

8 section 5108(g)(4); and 

9 ‘‘(ii) any amounts recovered during 

10 such fiscal year from grants awarded 

11 under this section during a prior fiscal 

12 year.’’. 

13 (c) SUPPLEMENTAL TRAINING GRANTS.—Section 

14 5128(b)(4) of title 49, United States Code is amended by 

15 striking ‘‘$2,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$4,000,000’’. 

16 SEC. 10. RAIL SAFETY INFRASTRUCTURE RESEARCH AND 

17 DEVELOPMENT GRANTS. 

18 (a) RESEARCH REQUIREMENT.—The Administrator 

19 of the Federal Railroad Administration shall award 

20 grants, in accordance with section 22907 of title 49, 

21 United States Code, and the restrictions and limitations 

22 on eligibility for Class I railroads under such section, for 

23 research and development of wayside defect detectors to 

24 better prevent the derailment of trains transporting haz25 ardous materials. 


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1 (b) FUNDING.— 

2 (1) APPROPRIATION.—There is appropriated to 

3 the Federal Railroad Administration, out of any 

4 funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

5 $22,000,000, which shall be used for the grants au6 thorized under subsection (a) for the improvement 

7 and research of wayside defect defectors and the 

8 prevention of derailments of trains containing haz9 ardous materials. 

10 (2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDING.—Amounts ap11 propriated under this subsection shall remain avail12 able until expended 

13 SEC. 11. APPROPRIATIONS FOR TANK CAR RESEARCH AND 

14 DEVELOPMENT. 

15 There is appropriated to the Pipeline and Hazardous 

16 Materials Safety Administration, out of any funds in the 

17 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $5,000,000, which 

18 shall be used for expenses related to the development of— 

19 (1) stronger, safer tank cars and valves for 

20 tank cars; and 

21 (2) other tank car safety features. 

22 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

24 ‘‘Railway Safety Act of 2023’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—RAIL SAFETY 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Safety requirements for high-hazard trains. 

Sec. 103. Ensuring the safety of long trains. 

Sec. 104. Blocked highway-rail grade crossings. 

Sec. 105. Inspections. 

Sec. 106. Emergency brake signals. 

Sec. 107. Defect detection systems. 

Sec. 108. Safe Freight Act of 2023. 

Sec. 109. Increased penalties for violations of rail safety regulations. 

Sec. 110. Safer tank cars. 

Sec. 111. Rail safety infrastructure research and development grants. 

Sec. 112. Authorization of appropriations for tank car research and development. 

Sec. 113. Federal Railroad Administration safety culture. 

Sec. 114. GAO report on roadway worker protections. 

Sec. 115. Federal Railroad Administration safety workforce management. 

Sec. 116. Office of Personnel Management review of safety inspector and specialist classifications. 

Sec. 117. Alcohol and drug testing. 

TITLE II—HAZARDOUS MATERIALS EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND 

PREPAREDNESS 

Sec. 201. Hazardous materials registration fees. 

Sec. 202. Virtual training options. 

Sec. 203. Hazardous materials transportation emergency response and preparedness grants. 

Sec. 204. Emergency response assistance. 

3 TITLE I—RAIL SAFETY 

4 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this title: 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided, 

7 terms used in this title have the definitions given such 

8 terms in section 20155 of title 49, United States Code, 

9 as amended by section 102(a). 

10 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

11 the Secretary of Transportation. 


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1 SEC. 102. SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR HIGH-HAZARD 

2 TRAINS. 

3 (a) TANK CAR SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

4 20155 of title 49, United States Code, is amended to read 

5 as follows: 

6 ‘‘§ 20155. High-hazard trains 

7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) EXPLOSIVES.—The term ‘explosives’ means 

9 Class 1 explosives categorized in Division 1.1, 1.2, or 

10 1.3 (as such terms are defined in section 173.50 of 

11 title 49, Code of Federal Regulations). 

12 ‘‘(2) FLAMMABLE GAS.—The term ‘flammable 

13 gas’ has the meaning given such term in section 

14 173.115(a) of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. 

15 ‘‘(3) FLAMMABLE LIQUID.—The term ‘flammable 

16 liquid’ has the meaning given such term in section 

17 173.120(a) of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. 

18 ‘‘(4) HAZARDOUS MATERIAL.—The term ‘haz19 ardous material’ means a substance or material des20 ignated by the Secretary of Transportation as haz21 ardous pursuant to section 5103 of title 49, United 

22 States Code. 

23 ‘‘(5) HIGH-HAZARD TRAIN.—The term ‘high-haz24 ard train’ means a single train transporting, 

25 throughout the train consist— 


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1 ‘‘(A) 20 or more tank cars loaded with a 

2 flammable liquid; 

3 ‘‘(B) 1 tank car or intermodal portable tank 

4 load with a material toxic or poisonous by inha5 lation; 

6 ‘‘(C) 1 or more cars loaded with high-level 

7 radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel; 

8 ‘‘(D) 10 or more cars loaded with explo9 sives; 

10 ‘‘(E) 5 or more tank cars loaded with a 

11 flammable gas; or 

12 ‘‘(F) 20 or more cars loaded with any com13 bination of flammable liquids, flammable gases, 

14 or explosives. 

15 ‘‘(6) HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE; SPENT

16 NUCLEAR FUEL.—The terms ‘high-level radioactive 

17 waste’ and ‘spent nuclear fuel’ have the meanings 

18 given to a ‘type B package’ or a ‘fissile material 

19 package’, respectively, in section 173.403 of title 49, 

20 Code of Federal Regulations. 

21 ‘‘(7) MATERIAL TOXIC OR POISONOUS BY INHA22 LATION.—The term ‘material toxic or poisonous by 

23 inhalation’ has the meaning given the term ‘Material 

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1 tion’ in section 171.8 of title 49, Code of Federal Reg2 ulations. 

3 ‘‘(b) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after the 

4 date of the enactment of the Railway Safety Act of 2023, 

5 the Secretary, in consultation with appropriate Federal 

6 agencies, shall issue regulations that— 

7 ‘‘(1) rescind the requirements set forth in para8 graphs (4) and (5) of section 174.310(a) of title 49, 

9 Code of Federal Regulations, with respect to tank cars 

10 carrying hazardous materials other than Class 3 

11 flammable liquids; 

12 ‘‘(2) revise the requirements set forth in section 

13 174.310(a)(2) of title 49, Code of Federal Regula14 tions— 

15 ‘‘(A) to limit all trains to a maximum 

16 speed of 50 miles per hour; and 

17 ‘‘(B) to limit high-hazard trains carrying 

18 20 or more cars loaded with flammable liquids 

19 to a maximum speed of 40 miles per hour while 

20 that train travels within the limits of high-threat 

21 urban areas (HTUAs) (as defined in 1508.3 of 

22 title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, unless all 

23 tank cars containing a Class 3 flammable liquid 

24 meet or exceed the DOT specification 117 stand25 ards, the DOT specification 117P performance 


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1 standards, or the DOT specification 117R ret2 rofit standards set forth in subpart D of part 

3 179 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, in4 cluding DOT–105A, DOT–105H, DOT–105J, 

5 DOT–105S, DOT–112H, DOT–112J, DOT– 

6 112S, and DOT–120S tank cars; 

7 ‘‘(3) require rail carriers operating high-hazard 

8 trains to comply with the requirements applicable to 

9 high-hazard flammable trains under section 174.310 

10 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations; 

11 ‘‘(4) require any Class I railroad transporting 

12 hazardous materials— 

13 ‘‘(A) to generate accurate, real-time, and 

14 electronic train consist information, including— 

15 ‘‘(i) the identity, quantity, and loca16 tion of hazardous materials on a train; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the point of origin and destina18 tion of the train; 

19 ‘‘(iii) any emergency response informa20 tion or resources required by the Secretary; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(iv) an emergency response point of 

23 contact designated by the Class I railroad; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(B) to enter into a memorandum of under2 standing with each applicable fusion center to 

3 provide the fusion center with secure and con4 fidential access to the electronic train consist in5 formation described in subparagraph (A) for 

6 each train transporting hazardous materials in 

7 the jurisdiction of the fusion center; 

8 ‘‘(5) require each Class I railroad to provide 

9 commodity flow reports of the hazardous materials 

10 transported by a high-hazard train to each State 

11 emergency response commission, Tribal emergency re12 sponse commission, or other responsible State or Trib13 al agency, consistent with the notification content re14 quirements under section 174.312 of title 49, Code of 

15 Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation), in16 cluding— 

17 ‘‘(A) a reasonable estimate of the number of 

18 high-hazard trains that are expected to travel, 

19 per week, through each county within the appli20 cable jurisdiction; 

21 ‘‘(B) updates to such estimate when making 

22 a change in volume of 25 percent or more; 

23 ‘‘(C) a description of the hazardous mate24 rials being transported on such trains; 


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1 ‘‘(D) applicable emergency response infor2 mation, as required by regulation; 

3 ‘‘(E) identification of the routes over which 

4 the hazardous materials on such trains will be 

5 transported; and 

6 ‘‘(F) a point of contact at the Class I rail7 road who— 

8 ‘‘(i) has knowledge of the railroads’ 

9 transportation of hazardous materials; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) is responsible for serving as the 

11 point of contact for the State emergency re12 sponse commission, Tribal emergency re13 sponse commission, or other State or Tribal 

14 agency responsible for receiving such infor15 mation; 

16 ‘‘(6) require each applicable State emergency re17 sponse commission to provide to a political subdivi18 sion of a State, or the public agency responsible for 

19 emergency response or law enforcement, upon request 

20 of the political subdivision or public agency, the in21 formation the commission receives from a Class I 

22 railroad pursuant to paragraph (3), including, for 

23 any such political subdivision or public agency re24 sponsible for emergency response or law enforcement 

25 that makes an initial request for such information, 


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1 any updates received by the State emergency response 

2 commission; 

3 ‘‘(7) prohibit any Class I railroad, employee, or 

4 agent from withholding, or causing to be withheld, the 

5 train consist information from first responders, emer6 gency response officials, Federal and State agencies, 

7 and law enforcement personnel described in para8 graph (2)(B) who are responding to an incident, acci9 dent, or public health or safety emergency involving 

10 the rail transportation of hazardous materials; and 

11 ‘‘(8) establish security and confidentiality pro12 tections, in coordination with the Secretary of Home13 land Security, including protections from the public 

14 release of proprietary information or security sen15 sitive information (as defined in section 15.5 of title 

16 49, Code of Federal Regulations), to prevent the re17 lease to unauthorized persons any electronic train 

18 consist information or advanced notification or infor19 mation provided by Class I railroads under this sec20 tion. 

21 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec22 tion may be construed to prohibit a Class I railroad from 

23 voluntarily entering into a memorandum of understanding 

24 with a State emergency response commission or an entity 


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1 representing or including first responders, emergency re2 sponse officials, and law enforcement personnel. 

3 ‘‘(d) SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS.—Not later than 1 year 

4 after the date of the enactment of the Railway Safety Act 

5 of 2023, the Secretary shall evaluate and update, to the ex6 tent necessary for safety and in compliance with Executive 

7 Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601 note; relating to regulatory 

8 planning and review), the operational requirements for 

9 high-hazard trains to ensure the safe transportation of haz10 ardous materials by rail, including— 

11 ‘‘(1) preventing the placement of blocks of empty 

12 railcars in locations within the consist of the train 

13 that increase the chance or severity of a derailment; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(2) requirements for an adequate number of 

16 buffer cars between a locomotive or railcar and tank 

17 cars transporting hazardous materials. 

18 ‘‘(e) HAZARDOUS MATERIALS EMERGENCY RESPONSE

19 PLANS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) PLAN CONTENTS.—The Secretary shall pro21 mulgate regulations, in compliance with Executive 

22 Order 12866, requiring all Class I railroads that op23 erate high-hazard trains to submit to the Secretary 

24 hazardous materials emergency response plans that 


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1 are consistent with the format of the National Re2 sponse Team ‘One Plan’. Such plans shall include— 

3 ‘‘(A) consideration of potential hazardous 

4 materials release for the hazardous materials 

5 identified under subsection (a)(7) that the rail6 road is transporting; 

7 ‘‘(B) identification of the railroad’s haz8 ardous materials response teams that can quickly 

9 respond to a release or potential release within 

10 a reasonable amount of time; 

11 ‘‘(C) identification of the equipment and re12 sources available to the hazardous materials re13 sponse teams; 

14 ‘‘(D) organizational charts for the haz15 ardous materials response teams; and 

16 ‘‘(E) plans to facilitate hazardous materials 

17 release liability claims. 

18 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—Railroads shall coordinate 

19 with relevant States and Tribes when creating the 

20 plans required under paragraph (1). 

21 ‘‘(3) TRIENNIAL REVIEW.—Not later than 1 year 

22 after a Class I railroad submits a hazardous mate23 rials emergency response plan pursuant to paragraph 

24 (1), and on a triennial basis thereafter, the Secretary 

25 shall review such plan. If the Secretary identifies defiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576

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1 ciencies during such review, the Secretary shall de2 scribe the nature of any deficiencies and allow for 

3 correction. 

4 ‘‘(4) VERIFICATION.—The Secretary shall peri5 odically audit a railroad’s hazardous materials emer6 gency response plan.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis in chapter 

8 201 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

9 after the item relating to section 20154 the following: 

‘‘20155. High-hazard trains.’’. 

10 SEC. 103. ENSURING THE SAFETY OF LONG TRAINS. 

11 (a) REVIEWING AND UPDATING SAFETY REGULA12 TIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the date on which the 

13 Secretary submits to Congress the report required under sec14 tion 22422(d) of the Passenger Rail Expansion and Rail 

15 Safety Act of 2021 (title II of division B of Public Law 

16 117–58), the Secretary shall independently evaluate any 

17 safety concerns identified in the Comptroller General’s re18 port titled ‘‘Freight Trains Are Getting Longer, and Addi19 tional Information Is Needed to Assess Their Impact’’ 

20 (GAO-19-443) and in the report required under section 

21 22422(d) of the Passenger Rail Expansion and Rail Safety 

22 Act of 2021, by reviewing and subsequently updating, if 

23 necessary for safety and in compliance with Executive 

24 Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601 note; relating to regulatory 

25 planning and review), existing safety regulations to ensure 


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1 the safe transportation of goods and passengers by rail, in2 cluding consideration of the impact that train length and 

3 weight have on the safe transportation of high-hazard 

4 trains. 

5 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 

6 on which the Secretary submits the report required under 

7 subsection (a), if the Secretary has not addressed any rec8 ommendation contained within such report, the Secretary 

9 shall submit a report to the Committee on Commerce, 

10 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com11 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

12 of Representatives that justifies such inaction. 

13 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall revise the 

15 existing railroad accident or incident reporting forms 

16 to require railroads to report the weight trailing ton17 nages of any train involved in a reportable accident 

18 or incident. 

19 (2) PUBLICATION.—The Federal Railroad Ad20 ministration shall publish on its Rail Safety Data 

21 website a summary of all reportable incidents and ac22 cidents, categorized by train length and weight. 


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1 SEC. 104. BLOCKED HIGHWAY-RAIL GRADE CROSSINGS. 

2 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary shall seek to enter into an 

3 agreement with the National Academy of Sciences under 

4 which the National Academy shall— 

5 (1) conduct a study of 20 most frequently blocked 

6 highway-rail grade crossings in not fewer than 10 dif7 ferent States, as determined by the Secretary based 

8 on— 

9 (A) Federal Railroad Administration data; 

10 (B) the work experience of the Office of 

11 Railroad Safety’s Grade Crossing and Trespasser 

12 Outreach Division; 

13 (C) data from the blocked highway-rail 

14 grade crossing portal; and 

15 (D) geographic diversity; and 

16 (2) provide recommendations to the Secretary for 

17 solutions in preventing or reducing occurrences or re18 peated occurrences where highway-rail grade crossings 

19 are blocked for extended periods. 

20 (b) MEMBERS.—In establishing the membership to 

21 conduct the study described in subsection (a)(1), the Na22 tional Academy of Sciences shall appoint not fewer than 

23 3 of its members who— 

24 (1) are engineering or rail experts; 

25 (2) are not railroad carriers, or entities funded 

26 by railroad carriers; 


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1 (3) have relevant experience in railroad safety 

2 technology or railroad operating experience; and 

3 (4) have no financial ties to the rail industry. 

4 (c) ELEMENTS.—The study conducted pursuant to sub5 section (a)(1) shall— 

6 (1) examine any potential impacts to railroad 

7 and community safety due to blocked highway-rail 

8 grade crossings; 

9 (2) identify potential financial impacts incurred 

10 by the railroad or its customers due to blocked cross11 ings; 

12 (3) identify potential freight network efficiency 

13 impacts due to solutions that will reduce or eliminate 

14 the impacts of blocked crossings; 

15 (4) examine community impacts that result from 

16 blocked crossings; 

17 (5) examine causes for blocked crossings; 

18 (6) examine the potential impacts on railroad 

19 operations of the recommendations made in the report 

20 submitted pursuant to subsection (c), including reli21 ability of service to customers; and 

22 (7) identify practical solutions to prevent blocked 

23 crossings. 

24 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

25 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a 


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1 report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans2 portation of the Senate and the Committee on Transpor3 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

4 that contains the results of the study conducted by the Na5 tional Academy of Sciences pursuant to this section. 

6 (e) FUNDING.—From the amounts appropriated for 

7 fiscal year 2024 to carry out section 20108 of title 49, 

8 United States Code, the Secretary shall expend such sums 

9 as may be necessary, but not more than $2,000,000, to carry 

10 out the study required under this section. 

11 (f) RAILROAD CROSSING ELIMINATION PROGRAM.— 

12 Section 22909 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (f)(2)(C)— 

14 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’ after the 

15 semicolon; 

16 (B) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘or’’ after 

17 the semicolon at the end; and 

18 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(iii) a bus route to a school or within 

20 1 mile of a school;’’; and 

21 (2) in subsection (g)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘Except’’ and inserting the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except’’; and 

25 (B) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN BUS ROUTES.—The Federal share 

2 of the cost of a project given additional consideration 

3 under subsection (f)(2)(C)(iii) may not exceed 85 per4 cent.’’. 

5 (g) RAILROAD POINT OF CONTACT FOR BLOCKED

6 CROSSINGS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, each railroad 

9 carrier shall establish and maintain a toll-free tele10 phone service for rights-of-way over which the rail11 road carrier dispatches trains to directly receive calls 

12 reporting blocked highway-rail grade crossings. 

13 (2) USE OF EXISTING NUMBER.—A railroad car14 rier may comply with the requirement under sub15 section (a) by using the telephone number that is 

16 being used to comply with section 20152(a)(1) of title 

17 49, United States Code. 

18 (3) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.—Each railroad car19 rier subject to this subsection shall notify the Sec20 retary of the telephone number referred to in para21 graph (1) or (2), who shall post such number on a 

22 publicly-available website of the Department of 

23 Transportation. 

24 (4) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the re25 quirement that the telephone service be toll-free for 


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1 Class II and Class III rail carriers if the Secretary 

2 determines that toll-free service would be cost prohibi3 tive or unnecessary. 

4 SEC. 105. INSPECTIONS. 

5 (a) TIME AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 201 

7 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 

8 at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘§ 20172. Time available for inspection 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No railroad may limit the time 

11 required for an employee to complete a railcar, locomotive, 

12 or brake inspection to ensure that each railcar, locomotive, 

13 and brake system complies with safety laws and regula14 tions. 

15 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT.—Employees shall perform their 

16 inspection duties promptly and shall not delay other than 

17 for reasons related to safety.’’. 

18 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

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

20 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘20172. Time available for inspection.’’. 

21 (b) PRE-DEPARTURE RAILCAR INSPECTIONS.—Not 

22 later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this 

23 Act, the Secretary shall amend the pre-departure inspection 

24 requirements for Class I railroads under part 215 of title 


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1 49, Code of Federal Regulations (as written on such date 

2 of enactment)— 

3 (1) to ensure that after initial consultation with 

4 the Federal Railroad Administration, and after each 

5 subsequent annual consultation, each railroad identi6 fies inspection locations and, at such locations, has 

7 inspectors designated under part 215 available for the 

8 purpose of inspecting freight cars; 

9 (2) to ensure that all freight cars are inspected 

10 by an inspector designated under part 215 at a des11 ignated inspection location in the direction of travel 

12 as soon as practicable; and 

13 (3) to require each railroad that operates rail14 road freight cars to which such part 215 applies to 

15 designate persons qualified to inspect railroad freight 

16 rail cars, subject to any existing collective bargaining 

17 agreement, for compliance and determinations re18 quired under such part. 

19 (c) PERIODIC RAILCAR INSPECTIONS.— 

20 (1) FREIGHT CAR PERIODIC INSPECTIONS.—Not 

21 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

22 this Act, the Secretary shall issue regulations amend23 ing part 215 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations 

24 to create minimum requirements for the periodic in25 spection of freight cars. 


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1 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations issued 

2 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall— 

3 (A) consider the periodic inspection require4 ments applicable to locomotives under part 229 

5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, and to 

6 passenger cars under part 238 of such title; 

7 (B) establish inspection intervals and cri8 teria, taking into account differences in the utili9 zation and service to which freight cars are put 

10 and other factors as appropriate, including own11 ership of the cars, provided that— 

12 (i) initial inspections shall be per13 formed within a reasonable period, as deter14 mined by the Secretary, which period shall 

15 not be shorter than 6 years after the 

16 issuance of regulations pursuant to para17 graph (1); 

18 (ii) after the initial inspections re19 quired under clause (i), periodic inspections 

20 shall be required not more frequently than 

21 once every 5 years; and 

22 (iii) if a freight car is not at a suitable 

23 location for safely performing a periodic in24 spection on the date such inspection is re25 quired under this subsection, or if the 


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1 freight car is not on a Class I railroad, the 

2 freight car may be moved to the next for3 ward location suitable for safely performing 

4 the inspection on a Class I railroad; 

5 (C) provide that periodic inspections may 

6 be performed in conjunction with any other in7 spections or tests required under chapter I or II 

8 of subtitle B of title 49, Code of Federal Regula9 tions; 

10 (D) ensure that periodic inspections are 

11 performed only where adequate facilities are 

12 available for safely inspecting all components of 

13 freight cars; and 

14 (E) require that Class I railroads use in15 spectors designated under section 215 of title 49, 

16 Code of Federal Regulations, to perform periodic 

17 inspections pursuant to this subsection and that 

18 their primary responsibility is the inspection, 

19 testing, maintenance, or repair of freight cars or 

20 their components. 

21 (d) QUALIFIED LOCOMOTIVE INSPECTIONS.—Not later 

22 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

23 Secretary shall review and amend, as necessary, regulations 

24 under chapters 229 and 243 of title 49, Code of Federal 

25 Regulations— 


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1 (1) to ensure appropriate training qualifications 

2 and proficiency of employees, including qualified me3 chanical inspectors, performing locomotive inspec4 tions; and 

5 (2) for locomotives in service on a Class I rail6 road, to require an additional daily inspection to be 

7 performed by a qualified mechanical inspector be8 tween the current intervals under section 229.23(b)(2) 

9 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. 

10 (e) AUDITS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

13 shall initiate audits of Federal railcar, locomotive, 

14 and train brake system inspection compliance with 

15 chapter II of subtitle B of title 49, Code of Federal 

16 Regulations, which— 

17 (A) consider whether the railroad has in 

18 place procedures necessary for railcar, loco19 motive, and train brake system inspection com20 pliance under such chapter; 

21 (B) assess the type, content, and adequacy 

22 of training and performance metrics the railroad 

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1 cluding the qualifications specified for such em2 ployees; 

3 (C) determine whether the railroad has 

4 practices that would interfere with an employee’s 

5 responsibility to perform an inspection safely ; 

6 (D) determine whether railcars, locomotives, 

7 and train brake systems are inspected on the 

8 railroad’s network in accordance with such chap9 ter; 

10 (E) involve proper communication of iden11 tified defects to railroad personnel and make ap12 propriate use of remedial action reports to verify 

13 that repairs are made; 

14 (F) determine whether managers coerce em15 ployees to sign off on any documents verifying 

16 an inspection or repair of a railcar, locomotive, 

17 or train brake system; 

18 (G) determine whether the railroad’s inspec19 tion procedures reflect the current operating 

20 practices of the railroad carrier; and 

21 (H) ensure that railroad inspection proce22 dures only provide for the use of persons per23 mitted to perform each relevant inspection under 

24 such chapter. 

25 (2) AUDIT SCHEDULING.—The Secretary shall— 


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1 (A) schedule the audits required under 

2 paragraph (1) to ensure that— 

3 (i) every Class I railroad is audited 

4 not less frequently than once every 5 years; 

5 and 

6 (ii) a limited number, as determined 

7 by the Secretary, of Class II and Class III 

8 railroads are audited annually, provided 

9 that— 

10 (I) no audit of a tourist, scenic, 

11 historic, or excursion operation may be 

12 required under this subsection; and 

13 (II) no other Class II or III rail14 road may be audited more frequently 

15 than once every 5 years; and 

16 (B) conduct the audits described in sub17 paragraph (A)(ii) in accordance with— 

18 (i) the Small Business Regulatory En19 forcement Fairness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 

20 601 note); and 

21 (ii) appendix C of part 209 of title 49, 

22 Code of Federal Regulations. 

23 (3) UPDATES TO INSPECTION PROGRAM AND

24 PROCEDURES.—If, during an audit required under 

25 this subsection, the auditor identifies a deficiency in 


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1 a railroad’s procedures or practices necessary to en2 sure compliance with chapter II of subtitle B of title 

3 49, Code of Federal Regulations, the railroad shall 

4 eliminate such deficiency, after first being provided 

5 the opportunity to address whether such a deficiency 

6 exists. 

7 (4) CONSULTATION AND COOPERATION.— 

8 (A) CONSULTATION.—In conducting any 

9 audit required under this subsection, the Sec10 retary shall consult with the railroad being au11 dited and its employees, including any nonprofit 

12 employee labor organization representing the em13 ployees of the railroad that conduct railcar, loco14 motive, or train brake system inspections. 

15 (B) COOPERATION.—The railroad being au16 dited and its employees, including any nonprofit 

17 employee labor organization representing me18 chanical employees, shall fully cooperate with 

19 any audit conducted pursuant to this sub20 section— 

21 (i) by providing any relevant docu22 ments requested; and 

23 (ii) by making available any employ24 ees for interview without undue delay or ob25 struction. 


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1 (C) FAILURE TO COOPERATE.—If the Sec2 retary determines that a railroad or any of its 

3 employees, including any nonprofit employee 

4 labor organization representing mechanical em5 ployees of the railroad is not fully cooperating 

6 with an audit conducted pursuant to this sub7 section, the Secretary shall electronically notify 

8 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

9 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee 

10 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

11 House of Representatives of such noncooperation. 

12 (f) REVIEW OF REGULATIONS.—Not later than 5 years 

13 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and periodically 

14 thereafter, the Secretary shall determine whether any up15 date to chapters I and II of subtitle B of title 49, Code 

16 of Federal Regulations, is necessary to ensure the adequacy 

17 of railcar, locomotive, and train brake system inspections. 

18 (g) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall publish an 

19 annual report on the public website of the Federal Railroad 

20 Administration that— 

21 (1) summarizes the findings of the audits con22 ducted pursuant to subsection (d) during the most re23 cently concluded fiscal year; 


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1 (2) summarizes any updates made to chapter I 

2 or II of subtitle B of title 49, Code of Federal Regula3 tions, pursuant to this section; and 

4 (3) excludes any confidential business informa5 tion or sensitive security information. 

6 (h) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section 

7 may be construed— 

8 (1) to provide the Secretary with any authority 

9 to interpret, revise, alter, or apply a collectively bar10 gained agreement, nor any authority over collective 

11 bargaining, collectively bargained agreements, or any 

12 aspect of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et 

13 seq.); 

14 (2) to alter the terms or interpretations of exist15 ing collective bargaining agreements; or 

16 (3) to abridge any procedural rights or remedies 

17 provided under a collectively bargained agreement. 

18 SEC. 106. EMERGENCY BRAKE SIGNALS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

21 Federal Railroad Administration shall convene a meeting 

22 of the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee for the purpose 

23 of considering a regulatory safety task on the functioning 

24 of emergency brake signals. 


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1 (b) PURPOSE.—The Railroad Safety Advisory Com2 mittee shall consider— 

3 (1) the sufficiency of the regulations under part 

4 232 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, with re5 gard to end-of-train and head-of-train device commu6 nications; 

7 (2) whether National Transportation Safety 

8 Board Safety Recommendations R-20-028 and R-20- 

9 029 have been adequately addressed; 

10 (3) whether more frequent communication checks 

11 between a head-of-train device and an end-of-train 

12 device would improve rail safety; and 

13 (4) whether repetition of the emergency brake 

14 signal transmission until it is received by the end-of15 train device would improve rail safety. 

16 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS AND WORK PLAN.—Not later 

17 than 90 days after the meeting is convened pursuant to sub18 section (a), a working group of the Railroad Safety Advi19 sory Committee should— 

20 (1) develop initial recommendations with respect 

21 to the matters considered under subsection (b); and 

22 (2) complete a work plan for implementing such 

23 recommendations. 


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1 SEC. 107. DEFECT DETECTION SYSTEMS. 

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

3 title 49, United States Code, as amended by section 

4 105(a)(1), is further amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘§ 20173. Defect detection systems 

7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) COVERED RAIL CARRIER.—The term ‘cov9 ered rail carrier’ has the meaning given the term 

10 ‘Class I carrier’ in section 10102. 

11 ‘‘(2) DEFECT DETECTION SYSTEM.—The term 

12 ‘defect detection system’ means the use of defect detec13 tors, the analysis of the data defect detectors produce, 

14 and any other aspects a system that help railroads 

15 identifying and understand the severity of known 

16 safety conditions. 

17 ‘‘(3) DEFECT DETECTOR.—The term ‘defect de18 tector’ means any device or equipment situated with19 in the rail system that can detect and communicate 

20 a potential or known safety condition. 

21 ‘‘(4) HIGH-HAZARD TRAIN.—The term ‘high-haz22 ard train’ has the meaning given such term in section 

23 20155(a)(6). 

24 ‘‘(5) MAIN LINE.—The term ‘main line’ means— 

25 ‘‘(A) a segment or route of railroad tracks— 


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1 ‘‘(i) over which 5,000,000 or more 

2 gross tons of railroad traffic is transported 

3 annually; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) that has a maximum authorized 

5 speed for freight trains in excess of 25 miles 

6 per hour; and 

7 ‘‘(B) intercity rail passenger transportation 

8 or commuter rail passenger transportation routes 

9 or segments over which high-hazard trains oper10 ate. 

11 ‘‘(6) PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.—The term 

12 ‘physical characteristics’ means the physical terrain 

13 and operating considerations related to the physical 

14 terrain for the relevant main line. 

15 ‘‘(b) DEFECT DETECTOR ANALYSIS PROGRAM.—The 

16 Secretary shall develop a program for the research, develop17 ment, testing, and evaluation of defect detector systems to 

18 inform and support the rulemaking required under sub19 section (d) and the evaluation of plans under subsection (c), 

20 which shall include— 

21 ‘‘(1) an evaluation of existing manufacturer rec22 ommended practices, industry-developed voluntary 

23 consensus technical standards, and railroad safety 

24 data to inform appropriate standards for commer25 cially available defect detector systems and ensure the 


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1 integrity and reliability of their use on the general 

2 railroad system, including standards relating to— 

3 ‘‘(A) maintenance; 

4 ‘‘(B) testing; 

5 ‘‘(C) inspection; and 

6 ‘‘(D) installation; 

7 ‘‘(2) an assessment of existing alert thresholds 

8 and trending algorithms to determine appropriate 

9 metrics and levels to ensure that defect detector sys10 tems identify unsafe equipment or operations in time 

11 to take appropriate safety actions; 

12 ‘‘(3) an evaluation of existing processes and pro13 cedures for decision making and communication of 

14 appropriate safety actions necessary to address unsafe 

15 equipment or operations, including— 

16 ‘‘(A) stoppage of rail equipment; 

17 ‘‘(B) setting out rail equipment; 

18 ‘‘(C) train speed reduction; 

19 ‘‘(D) diverting a train; and 

20 ‘‘(E) inspection requirements; 

21 ‘‘(4) research to understand the capabilities and 

22 limitations of existing technologies in use or developed 

23 to better assess the plans required under the final rule 

24 issued pursuant to subsection (c); and 


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1 ‘‘(5) research to understand new or developing 

2 technologies. 

3 ‘‘(c) PLAN ELEMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) RISK-BASED.—Each defect detection system 

5 plan required under the final rule issued pursuant to 

6 subsection (d) shall be risk-based. 

7 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each plan referred to in para8 graph (1) shall include— 

9 ‘‘(A) a summary of the railroad’s proposed 

10 defect detector network, including— 

11 ‘‘(i) how the network will reduce the 

12 risk of incidents near population centers 

13 and on high-hazard train routes; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) a description of how the network 

15 will be implemented by the deadline set 

16 forth in subsection (d)(1)(B); and 

17 ‘‘(B) a description of how the railroad’s de18 fect detection system meets or exceeds the defect 

19 detection performance standards described in 

20 subsection (d)(1)(D); 

21 ‘‘(C) except as provided in paragraph (3), 

22 a risk-based approach for identifying overheated 

23 wheel bearings that require the placement of the 

24 types and spacing of defect detectors— 


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1 ‘‘(i) for main lines traveling within an 

2 urbanized area with a population of at least 

3 75,000, at a distance that provides for any 

4 train operating along the railroad’s route to 

5 undergo detection not less than 10 miles be6 fore entering such an area; 

7 ‘‘(ii) for main lines not equipped with 

8 acoustic bearing detectors or other similar 

9 technology, at a distance averaging 15 route 

10 miles to the extent possible based on the 

11 physical characteristics of the route; and 

12 ‘‘(iii) for main lines equipped with 

13 acoustic bearing detectors or other similar 

14 technology, at a distance averaging 20 route 

15 miles to the extent possible based on the 

16 physical characteristics of the route along 

17 which such detectors are being installed; 

18 ‘‘(D) the types and spacing of other wayside 

19 defect detectors required to be placed, to the ex20 tent such detectors are utilized; 

21 ‘‘(E) the manufacturer’s expected perform22 ance for each type of defect detector and how the 

23 carrier will assess compliance with such per24 formance; 


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1 ‘‘(F) procedures for promptly providing 

2 pertinent safety alerts to train employees, in3 cluding locomotive engineers and conductors, 

4 train dispatchers, and relevant maintenance em5 ployees; 

6 ‘‘(G) the ability to share relevant safety 

7 data from the defect detector network with other 

8 railroad carriers and with rail car owners; 

9 ‘‘(H) policies and procedures for training 

10 employees regarding relevant elements of the de11 fect detector system, including— 

12 ‘‘(i) persons whose duties include in13 stalling, maintaining, repairing, modifying, 

14 inspecting, reviewing data, and testing safe15 ty-critical elements of the railroad’s defect 

16 detector, including central office, wayside, 

17 or onboard subsystems; 

18 ‘‘(ii) persons who receive and review 

19 defect detector alerts; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) persons who operate trains or 

21 serve as a train or engine crew member; 

22 ‘‘(I) policies for maintaining records re23 garding the required elements of the rail defect 

24 detector network for not less than 5 years, which 

25 shall not include data on individual alerts; and 


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1 ‘‘(J) designs for the collection and analysis, 

2 including applicable alerts, thresholds, and cor3 responding safety actions. 

4 ‘‘(3) ALTERNATIVE HOT BEARING DETECTION

5 PLAN.— 

6 ‘‘(A) SUBMISSION.—A rail carrier may 

7 comply with an alternative hot bearing detection 

8 plan instead of the requirements described in 

9 paragraph (2)(C) if— 

10 ‘‘(i) the rail carrier submits such plan 

11 to the Secretary and the Secretary approves 

12 the plan; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the plan provides an equivalent 

14 or higher level of safety as the requirements 

15 described in paragraph (2)(B). 

16 ‘‘(B) TRIENNIAL REVIEWS.—Not less fre17 quently than triennially, the Secretary shall re18 view each alternative plan approved pursuant to 

19 subparagraph (A) to determine its continuing ef20 fectiveness at detecting bearing-related defects. 

21 ‘‘(d) RULEMAKING.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

23 the date of the enactment of the Railway Safety Act 

24 of 2023, the Secretary shall initiate a rulemaking, 

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1 ment, the Secretary shall issue a final rule, in com2 pliance with Executive Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601 

3 note; relating to regulatory planning and review), 

4 that— 

5 ‘‘(A) requires covered rail carriers to sub6 mit, not later than 1 year after the issuance of 

7 such final rule, defect detector network plans that 

8 include the elements described in subsection 

9 (c)(2); 

10 ‘‘(B) requires the covered rail carrier to im11 plement the plan required under paragraph (1) 

12 not later than 3 years after the issuance of such 

13 final rule; 

14 ‘‘(C) creates procedures to review, approve, 

15 monitor compliance of such plans; 

16 ‘‘(D) establishes performance standards 

17 measured by the ability of a defect detection sys18 tem to identify defects before a condition that is 

19 likely to result in an accident or incident, in20 cluding how such ability will be measured and 

21 reported for data related to requirements; 

22 ‘‘(E) requires the reporting of data regard23 ing the defect defector network effectiveness, in24 cluding defect detector failures; 


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1 ‘‘(F) creates requirements for covered rail 

2 carriers to test, inspect, and maintain any defect 

3 detector based on the evaluation completed pur4 suant to subsection (b)(1); and 

5 ‘‘(G) establish appropriate thresholds for 

6 alerts and corresponding safety actions, to the 

7 extent necessary. 

8 ‘‘(2) UPDATED STANDARDS.—The performance 

9 standards established pursuant to paragraph (1)(D) 

10 shall be updated not less frequently than once every 

11 5 years. 

12 ‘‘(e) UPDATES AND APPROVALS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) UPDATES.—Each entity subject to the man14 date in subsection (a) shall update the plans required 

15 under subsection (d)(1)— 

16 ‘‘(A) to reflect material changes to its rail17 car defect detector network; or 

18 ‘‘(B) to address changes made to the per19 formance standards pursuant to subsection 

20 (d)(2). 

21 ‘‘(2) APPROVALS.—To ensure safety, the Sec22 retary shall promptly review each plan submitted 

23 pursuant to subsection (d)(1), including the suffi24 ciency of the performance standards required under 

25 subsection (c)(1)(D), and approve or reject each plan 


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1 and update that is required to be submitted under 

2 this section. 

3 ‘‘(3) REVIEWS FOR COMPLIANCE.—Not less fre4 quently than biannually, the Secretary shall conduct 

5 reviews to ensure that railroad carriers are complying 

6 with the plans required under paragraph (1). 

7 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 60 

8 days after receipt, the Secretary shall make available 

9 to the public on the website of the Department of 

10 Transportation any plan or update submitted pursu11 ant to this section, but the Secretary shall redact— 

12 ‘‘(A) proprietary information, as verified by 

13 the Secretary; and 

14 ‘‘(B) security-sensitive information, includ15 ing information described in section 1520.5(a) of 

16 title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or suc17 cessor regulation), as verified by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(f) ENFORCEMENT .—The Secretary may assess a 

19 civil penalty under chapter 213 of this title for any viola20 tion pursuant to the rulemaking under subsection (a) for— 

21 ‘‘(1) each accident or incident on a route where 

22 the railroad is noncompliant with the plan approved 

23 under subsection (e)(2); and 


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1 ‘‘(2) failing to take any corresponding safety ac2 tion to an alert as set forth in the approved plan pur3 suant to subsection (c)(2)(J). 

4 ‘‘(g) PRESERVATION OF AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this 

5 section may be construed to restrict the authority of the Sec6 retary.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for sub8 chapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, 

9 as amended by section 105(a)(2), is further amended by 

10 adding at the end the following: 

‘‘20173. Defect detection systems.’’. 

11 (c) TEMPORARY DEFECT DETECTION ASSISTANCE.— 

12 (1) FORMULA GRANT PROGRAM.—The Adminis13 trator of the Federal Railroad Administration shall 

14 establish a formula grant program to assist commuter 

15 railroads with installing defect detection technology. 

16 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—A commuter railroad 

17 that has a contract with a Class I railroad, as of May 

18 1, 2023, that requires the commuter railroad to in19 stall defect detection technology that complies with the 

20 approved plan submitted pursuant to section 20173 of 

21 title 49, United States Code, is eligible to receive a 

22 grant under this subsection. 

23 (3) FORMULA.—Grant funding under this sub24 section shall be allocated based on the number of deVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576

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1 fect detectors required to be installed to comply with 

2 section 20173 of title 49, United States Code. 

3 (4) REQUIREMENTS.—Any eligible entity that 

4 receive grant funding under this subsection shall com5 ply with the grant conditions set forth in such section 

6 22909(j). 

7 (5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Federal 

9 Railroad Administration such amounts as may be 

10 necessary to carry out the formula grant program 

11 under this subsection. 

12 SEC. 108. SAFE FREIGHT ACT OF 2023. 

13 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 

14 ‘‘Safe Freight Act of 2023’’. 

15 (b) FREIGHT TRAIN CREW SIZE.—Subchapter II of 

16 chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

17 inserting after section 20153 the following: 

18 ‘‘§ 20154. Freight train crew size safety standards 

19 ‘‘(a) MINIMUM CREW SIZE.—Except as provided in 

20 subsections (b) and (c), a freight train operated by a Class 

21 I railroad may not be operated without a 2-person crew 

22 consisting of at least 1 appropriately qualified and certified 

23 conductor and 1 appropriately qualified and certified loco24 motive engineer. 

25 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), the requirement under subsection (a) shall 

3 not apply with respect to— 

4 ‘‘(A) train operations on track that is not 

5 a main line track (as defined in section 

6 20173(a)(2); 

7 ‘‘(B) locomotives performing assistance to a 

8 train that has incurred mechanical failure or 

9 lacks the power to traverse difficult terrain, in10 cluding traveling to or from the location where 

11 assistance is provided; 

12 ‘‘(C) locomotives that— 

13 ‘‘(i) are not attached to any equipment 

14 or are attached only to a caboose; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) do not travel father than 50 miles 

16 from the point of origin of such locomotive; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(D) train operations staffed with fewer 

19 than a 2-person crew at least 1 year before the 

20 date of the enactment of the Safe Freight Act of 

21 2023 unless the Secretary determines that such 

22 operations do not achieve an equivalent level of 

23 safety as would result from compliance with the 

24 requirement under subsection (a). 


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1 ‘‘(2) TRAINS INELIGIBLE FOR EXCEPTION.—The 

2 exceptions under paragraph (2) may not be applied 

3 to— 

4 ‘‘(A) a high-hazard train (as defined in sec5 tion 20155(a)); or 

6 ‘‘(B) a train consist with a total length of 

7 at least 7,500 feet. 

8 ‘‘(c) WAIVER.—A railroad carrier may seek a waiver 

9 of the requirements under subsection (a) in accordance with 

10 section 20103(d). 

11 ‘‘(d) PRESERVATION OF AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this 

12 section may be construed to restrict the authority of the Sec13 retary.’’. 

14 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for sub15 chapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, 

16 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

17 20153 the following: 

‘‘20154. Freight train crew size safety standards.’’. 

18 SEC. 109. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF RAIL 

19 SAFETY REGULATIONS. 

20 (a) RAILROAD SAFETY VIOLATIONS.—Section 

21 21301(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

22 (1) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and in23 serting the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) A person may not fail to comply with a require25 ment of, a regulation prescribed under, or an order issued 


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1 by, the Secretary under chapters 201 through 211. Subject 

2 to section 21304, a person violating a requirement of, a reg3 ulation prescribed under, or an order issued by, the Sec4 retary under chapters 201 through 211 is liable to the 

5 United States Government for a civil penalty. An act by 

6 an individual that causes a railroad carrier to be in viola7 tion constitutes a violation of this paragraph. A separate 

8 violation occurs for each day such violation continues. 

9 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall include in, or make applicable 

10 to, each requirement of, regulation prescribed under, and 

11 order issued under chapters 201 through 211 a civil penalty 

12 for a violation of such requirement, regulation, or order in 

13 an amount equal to— 

14 ‘‘(A) at least $5,000 and not more than 

15 $1,000,000; or 

16 ‘‘(B) if the person committing such violation is 

17 a small business concern (as such term is used in 

18 part 121 of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

19 a successor regulation)), including a Class III rail20 road, at least $1,000 and not more than $200,000.’’; 

21 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

22 paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; 

23 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(3) If a violation described in paragraph (1) results 

2 in death, serious illness, or severe injury to any person, 

3 causes an imminent hazard of death or injury, or results 

4 in the substantial destruction of property, the Secretary 

5 may increase the civil penalty required under paragraph 

6 (2) to— 

7 ‘‘(A) a maximum of $5,000,000; or 

8 ‘‘(B) if the person committing such violation is 

9 a small business concern (as such term is used in 

10 part 121 of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

11 a successor regulation)), a maximum of $500,000. 

12 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may double the civil penalty other13 wise required under paragraph (2) or (3) if the violation 

14 follows a pattern of repeated violations or otherwise reflects 

15 a deliberate indifference or conscious disregard to the con16 sequences of the conduct.’’; and 

17 (4) in paragraph (6), as redesignated, by adding 

18 at the end the following: ‘‘Such civil action may be 

19 brought in the judicial district in which the violation 

20 occurred or in which the defendant has its principal 

21 executive office. If the civil action is against an indi22 vidual, the action may also be brought in the judicial 

23 district in which such individual resides.’’. 


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1 (b) HOURS OF SERVICE VIOLATIONS.—Section 21301 

2 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

3 the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS RELATED TO VIOLA5 TIONS OF CHAPTER 211.—(1) In any proceeding involving 

6 a violation of chapter 211, or a violation of a regulation 

7 or order issued pursuant to such chapter, a railroad carrier 

8 is deemed to have knowledge of the acts of its officers and 

9 agents. 

10 ‘‘(2) A civil action involving a violation of chapter 

11 211, or a violation of a regulation or order issued pursuant 

12 to such chapter, shall be brought in an appropriate district 

13 court of the United States not later than 2 years after the 

14 date of such violation unless administrative notification 

15 under section 3711 of title 31 is given within such 2-year 

16 period to the person committing the violation. If such noti17 fication is given, the action shall be brought not later than 

18 the last day of the 5-year period specified in section 2462 

19 of title 28. 

20 ‘‘(3) A separate violation of section 21106 occurs for 

21 each day employee sleeping quarters are not in compliance 

22 with the requirements under such section.’’. 

23 (c) UPDATES OF PENALTIES FOR INFLATION.—Not24 withstanding any other provision of law, including the FedVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576

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1 eral Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (28 

2 U.S.C. 2461 note), the inflation adjustment— 

3 (1) for minimum penalty amounts amended by 

4 this section, and any discretionary inflation adjust5 ment of guideline penalty amounts by the Secretary, 

6 shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $100; and 

7 (2) for maximum penalty amounts amended by 

8 this section, shall be rounded to the nearest multiple 

9 of $1,000. 

10 (d) REPEAL.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 213 of title 49, 

12 United States Code, is amended by striking sections 

13 21302 and 21303. 

14 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

15 chapter 213 of title 49, United States Code, is amend16 ed by striking the items relating to sections 21302 

17 and 21303. 

18 SEC. 110. SAFER TANK CARS. 

19 (a) CLASS 3 FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS PHASE-OUT

20 SCHEDULE.—Beginning on December 31, 2027, no railroad 

21 tank car, regardless of its construction date, may be used 

22 to transport Class 3 flammable liquids in packing groups 

23 II and III (other than Class 3 flammable liquids listed in 

24 paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 7304(b) of the Hazardous 

25 Materials Transportation Safety Improvement Act of 2015 


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1 (49 U.S.C. 20155 note)), regardless of the composition of 

2 the train consist, unless such tank car meets or exceeds the 

3 DOT–117, DOT–117P, or DOT–117R specifications (as in 

4 effect on the date of the enactment of this Act), including 

5 DOT–105A, DOT–105H, DOT–105J, DOT–105S, DOT– 

6 112H, DOT–112S, DOT–112J, DOT–120J, and DOT– 

7 120S tank cars. 

8 (b) CONFORMING REGULATORY AMENDMENTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary— 

10 (A) shall immediately remove or revise the 

11 date-specific deadlines in any applicable regula12 tions or orders to the extent necessary to conform 

13 with the requirement under subsection (a); and 

14 (B) may not enforce any date-specific dead15 lines or requirements that are inconsistent with 

16 the requirement under subsection (a). 

17 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Except as re18 quired under paragraph (1), nothing in this section 

19 may be construed to require the Secretary to issue 

20 regulations to implement this section. 

21 (c) AMENDING THE PHASE-OUT DATE.—If the Sec22 retary, based on the data contained in the report issued 

23 pursuant to subsection (d), determines that the phase-out 

24 date under subsection (a) cannot be met due to insufficient 

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1 nificant impacts to interstate commerce, the Secretary shall 

2 delay the phase-out scheduled under subsection (a) to De3 cember 31, 2028. 

4 (d) GAO REVIEW.—Not later than 18 months after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

6 of the United States shall issue a report to the Secretary, 

7 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

8 of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and 

9 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives that— 

10 (1) identifies the manufacturing capacity of tank 

11 car manufacturers in North America, that manufac12 ture tank cars to meet DOT–117 and DOT–117P 

13 specification requirements; 

14 (2) identifies the retrofit capacity of tank car 

15 manufacturers and other entities in North America 

16 that can retrofit DOT–111 tank cars to meet DOT– 

17 117R specification requirements; 

18 (3) estimates the schedule of replacing tank cars 

19 currently in service that are reaching the end of their 

20 life cycle; 

21 (4) identifies the number of tank cars that need 

22 to be phased out or retrofitted under subsection (a) 

23 and paragraph (2) and the number that could be ret24 rofitted; and 

25 (5) estimates the demand for new tank cars. 


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1 SEC. 111. RAIL SAFETY INFRASTRUCTURE RESEARCH AND 

2 DEVELOPMENT GRANTS. 

3 (a) RESEARCH REQUIREMENT.—The Administrator of 

4 the Federal Railroad Administration shall award grants, 

5 in accordance with the restrictions and limitation on eligi6 bility for Class I railroads under section 22907 of title 49, 

7 United States Code, which shall be used for research and 

8 development of defect detectors and the prevention of 

9 derailments of trains transporting hazardous materials. 

10 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

11 authorized to be appropriated to the Federal Railroad Ad12 ministration, $22,000,000, which shall be used for the 

13 grants authorized under subsection (a) and shall remain 

14 available until expended. 

15 SEC. 112. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR TANK 

16 CAR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

17 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Pipeline 

18 and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, 

19 $5,000,000, which shall be used for expenses related to the 

20 development of— 

21 (1) stronger, safer tank cars and valves for tank 

22 cars; and 

23 (2) other tank car safety features. 


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1 SEC. 113. FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION SAFETY 

2 CULTURE. 

3 (a) REVIEW.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

4 the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the De5 partment of Transportation shall— 

6 (1) conduct a review of the Federal Railroad Ad7 ministration’s safety culture using the framework de8 veloped by the Nuclear Energy Agency of the 

9 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Devel10 opment; and 

11 (2) submit a report to the Committee on Com12 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

13 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

14 of the House of Representatives that includes rec15 ommendations for improving the Federal Railroad 

16 Administration’s safety culture. 

17 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—As a part of the review con18 ducted pursuant to subsection (a)(1), the Inspector General 

19 shall consider the impacts of the Federal Railroad 

20 Administration’s– 

21 (1) reorganization of its safety offices and man22 agement structure; 

23 (2) reorganization of its policy and research of24 fices; and 


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1 (3) telework policies, including any change in 

2 policies since the beginning of the COVID–19 pan3 demic. 

4 (c) ACTION PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after the sub5 mission of the report required under subsection (a)(2), the 

6 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

7 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com8 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

9 of Representatives and post on a public-facing website an 

10 action plan that addresses the recommendations and find11 ings made by the Inspector General in such report. 

12 SEC. 114. GAO REPORT ON ROADWAY WORKER PROTEC13 TIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

15 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

16 United States shall— 

17 (1) conduct a review of currently available tech18 nologies for roadway workers (as defined in section 

19 214.7 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations) with 

20 protection from the hazards of being struck by a train 

21 or other on-track equipment in the United States; and 

22 (2) submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

23 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

24 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

25 the House of Representatives a report that summaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576

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1 rizes the results of the review conducted under sub2 paragraph (a), including recommendations, as the 

3 Comptroller General considers appropriate. 

4 (b) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub5 section (a)(2) shall— 

6 (1) describe the frequency, type, and causes of 

7 incidences within the rail right-of-way associated 

8 with roadway workers being struck by a train or 

9 other on-track equipment, based on available data, in10 cluding whether individuals were acting in compli11 ance with the applicable rules, policies, procedures, 

12 and practices; 

13 (2) describe the types of technologies referenced 

14 in subsection (a)(1) that are designed to reduce risk 

15 of injury and death when deployed as a secondary 

16 warning system to the standard operating procedures 

17 of a rail carrier, including for each technology— 

18 (A) the primary function and features; 

19 (B) the maturity, implementation readi20 ness, and user experience; 

21 (C) the frequency of implementation; 

22 (D) any costs, including up front and ongo23 ing maintenance costs, of the technology and 

24 other costs associated with the technology; 


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1 (E) safety benefits associated with the tech2 nology relative to current rules, policies, proce3 dures, and practices; and 

4 (F) ability to enhance protections for road5 way workers without negatively impacting oper6 ational or network efficiencies; 

7 (3) discuss the potential for such technologies to 

8 reduce or eliminate roadway worker accidents occur9 ring within the rail right-of-way; 

10 (4) describe any challenges or barriers to adop11 tion of such safety technologies, including operational, 

12 technical, and network efficiency challenges or bar13 riers; and 

14 (5) assess the cost-beneficial nature of utilizing 

15 such technology as a secondary warning system. 

16 SEC. 115. FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION SAFETY 

17 WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT. 

18 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

19 of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department of 

20 Transportation shall submit a report to the Committee on 

21 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

22 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

23 House of Representatives that contains the results of a re24 view of the Federal Railroad Administration Office of RailVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00070 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576

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1 road Safety inspector and specialist staff resource manage2 ment, including— 

3 (1) an assessment of the changes in the number 

4 of Federal Railroad Administration safety inspectors 

5 and specialists, including— 

6 (A) the number of safety inspector and spe7 cialist vacancies; 

8 (B) the number of such positions requested 

9 in each of the budget requests for the last 10 fis10 cal years; and 

11 (C) the actual workforce levels during each 

12 of such fiscal years; 

13 (2) an assessment of geographic allocation plans, 

14 potential hiring and time-to-hire challenges, expected 

15 retirement rates, and recruitment and retention strat16 egies; 

17 (3) a description of any internal Federal Rail18 road Administration goals for compliance inspection 

19 rates across the network of regulated activities, and 

20 whether requested and actual safety inspector and 

21 specialist workforce levels align with such goals; 

22 (4) whether the system used for the notification, 

23 processing, or storing of civil penalty enforcement 

24 cases and other compliance actions recommended by 

25 safety inspectors and specialists against railroads, 


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1 shippers of hazardous materials, and other respond2 ents effectively supports the Federal Railroad Admin3 istration’s compliance inspection and enforcement 

4 program; 

5 (5) whether any macroeconomic or other condi6 tions exist or have existed under which it has been 

7 difficult for the Federal Railroad Administration to 

8 fill safety inspector and specialist vacancies, and the 

9 degree to which special rates of pay or other recruit10 ment and retention practices could ameliorate or 

11 could have ameliorated such difficulty; and 

12 (6) recommendations for any reforms that 

13 could— 

14 (A) improve the recruitment, hiring, and 

15 retention of Federal Railroad Administration 

16 safety inspectors and specialists, including po17 tential quality of life and workplace improve18 ments; 

19 (B) improve Federal Railroad Administra20 tion workforce management processes; or 

21 (C) increase the capacity for inspection ac22 tivities, if such capacity is identified as defi23 cient, at the Federal Railroad Administration, 

24 including activities relating to the transpor25 tation of hazardous materials. 


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1 SEC. 116. OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT REVIEW OF 

2 SAFETY INSPECTOR AND SPECIALIST CLASSI3 FICATIONS. 

4 (a) REVISING RAILROAD SAFETY SERIES.—Not later 

5 than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

6 the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall— 

7 (1) complete a review of the Railroad Safety Se8 ries, GS–2121, TS-37; and 

9 (2) subject to subsection (b), revise the series re10 ferred to in paragraph (1), as appropriate, to reflect 

11 factors impacting the Federal Railroad Administra12 tion’s oversight of the railroad industry, including— 

13 (A) current critical Federal Railroad Ad14 ministration disciplines; and 

15 (B) technological advancements and oper16 ational conditions within the railroad industry. 

17 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after completing 

18 the review required under subsection (a), if the Director de19 termines that a revision of the Railroad Safety Series is 

20 not appropriate, the Director shall submit a report to the 

21 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af22 fairs of the Senate, the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

23 and Transportation of the Senate, the Committee on Over24 sight and Accountability of the House of Representatives, 

25 and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

26 of the House of Representatives that— 


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1 (1) explains the findings of the review required 

2 under subsection (a); and 

3 (2) justifies the determination not to make revi4 sions to the Railroad Safety Series. 

5 SEC. 117. ALCOHOL AND DRUG TESTING. 

6 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

7 of this Act, the Secretary shall amend part 219 of title 49, 

8 Code of Federal Regulations, to require any employee who, 

9 on behalf of a railroad, inspects locomotives, passenger cars, 

10 railcars, or other on-track equipment, to be subject to the 

11 breath or body fluid testing required under subparts C, D, 

12 and E of such part. 

13 TITLE II—HAZARDOUS MATE14 RIALS EMERGENCY RE15 SPONSE AND PREPAREDNESS 

16 SEC. 201. HAZARDOUS MATERIALS REGISTRATION FEES. 

17 Section 5108(g) of title 49, United States Code, is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(1) The Sec20 retary’’ and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

22 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘(C) 

24 The Secretary’’ and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(D) TRANSFER AND DEPOSIT.—The Sec2 retary’’; 

3 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘(B) 

4 The Secretary’’ and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(C) ADJUSTMENT.—The Secretary’’; and 

6 (C) by striking ‘‘(2)(A) In addition’’ and 

7 all that follows through the period at the end of 

8 clause (ix) of subparagraph (A) and inserting 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL FEE.— 

11 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—In addition to a 

12 fee established under paragraph (1), the Sec13 retary shall establish and impose by regulation 

14 and collect an annual fee. 

15 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—Subject to subpara16 graph (C), the fee established under subpara17 graph (A) shall be— 

18 ‘‘(i) at least $250 but not more than 

19 $500 from each person that— 

20 ‘‘(I) is required to file a registra21 tion statement under this section; and 

22 ‘‘(II) is identified as a small busi23 ness (within the meaning of part 121 

24 of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations 

25 (or successor regulations)); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) at least $500 but not more than 

2 $5,000 from each person that— 

3 ‘‘(I) is required to file a registra4 tion statement under this section; and 

5 ‘‘(II) is not identified as a small 

6 business (within the meaning of part 

7 121 of title 13, Code of Federal Regula8 tions (or successor regulations)).’’. 

9 SEC. 202. VIRTUAL TRAINING OPTIONS. 

10 Section 5115(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

13 the semicolon at the end; and 

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

15 ‘‘(D) recommendations for the development 

16 of courses described in subparagraph (B) that 

17 have been adapted for virtual learning and any 

18 courses for which the Secretary has recommended 

19 adaptation to provide virtual options, subject to 

20 the condition that the Secretary ensures that the 

21 virtual options recommended will provide an 

22 equivalent level of training as in-person courses; 

23 and’’. 


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1 SEC. 203. HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TRANSPORTATION 

2 EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND PREPAREDNESS 

3 GRANTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5116 of title 49, United 

5 States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) by striking the section designation and head7 ing and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘§ 5116. Hazardous materials transportation emer9 gency response and preparedness’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (a)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

12 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

13 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end; 

14 (ii) in subparagraph (C)— 

15 (I) by striking ‘‘public sector em16 ployees’’ and inserting ‘‘emergency re17 sponse personnel’’; and 

18 (II) by striking the period at the 

19 end and inserting a semicolon; and 

20 (iii) by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(D) until September 31, 2026, to purchase per23 sonal protective equipment, as determined by the Sec24 retary, needed to respond to a hazardous materials 

25 emergency response incident, consistent with para26 graph (7) and subject to the condition that not more 


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1 than 50 percent of the funds made available under 

2 this subsection may be used for that purpose; 

3 ‘‘(E) to conduct and organize simulated and 

4 field exercises relating to hazardous materials trans5 portation incidents; and 

6 ‘‘(F) to develop a hazardous materials transpor7 tation emergency response preparedness gap analysis 

8 in accordance with paragraph (9).’’; 

9 (B) in paragraph (5)(A)— 

10 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘public 

11 sector employees being trained’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘emergency response personnel being 

13 trained virtually or in person’’; 

14 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘employ15 ees’’ and inserting ‘‘personnel’’; 

16 (iii) in clause (iii)— 

17 (I) by striking ‘‘employees’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘personnel’’; and 

19 (II) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

20 semicolon at the end; and 

21 (iv) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(v) to cover the costs of personnel needed to 

23 replace any personnel being trained; and 


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1 ‘‘(vi) to cover lost wages for any volunteer 

2 being trained, up to a reasonable amount deter3 mined by the Secretary;’’; 

4 (C) in paragraph (6)— 

5 (i) by striking subparagraph (A) and 

6 inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) whether grant funds will be used to support 

8 the ability of the United States to respond to haz9 ardous materials incidents near infrastructure com10 monly used to transport hazardous materials;’’; and 

11 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

12 ‘‘amounts’’ and inserting ‘‘number of ship13 ments’’; 

14 (D) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and 

15 (6) as paragraphs (6) and (8), respectively; 

16 (E) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(5)(A) Subject to subparagraph (C), any State receiv19 ing a grant under this subsection shall, not later than 180 

20 days after receiving the grant funds, make available to eligi21 ble local entities— 

22 ‘‘(i) not less than 70 percent of the grant funds; 

23 or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) eligible services or activities described in 

2 paragraph (1) having a value of not less than 70 per3 cent of the amount of the grant. 

4 ‘‘(B) A State shall certify to the Secretary that the 

5 State has made the distribution to eligible local entities re6 quired under paragraph (1) by providing such information 

7 as the Secretary shall require. 

8 ‘‘(C)(i) The Governor of a State may request in writ9 ing that the Secretary extend the period under subpara10 graph (A) for an additional period of time. 

11 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary may approve a request under 

12 clause (i) if the Secretary determines that the delay in pro13 viding grant funding to eligible local entities pursuant to 

14 the extension is necessary to promote effective investments 

15 to prepare for or respond to hazardous materials transpor16 tation incidents. 

17 ‘‘(D) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to Tribes, the 

18 District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 

19 American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar20 iana Islands, Guam, or the Virgin Islands. 

21 ‘‘(E) An eligible local entity may petition the Sec22 retary to request that grant funds be provided by the Sec23 retary directly to the eligible local entity if a State fails 

24 to apply for a grant under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(F) In making grant funds available to eligible local 

2 entities under subparagraph (A), States shall consider 

3 whether the eligible local entity has a high proportion of 

4 volunteer emergency responders. 

5 ‘‘(G) For purposes of this paragraph, term ‘eligible 

6 local entity’ means each of the following: 

7 ‘‘(i) A political subdivision of a State. 

8 ‘‘(ii) A public emergency response organiza9 tion.’’; 

10 (F) by inserting after paragraph (6) (as so 

11 redesignated) the following: 

12 ‘‘(7) A recipient of funds provided under this sub13 section may use the funds to purchase personal protective 

14 equipment only if the recipient agrees to properly maintain 

15 and store that personal protective equipment.’’; and 

16 (G) by inserting after paragraph (8) (as so 

17 redesignated) the following: 

18 ‘‘(9)(A) Each hazardous materials transportation 

19 emergency response preparedness gap analysis shall in20 clude— 

21 ‘‘(i) an identification of gaps and limitations of 

22 the hazard response program of the applicable juris23 diction, including— 

24 ‘‘(I) knowledge and personal protective 

25 equipment gaps; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) gaps in training, including Incident 

2 Command Management training and ASTM 

3 Standard E3241 training; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) a strategic plan to address the gaps and 

5 limitations identified under clause (i). 

6 ‘‘(B) In developing a hazardous materials transpor7 tation emergency response preparedness gap analysis under 

8 subparagraph (A), the entity preparing the analysis shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) coordinate with Regional Response Teams 

10 (as described in section 300.115 of title 40, Code of 

11 Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation)); 

12 ‘‘(ii) include States, Tribes, hazardous materials 

13 emergency response programs, local governments, and 

14 emergency response personnel (including fire service 

15 organizations) in that development, as appropriate; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(iii) provide an opportunity for States, Tribes, 

18 hazardous materials emergency response programs, 

19 local governments, and emergency response personnel 

20 (including fire service organizations) to review and 

21 comment on the analysis before the analysis is pub22 lished.’’; 

23 (3) in subsection (d)— 

24 (A) in the second sentence, by striking 

25 ‘‘Amounts’’ and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN AMOUNTS.—Amounts’’; 

2 (B) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘A 

3 grant under this section is for 80 percent of the 

4 cost the State or Indian tribe incurs’’ and insert5 ing the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A grant under this section is 

7 for 90 percent of the costs incurred by a State, or 100 

8 percent of the costs incurred by a Tribe,’’; and 

9 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(3) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—For purposes of 

11 this subsection, the contributions of a State or Tribe 

12 toward the costs of an activity funded by a grant 

13 under this section may be in the form of in-kind con14 tributions.’’; 

15 (4) in subsection (h)— 

16 (A) in the second sentence— 

17 (i) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘2 

18 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘4 percent’’; 

19 (ii) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

20 through (4) as subparagraphs (A) through 

21 (D), respectively, and indenting appro22 priately; and 

23 (iii) in the matter preceding subpara24 graph (A) (as so redesignated), by striking 

25 ‘‘Without’’ and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) USES.—Without’’; and 

2 (B) in the first sentence— 

3 (i) by striking ‘‘section 5108(g)(2)(C) 

4 of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

5 5108(g)(2)(D)’’; and 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and 

7 inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

9 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(3) SET ASIDE.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The amounts collected 

12 under section 5123— 

13 ‘‘(i) shall be set aside for the purpose 

14 of carrying out subsection (k); and 

15 ‘‘(ii) shall be available, without further 

16 appropriation, for that purpose. 

17 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—The set-aside described 

18 in subparagraph (A)— 

19 ‘‘(i) shall apply until the earliest date 

20 on which the total amount set aside and 

21 available for expenditure under that sub22 paragraph equals or exceeds $50,000,000; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(ii) after that date, shall apply to 

25 each subsequent period— 


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1 ‘‘(I) beginning on a date on which 

2 the total amount set aside and avail3 able for expenditure under that sub4 paragraph is less than $20,000,000; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(II) ending on the earliest subse7 quent date on which the total amount 

8 set aside and available for expenditure 

9 under that subparagraph equals or ex10 ceeds $50,000,000.’’; 

11 (5) in subsection (k)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘such 

13 planning and training programs’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘each grant program’’; 

15 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

16 through (4) as subparagraphs (A), (B), (D), and 

17 (E), respectively, and indenting appropriately; 

18 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (B) (as 

19 so redesignated) the following: 

20 ‘‘(C) a description of any personal protec21 tive equipment purchased using grant funds;’’; 

22 and 

23 (D) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

24 (A) (as so redesignated)— 


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1 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

2 ‘‘an annual report’’; and 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘the report to the pub4 lic’’ in the first sentence and all that follows 

5 through ‘‘grants and include—’’ in the 

6 third sentence and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘to the public an annual report that— 

8 ‘‘(1) includes information on the allocation and 

9 uses of the grants made available under— 

10 ‘‘(A) this section; and 

11 ‘‘(B) subsections (e) and (i) of section 5107; 

12 ‘‘(2) identifies the ultimate recipients of those 

13 grants; 

14 ‘‘(3) identifies the amount of funding available 

15 for each grant; 

16 ‘‘(4) describes any unobligated balances, total 

17 annual drawdown by each grantee, and recovered bal18 ances; 

19 ‘‘(5) includes the amount of funding rescinded, 

20 by grant recipient, for each grant; and 

21 ‘‘(6) includes—’’; 

22 (6) by striking ‘‘tribe’’ each place it appears and 

23 inserting ‘‘Tribe’’; and 

24 (7) by striking ‘‘tribes’’ each place it appears 

25 and inserting ‘‘Tribes’’. 


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1 (b) ASSISTANCE FOR LOCAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE

2 TRAINING.—Section 5116(j)(1)(A) of title 49, United States 

3 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘liquids’’ and inserting ‘‘ma4 terials’’. 

5 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

6 5128(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

7 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

8 striking ‘‘Hazardous Materials Preparedness Fund’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘Hazardous Materials Emergency Pre10 paredness Fund’’; 

11 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘section 

12 5116(h)(3); and’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

13 5116(h)(2)(C);’’; and 

14 (3) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(4) $4,000,000 to carry out section 5116(i); and 

17 ‘‘(5) $1,000,000 to carry out section 5116(j).’’. 

18 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chapter 

19 51 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking 

20 the item relating to section 5116 and inserting the fol21 lowing: 

‘‘5116. Hazardous materials transportation emergency response and preparedness.’’. 

22 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) Section 5102 of title 49, United States Code, 

2 is amended by striking paragraph (6) and inserting 

3 the following: 

4 ‘‘(6) ‘Indian tribe’, ‘Indian Tribe’, and ‘Tribe’ 

5 have the meaning given the term ‘Indian Tribe’ in 

6 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu7 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).’’. 

8 (2) Section 5123 of title 49, United States Code, 

9 is amended by striking subsection (g) and inserting 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(g) TRANSFER OF AMOUNTS COLLECTED.—Amounts 

12 collected under this section shall be transferred to the Haz13 ardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Fund estab14 lished under section 5116(h).’’. 

15 SEC. 204. EMERGENCY RESPONSE ASSISTANCE. 

16 Section 5116 of title 49, United States Code, is amend17 ed— 

18 (1) by redesignating subsection (k) as subsection 

19 (l); 

20 (2) by inserting after subsection (j) the following: 

21 ‘‘(k) EMERGENCY RESPONSE ASSISTANCE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

23 ‘‘(A) SIGNIFICANT HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

24 TRANSPORTATION INCIDENT.—The term ‘signifiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00088 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576

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1 cant hazardous materials transportation inci2 dent’ means an incident that— 

3 ‘‘(i) involves hazardous materials being 

4 moved by a motor carrier or rail carrier; 

5 ‘‘(ii) requires a response by at least 1 

6 eligible entity described in paragraph (6) 

7 for which the Secretary estimates the costs 

8 to the eligible entity to be at least $15,000; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(iii) results in a serious injury, fatal11 ity, or substantial property damage. 

12 ‘‘(B) SUBSTANTIAL PROPERTY DAMAGE.— 

13 The term ‘substantial property damage’ means 

14 damage to public or private property or the en15 vironment (including clean up costs) the Sec16 retary reasonably estimates to be more than 

17 $45,000. 

18 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later 

19 than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Rail20 way Safety Act of 2023, the Secretary, in consulta21 tion with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

22 Management Agency and the Administrator of the 

23 Environmental Protection Agency, after providing an 

24 opportunity for notice and comment, shall establish 

25 an emergency response assistance program to provide 


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1 immediate financial assistance to communities re2 sponding to a significant hazardous materials trans3 portation incident. 

4 ‘‘(3) SIGNIFICANT HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

5 TRANSPORTATION INCIDENT.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

7 have the authority to declare a significant haz8 ardous materials transportation incident. 

9 ‘‘(B) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall es10 tablish and publish guidelines to determine 

11 whether a significant hazardous materials trans12 portation incident has occurred. 

13 ‘‘(4) RELEASE OF FUNDS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall im15 mediately make available from the amount set 

16 aside under subsection (h)(3) in the Hazardous 

17 Materials Emergency Preparedness Fund estab18 lished under subsection (h)(1) (referred to in this 

19 subsection as the ‘Fund’) up to $10,000,000 to 

20 quickly reimburse eligible entities described in 

21 paragraph (6) that responded to a significant 

22 hazardous materials transportation incident if— 

23 ‘‘(i) the Secretary declares the incident 

24 a significant hazardous materials transpor25 tation incident; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) at least 14 days but not later 

2 than 21 days after the declaration of a sig3 nificant hazardous materials transportation 

4 incident, the Secretary determines, in ac5 cordance with paragraph (8), that the re6 sponsible party does not have an acceptable 

7 reimbursement plan. 

8 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—In addition to 

9 any amounts made available under subpara10 graph (A), the Secretary shall make additional 

11 funding available from the amount set aside 

12 under subsection (h)(3) in the Fund if the Sec13 retary determines that the additional funding is 

14 necessary. 

15 ‘‘(C) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may 

16 make funds available under this subsection if the 

17 Secretary determines the responsible party is not 

18 complying with its acceptable plan under para19 graph (8). 

20 ‘‘(5) ADMINISTRATION OF FUNDS.—The Sec21 retary may provide funds from the amount set aside 

22 under subsection (h)(3) in the Fund to a State in 

23 which a hazardous materials transportation incident 

24 occurred for the State to use and administer reim25 bursements in accordance with this subsection, includVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00091 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576

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1 ing by providing funds to eligible entities described in 

2 paragraph (6). 

3 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES DESCRIBED.—The eligi4 ble entities referred to in paragraphs (4)(A) and (5) 

5 are— 

6 ‘‘(A) States, territories, and Tribes; 

7 ‘‘(B) political subdivisions of a State or ter8 ritory; and 

9 ‘‘(C) public emergency response organiza10 tions. 

11 ‘‘(7) USE OF FUNDS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Funds made available 

13 under paragraph (4) or (5) may be used only— 

14 ‘‘(i) for the cost of replacing personal 

15 protective equipment that is damaged, con16 taminated, or otherwise rendered unusable 

17 as a result of the response of the eligible en18 tity to a significant hazardous materials 

19 transportation incident; 

20 ‘‘(ii) for overtime pay of employees of 

21 eligible entities that responded to the scene 

22 of a significant hazardous materials trans23 portation incident; 

24 ‘‘(iii) for operational costs exceeding 

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1 rectly related to the cost of responding to the 

2 significant hazardous materials transpor3 tation incident, such as the costs of running 

4 a supplementary emergency response center; 

5 ‘‘(iv) for the cost of providing baseline 

6 health care assessments to emergency re7 sponse personnel who responded to the sig8 nificant hazardous materials transportation 

9 incident, but not more than $1,000 per per10 son, which shall be adjusted annually for 

11 inflation; and 

12 ‘‘(v) to reimburse an eligible entity for 

13 an eligible cost described in any of clauses 

14 (i) through (iv) that is incurred within 30 

15 days of the date of a significant hazardous 

16 materials transportation incident. 

17 ‘‘(B) DOCUMENTATION OF COSTS.—Not 

18 later than 1 year after the date on which the 

19 Secretary declares a significant hazardous mate20 rials transportation incident for which an eligi21 ble entity receives assistance under this sub22 section, the eligible entity shall submit to the 

23 Secretary documentation for each item for which 

24 that assistance was used pursuant to the eligible 

25 uses of funds described in subparagraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(C) MISUSE OF FUNDS.—If the Secretary 

2 determines that an eligible entity has used assist3 ance received under this subsection in a manner 

4 that violates subparagraph (A) or any other pro5 vision of this subsection, the eligible entity shall 

6 reimburse the Fund (if the assistance was pro7 vided from the Fund) or the responsible party (if 

8 the assistance was provided by the responsible 

9 party), for the amount of that assistance. 

10 ‘‘(8) ACCEPTABLE PLAN.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para12 graph (4)(A)(ii), the Secretary shall consider a 

13 reimbursement plan of a responsible party to be 

14 acceptable if the plan seeks to review and process 

15 claims made by eligible entities for the costs de16 scribed in paragraph (7) not later than 90 days 

17 after the date of the significant hazardous mate18 rials transportation incident. 

19 ‘‘(B) ADVANCE SUBMISSION; CERTAIN

20 PLANS.— 

21 ‘‘(i) ADVANCE SUBMISSION.—A plan to 

22 provide reimbursement to eligible entities in 

23 accordance with subparagraph (A) may be 

24 submitted to the Secretary for approval in 

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1 rials transportation incident to which the 

2 plan might apply. 

3 ‘‘(ii) CERTAIN PLAN.—A hazardous 

4 materials emergency response plan ap5 proved by the Secretary in accordance with 

6 section 20155(e) shall be considered an ac7 ceptable plan for purposes of this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(9) REIMBURSEMENT BY RESPONSIBLE

9 PARTY.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara11 graph (F), the party responsible for a significant 

12 hazardous materials transportation incident 

13 shall be liable to the Secretary for reimbursement 

14 of all amounts disbursed from the Fund under 

15 this subsection for that significant hazardous 

16 materials transportation incident. 

17 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—Any funding recov18 ered by the Secretary under this subsection shall 

19 be deposited back into the Fund. 

20 ‘‘(C) NOTICE.—After the Secretary has re21 ceived the documented costs under paragraph 

22 (7)(B), the Secretary shall provide notice to the 

23 responsible party regarding the total amount 

24 owed. 


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1 ‘‘(D) FINAL AGENCY ACTION.—Not later 

2 than 30 days after the Secretary makes a deter3 mination of the amount for which the responsible 

4 party is liable under subparagraph (A), the re5 sponsible party may challenge that determina6 tion as a final agency action. 

7 ‘‘(E) CIVIL ACTION.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney Gen9 eral may bring a civil action in an appro10 priate district court of the United States to 

11 collect unpaid amounts under this para12 graph and any accrued interest on those 

13 amounts. 

14 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION ON JUDICIAL RE15 VIEW.—In a civil action under clause (i), 

16 the amount for which a responsible party is 

17 liable, as determined by the Secretary, un18 less challenged under subparagraph (D), 

19 shall not be subject to judicial review. 

20 ‘‘(F) DISCRETION.—If the responsible party 

21 is a small business concern (within the meaning 

22 of part 121 of title 13, Code of Federal Regula23 tions (or successor regulations)) that is unable to 

24 fully reimburse the Secretary, the Secretary shall 

25 have discretion with respect to the amount of 


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1 funds the Secretary requests from the responsible 

2 party under this paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(10) STREAMLINED APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

4 The Secretary shall streamline the application process 

5 for the receipt of funds under this subsection, includ6 ing by— 

7 ‘‘(A) providing technical assistance to eligi8 ble entities; and 

9 ‘‘(B) creating a template that eligible enti10 ties can use to apply for funding. 

11 ‘‘(11) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) LIABILITY.—Nothing in this subsection 

13 limits, or may be construed to limit, the liability 

14 of a responsible party. 

15 ‘‘(B) REIMBURSEMENT.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A responsible party 

17 may, in accordance with any other applica18 ble law— 

19 ‘‘(I) seek to establish that another 

20 party was responsible, in whole or in 

21 part (as such other law allows), for the 

22 applicable significant hazardous mate23 rials transportation incident; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) seek reimbursement (to the 

2 extent such other law allows) from that 

3 other party. 

4 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT OF SUBSECTION.—Noth5 ing in this subsection limits, or may be con6 strued to limit, the ability of a responsible 

7 party to seek reimbursement from any other 

8 party found to be responsible in any civil 

9 action arising from the applicable signifi10 cant hazardous materials transportation in11 cident. 

12 ‘‘(iii) EFFECT OF DETERMINATION.—A 

13 determination by the Secretary that a party 

14 is a responsible party for purposes of this 

15 subsection shall not be considered or other16 wise have any effect with respect to the de17 termination of liability in any civil action 

18 described in clause (ii). 

19 ‘‘(iv) EFFECT OF REIMBURSEMENTS

20 AND OTHER ACTIVITIES.—No activity taken 

21 under this subsection to reimburse an eligi22 ble entity, reimburse the Secretary, prepare 

23 or carry out a reimbursement plan, or oth24 erwise comply with or make a payment 

25 under this subsection shall be considered or 


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1 otherwise have any effect with respect to the 

2 determination of liability in any civil ac3 tion described in clause (ii). 

4 ‘‘(12) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Sep6 tember 30, 2027, the Comptroller General of the 

7 United States shall submit to Congress a report 

8 on the effectiveness this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 

10 under subparagraph (A) shall include, at a min11 imum, information on— 

12 ‘‘(i) the number of significant haz13 ardous materials transportation incidents 

14 that received funding under this subsection; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the amount of financial assist16 ance the Secretary provided to eligible enti17 ties; 

18 ‘‘(iii) the amount of financial assist19 ance responsible parties submitted to the 

20 Secretary under paragraph (9); 

21 ‘‘(iv) the amount of reimbursement the 

22 Secretary received from eligible entities as 

23 required under paragraph (7)(C); 

24 ‘‘(v) whether the amounts provided by 

25 the Secretary under this subsection adeVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00099 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576

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1 quately reflect the amounts actually spent 

2 by the eligible entities; 

3 ‘‘(vi) whether the Secretary was able to 

4 provide the financial assistance quickly 

5 enough to the eligible entities so that the as6 sistance effectively supported the prepared7 ness of the eligible entities to respond to po8 tential future incidents; and 

9 ‘‘(vii) any other factors the Comp10 troller General of the United States con11 siders to be appropriate to review the effec12 tiveness of this subsection.’’; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(m) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) EMERGENCY RESPONSE PERSONNEL.—The 

16 term ‘emergency response personnel’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) an employee of a State, territory, 

18 Tribe, or political subdivision of a State; and 

19 ‘‘(B) a person belonging to a public emer20 gency response organization. 

21 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC EMERGENCY RESPONSE ORGANIZA22 TION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘public emer24 gency response organization’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a fire department that has an all2 paid force of firefighting personnel other 

3 than paid-on-call firefighters; 

4 ‘‘(ii) a fire department that has— 

5 ‘‘(I) paid firefighting personnel; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(II) volunteer firefighting per8 sonnel; 

9 ‘‘(iii) a nonaffiliated EMS organiza10 tion; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) a fire department that has an 

12 all-volunteer force of firefighting personnel. 

13 ‘‘(B) ASSOCIATED DEFINITION.—For pur14 poses of subparagraph (A)(iii), the term ‘non15 affiliated EMS organization’ means a public or 

16 private nonprofit emergency medical services or17 ganization that— 

18 ‘‘(i) is not affiliated with a hospital; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(ii) does not serve a geographic area 

21 for which the Secretary or a State finds 

22 that emergency medical services are ade23 quately provided by a fire department.’’. 


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Calendar No. 284 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 576 

A BILL 

To enhance safety requirements for trains transposes. porting hazardous materials, and for other purDECEMBER 13, 2023 

Reported with an amendment 


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