I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8996 

To enhance safety requirements for trains transporting hazardous materials, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 11, 2024 

Mr. NEHLS (for himself, Mr. MOULTON, Mrs. SYKES, Mr. DELUZIO, Mr. VAN

ORDEN, Mr. RULLI, Mr. D’ESPOSITO, Ms. STANSBURY, and Mr. 

LAWLER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

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 ‘‘Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2024’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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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. 

Sec. 118. Confidential close call reporting system. 

Sec. 119. AskRail application. 

Sec. 120. Increased funding for the railroad crossing elimination grant program. 

Sec. 121. Grant programs for adoption of certain telematics systems. 

Sec. 122. Enhancing freight railcar onboard telematics and sensor development 

pilot program. 

Sec. 123. Train approach warning. 

Sec. 124. Railroad-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council. 

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. 

1 TITLE I—RAIL SAFETY 

2 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

3 In this title: 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro5 vided, terms used in this title have the definitions 

6 given such terms in section 20155 of title 49, United 

7 States Code, as amended by section 102(a). 


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

2 the Secretary of Transportation. 

3 SEC. 102. SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR HIGH-HAZARD 

4 TRAINS. 

5 (a) TANK CAR SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

6 20155 of title 49, United States Code, is amended to read 

7 as follows: 

8 ‘‘§ 20155. High-hazard trains 

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

10 ‘‘(1) EXPLOSIVES.—The term ‘explosives’ 

11 means Class 1 explosives categorized in Division 1.1, 

12 1.2, or 1.3 (as such terms are defined in section 

13 173.50 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations). 

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

15 gas’ has the meaning given such term in section 

16 173.115(a) of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. 

17 ‘‘(3) FLAMMABLE LIQUID.—The term ‘flam18 mable liquid’ has the meaning given such term in 

19 section 173.120(a) of title 49, Code of Federal Reg20 ulations. 

21 ‘‘(4) HAZARDOUS MATERIAL.—The term ‘haz22 ardous material’ means a substance or material des23 ignated by the Secretary of Transportation as haz24 ardous pursuant to section 5103 of title 49, United 

25 States Code. 


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1 ‘‘(5) HIGH-HAZARD TRAIN.—The term ‘high2 hazard train’ means a single train transporting, 

3 throughout the train consist— 

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

5 flammable liquid; 

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

7 tank load with a material toxic or poisonous by 

8 inhalation; 

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

10 radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel; 

11 ‘‘(D) 10 or more cars loaded with explo12 sives; 

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

14 flammable gas; or 

15 ‘‘(F) 20 or more cars loaded with any com16 bination of flammable liquids, flammable gases, 

17 or explosives. 

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

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

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

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

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

23 Code of Federal Regulations. 

24 ‘‘(7) MATERIAL TOXIC OR POISONOUS BY INHA25 LATION.—The term ‘material toxic or poisonous by 


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1 inhalation’ has the meaning given the term ‘Material 

2 poisonous by inhalation or Material toxic by inhala3 tion’ in section 171.8 of title 49, Code of Federal 

4 Regulations. 

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

6 date of the enactment of the Railroad Safety Enhance7 ment Act of 2024, the Secretary, in consultation with ap8 propriate Federal agencies, shall issue regulations that— 

9 ‘‘(1) rescind the requirements set forth in para10 graphs (4) and (5) of section 174.310(a) of title 49, 

11 Code of Federal Regulations, with respect to tank 

12 cars carrying hazardous materials other than Class 

13 3 flammable liquids; 

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

15 174.310(a)(2) of title 49, Code of Federal Regula16 tions— 

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

18 speed of 50 miles per hour; and 

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

20 20 or more cars loaded with flammable liquids 

21 to a maximum speed of 40 miles per hour while 

22 that train travels within the limits of high23 threat urban areas (HTUAs) (as defined in 

24 1508.3 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, 

25 unless all tank cars containing a Class 3 flamVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Aug 12, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8996.IH H8996

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1 mable liquid meet or exceed the DOT specifica2 tion 117 standards, the DOT specification 

3 117P performance standards, or the DOT spec4 ification 117R retrofit standards set forth in 

5 subpart D of part 179 of title 49, Code of Fed6 eral Regulations, including DOT–105A, DOT– 

7 105H, DOT–105J, DOT–105S, DOT–112H, 

8 DOT–112J, DOT–112S, and DOT–120S tank 

9 cars; 

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

11 trains to comply with the requirements applicable to 

12 high-hazard flammable trains under section 174.310 

13 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations; 

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

15 hazardous materials— 

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

17 electronic train consist information, including— 

18 ‘‘(i) the identity, quantity, and loca19 tion of hazardous materials on a train; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the point of origin and destina21 tion of the train; 

22 ‘‘(iii) any emergency response infor23 mation or resources required by the Sec24 retary; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) an emergency response point of 

2 contact designated by the Class I railroad; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(B) to enter into a memorandum of un5 derstanding with each applicable fusion center 

6 to provide the fusion center with secure and 

7 confidential access to the electronic train con8 sist information described in subparagraph (A) 

9 for each train transporting hazardous materials 

10 in the jurisdiction of the fusion center; 

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

12 commodity flow reports of the hazardous materials 

13 transported by a high-hazard train to each State 

14 emergency response commission, Tribal emergency 

15 response commission, or other responsible State or 

16 Tribal agency, consistent with the notification con17 tent requirements under section 174.312 of title 49, 

18 Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regula19 tion), including— 

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

21 of high-hazard trains that are expected to trav22 el, per week, through each county within the 

23 applicable jurisdiction; 

24 ‘‘(B) updates to such estimate when mak25 ing a change in volume of 25 percent or more; 


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1 ‘‘(C) a description of the hazardous mate2 rials being transported on such trains; 

3 ‘‘(D) applicable emergency response infor4 mation, as required by regulation; 

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

6 the hazardous materials on such trains will be 

7 transported; and 

8 ‘‘(F) a point of contact at the Class I rail9 road who— 

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

11 transportation of hazardous materials; and 

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

13 point of contact for the State emergency 

14 response commission, Tribal emergency re15 sponse commission, or other State or Trib16 al agency responsible for receiving such in17 formation; 

18 ‘‘(6) require each applicable State emergency 

19 response commission to provide to a political subdivi20 sion of a State, or the public agency responsible for 

21 emergency response or law enforcement, upon re22 quest of the political subdivision or public agency, 

23 the information the commission receives from a 

24 Class I railroad pursuant to paragraph (3), includ25 ing, for any such political subdivision or public agenVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Aug 12, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8996.IH H8996

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1 cy responsible for emergency response or law en2 forcement that makes an initial request for such in3 formation, any updates received by the State emer4 gency response commission; 

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

6 agent from withholding, or causing to be withheld, 

7 the train consist information from first responders, 

8 emergency response officials, Federal and State 

9 agencies, and law enforcement personnel described 

10 in paragraph (2)(B) who are responding to an inci11 dent, accident, or public health or safety emergency 

12 involving the rail transportation of hazardous mate13 rials; and 

14 ‘‘(8) establish security and confidentiality pro15 tections, in coordination with the Secretary of 

16 Homeland Security, including protections from the 

17 public release of proprietary information or security 

18 sensitive information (as defined in section 15.5 of 

19 title 49, Code of Federal Regulations), to prevent 

20 the release to unauthorized persons any electronic 

21 train consist information or advanced notification or 

22 information provided by Class I railroads under this 

23 section. 

24 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec25 tion may be construed to prohibit a Class I railroad from 


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1 voluntarily entering into a memorandum of understanding 

2 with a State emergency response commission or an entity 

3 representing or including first responders, emergency re4 sponse officials, and law enforcement personnel. 

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

6 year after the date of the enactment of the Railroad Safety 

7 Enhancement Act of 2024, the Secretary shall evaluate 

8 and update, to the extent necessary for safety and in com9 pliance with Executive Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601 note; 

10 relating to regulatory planning and review), the oper11 ational requirements for high-hazard trains to ensure the 

12 safe transportation of hazardous materials by rail, includ13 ing— 

14 ‘‘(1) preventing the placement of blocks of 

15 empty railcars in locations within the consist of the 

16 train that increase the chance or severity of a derail17 ment; and 

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

19 buffer cars between a locomotive or railcar and tank 

20 cars transporting hazardous materials. 

21 ‘‘(e) HAZARDOUS MATERIALS EMERGENCY RE22 SPONSE PLANS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) PLAN CONTENTS.—The Secretary shall 

24 promulgate regulations, in compliance with Execu25 tive Order 12866, requiring all Class I railroads that 


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1 operate high-hazard trains to submit to the Sec2 retary hazardous materials emergency response 

3 plans that are consistent with the format of the Na4 tional Response Team ‘One Plan’. Such plans shall 

5 include— 

6 ‘‘(A) consideration of potential hazardous 

7 materials release for the hazardous materials 

8 identified under subsection (a)(7) that the rail9 road is transporting; 

10 ‘‘(B) identification of the railroad’s haz11 ardous materials response teams that can 

12 quickly respond to a release or potential release 

13 within a reasonable amount of time; 

14 ‘‘(C) identification of the equipment and 

15 resources available to the hazardous materials 

16 response teams; 

17 ‘‘(D) organizational charts for the haz18 ardous materials response teams; and 

19 ‘‘(E) plans to facilitate hazardous mate20 rials release liability claims. 

21 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—Railroads shall coordi22 nate with relevant States and Tribes when creating 

23 the plans required under paragraph (1). 

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

25 year after a Class I railroad submits a hazardous 


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1 materials emergency response plan pursuant to 

2 paragraph (1), and on a triennial basis thereafter, 

3 the Secretary shall review such plan. If the Sec4 retary identifies deficiencies during such review, the 

5 Secretary shall describe the nature of any defi6 ciencies and allow for correction. 

7 ‘‘(4) VERIFICATION.—The Secretary shall peri8 odically audit a railroad’s hazardous materials emer9 gency response plan.’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis in chap11 ter 201 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

12 inserting after the item relating to section 20154 the fol13 lowing: 

‘‘20155. High-hazard trains.’’. 

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

15 (a) REVIEWING AND UPDATING SAFETY REGULA16 TIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the date on which 

17 the Secretary submits to Congress the report required 

18 under section 22422(d) of the Passenger Rail Expansion 

19 and Rail Safety Act of 2021 (title II of division B of Pub20 lic Law 117–58), the Secretary shall independently evalu21 ate any safety concerns identified in the Comptroller Gen22 eral’s report titled ‘‘Freight Trains Are Getting Longer, 

23 and Additional Information Is Needed to Assess Their Im24 pact’’ (GAO–19–443) and in the report required under 

25 section 22422(d) of the Passenger Rail Expansion and 


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1 Rail Safety Act of 2021, by reviewing and subsequently 

2 updating, if necessary for safety and in compliance with 

3 Executive Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601 note; relating to 

4 regulatory planning and review), existing safety regula5 tions to ensure the safe transportation of goods and pas6 sengers by rail, including consideration of the impact that 

7 train length and weight have on the safe transportation 

8 of high-hazard trains. 

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

10 on which the Secretary submits the report required under 

11 subsection (a), if the Secretary has not addressed any rec12 ommendation contained within such report, the Secretary 

13 shall submit a report to the Committee on Commerce, 

14 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com15 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

16 of Representatives that justifies such inaction. 

17 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall revise 

19 the existing railroad accident or incident reporting 

20 forms to require railroads to report the weight trail21 ing tonnages of any train involved in a reportable 

22 accident or incident. 

23 (2) PUBLICATION.—The Federal Railroad Ad24 ministration shall publish on its Rail Safety Data 


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1 website a summary of all reportable incidents and 

2 accidents, categorized by train length and weight. 

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

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

5 an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences 

6 under which the National Academy shall— 

7 (1) conduct a study of 20 most frequently 

8 blocked highway-rail grade crossings in not fewer 

9 than 10 different States, as determined by the Sec10 retary based on— 

11 (A) Federal Railroad Administration data; 

12 (B) the work experience of the Office of 

13 Railroad Safety’s Grade Crossing and Tres14 passer Outreach Division; 

15 (C) data from the blocked highway-rail 

16 grade crossing portal; and 

17 (D) geographic diversity; and 

18 (2) provide recommendations to the Secretary 

19 for solutions in preventing or reducing occurrences 

20 or repeated occurrences where highway-rail grade 

21 crossings are blocked for extended periods. 

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

23 conduct the study described in subsection (a)(1), the Na24 tional Academy of Sciences shall appoint not fewer than 

25 3 of its members who— 


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1 (1) are engineering or rail experts; 

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

3 by railroad carriers; 

4 (3) have relevant experience in railroad safety 

5 technology or railroad operating experience; and 

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

7 (c) ELEMENTS.—The study conducted pursuant to 

8 subsection (a)(1) shall— 

9 (1) examine any potential impacts to railroad 

10 and community safety due to blocked highway-rail 

11 grade crossings; 

12 (2) identify potential financial impacts incurred 

13 by the railroad or its customers due to blocked 

14 crossings; 

15 (3) identify potential freight network efficiency 

16 impacts due to solutions that will reduce or elimi17 nate the impacts of blocked crossings; 

18 (4) examine community impacts that result 

19 from blocked crossings; 

20 (5) examine causes for blocked crossings; 

21 (6) examine the potential impacts on railroad 

22 operations of the recommendations made in the re23 port submitted pursuant to subsection (c), including 

24 reliability of service to customers; and 


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1 (7) identify practical solutions to prevent 

2 blocked crossings. 

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

4 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

5 a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

6 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

7 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep8 resentatives that contains the results of the study con9 ducted by the National Academy of Sciences pursuant to 

10 this section. 

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

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

13 United States Code, the Secretary shall expend such sums 

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

15 carry out the study required under this section. 

16 (f) RAILROAD CROSSING ELIMINATION PROGRAM.— 

17 Section 22909 of title 49, United States Code, is amend18 ed— 

19 (1) in subsection (f)(2)(C)— 

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

21 semicolon; 

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

23 the semicolon at the end; and 

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


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

2 1 mile of a school;’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (g)— 

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

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN BUS ROUTES.—The Federal 

9 share of the cost of a project given additional consid10 eration under subsection (f)(2)(C)(iii) may not ex11 ceed 85 percent.’’. 

12 (g) RAILROAD POINT OF CONTACT FOR BLOCKED

13 CROSSINGS.— 

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

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, each 

16 railroad carrier shall establish and maintain a toll17 free telephone service for rights-of-way over which 

18 the railroad carrier dispatches trains to directly re19 ceive calls reporting blocked highway-rail grade 

20 crossings. 

21 (2) USE OF EXISTING NUMBER.—A railroad 

22 carrier may comply with the requirement under sub23 section (a) by using the telephone number that is 

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

25 title 49, United States Code. 


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1 (3) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.—Each railroad car2 rier subject to this subsection shall notify the Sec3 retary of the telephone number referred to in para4 graph (1) or (2), who shall post such number on a 

5 publicly-available website of the Department of 

6 Transportation. 

7 (4) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the re8 quirement that the telephone service be toll-free for 

9 Class II and Class III rail carriers if the Secretary 

10 determines that toll-free service would be cost pro11 hibitive or unnecessary. 

12 SEC. 105. INSPECTIONS. 

13 (a) TIME AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 

15 201 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

16 adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘§ 20172. Time available for inspection 

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

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

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

21 and brake system complies with safety laws and regula22 tions. 

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

24 inspection duties promptly and shall not delay other than 

25 for reasons related to safety.’’. 


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1 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

2 subchapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United 

3 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

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

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

6 later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of 

7 this Act, the Secretary shall amend the pre-departure in8 spection requirements for Class I railroads under part 215 

9 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (as written on 

10 such date of enactment)— 

11 (1) to ensure that after initial consultation with 

12 the Federal Railroad Administration, and after each 

13 subsequent annual consultation, each railroad identi14 fies inspection locations and, at such locations, has 

15 inspectors designated under part 215 available for 

16 the purpose of inspecting freight cars; 

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

18 by an inspector designated under part 215 at a des19 ignated inspection location in the direction of travel 

20 as soon as practicable; and 

21 (3) to require each railroad that operates rail22 road freight cars to which such part 215 applies to 

23 designate persons qualified to inspect railroad 

24 freight rail cars, subject to any existing collective 


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1 bargaining agreement, for compliance and deter2 minations required under such part. 

3 (c) QUALIFIED LOCOMOTIVE INSPECTIONS.—Not 

4 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

5 Act, the Secretary shall review and amend, as necessary, 

6 regulations under chapters 229 and 243 of title 49, Code 

7 of Federal Regulations— 

8 (1) to ensure appropriate training qualifications 

9 and proficiency of employees, including qualified me10 chanical inspectors, performing locomotive inspec11 tions; and 

12 (2) for locomotives in service on a Class I rail13 road, to require an additional daily inspection to be 

14 performed by a qualified mechanical inspector be15 tween the current intervals under section 

16 229.23(b)(2) of title 49, Code of Federal Regula17 tions. 

18 (d) AUDITS.— 

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

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

21 shall initiate audits of Federal railcar, locomotive, 

22 and train brake system inspection compliance with 

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

24 Regulations, which— 


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1 (A) consider whether the railroad has in 

2 place procedures necessary for railcar, loco3 motive, and train brake system inspection com4 pliance under such chapter; 

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

6 of training and performance metrics the rail7 road provides employees who perform railcar, 

8 locomotive, and train brake system inspections, 

9 including the qualifications specified for such 

10 employees; 

11 (C) determine whether the railroad has 

12 practices that would interfere with an employ13 ee’s responsibility to perform an inspection 

14 safely; 

15 (D) determine whether railcars, loco16 motives, and train brake systems are inspected 

17 on the railroad’s network in accordance with 

18 such chapter; 

19 (E) involve proper communication of iden20 tified defects to railroad personnel and make 

21 appropriate use of remedial action reports to 

22 verify that repairs are made; 

23 (F) determine whether managers coerce 

24 employees to sign off on any documents 


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1 verifying an inspection or repair of a railcar, lo2 comotive, or train brake system; 

3 (G) determine whether the railroad’s in4 spection procedures reflect the current oper5 ating practices of the railroad carrier; and 

6 (H) ensure that railroad inspection proce7 dures only provide for the use of persons per8 mitted to perform each relevant inspection 

9 under such chapter. 

10 (2) AUDIT SCHEDULING.—The Secretary 

11 shall— 

12 (A) schedule the audits required under 

13 paragraph (1) to ensure that— 

14 (i) every Class I railroad is audited 

15 not less frequently than once every 5 years; 

16 and 

17 (ii) a limited number, as determined 

18 by the Secretary, of Class II and Class III 

19 railroads are audited annually, provided 

20 that— 

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

22 historic, or excursion operation may 

23 be required under this subsection; and 


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1 (II) no other Class II or III rail2 road may be audited more frequently 

3 than once every 5 years; and 

4 (B) conduct the audits described in sub5 paragraph (A)(ii) in accordance with— 

6 (i) the Small Business Regulatory En7 forcement Fairness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 

8 601 note); and 

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

10 Code of Federal Regulations. 

11 (3) UPDATES TO INSPECTION PROGRAM AND

12 PROCEDURES.—If, during an audit required under 

13 this subsection, the auditor identifies a deficiency in 

14 a railroad’s procedures or practices necessary to en15 sure compliance with chapter II of subtitle B of title 

16 49, Code of Federal Regulations, the railroad shall 

17 eliminate such deficiency, after first being provided 

18 the opportunity to address whether such a deficiency 

19 exists. 

20 (4) CONSULTATION AND COOPERATION.— 

21 (A) CONSULTATION.—In conducting any 

22 audit required under this subsection, the Sec23 retary shall consult with the railroad being au24 dited and its employees, including any nonprofit 

25 employee labor organization representing the 


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1 employees of the railroad that conduct railcar, 

2 locomotive, or train brake system inspections. 

3 (B) COOPERATION.—The railroad being 

4 audited and its employees, including any non5 profit employee labor organization representing 

6 mechanical employees, shall fully cooperate with 

7 any audit conducted pursuant to this sub8 section— 

9 (i) by providing any relevant docu10 ments requested; and 

11 (ii) by making available any employees 

12 for interview without undue delay or ob13 struction. 

14 (C) FAILURE TO COOPERATE.—If the Sec15 retary determines that a railroad or any of its 

16 employees, including any nonprofit employee 

17 labor organization representing mechanical em18 ployees of the railroad is not fully cooperating 

19 with an audit conducted pursuant to this sub20 section, the Secretary shall electronically notify 

21 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

22 Transportation of the Senate and the Com23 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

24 the House of Representatives of such non25 cooperation. 


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1 (e) REVIEW OF REGULATIONS.—Not later than 5 

2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, and peri3 odically thereafter, the Secretary shall determine whether 

4 any update to chapters I and II of subtitle B of title 49, 

5 Code of Federal Regulations, is necessary to ensure the 

6 adequacy of railcar, locomotive, and train brake system 

7 inspections. 

8 (f) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall publish 

9 an annual report on the public website of the Federal Rail10 road Administration that— 

11 (1) summarizes the findings of the audits con12 ducted pursuant to subsection (c) during the most 

13 recently concluded fiscal year; 

14 (2) summarizes any updates made to chapter I 

15 or II of subtitle B of title 49, Code of Federal Regu16 lations, pursuant to this section; and 

17 (3) excludes any confidential business informa18 tion or sensitive security information. 

19 (g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec20 tion may be construed— 

21 (1) to provide the Secretary with any authority 

22 to interpret, revise, alter, or apply a collectively bar23 gained agreement, nor any authority over collective 

24 bargaining, collectively bargained agreements, or any 


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

2 seq.); 

3 (2) to alter the terms or interpretations of ex4 isting collective bargaining agreements; or 

5 (3) to abridge any procedural rights or rem6 edies provided under a collectively bargained agree7 ment. 

8 SEC. 106. EMERGENCY BRAKE SIGNALS. 

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

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

11 the Federal Railroad Administration shall convene a meet12 ing of the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee for the 

13 purpose of considering a regulatory safety task on the 

14 functioning of emergency brake signals. 

15 (b) PURPOSE.—The Railroad Safety Advisory Com16 mittee shall consider— 

17 (1) the sufficiency of the regulations under part 

18 232 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, with 

19 regard to end-of-train and head-of-train device com20 munications; 

21 (2) whether National Transportation Safety 

22 Board Safety Recommendations R–20–028 and R– 

23 20–029 have been adequately addressed; 


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1 (3) whether more frequent communication 

2 checks between a head-of-train device and an end-of3 train device would improve rail safety; and 

4 (4) whether repetition of the emergency brake 

5 signal transmission until it is received by the end-of6 train device would improve rail safety. 

7 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS AND WORK PLAN.—Not 

8 later than 90 days after the meeting is convened pursuant 

9 to subsection (a), a working group of the Railroad Safety 

10 Advisory Committee should— 

11 (1) develop initial recommendations with re12 spect to the matters considered under subsection (b); 

13 and 

14 (2) complete a work plan for implementing such 

15 recommendations. 

16 SEC. 107. DEFECT DETECTION SYSTEMS. 

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

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

19 105(a)(1), is further amended by adding at the end the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘§ 20173. Defect detection systems 

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

23 ‘‘(1) COVERED RAIL CARRIER.—The term ‘cov24 ered rail carrier’ has the meaning given the term 

25 ‘Class I carrier’ in section 10102. 


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

2 ‘defect detection system’ means the use of defect de3 tectors, the analysis of the data defect detectors 

4 produce, and any other aspects a system that help 

5 railroads identifying and understand the severity of 

6 known safety conditions. 

7 ‘‘(3) DEFECT DETECTOR.—The term ‘defect de8 tector’ means any device or equipment situated with9 in the rail system that can detect and communicate 

10 a potential or known safety condition. 

11 ‘‘(4) HIGH-HAZARD TRAIN.—The term ‘high12 hazard train’ has the meaning given such term in 

13 section 20155(a)(6). 

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

15 means— 

16 ‘‘(A) a segment or route of railroad 

17 tracks— 

18 ‘‘(i) over which 5,000,000 or more 

19 gross tons of railroad traffic is transported 

20 annually; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) that has a maximum authorized 

22 speed for freight trains in excess of 25 

23 miles per hour; and 

24 ‘‘(B) intercity rail passenger transportation 

25 or commuter rail passenger transportation 


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1 routes or segments over which high-hazard 

2 trains operate. 

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

4 ‘physical characteristics’ means the physical terrain 

5 and operating considerations related to the physical 

6 terrain for the relevant main line. 

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

8 Secretary shall develop a program for the research, devel9 opment, testing, and evaluation of defect detector systems 

10 to inform and support the rulemaking required under sub11 section (d) and the evaluation of plans under subsection 

12 (c), which shall include— 

13 ‘‘(1) an evaluation of existing manufacturer rec14 ommended practices, industry-developed voluntary 

15 consensus technical standards, and railroad safety 

16 data to inform appropriate standards for commer17 cially available defect detector systems and ensure 

18 the integrity and reliability of their use on the gen19 eral railroad system, including standards relating 

20 to— 

21 ‘‘(A) maintenance; 

22 ‘‘(B) testing; 

23 ‘‘(C) inspection; and 

24 ‘‘(D) installation; 


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

2 and trending algorithms to determine appropriate 

3 metrics and levels to ensure that defect detector sys4 tems identify unsafe equipment or operations in time 

5 to take appropriate safety actions; 

6 ‘‘(3) an evaluation of existing processes and 

7 procedures for decision making and communication 

8 of appropriate safety actions necessary to address 

9 unsafe equipment or operations, including— 

10 ‘‘(A) stoppage of rail equipment; 

11 ‘‘(B) setting out rail equipment; 

12 ‘‘(C) train speed reduction; 

13 ‘‘(D) diverting a train; and 

14 ‘‘(E) inspection requirements; 

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

16 limitations of existing technologies in use or devel17 oped to better assess the plans required under the 

18 final rule issued pursuant to subsection (c); and 

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

20 technologies. 

21 ‘‘(c) PLAN ELEMENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) RISK-BASED.—Each defect detection sys23 tem plan required under the final rule issued pursu24 ant to subsection (d) shall be risk-based. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each plan referred to in 

2 paragraph (1) shall include— 

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

4 defect detector network, including— 

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

6 risk of incidents near population centers 

7 and on high-hazard train routes; and 

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

9 will be implemented by the deadline set 

10 forth in subsection (d)(1)(B); 

11 ‘‘(B) a description of how the railroad’s de12 fect detection system meets or exceeds the de13 fect detection performance standards described 

14 in subsection (d)(1)(D); 

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

16 a risk-based approach for identifying overheated 

17 wheel bearings that require the placement of 

18 the types and spacing of defect detectors— 

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

20 urbanized area with a population of at 

21 least 75,000, at a distance that provides 

22 for any train operating along the railroad’s 

23 route to undergo detection not less than 10 

24 miles before entering such an area; 


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

2 acoustic bearing detectors or other similar 

3 technology, at a distance averaging 15 

4 route miles to the extent possible based on 

5 the physical characteristics of the route; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(iii) for main lines equipped with 

8 acoustic bearing detectors or other similar 

9 technology, at a distance averaging 20 

10 route miles to the extent possible based on 

11 the physical characteristics of the route 

12 along which such detectors are being in13 stalled; 

14 ‘‘(D) the types and spacing of other way15 side defect detectors required to be placed, to 

16 the extent such detectors are utilized; 

17 ‘‘(E) the manufacturer’s expected perform18 ance for each type of defect detector and how 

19 the carrier will assess compliance with such per20 formance; 

21 ‘‘(F) procedures for promptly providing 

22 pertinent safety alerts to train employees, in23 cluding locomotive engineers and conductors, 

24 train dispatchers, and relevant maintenance em25 ployees; 


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

2 data from the defect detector network with 

3 other railroad carriers and with rail car owners; 

4 ‘‘(H) policies and procedures for training 

5 employees regarding relevant elements of the 

6 defect detector system, including— 

7 ‘‘(i) persons whose duties include in8 stalling, maintaining, repairing, modifying, 

9 inspecting, reviewing data, and testing 

10 safety-critical elements of the railroad’s de11 fect detector, including central office, way12 side, or onboard subsystems; 

13 ‘‘(ii) persons who receive and review 

14 defect detector alerts; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) persons who operate trains or 

16 serve as a train or engine crew member; 

17 ‘‘(I) policies for maintaining records re18 garding the required elements of the rail defect 

19 detector network for not less than 5 years, 

20 which shall not include data on individual 

21 alerts; and 

22 ‘‘(J) designs for the collection and anal23 ysis, including applicable alerts, thresholds, and 

24 corresponding safety actions. 


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1 ‘‘(3) ALTERNATIVE HOT BEARING DETECTION

2 PLAN.— 

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

4 comply with an alternative hot bearing detec5 tion plan instead of the requirements described 

6 in paragraph (2)(C) if— 

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

8 to the Secretary and the Secretary ap9 proves the plan; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the plan provides an equivalent 

11 or higher level of safety as the require12 ments described in paragraph (2)(B). 

13 ‘‘(B) TRIENNIAL REVIEWS.—Not less fre14 quently than triennially, the Secretary shall re15 view each alternative plan approved pursuant to 

16 subparagraph (A) to determine its continuing 

17 effectiveness at detecting bearing-related de18 fects. 

19 ‘‘(d) RULEMAKING.— 

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

21 the date of the enactment of the Railroad Safety 

22 Enhancement Act of 2024, the Secretary shall ini23 tiate a rulemaking, and not later than 2 years after 

24 such date of enactment, the Secretary shall issue a 

25 final rule, in compliance with Executive Order 


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1 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601 note; relating to regulatory 

2 planning and review), that— 

3 ‘‘(A) requires covered rail carriers to sub4 mit, not later than 1 year after the issuance of 

5 such final rule, defect detector network plans 

6 that include the elements described in sub7 section (c)(2); 

8 ‘‘(B) requires the covered rail carrier to 

9 implement the plan required under paragraph 

10 (1) not later than 3 years after the issuance of 

11 such final rule; 

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

13 monitor compliance of such plans; 

14 ‘‘(D) establishes performance standards 

15 measured by the ability of a defect detection 

16 system to identify defects before a condition 

17 that is likely to result in an accident or inci18 dent, including how such ability will be meas19 ured and reported for data related to require20 ments; 

21 ‘‘(E) requires the reporting of data regard22 ing the defect defector network effectiveness, in23 cluding defect detector failures; 

24 ‘‘(F) creates requirements for covered rail 

25 carriers to test, inspect, and maintain any deVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Aug 12, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8996.IH H8996

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1 fect detector based on the evaluation completed 

2 pursuant to subsection (b)(1); and 

3 ‘‘(G) establish appropriate thresholds for 

4 alerts and corresponding safety actions, to the 

5 extent necessary. 

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

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

8 shall be updated not less frequently than once every 

9 5 years. 

10 ‘‘(e) UPDATES AND APPROVALS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) UPDATES.—Each entity subject to the 

12 mandate in subsection (a) shall update the plans re13 quired under subsection (d)(1)— 

14 ‘‘(A) to reflect material changes to its rail15 car defect detector network; or 

16 ‘‘(B) to address changes made to the per17 formance standards pursuant to subsection 

18 (d)(2). 

19 ‘‘(2) APPROVALS.—To ensure safety, the Sec20 retary shall promptly review each plan submitted 

21 pursuant to subsection (d)(1), including the suffi22 ciency of the performance standards required under 

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

24 plan and update that is required to be submitted 

25 under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(3) REVIEWS FOR COMPLIANCE.—Not less fre2 quently than biannually, the Secretary shall conduct 

3 reviews to ensure that railroad carriers are com4 plying with the plans required under paragraph (1). 

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

6 days after receipt, the Secretary shall make available 

7 to the public on the website of the Department of 

8 Transportation any plan or update submitted pursu9 ant to this section, but the Secretary shall redact— 

10 ‘‘(A) proprietary information, as verified 

11 by the Secretary; and 

12 ‘‘(B) security-sensitive information, includ13 ing information described in section 1520.5(a) 

14 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or suc15 cessor regulation), as verified by the Secretary. 

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

17 civil penalty under chapter 213 of this title for any viola18 tion pursuant to the rulemaking under subsection (a) 

19 for— 

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

21 the railroad is noncompliant with the plan approved 

22 under subsection (e)(2); and 

23 ‘‘(2) failing to take any corresponding safety 

24 action to an alert as set forth in the approved plan 

25 pursuant to subsection (c)(2)(J). 


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1 ‘‘(g) PRESERVATION OF AUTHORITY.—Nothing in 

2 this section may be construed to restrict the authority of 

3 the Secretary.’’. 

4 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for sub5 chapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, 

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

7 adding at the end the following: 

‘‘20173. Defect detection systems.’’. 

8 (c) TEMPORARY DEFECT DETECTION ASSIST9 ANCE.— 

10 (1) FORMULA GRANT PROGRAM.—The Adminis11 trator of the Federal Railroad Administration shall 

12 establish a formula grant program to assist com13 muter railroads with installing defect detection tech14 nology. 

15 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—A commuter railroad 

16 that has a contract with a Class I railroad, as of 

17 May 1, 2023, that requires the commuter railroad to 

18 install defect detection technology that complies with 

19 the approved plan submitted pursuant to section 

20 20173 of title 49, United States Code, is eligible to 

21 receive a grant under this subsection. 

22 (3) FORMULA.—Grant funding under this sub23 section shall be allocated based on the number of de24 fect detectors required to be installed to comply with 

25 section 20173 of title 49, United States Code. 


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1 (4) REQUIREMENTS.—Any eligible entity that 

2 receive grant funding under this subsection shall 

3 comply with the grant conditions set forth in such 

4 section 22909(j). 

5 (5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

6 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fed7 eral Railroad Administration such amounts as may 

8 be necessary to carry out the formula grant program 

9 under this subsection. 

10 SEC. 108. SAFE FREIGHT ACT OF 2023. 

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

12 ‘‘Safe Freight Act of 2023’’. 

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

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

15 by inserting after section 20153 the following: 

16 ‘‘§ 20154. Freight train crew size safety standards 

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

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

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

20 consisting of at least 1 appropriately qualified and cer21 tified conductor and 1 appropriately qualified and certified 

22 locomotive engineer. 

23 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.— 


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

3 shall 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 

8 a 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 equip14 ment or are attached only to a caboose; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) do not travel father than 50 

17 miles from the point of origin of such loco18 motive; and 

19 ‘‘(D) train operations staffed with fewer 

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

21 date of the enactment of the Safe Freight Act 

22 of 2023 unless the Secretary determines that 

23 such operations do not achieve an equivalent 

24 level of safety as would result from compliance 

25 with the requirement under subsection (a). 


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

2 The exceptions under paragraph (2) may not be ap3 plied to— 

4 ‘‘(A) a high-hazard train (as defined in 

5 section 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 

10 with section 20103(d). 

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

12 this section may be construed to restrict the authority of 

13 the Secretary.’’. 

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. Sub2 ject to section 21304, a person violating a requirement 

3 of, a regulation prescribed under, or an order issued by, 

4 the Secretary under chapters 201 through 211 is liable 

5 to the United States Government for a civil penalty. An 

6 act by an individual that causes a railroad carrier to be 

7 in violation constitutes a violation of this paragraph. A 

8 separate violation occurs for each day such violation con9 tinues. 

10 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall include in, or make applica11 ble to, each requirement of, regulation prescribed under, 

12 and order issued under chapters 201 through 211 a civil 

13 penalty for a violation of such requirement, regulation, or 

14 order in an amount equal to— 

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

16 $1,000,000; or 

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

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

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

20 a successor regulation)), including a Class III rail21 road, at least $1,000 and not more than $200,000.’’; 

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

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

24 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol25 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 oth13 erwise required under paragraph (2) or (3) if the violation 

14 follows a pattern of repeated violations or otherwise re15 flects a deliberate indifference or conscious disregard to 

16 the consequences of the conduct.’’; and 

17 (4) in paragraph (6), as redesignated, by add18 ing at the end the following: ‘‘Such civil action may 

19 be brought in the judicial district in which the viola20 tion occurred or in which the defendant has its prin21 cipal executive office. If the civil action is against an 

22 individual, the action may also be brought in the ju23 dicial district in which such individual resides.’’. 


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1 (b) HOURS OF SERVICE VIOLATIONS.—Section 

2 21301 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by add3 ing at 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 car8 rier is deemed to have knowledge of the acts of its officers 

9 and 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 

14 the date of such violation unless administrative notifica15 tion under section 3711 of title 31 is given within such 

16 2-year period to the person committing the violation. If 

17 such notification is given, the action shall be brought not 

18 later than the last day of the 5-year period specified in 

19 section 2462 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 


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1 Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 

2 (28 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; 

7 and 

8 (2) for maximum penalty amounts amended by 

9 this section, shall be rounded to the nearest multiple 

10 of $1,000. 

11 (d) REPEAL.— 

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

13 United States Code, is amended by striking sections 

14 21302 and 21303. 

15 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

16 chapter 213 of title 49, United States Code, is 

17 amended by striking the items relating to sections 

18 21302 and 21303. 

19 SEC. 110. SAFER TANK CARS. 

20 (a) CLASS 3 FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS PHASE-OUT

21 SCHEDULE.—Beginning on December 31, 2027, no rail22 road tank car, regardless of its construction date, may be 

23 used to transport Class 3 flammable liquids in packing 

24 groups II and III (other than Class 3 flammable liquids 

25 listed in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 7304(b) of the 


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1 Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety Improvement 

2 Act of 2015 (49 U.S.C. 20155 note)), regardless of the 

3 composition of the train consist, unless such tank car 

4 meets or exceeds the DOT–117, DOT–117P, or DOT– 

5 117R specifications (as in effect on the date of the enact6 ment of this Act), including DOT–105A, DOT–105H, 

7 DOT–105J, DOT–105S, DOT–112H, DOT–112S, DOT– 

8 112J, DOT–120J, and DOT–120S tank cars. 

9 (b) CONFORMING REGULATORY AMENDMENTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary— 

11 (A) shall immediately remove or revise the 

12 date-specific deadlines in any applicable regula13 tions or orders to the extent necessary to con14 form with the requirement under subsection (a); 

15 and 

16 (B) may not enforce any date-specific 

17 deadlines or requirements that are inconsistent 

18 with the requirement under subsection (a). 

19 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Except as re20 quired under paragraph (1), nothing in this section 

21 may be construed to require the Secretary to issue 

22 regulations to implement this section. 

23 (c) AMENDING THE PHASE-OUT DATE.—If the Sec24 retary, based on the data contained in the report issued 

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


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1 date under subsection (a) cannot be met due to insuffi2 cient manufacturing capacity or would otherwise result in 

3 significant impacts to interstate commerce, the Secretary 

4 shall delay the phase-out scheduled under subsection (a) 

5 to December 31, 2028. 

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

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

8 General of the United States shall issue a report to the 

9 Secretary, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

10 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

11 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep12 resentatives that— 

13 (1) identifies the manufacturing capacity of 

14 tank car manufacturers in North America, that 

15 manufacture tank cars to meet DOT–117 and 

16 DOT–117P specification requirements; 

17 (2) identifies the retrofit capacity of tank car 

18 manufacturers and other entities in North America 

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

20 117R specification requirements; 

21 (3) estimates the schedule of replacing tank 

22 cars currently in service that are reaching the end 

23 of their life cycle; 

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

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


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1 and paragraph (2) and the number that could be 

2 retrofitted; and 

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

4 SEC. 111. RAIL SAFETY INFRASTRUCTURE RESEARCH AND 

5 DEVELOPMENT GRANTS. 

6 (a) RESEARCH REQUIREMENT.—The Administrator 

7 of the Federal Railroad Administration shall award 

8 grants, in accordance with the restrictions and limitation 

9 on eligibility for Class I railroads under section 22907 of 

10 title 49, United States Code, which shall be used for re11 search and development of defect detectors and the pre12 vention of derailments of trains transporting hazardous 

13 materials. 

14 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

15 authorized to be appropriated to the Federal Railroad Ad16 ministration, $22,000,000, which shall be used for the 

17 grants authorized under subsection (a) and shall remain 

18 available until expended. 

19 SEC. 112. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR TANK 

20 CAR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

21 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Pipeline 

22 and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, 

23 $5,000,000, which shall be used for expenses related to 

24 the development of— 


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

2 tank cars; and 

3 (2) other tank car safety features. 

4 SEC. 113. FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION SAFETY 

5 CULTURE. 

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

7 of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the 

8 Department of Transportation shall— 

9 (1) conduct a review of the Federal Railroad 

10 Administration’s safety culture using the framework 

11 developed by the Nuclear Energy Agency of the 

12 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Devel13 opment; and 

14 (2) submit a report to the Committee on Com15 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

16 and the Committee on Transportation and Infra17 structure of the House of Representatives that in18 cludes recommendations for improving the Federal 

19 Railroad Administration’s safety culture. 

20 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—As a part of the review con21 ducted pursuant to subsection (a)(1), the Inspector Gen22 eral shall consider the impacts of the Federal Railroad Ad23 ministration’s— 

24 (1) reorganization of its safety offices and man25 agement structure; 


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1 (2) reorganization of its policy and research of2 fices; and 

3 (3) telework policies, including any change in 

4 policies since the beginning of the COVID–19 pan5 demic. 

6 (c) ACTION PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after the 

7 submission of the report required under subsection (a)(2), 

8 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Com9 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

10 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

11 House of Representatives and post on a public-facing 

12 website an action plan that addresses the recommenda13 tions and findings made by the Inspector General in such 

14 report. 

15 SEC. 114. GAO REPORT ON ROADWAY WORKER PROTEC16 TIONS. 

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

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

19 of the United States shall— 

20 (1) conduct a review of currently available tech21 nologies for roadway workers (as defined in section 

22 214.7 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations) with 

23 protection from the hazards of being struck by a 

24 train or other on-track equipment in the United 

25 States; and 


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1 (2) submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

2 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

3 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

4 the House of Representatives a report that summa5 rizes the results of the review conducted under sub6 paragraph (a), including recommendations, as the 

7 Comptroller General considers appropriate. 

8 (b) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub9 section (a)(2) shall— 

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

11 incidences within the rail right-of-way associated 

12 with roadway workers being struck by a train or 

13 other on-track equipment, based on available data, 

14 including whether individuals were acting in compli15 ance with the applicable rules, policies, procedures, 

16 and practices; 

17 (2) describe the types of technologies referenced 

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

19 of injury and death when deployed as a secondary 

20 warning system to the standard operating proce21 dures of a rail carrier, including for each tech22 nology— 

23 (A) the primary function and features; 

24 (B) the maturity, implementation readi25 ness, and user experience; 


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1 (C) the frequency of implementation; 

2 (D) any costs, including up front and on3 going maintenance costs, of the technology and 

4 other costs associated with the technology; 

5 (E) safety benefits associated with the 

6 technology relative to current rules, policies, 

7 procedures, and practices; and 

8 (F) ability to enhance protections for road9 way workers without negatively impacting oper10 ational or network efficiencies; 

11 (3) discuss the potential for such technologies 

12 to reduce or eliminate roadway worker accidents oc13 curring within the rail right-of-way; 

14 (4) describe any challenges or barriers to adop15 tion of such safety technologies, including oper16 ational, technical, and network efficiency challenges 

17 or barriers; and 

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

19 such technology as a secondary warning system. 

20 SEC. 115. FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION SAFETY 

21 WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT. 

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

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

24 Transportation shall submit a report to the Committee on 

25 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 


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1 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

2 the House of Representatives that contains the results of 

3 a review of the Federal Railroad Administration Office of 

4 Railroad Safety inspector and specialist staff resource 

5 management, including— 

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

7 of Federal Railroad Administration safety inspectors 

8 and specialists, including— 

9 (A) the number of safety inspector and 

10 specialist vacancies; 

11 (B) the number of such positions requested 

12 in each of the budget requests for the last 10 

13 fiscal years; and 

14 (C) the actual workforce levels during each 

15 of such fiscal years; 

16 (2) an assessment of geographic allocation 

17 plans, potential hiring and time-to-hire challenges, 

18 expected retirement rates, and recruitment and re19 tention strategies; 

20 (3) a description of any internal Federal Rail21 road Administration goals for compliance inspection 

22 rates across the network of regulated activities, and 

23 whether requested and actual safety inspector and 

24 specialist workforce levels align with such goals; 


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1 (4) whether the system used for the notifica2 tion, processing, or storing of civil penalty enforce3 ment cases and other compliance actions rec4 ommended by safety inspectors and specialists 

5 against railroads, shippers of hazardous materials, 

6 and other respondents effectively supports the Fed7 eral Railroad Administration’s compliance inspection 

8 and enforcement program; 

9 (5) whether any macroeconomic or other condi10 tions exist or have existed under which it has been 

11 difficult for the Federal Railroad Administration to 

12 fill safety inspector and specialist vacancies, and the 

13 degree to which special rates of pay or other recruit14 ment and retention practices could ameliorate or 

15 could have ameliorated such difficulty; and 

16 (6) recommendations for any reforms that 

17 could— 

18 (A) improve the recruitment, hiring, and 

19 retention of Federal Railroad Administration 

20 safety inspectors and specialists, including po21 tential quality of life and workplace improve22 ments; 

23 (B) improve Federal Railroad Administra24 tion workforce management processes; or 


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1 (C) increase the capacity for inspection ac2 tivities, if such capacity is identified as defi3 cient, at the Federal Railroad Administration, 

4 including activities relating to the transpor5 tation of hazardous materials. 

6 SEC. 116. OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT REVIEW 

7 OF SAFETY INSPECTOR AND SPECIALIST 

8 CLASSIFICATIONS. 

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

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

11 the Director of the Office of Personnel Management 

12 shall— 

13 (1) complete a review of the Railroad Safety Se14 ries, GS–2121, TS–37; and 

15 (2) subject to subsection (b), revise the series 

16 referred to in paragraph (1), as appropriate, to re17 flect factors impacting the Federal Railroad Admin18 istration’s oversight of the railroad industry, includ19 ing— 

20 (A) current critical Federal Railroad Ad21 ministration disciplines; and 

22 (B) technological advancements and oper23 ational conditions within the railroad industry. 

24 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after com25 pleting the review required under subsection (a), if the DiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Aug 12, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8996.IH H8996

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1 rector determines that a revision of the Railroad Safety 

2 Series is not appropriate, the Director shall submit a re3 port to the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern4 mental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Com5 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the 

6 Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House 

7 of Representatives, and the Committee on Transportation 

8 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives that— 

9 (1) explains the findings of the review required 

10 under subsection (a); and 

11 (2) justifies the determination not to make revi12 sions to the Railroad Safety Series. 

13 SEC. 117. ALCOHOL AND DRUG TESTING. 

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

15 of this Act, the Secretary shall amend part 219 of title 

16 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to require any employee 

17 who, on behalf of a railroad, inspects locomotives, pas18 senger cars, railcars, or other on-track equipment, to be 

19 subject to the breath or body fluid testing required under 

20 subparts C, D, and E of such part. 

21 SEC. 118. CONFIDENTIAL CLOSE CALL REPORTING SYSTEM. 

22 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR CLOSE CALL REPORTING

23 SYSTEM.—The Administrator of the National Aeronautics 

24 and Space Administration and the Administrator of the 

25 Federal Railroad Administration shall jointly ensure that 


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1 any close call reporting system carried out by such Admin2 istrators provides for the following: 

3 (1) Each report of a close call event made to 

4 such reporting system shall be confidential. 

5 (2) An individual submitting a report to such 

6 system may include an audio or video file that was 

7 captured on the personal device of such individual. 

8 (3) Each report submitted to such system shall 

9 contain the location of the event, including, as appli10 cable, the global positioning system coordinates of 

11 such event. 

12 (4) A report with respect to any craft shall be 

13 eligible for submission to such system. 

14 (5) The Administrator of the National Aero15 nautics and Space Administration or the Adminis16 trator of the Federal Railroad Administration may 

17 take a remedial action or an action to improve safe18 ty, or require a railroad to take an action, based 

19 solely on a report or a subset of reports submitted 

20 to the system. 

21 (b) APPLICATION OF CLOSE CALL REPORTING TO

22 AMTRAK.—Each Class I railroad and Amtrak shall, not 

23 later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

24 enroll in the confidential close call reporting system for 

25 a period of 2 years. 


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1 SEC. 119. ASKRAIL APPLICATION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to be eligible for financial 

3 assistance under section 22907 or 24911 of title 49, 

4 United States Code, a State department of transportation 

5 shall notify first responders about the AskRail application, 

6 if a Class 1 railroad operates within the State, not later 

7 than 180 days after receiving such financial assistance. 

8 (b) FRA NOTIFICATION.—If a State is subject to 

9 subsection (a), each State department of transportation 

10 shall submit to the Federal Rail Administration— 

11 (1) evidence of the notification required under 

12 such subsection; and 

13 (2) a certification that such State has com14 pleted the requirement. 

15 (c) ASKRAIL CONNECTIVITY PILOT PROGRAM.— 

16 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of 

17 the Federal Railroad Administration shall establish 

18 a pilot program to support connectivity for the 

19 AskRail application for first responders during rail20 way accidents. 

21 (2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this sub22 section, the Administrator, the Federal Communica23 tions Commission, and the Department of Agri24 culture, in consultation with the National Tele25 communications and Information Administration, 


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1 shall identify and prioritize areas along the national 

2 rail network in most need of connectivity. 

3 (3) PILOT PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—In car4 rying out the pilot program required under para5 graph (1), the Administrator shall— 

6 (A) not later than 90 days after the date 

7 of enactment of this Act, solicit proposals from 

8 entities or coalitions of entities to conduct ac9 tivities under the pilot program; and 

10 (B) enter into cooperative agreements with 

11 at least 1 but not more than 4 entities to un12 dertake activities under the pilot program, 

13 which may include past performance and expe14 rience with— 

15 (i) deploying connectivity technology 

16 and infrastructure in rural and remote lo17 cations, including satellite broadband tech18 nology, supplemental coverage from space, 

19 or fixed wireless technology; and 

20 (ii) contracting with emergency re21 sponse providers, including Federal, State, 

22 and local governmental and nongovern23 mental emergency public safety, fire, law 

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1 gency facilities), and related personnel, 

2 agencies, and authorities. 

3 (4) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the pilot pro4 gram required under paragraph (1), the Adminis5 trator shall contract with eligible entities to provide 

6 broadband internet access service, fixed wireless 

7 technology or supplemental coverage from space. 

8 (5) ELIGIBILITY.—An eligible entity to carry 

9 out activities under the pilot program includes— 

10 (A) a broadband internet access service 

11 provider; 

12 (B) a satellite internet provider; and 

13 (C) a provider of supplemental coverage 

14 from space or fixed wireless technology. 

15 (6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

16 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

17 this subsection $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal 

18 years 2025 through 2028, to remain available until 

19 expended. 

20 (7) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 

21 year after the conclusion of the pilot program, the 

22 Administrator shall submit to the Committee on 

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1 structure of the House of Representatives a report 

2 on— 

3 (A) the effectiveness and usage of the tech4 nologies or infrastructure utilized and deployed 

5 in such program; 

6 (B) recommendations about their suit7 ability for deployment across further portions of 

8 the national rail network; and 

9 (C) recommendations to update grant pri10 orities and eligibility guidance for administering 

11 railway safety Federal grant and loan programs 

12 to encourage investing in and modernizing 

13 emergency communications capabilities, includ14 ing satellite internet providers, fixed wireless 

15 technology, and the nationwide public safety 

16 broadband network, as defined in section 6001 

17 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Cre18 ation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1401). 

19 SEC. 120. INCREASED FUNDING FOR THE RAILROAD CROSS20 ING ELIMINATION GRANT PROGRAM. 

21 Section 22104(a) of the Infrastructure Investment 

22 and Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58) is amended to read 

23 as follows: 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec3 retary for grants under section 22909 of title 49, 

4 United States Code, $1,500,000,000 for each of fis5 cal years 2025 through 2028. 

6 ‘‘(2) SUMMARY REQUIRED.—In order to be eli7 gible for the funds authorized under paragraph (1), 

8 a State department of transportation shall submit to 

9 the Federal Railroad Administration a summary of 

10 the most dangerous grade crossings in the State.’’. 

11 SEC. 121. GRANT PROGRAMS FOR ADOPTION OF CERTAIN 

12 TELEMATICS SYSTEMS. 

13 (a) ONBOARD FREIGHT RAILCAR TELEMATICS SYS14 TEMS AND GATEWAY DEVICE GRANT PROGRAM.—The 

15 Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration 

16 shall establish a grant program to provide funds to freight 

17 railcar owners or operators to install and maintain— 

18 (1) onboard freight railcar telematics systems; 

19 or 

20 (2) onboard freight railcar gateway devices. 

21 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds provided under this sec22 tion may be used for onboard freight railcar telematic sys23 tems or onboard freight railcar gateway devices that en24 able the recipient of a grant to obtain and enhance the 


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1 data collected from such systems and devices resulting in 

2 the following: 

3 (1) Near real-time visibility of freight railcar lo4 cation and freight railcar asset health. 

5 (2) Increasing the visibility to the safety of the 

6 asset and commodity within the freight railcar asset. 

7 (3) Increasing future capability of real-time vis8 ibility to railcar owners in the development of on9 board freight railcar sensor technology that meas10 ures or monitors, for purposes of gathering informa11 tion on maintenance requirements (and enables rail12 car owners, operators, and shippers to identify rail13 cars that could become a hazard)— 

14 (A) railcar impact; 

15 (B) wheel or wheel bearing temperature; 

16 (C) whether a hand brake is on or off; 

17 (D) whether a hatch is open or closed; and 

18 (E) internal railcar temperature. 

19 (4) Increasing the efficiency of railcar utiliza20 tion in the North American freight railcar fleet. 

21 (5) Reducing reliance on human and manual 

22 data capture, reducing the risk of errors related to 

23 freight railcar data and information. 


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1 (6) Offering development of alerts and triggers 

2 to capture and transmit freight railcar mechanical 

3 issues to the railroad operator for action. 

4 (7) Ability to communicate events real-time to 

5 a wide variety of stakeholders. 

6 (c) GRANT USE PRIORITIZATION.—In selecting re7 cipients of grants under this section, the Administrator 

8 shall prioritize installation of onboard freight railcar 

9 telematic systems or onboard freight railcar gateway de10 vices in the following order of priority: 

11 (1) Newly built freight railcars manufactured 

12 by a qualified manufacturer in a qualified facility. 

13 (2) Freight railcars entering a certification 

14 event in a qualified facility. 

15 (3) Freight railcars entering a shopping event 

16 or maintenance event in a qualified facility. 

17 (d) FREIGHT RAILCAR TYPE PRIORITIZATION.— 

18 After establishing the priority requirements under sub19 section (c), the Administrator shall further ensure that the 

20 freight railcar types eligible to receive such an installation 

21 be considered in the following order of priority: 

22 (1) Tank cars in ‘‘TIH/PIH’’ (toxic inhalation 

23 products) service. 

24 (2) Tank cars in Class I, II, and III flammable 

25 service. 


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1 (3) Tank cars in hazardous materials service. 

2 (4) Tank cars in specialized service. 

3 (5) Other tank cars. 

4 (6) All other freight railcars. 

5 (e) LIMITATION.—To be eligible for any expenditure 

6 of funds under this section, a freight railcar and any sen7 sitive technology relating to such railcar shall comply with 

8 the requirements of section 20171 of title 49, United 

9 States Code. 

10 (f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

12 shall submit a report to the Committee on Commerce, 

13 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com14 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

15 of Representatives on the activities carried out with funds 

16 provided under this section, including the number of 

17 freight railcars that have been outfitted with onboard rail18 car telematics or gateway devices using such funds. 

19 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi20 nitions apply: 

21 (1) ONBOARD FREIGHT RAILCAR TELEMATICS

22 SYSTEM; ONBOARD FREIGHT RAILCAR GATEWAY DE23 VICE.—The terms ‘‘onboard freight railcar 

24 telematics system’’ and ‘‘onboard freight railcar 

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1 vice physically installed on a freight railcar that is 

2 installed and owned by a railcar owner that collects 

3 and transmits data about the railcar asset. 

4 (2) TELEMATICS.—The term ‘‘telematics’’ 

5 means a technology that— 

6 (A) relies on telecommunications, 

7 informatics, and computer and data processing; 

8 (B) generates data and informatics from 

9 gateway devices fixed to railcars and provide for 

10 the exchange of information over a distance 

11 using battery or solar powered wireless connec12 tions; and 

13 (C) includes the method upon which 

14 freight railcars are monitored by using GPS 

15 technology through a gateway device using on16 board diagnostics to plot a railcar’s movements 

17 and, if applicable, gather railcar equipment 

18 health and condition data from other onboard 

19 railcar sensors when applied. 

20 (3) GATEWAY DEVICE.—The term ‘‘gateway de21 vice’’ means a network hardware or software node 

22 used in freight railcar telecommunications that— 

23 (A) connects two networks with different 

24 transmission protocols together; 


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1 (B) serve as an entry and exit point for a 

2 network as all data collected from the railcar 

3 must pass through or communicate with the 

4 gateway prior to being routed; 

5 (C) are distinct from routers or switches in 

6 that they communicate using more than one 

7 protocol to connect multiple networks; and 

8 (D) may be any device on a freight railcar 

9 that is embedded with electronics, software, 

10 sensors, or other connectivity, that enables the 

11 device to connect to, collect data from, or ex12 change data with another device, including— 

13 (i) railcar onboard telematics; 

14 (ii) global positioning system satellite 

15 and cellular location tracking systems; 

16 (iii) railcar event status sensors; 

17 (iv) railcar predictive component con18 dition and performance monitoring sen19 sors; and 

20 (v) similar sensitive technologies em21 bedded into freight railcar components and 

22 sub-assemblies. 

23 (4) RAILROAD FREIGHT CAR.—The term ‘‘rail24 road freight car’’ means a car designed to carry 

25 freight or railroad personnel by rail, including— 


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1 (A) a box railcar; 

2 (B) a refrigerator railcar; 

3 (C) a ventilator railcar; 

4 (D) an intermodal well railcar; 

5 (E) a gondola railcar; 

6 (F) a hopper railcar; 

7 (G) an auto rack railcar; 

8 (H) a flat railcar; 

9 (I) a special railcar; 

10 (J) a caboose railcar; 

11 (K) a tank railcar; and 

12 (L) a yard railcar. 

13 (5) QUALIFIED FACILITY.—The term ‘‘qualified 

14 facility’’ means a facility that is not owned or under 

15 the control of a state-owned enterprise. 

16 (6) QUALIFIED MANUFACTURER.—The term 

17 ‘‘qualified manufacturer’’ means a railroad freight 

18 car manufacturer that is not owned or under the 

19 control of a state-owned enterprise. 

20 (7) CERTIFICATION EVENT.—The term ‘‘certifi21 cation event’’ means a railroad freight car that is re22 quired by current regulations to be recertified in a 

23 maintenance facility or qualified facility. 

24 (8) SHOPPING EVENT.—The term ‘‘shopping 

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1 going regular or routine maintenance and physically 

2 located in a railcar maintenance facility or qualified 

3 facility. 

4 (9) STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISE.—The term 

5 ‘‘state-owned enterprise’’ means— 

6 (A) an entity that is owned by, or under 

7 the control of, a national, provincial, or local 

8 government of a country of concern, or an 

9 agency of such government; or 

10 (B) an individual acting under the direc11 tion or influence of a government or agency de12 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

13 (10) COUNTRY OF CONCERN.—The term ‘‘coun14 try of concern’’ means a country that— 

15 (A) is identified by the Department of 

16 Commerce as a nonmarket economy country (as 

17 defined in section 771(18) of the Tariff Act of 

18 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1677(18))) as of the date of 

19 enactment of the Passenger Rail Expansion and 

20 Rail Safety Act of 2021; 

21 (B) was identified by the United States 

22 Trade Representative in the most recent report 

23 required by section 182 of the Trade Act of 

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1 cluded on the priority watch list (as defined in 

2 subsection (g)(3) of such section); and 

3 (C) is subject to monitoring by the Trade 

4 Representative under section 306 of the Trade 

5 Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2416). 

6 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

7 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

8 $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2028, 

9 to remain available until expended. 

10 SEC. 122. ENHANCING FREIGHT RAILCAR ONBOARD 

11 TELEMATICS AND SENSOR DEVELOPMENT 

12 PILOT PROGRAM. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the 

14 Federal Railroad Administration shall establish a pilot 

15 program to— 

16 (1) assist freight railcar owners and freight 

17 railcar manufacturers in the development of freight 

18 railcar onboard sensor technologies to add visibility 

19 to the safety of the freight railcar asset and com20 modity within the freight railcar asset; 

21 (2) encourage development of freight railcar on22 board sensors that communicate to the freight rail23 car onboard gateway device to offer future capabili24 ties of real-time visibility of— 

25 (A) wheel and wheel bearing temperature; 


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1 (B) whether a hand brake is on or off; 

2 (C) whether a hatch is open or closed; and 

3 (D) internal railcar temperature; and 

4 (3) carry out any of the activities described in 

5 paragraph (1) and (2) for purposes of informing 

6 railcar owners or operators on maintenance require7 ments, and enables railroads, shippers, and railcar 

8 owners to possibly identify railcars that could be9 come a hazard. 

10 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Eligible entities for fund11 ing under pilot program under this section are freight rail12 car owners. 

13 (c) LIMITATION.—To be eligible for any expenditure 

14 of funds under this section, a freight railcar and any sen15 sitive technology relating to such railcar shall comply with 

16 the requirements of section 20171 of title 49, United 

17 States Code. 

18 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

20 shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

21 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

22 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep23 resentatives a report on— 

24 (1) the activities carried out with funds pro25 vided under this section; and 


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1 (2) the effectiveness of developed freight railcar 

2 onboard sensors by outlining the types and numbers 

3 of sensors that have become industry accepted and 

4 are in use on freight railcars. 

5 (e) DEFINITIONS.— 

6 (1) FREIGHT RAILCAR ONBOARD SENSOR.—The 

7 term ‘‘freight railcar onboard sensor’’ means the on8 board sensor that communicates or signals the 

9 freight railcar onboard telematics device or gateway 

10 device physically installed on a freight railcar that is 

11 installed by, and owned by the railcar owner that 

12 collects and transmits data about the railcar asset to 

13 the railcar owner, data system, or data collection 

14 point. 

15 (2) RAILROAD FREIGHT CAR.—The term ‘‘rail16 road freight car’’ means a car designed to carry 

17 freight or railroad personnel by rail, including— 

18 (A) a box railcar; 

19 (B) a refrigerator railcar; 

20 (C) a ventilator railcar; 

21 (D) an intermodal well railcar; 

22 (E) a gondola railcar; 

23 (F) a hopper railcar; 

24 (G) an auto rack railcar; 

25 (H) a flat railcar; 


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1 (I) a special railcar; 

2 (J) a caboose railcar; 

3 (K) a tank railcar; and 

4 (L) a yard railcar. 

5 (3) TELEMATICS.—The term ‘‘telematics’’ 

6 means a technology that— 

7 (A) relies on telecommunications, 

8 informatics, and computer and data processing; 

9 (B) generates data and informatics from 

10 gateway devices fixed to railcars and provide for 

11 the exchange of information over a distance 

12 using battery or solar powered wireless connec13 tions; and 

14 (C) includes the method upon which 

15 freight railcars are monitored by using GPS 

16 technology through a gateway device using on17 board diagnostics to plot a railcar’s movements 

18 and, if applicable, gather railcar equipment 

19 health and condition data from other onboard 

20 railcar sensors when applied. 

21 (4) GATEWAY DEVICE.—The term ‘‘gateway de22 vice’’ means a network hardware or software node 

23 used in freight railcar telecommunications that— 

24 (A) connects two networks with different 

25 transmission protocols together; 


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1 (B) serve as an entry and exit point for a 

2 network as all data collected from the railcar 

3 must pass through or communicate with the 

4 gateway prior to being routed; 

5 (C) are distinct from routers or switches in 

6 that they communicate using more than one 

7 protocol to connect multiple networks; and 

8 (D) may be any device on a freight railcar 

9 that is embedded with electronics, software, 

10 sensors, or other connectivity, that enables the 

11 device to connect to, collect data from, or ex12 change data with another device, including— 

13 (i) railcar onboard telematics; 

14 (ii) global positioning system satellite 

15 and cellular location tracking systems; 

16 (iii) railcar event status sensors; 

17 (iv) railcar predictive component con18 dition and performance monitoring sen19 sors; and 

20 (v) similar sensitive technologies em21 bedded into freight railcar components and 

22 sub-assemblies. 

23 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

24 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 


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1 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2028, 

2 to remain available until expended. 

3 SEC. 123. TRAIN APPROACH WARNING. 

4 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

5 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall promul6 gate or update such regulations as are necessary to require 

7 that all railroads provide warning equipment to railroad 

8 watchmen and lookouts for roadway workers that— 

9 (1) include whistles, air horns, white disks or 

10 red flags, or lanterns; and 

11 (2) may only include the use of a verbal warn12 ing if a single worker receiving such warning is with13 in arms reach of the individual issuing such warn14 ing. 

15 SEC. 124. RAILROAD-SHIPPER TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY 

16 COUNCIL. 

17 Section 1325 of title 49, United States Code, is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘19’’ and inserting ‘‘23’’; 

21 (B) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘, railcar 

22 leasing,’’ before ‘‘and rail shipper industries.’’; 

23 and 

24 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

25 (i) by striking ‘‘6’’ and inserting ‘‘8’’; 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

2 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

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

4 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

5 and’’; and 

6 (iv) by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(C) 2 shall be representatives of rail car 

9 lessors.’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 ‘‘(1) RAIL CAR LEASING.—The terms ‘rail car 

13 leasing’ means the act of leasing a rail car by a rail 

14 car lessor. 

15 ‘‘(2) RAIL CAR LESSOR.—The term ‘rail car les16 sor’ means an entity that— 

17 ‘‘(A) owns a variety of different types of 

18 rail cars and lease such rail cars to railroads or 

19 shippers under contracts that require the lessor 

20 to provide maintenance and administrative serv21 ices; and 

22 ‘‘(B) is not owned or controlled by an enti23 ty or entities that are rail carriers, rail opera24 tors, or shippers.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—HAZARDOUS MATE2 RIALS EMERGENCY RE3 SPONSE AND PREPAREDNESS 

4 SEC. 201. HAZARDOUS MATERIALS REGISTRATION FEES. 

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

6 amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(1) The Sec8 retary’’ and inserting the following: 

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

10 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

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

12 The Secretary’’ and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(D) TRANSFER AND DEPOSIT.—The Sec14 retary’’; 

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

16 The Secretary’’ and inserting the following: 

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

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

19 all that follows through the period at the end 

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

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL FEE.— 

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

24 fee established under paragraph (1), the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Aug 12, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00077 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8996.IH H8996

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1 retary shall establish and impose by regulation 

2 and collect an annual fee. 

3 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—Subject to subpara4 graph (C), the fee established under subpara5 graph (A) shall be— 

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

7 $500 from each person that— 

8 ‘‘(I) is required to file a registra9 tion statement under this section; and 

10 ‘‘(II) is identified as a small busi11 ness (within the meaning of part 121 

12 of title 13, Code of Federal Regula13 tions (or successor regulations)); and 

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

15 $5,000 from each person that— 

16 ‘‘(I) is required to file a registra17 tion statement under this section; and 

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

19 business (within the meaning of part 

20 121 of title 13, Code of Federal Regu21 lations (or successor regulations)).’’. 

22 SEC. 202. VIRTUAL TRAINING OPTIONS. 

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

24 is amended— 


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

2 after the semicolon at the end; and 

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

4 ‘‘(D) recommendations for the development 

5 of courses described in subparagraph (B) that 

6 have been adapted for virtual learning and any 

7 courses for which the Secretary has rec8 ommended adaptation to provide virtual op9 tions, subject to the condition that the Sec10 retary ensures that the virtual options rec11 ommended will provide an equivalent level of 

12 training as in-person courses; and’’. 

13 SEC. 203. HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TRANSPORTATION 

14 EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND PREPAREDNESS 

15 GRANTS. 

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

17 States Code, is amended— 

18 (1) by striking the section designation and 

19 heading and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘§ 5116. Hazardous materials transportation emer21 gency response and preparedness’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (a)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

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

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


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (C)— 

2 (I) by striking ‘‘public sector em3 ployees’’ and inserting ‘‘emergency re4 sponse personnel’’; and 

5 (II) by striking the period at the 

6 end and inserting a semicolon; and 

7 (iii) by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(D) until September 31, 2026, to purchase 

10 personal protective equipment, as determined by the 

11 Secretary, needed to respond to a hazardous mate12 rials emergency response incident, consistent with 

13 paragraph (7) and subject to the condition that not 

14 more than 50 percent of the funds made available 

15 under this subsection may be used for that purpose; 

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

17 field exercises relating to hazardous materials trans18 portation incidents; and 

19 ‘‘(F) to develop a hazardous materials transpor20 tation emergency response preparedness gap analysis 

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

22 (B) in paragraph (5)(A)— 

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

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1 ing ‘‘emergency response personnel being 

2 trained virtually or in person’’; 

3 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘employ4 ees’’ and inserting ‘‘personnel’’; 

5 (iii) in clause (iii)— 

6 (I) by striking ‘‘employees’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘personnel’’; and 

8 (II) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

9 semicolon at the end; and 

10 (iv) by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

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

13 to replace any personnel being trained; and 

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

15 being trained, up to a reasonable amount deter16 mined by the Secretary;’’; 

17 (C) in paragraph (6)— 

18 (i) by striking subparagraph (A) and 

19 inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) whether grant funds will be used to sup21 port the ability of the United States to respond to 

22 hazardous materials incidents near infrastructure 

23 commonly used to transport hazardous materials;’’; 

24 and 


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

2 ‘‘amounts’’ and inserting ‘‘number of ship3 ments’’; 

4 (D) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and 

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

6 (E) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(5)(A) Subject to subparagraph (C), any State re9 ceiving a grant under this subsection shall, not later than 

10 180 days after receiving the grant funds, make available 

11 to eligible local entities— 

12 ‘‘(i) not less than 70 percent of the grant 

13 funds; or 

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

15 paragraph (1) having a value of not less than 70 

16 percent of the amount of the grant. 

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

18 State has made the distribution to eligible local entities 

19 required under paragraph (1) by providing such informa20 tion as the Secretary shall require. 

21 ‘‘(C)(i) The Governor of a State may request in writ22 ing that the Secretary extend the period under subpara23 graph (A) for an additional period of time. 

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

25 clause (i) if the Secretary determines that the delay in 


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1 providing grant funding to eligible local entities pursuant 

2 to the extension is necessary to promote effective invest3 ments to prepare for or respond to hazardous materials 

4 transportation incidents. 

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

6 District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 

7 American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern 

8 Mariana Islands, Guam, or the Virgin Islands. 

9 ‘‘(E) An eligible local entity may petition the Sec10 retary to request that grant funds be provided by the Sec11 retary directly to the eligible local entity if a State fails 

12 to apply for a grant under this subsection. 

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

14 entities under subparagraph (A), States shall consider 

15 whether the eligible local entity has a high proportion of 

16 volunteer emergency responders. 

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

18 local entity’ means each of the following: 

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

20 ‘‘(ii) A public emergency response organiza21 tion.’’; 

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

23 redesignated) the following: 

24 ‘‘(7) A recipient of funds provided under this sub25 section may use the funds to purchase personal protective 


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1 equipment only if the recipient agrees to properly maintain 

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

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

4 redesignated) the following: 

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

6 emergency response preparedness gap analysis shall in7 clude— 

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

9 the hazard response program of the applicable juris10 diction, including— 

11 ‘‘(I) knowledge and personal protective 

12 equipment gaps; and 

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

14 Command Management training and ASTM 

15 Standard E3241 training; and 

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

17 limitations identified under clause (i). 

18 ‘‘(B) In developing a hazardous materials transpor19 tation emergency response preparedness gap analysis 

20 under subparagraph (A), the entity preparing the analysis 

21 shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) coordinate with Regional Response Teams 

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

24 Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation)); 


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

2 emergency response programs, local governments, 

3 and emergency response personnel (including fire 

4 service organizations) in that development, as appro5 priate; and 

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

7 hazardous materials emergency response programs, 

8 local governments, and emergency response per9 sonnel (including fire service organizations) to re10 view and comment on the analysis before the anal11 ysis is published.’’; 

12 (3) in subsection (d)— 

13 (A) in the second sentence, by striking 

14 ‘‘Amounts’’ and inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN AMOUNTS.—Amounts’’; 

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

17 grant under this section is for 80 percent of the 

18 cost the State or Indian tribe incurs’’ and in19 serting the following: 

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

21 is for 90 percent of the costs incurred by a State, 

22 or 100 percent of the costs incurred by a Tribe,’’; 

23 and 

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


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

2 of this subsection, the contributions of a State or 

3 Tribe toward the costs of an activity funded by a 

4 grant under this section may be in the form of in5 kind contributions.’’; 

6 (4) in subsection (h)— 

7 (A) in the second sentence— 

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

9 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘4 percent’’; 

10 (ii) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

11 through (4) as subparagraphs (A) through 

12 (D), respectively, and indenting appro13 priately; and 

14 (iii) in the matter preceding subpara15 graph (A) (as so redesignated), by striking 

16 ‘‘Without’’ and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(2) USES.—Without’’; 

18 (B) in the first sentence— 

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

20 of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

21 5108(g)(2)(D)’’; and 

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

23 inserting the following: 

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

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


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1 ‘‘(3) SET ASIDE.— 

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

3 under section 5123— 

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

5 of carrying out subsection (k); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) shall be available, without fur7 ther appropriation, for that purpose. 

8 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—The set-aside de9 scribed in subparagraph (A)— 

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

11 on which the total amount set aside and 

12 available for expenditure under that sub13 paragraph equals or exceeds $50,000,000; 

14 and 

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

16 each subsequent period— 

17 ‘‘(I) beginning on a date on 

18 which the total amount set aside and 

19 available for expenditure under that 

20 subparagraph is less than 

21 $20,000,000; and 

22 ‘‘(II) ending on the earliest sub23 sequent date on which the total 

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1 penditure under that subparagraph 

2 equals or exceeds $50,000,000.’’; 

3 (5) in subsection (k)— 

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

5 planning and training programs’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘each grant program’’; 

7 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

8 through (4) as subparagraphs (A), (B), (D), 

9 and (E), respectively, and indenting appro10 priately; 

11 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

12 (as so redesignated) the following: 

13 ‘‘(C) a description of any personal protec14 tive equipment purchased using grant funds;’’; 

15 and 

16 (D) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

17 (A) (as so redesignated)— 

18 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

19 ‘‘an annual report’’; and 

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘the report to the pub21 lic’’ in the first sentence and all that fol22 lows through ‘‘grants and include—’’ in 

23 the third sentence and inserting the fol24 lowing: ‘‘to the public an annual report 

25 that— 


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

2 uses of the grants made available under— 

3 ‘‘(A) this section; and 

4 ‘‘(B) subsections (e) and (i) of section 

5 5107; 

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

7 grants; 

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

9 for each grant; 

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

11 annual drawdown by each grantee, and recovered 

12 balances; 

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

14 by grant recipient, for each grant; and 

15 ‘‘(6) includes—’’; 

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

17 and inserting ‘‘Tribe’’; and 

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

19 and inserting ‘‘Tribes’’. 

20 (b) ASSISTANCE FOR LOCAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE

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

22 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘liquids’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘materials’’. 

24 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

25 5128(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 


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

2 striking ‘‘Hazardous Materials Preparedness Fund’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘Hazardous Materials Emergency Pre4 paredness Fund’’; 

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

6 5116(h)(3); and’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

7 5116(h)(2)(C);’’; and 

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

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(4) $4,000,000 to carry out section 5116(i); 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(5) $1,000,000 to carry out section 5116(j).’’. 

13 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap14 ter 51 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

15 striking the item relating to section 5116 and inserting 

16 the following: 

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

17 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

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

19 Code, is amended by striking paragraph (6) and in20 serting the following: 

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

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

23 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu24 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).’’. 


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1 (2) Section 5123 of title 49, United States 

2 Code, is amended by striking subsection (g) and in3 serting the following: 

4 ‘‘(g) TRANSFER OF AMOUNTS COLLECTED.— 

5 Amounts collected under this section shall be transferred 

6 to the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness 

7 Fund established under section 5116(h).’’. 

8 SEC. 204. EMERGENCY RESPONSE ASSISTANCE. 

9 Section 5116 of title 49, United States Code, is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating subsection (k) as sub12 section (l); 

13 (2) by inserting after subsection (j) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(k) EMERGENCY RESPONSE ASSISTANCE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

17 ‘‘(A) SIGNIFICANT HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

18 TRANSPORTATION INCIDENT.—The term ‘sig19 nificant hazardous materials transportation in20 cident’ means an incident that— 

21 ‘‘(i) involves hazardous materials 

22 being moved by a motor carrier or rail car23 rier; 

24 ‘‘(ii) requires a response by at least 1 

25 eligible entity described in paragraph (6) 


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1 for which the Secretary estimates the costs 

2 to the eligible entity to be at least $15,000; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(iii) results in a serious injury, fatal5 ity, or substantial property damage. 

6 ‘‘(B) SUBSTANTIAL PROPERTY DAMAGE.— 

7 The term ‘substantial property damage’ means 

8 damage to public or private property or the en9 vironment (including clean up costs) the Sec10 retary reasonably estimates to be more than 

11 $45,000. 

12 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later 

13 than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Rail14 road Safety Enhancement Act of 2024, the Sec15 retary, in consultation with the Administrator of the 

16 Federal Emergency Management Agency and the 

17 Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

18 Agency, after providing an opportunity for notice 

19 and comment, shall establish an emergency response 

20 assistance program to provide immediate financial 

21 assistance to communities responding to a signifi22 cant hazardous materials transportation incident. 

23 ‘‘(3) SIGNIFICANT HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

24 TRANSPORTATION INCIDENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

2 have the authority to declare a significant haz3 ardous materials transportation incident. 

4 ‘‘(B) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall 

5 establish and publish guidelines to determine 

6 whether a significant hazardous materials 

7 transportation incident has occurred. 

8 ‘‘(4) RELEASE OF FUNDS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

10 immediately make available from the amount 

11 set aside under subsection (h)(3) in the Haz12 ardous Materials Emergency Preparedness 

13 Fund established under subsection (h)(1) (re14 ferred to in this subsection as the ‘Fund’) up 

15 to $10,000,000 to quickly reimburse eligible en16 tities described in paragraph (6) that responded 

17 to a significant hazardous materials transpor18 tation incident if— 

19 ‘‘(i) the Secretary declares the inci20 dent a significant hazardous materials 

21 transportation incident; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) at least 14 days but not later 

23 than 21 days after the declaration of a sig24 nificant hazardous materials transportation 

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1 cordance with paragraph (8), that the re2 sponsible party does not have an accept3 able reimbursement plan. 

4 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—In addition to 

5 any amounts made available under subpara6 graph (A), the Secretary shall make additional 

7 funding available from the amount set aside 

8 under subsection (h)(3) in the Fund if the Sec9 retary determines that the additional funding is 

10 necessary. 

11 ‘‘(C) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may 

12 make funds available under this subsection if 

13 the Secretary determines the responsible party 

14 is not complying with its acceptable plan under 

15 paragraph (8). 

16 ‘‘(5) ADMINISTRATION OF FUNDS.—The Sec17 retary may provide funds from the amount set aside 

18 under subsection (h)(3) in the Fund to a State in 

19 which a hazardous materials transportation incident 

20 occurred for the State to use and administer reim21 bursements in accordance with this subsection, in22 cluding by providing funds to eligible entities de23 scribed in paragraph (6). 


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1 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES DESCRIBED.—The eli2 gible entities referred to in paragraphs (4)(A) and 

3 (5) are— 

4 ‘‘(A) States, territories, and Tribes; 

5 ‘‘(B) political subdivisions of a State or 

6 territory; and 

7 ‘‘(C) public emergency response organiza8 tions. 

9 ‘‘(7) USE OF FUNDS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Funds made available 

11 under paragraph (4) or (5) may be used only— 

12 ‘‘(i) for the cost of replacing personal 

13 protective equipment that is damaged, con14 taminated, or otherwise rendered unusable 

15 as a result of the response of the eligible 

16 entity to a significant hazardous materials 

17 transportation incident; 

18 ‘‘(ii) for overtime pay of employees of 

19 eligible entities that responded to the scene 

20 of a significant hazardous materials trans21 portation incident; 

22 ‘‘(iii) for operational costs exceeding 

23 standard operating expenses that are di24 rectly related to the cost of responding to 

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1 portation incident, such as the costs of 

2 running a supplementary emergency re3 sponse center; 

4 ‘‘(iv) for the cost of providing baseline 

5 health care assessments to emergency re6 sponse personnel who responded to the sig7 nificant hazardous materials transportation 

8 incident, but not more than $1,000 per 

9 person, which shall be adjusted annually 

10 for inflation; and 

11 ‘‘(v) to reimburse an eligible entity for 

12 an eligible cost described in any of clauses 

13 (i) through (iv) that is incurred within 30 

14 days of the date of a significant hazardous 

15 materials transportation incident. 

16 ‘‘(B) DOCUMENTATION OF COSTS.—Not 

17 later than 1 year after the date on which the 

18 Secretary declares a significant hazardous ma19 terials transportation incident for which an eli20 gible entity receives assistance under this sub21 section, the eligible entity shall submit to the 

22 Secretary documentation for each item for 

23 which that assistance was used pursuant to the 

24 eligible uses of funds described in subparagraph 

25 (A). 


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1 ‘‘(C) MISUSE OF FUNDS.—If the Secretary 

2 determines that an eligible entity has used as3 sistance received under this subsection in a 

4 manner that violates subparagraph (A) or any 

5 other provision of this subsection, the eligible 

6 entity shall reimburse the Fund (if the assist7 ance was provided from the Fund) or the re8 sponsible party (if the assistance was provided 

9 by the responsible party), for the amount of 

10 that assistance. 

11 ‘‘(8) ACCEPTABLE PLAN.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para13 graph (4)(A)(ii), the Secretary shall consider a 

14 reimbursement plan of a responsible party to be 

15 acceptable if the plan seeks to review and proc16 ess claims made by eligible entities for the costs 

17 described in paragraph (7) not later than 90 

18 days after the date of the significant hazardous 

19 materials transportation incident. 

20 ‘‘(B) ADVANCE SUBMISSION; CERTAIN

21 PLANS.— 

22 ‘‘(i) ADVANCE SUBMISSION.—A plan 

23 to provide reimbursement to eligible enti24 ties in accordance with subparagraph (A) 

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1 proval in advance of any significant haz2 ardous materials transportation incident to 

3 which the plan might apply. 

4 ‘‘(ii) CERTAIN PLAN.—A hazardous 

5 materials emergency response plan ap6 proved by the Secretary in accordance with 

7 section 20155(e) shall be considered an ac8 ceptable plan for purposes of this sub9 section. 

10 ‘‘(9) REIMBURSEMENT BY RESPONSIBLE

11 PARTY.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara13 graph (F), the party responsible for a signifi14 cant hazardous materials transportation inci15 dent shall be liable to the Secretary for reim16 bursement of all amounts disbursed from the 

17 Fund under this subsection for that significant 

18 hazardous materials transportation incident. 

19 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—Any funding recov20 ered by the Secretary under this subsection 

21 shall be deposited back into the Fund. 

22 ‘‘(C) NOTICE.—After the Secretary has re23 ceived the documented costs under paragraph 

24 (7)(B), the Secretary shall provide notice to the 


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1 responsible party regarding the total amount 

2 owed. 

3 ‘‘(D) FINAL AGENCY ACTION.—Not later 

4 than 30 days after the Secretary makes a deter5 mination of the amount for which the respon6 sible party is liable under subparagraph (A), 

7 the responsible party may challenge that deter8 mination as a final agency action. 

9 ‘‘(E) CIVIL ACTION.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney 

11 General may bring a civil action in an ap12 propriate district court of the United 

13 States to collect unpaid amounts under 

14 this paragraph and any accrued interest on 

15 those amounts. 

16 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION ON JUDICIAL RE17 VIEW.—In a civil action under clause (i), 

18 the amount for which a responsible party 

19 is liable, as determined by the Secretary, 

20 unless challenged under subparagraph (D), 

21 shall not be subject to judicial review. 

22 ‘‘(F) DISCRETION.—If the responsible 

23 party is a small business concern (within the 

24 meaning of part 121 of title 13, Code of Fed25 eral Regulations (or successor regulations)) that 


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1 is unable to fully reimburse the Secretary, the 

2 Secretary shall have discretion with respect to 

3 the amount of funds the Secretary requests 

4 from the responsible party under this para5 graph. 

6 ‘‘(10) STREAMLINED APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

7 The Secretary shall streamline the application proc8 ess for the receipt of funds under this subsection, in9 cluding by— 

10 ‘‘(A) providing technical assistance to eligi11 ble entities; and 

12 ‘‘(B) creating a template that eligible enti13 ties can use to apply for funding. 

14 ‘‘(11) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) LIABILITY.—Nothing in this sub16 section limits, or may be construed to limit, the 

17 liability of a responsible party. 

18 ‘‘(B) REIMBURSEMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A responsible 

20 party may, in accordance with any other 

21 applicable law— 

22 ‘‘(I) seek to establish that an23 other party was responsible, in whole 

24 or in part (as such other law allows), 

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1 ardous materials transportation inci2 dent; and 

3 ‘‘(II) seek reimbursement (to the 

4 extent such other law allows) from 

5 that other party. 

6 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT OF SUBSECTION.— 

7 Nothing in this subsection limits, or may 

8 be construed to limit, the ability of a re9 sponsible party to seek reimbursement 

10 from any other party found to be respon11 sible in any civil action arising from the 

12 applicable significant hazardous materials 

13 transportation incident. 

14 ‘‘(iii) EFFECT OF DETERMINATION.— 

15 A determination by the Secretary that a 

16 party is a responsible party for purposes of 

17 this subsection shall not be considered or 

18 otherwise have any effect with respect to 

19 the determination of liability in any civil 

20 action described in clause (ii). 

21 ‘‘(iv) EFFECT OF REIMBURSEMENTS

22 AND OTHER ACTIVITIES.—No activity 

23 taken under this subsection to reimburse 

24 an eligible entity, reimburse the Secretary, 

25 prepare or carry out a reimbursement 


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1 plan, or otherwise comply with or make a 

2 payment under this subsection shall be 

3 considered or otherwise have any effect 

4 with respect to the determination of liabil5 ity in any civil action described in clause 

6 (ii). 

7 ‘‘(12) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Sep9 tember 30, 2027, the Comptroller General of 

10 the United States shall submit to the Com11 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor12 tation of the Senate and the Committee on 

13 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

14 of Representatives a report on the effectiveness 

15 this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 

17 under subparagraph (A) shall include, at a min18 imum, information on— 

19 ‘‘(i) the number of significant haz20 ardous materials transportation incidents 

21 that received funding under this sub22 section; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the amount of financial assist24 ance the Secretary provided to eligible enti25 ties; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the amount of financial assist2 ance responsible parties submitted to the 

3 Secretary under paragraph (9); 

4 ‘‘(iv) the amount of reimbursement 

5 the Secretary received from eligible entities 

6 as required under paragraph (7)(C); 

7 ‘‘(v) whether the amounts provided by 

8 the Secretary under this subsection ade9 quately reflect the amounts actually spent 

10 by the eligible entities; 

11 ‘‘(vi) whether the Secretary was able 

12 to provide the financial assistance quickly 

13 enough to the eligible entities so that the 

14 assistance effectively supported the pre15 paredness of the eligible entities to respond 

16 to potential future incidents; and 

17 ‘‘(vii) any other factors the Comp18 troller General of the United States con19 siders to be appropriate to review the effec20 tiveness of this subsection.’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(m) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 ‘‘(1) EMERGENCY RESPONSE PERSONNEL.— 

24 The term ‘emergency response personnel’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) an employee of a State, territory, 

2 Tribe, or political subdivision of a State; and 

3 ‘‘(B) a person belonging to a public emer4 gency response organization. 

5 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC EMERGENCY RESPONSE ORGANIZA6 TION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘public 

8 emergency response organization’ means— 

9 ‘‘(i) a fire department that has an all10 paid force of firefighting personnel other 

11 than paid-on-call firefighters; 

12 ‘‘(ii) a fire department that has— 

13 ‘‘(I) paid firefighting personnel; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(II) volunteer firefighting per16 sonnel; 

17 ‘‘(iii) a nonaffiliated EMS organiza18 tion; and 

19 ‘‘(iv) a fire department that has an 

20 all-volunteer force of firefighting personnel. 

21 ‘‘(B) ASSOCIATED DEFINITION.—For pur22 poses of subparagraph (A)(iii), the term ‘non23 affiliated EMS organization’ means a public or 

24 private nonprofit emergency medical services or25 ganization that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) is not affiliated with a hospital; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ii) does not serve a geographic area 

4 for which the Secretary or a State finds 

5 that emergency medical services are ade6 quately provided by a fire department.’’. 

Æ 


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