II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1516 

To reauthorize Amtrak, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2005 

Mr. LOTT (for himself, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. INOUYE, and 

Mrs. HUTCHISON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To reauthorize Amtrak, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Passenger Rail Invest5 ment and Improvement Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE. 

7 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 

8 this Act an amendment is expressed in terms of an amend9 ment to a section or other provision of law, the reference 

10 shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi11 sion of title 49, United States Code. 
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1 SEC. 3. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Amendment of title 49, United States Code. 

Sec. 3. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATIONS 

Sec. 101. Authorization for Amtrak capital and operating expenses and State 

capital grants. 

Sec. 102. Authorization for the Federal Railroad Administration. 

Sec. 103. Repayment of long-term debt and capital leases. 

Sec. 104. Excess railroad retirement. 

Sec. 105. Other authorizations. 

TITLE II—AMTRAK REFORM AND OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS 

Sec. 201. National railroad passenger transportation system defined. 

Sec. 202. Amtrak Board of Directors. 

Sec. 203. Establishment of improved financial accounting system. 

Sec. 204. Development of 5-year financial plan. 

Sec. 205. Establishment of grant process. 

Sec. 206. State-supported routes. 

Sec. 207. Independent auditor to establish methodologies for Amtrak route and 

service planning decisions. 

Sec. 208. Metrics and standards. 

Sec. 209. Passenger train performance. 

Sec. 210. Long distance routes. 

Sec. 211. Alternate passenger rail service program. 

Sec. 212. Employee transition assistance. 

Sec. 213. Northeast Corridor state-of-good-repair plan. 

Sec. 214. Northeast Corridor infrastructure and operations improvements. 

Sec. 215. Restructuring long-term debt and capital leases. 

Sec. 216. Study of compliance requirements at existing intercity rail stations. 

Sec. 217. Incentive pay. 

Sec. 218. Access to Amtrak equipment and services. 

Sec. 219. General Amtrak provisions. 

Sec. 220. Private sector funding of passenger trains. 

Sec. 221. On-board service improvements. 

TITLE III—INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL POLICY 

Sec. 301. Capital assistance for intercity passenger rail service. 

Sec. 302. State rail plans. 

Sec. 303. Next generation corridor train equipment pool. 

Sec. 304. Federal rail policy. 

Sec. 305. Rail cooperative research program. 

TITLE IV—PASSENGER RAIL SECURITY AND SAFETY 

Sec. 401. Systemwide Amtrak security upgrades. 

Sec. 402. Fire and life-safety improvements. 

Sec. 403. Amtrak plan to assist families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents. 

Sec. 404. Northern border rail passenger report. 
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Sec. 405. Passenger, baggage, and cargo screening. 

TITLE V—RAIL BOND AUTHORITY 

Sec. 501. Intercity rail facility bonds. 

1 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATIONS 

2 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION FOR AMTRAK CAPITAL AND OP3 ERATING EXPENSES AND STATE CAPITAL 

4 GRANTS. 

5 (a) OPERATING GRANTS.—There are authorized to 

6 be appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation for the 

7 use of Amtrak for operating costs the following amounts: 

8 (1) For fiscal year 2006, $580,000,000. 

9 (2) For fiscal year 2007, $590,000,000. 

10 (3) For fiscal year 2008, $600,000,000. 

11 (4) For fiscal year 2009, $575,000,000. 

12 (5) For fiscal year 2010, $535,000,000. 

13 (6) For fiscal year 2011, $455,000,000. 

14 (b) CAPITAL GRANTS.—There are authorized to be 

15 appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation for the 

16 use of Amtrak to bring the Northeast Corridor as defined 

17 in section 24102(a) to a state-of-good-repair, for capital 

18 expenses of the national railroad passenger transportation 

19 system, and for purposes of making capital grants to 

20 states under section 301 of this Act, the following 

21 amounts: 

22 (1) For fiscal year 2006, $813,000,000. 

23 (2) For fiscal year 2007, $910,000,000. 
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1 (3) For fiscal year 2008, $1,071,000,000. 

2 (4) For fiscal year 2009, $1,096,000,000. 

3 (5) For fiscal year 2010, $1,191,000,000. 

4 (6) For fiscal year 2011, $1,231,000,000. 

5 (c) AMOUNTS FOR STATE GRANTS.—Out of the 

6 amounts authorized under subsection (b), the following 

7 percentage shall be available each fiscal year for capital 

8 grants to States under section 301 of this Act, to be ad9 ministered by the Secretary of Transportation: 

10 (1) 3 percent for fiscal year 2006. 

11 (2) 11 percent for fiscal year 2007. 

12 (3) 23 percent for fiscal year 2008. 

13 (4) 25 percent for fiscal year 2009. 

14 (5) 31 percent for fiscal year 2010. 

15 (6) 33 percent for fiscal year 2011. 

16 (d) PROJECT MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT.—The Secretary may withhold up to 1 17 ⁄2 of 1 percent of amounts 

18 appropriated pursuant to subsection (b) for the costs of 

19 project management oversight of capital projects carried 

20 out by Amtrak. 

21 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZATION FOR THE FEDERAL RAILROAD 

22 ADMINISTRATION. 

23 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec24 retary of Transportation for the use of the Federal Rail25 road Administration such sums as necessary to implement 
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1 the provisions required under this Act for fiscal years 

2 2006 through 2011. 

3 SEC. 103. REPAYMENT OF LONG-TERM DEBT AND CAPITAL 

4 LEASES. 

5 (a) AMTRAK PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAY6 MENTS.— 

7 (1) PRINCIPAL ON DEBT SERVICE.—There are 

8 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

9 Transportation for the use of Amtrak for retirement 

10 of principal on loans for capital equipment, or cap11 ital leases, not more than the following amounts: 

12 (A) For fiscal year 2006, $130,200,000. 

13 (B) For fiscal year 2007, $140,700,000. 

14 (C) For fiscal year 2008, $156,000,000. 

15 (D) For fiscal year 2009, $183,800,000. 

16 (E) For fiscal year 2010, $156,100,000. 

17 (F) For fiscal year 2011, $193,500,000. 

18 (2) INTEREST ON DEBT.—There are authorized 

19 to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transpor20 tation for the use of Amtrak for the payment of in21 terest on loans for capital equipment, or capital 

22 leases, the following amounts: 

23 (A) For fiscal year 2006, $148,100,000. 

24 (B) For fiscal year 2007, $141,500,000. 

25 (C) For fiscal year 2008, $133,800,000. 
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1 (D) For fiscal year 2009, $124,000,000. 

2 (E) For fiscal year 2010, $113,900,000. 

3 (F) For fiscal year 2011, $103,800,000. 

4 (3) EARLY BUYOUT OPTION.—There are au5 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

6 Transportation such sums as may be necessary for 

7 the use of Amtrak for the payment of costs associ8 ated with early buyout options if the exercise of 

9 those options is determined to be advantageous to 

10 Amtrak. 

11 SEC. 104. EXCESS RAILROAD RETIREMENT. 

12 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec13 retary of Transportation, beginning with fiscal year 2006, 

14 such sums as may be necessary to pay to the Railroad 

15 Retirement Account an amount equal to the amount Am16 trak must pay under section 3221 of the Internal Revenue 

17 Code of 1986 in such fiscal years that is more than the 

18 amount needed for benefits for individuals who retire from 

19 Amtrak and for their beneficiaries. For each fiscal year 

20 in which the Secretary makes such a payment, the 

21 amounts authorized by section 101(a) shall be reduced by 

22 an amount equal to such payment. 

23 SEC. 105. OTHER AUTHORIZATIONS. 

24 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec25 retary of Transportation— 
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1 (1) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 

2 through 2011 to carry out the rail cooperative re3 search program under section 24910 of title 49, 

4 United States Code; and 

5 (2) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, to remain 

6 available until expended, for grants to Amtrak and 

7 States participating in the Next Generation Corridor 

8 Train Equipment Pool Committee established under 

9 section 303 of this Act for the purpose of designing, 

10 developing specifications for, and initiating the pro11 curement of an initial order of 1 or more types of 

12 standardized next-generation corridor train equip13 ment and establishing a jointly-owned corporation to 

14 manage that equipment. 

15 TITLE II—AMTRAK REFORM AND 

16 OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS 

17 SEC. 201. NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER TRANSPOR18 TATION SYSTEM DEFINED. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 24102 is amended— 

20 (1) by striking paragraph (2); 

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

22 (5) as paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), respectively; and 

23 (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) as so re24 designated the following: 
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1 ‘‘(5) ‘national rail passenger transportation sys2 tem’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) the segment of the Northeast Cor4 ridor between Boston, Massachusetts and 

5 Washington, D.C.; 

6 ‘‘(B) rail corridors that have been des7 ignated by the Secretary of Transportation as 

8 high-speed corridors (other than corridors de9 scribed in subpargraph (A)), but only after they 

10 have been improved to permit operation of high11 speed service; 

12 ‘‘(C) long-distance routes of more than 

13 750 miles between endpoints operated by Am14 trak as of the date of enactment of the Pas15 senger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 

16 2005; and 

17 ‘‘(D) short-distance corridors, or routes of 

18 not more than 750 miles between endpoints, op19 erated by— 

20 ‘‘(i) Amtrak; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) another rail carrier that receives 

22 funds under chapter 244.’’. 

23 (b) AMTRAK ROUTES WITH STATE FUNDING.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 247 is amended by 

25 inserting after section 24701 the following: 
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1 ‘‘§ 24702. Transportation requested by States, au2 thorities, and other persons 

3 ‘‘(a) CONTRACTS FOR TRANSPORTATION.—Amtrak 

4 and a State, a regional or local authority, or another per5 son may enter into a contract for Amtrak to operate an 

6 intercity rail service or route not included in the national 

7 rail passenger transportation system upon such terms as 

8 the parties thereto may agree. 

9 ‘‘(b) DISCONTINUANCE.—Upon termination of a con10 tract entered into under this section, or the cessation of 

11 financial support under such a contract by either party, 

12 Amtrak may discontinue such service or route, notwith13 standing any other provision of law.’’. 

14 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter 

15 analysis for chapter 247 is amended by inserting 

16 after the item relating to section 24701 the fol17 lowing: 

‘‘24702. Transportation requested by States, authorities, and other persons.’’. 

18 (c) AMTRAK TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE NON-HIGH19 SPEED SERVICES.—Nothing in this Act is intended to pre20 clude Amtrak from restoring, improving, or developing 

21 non-high-speed intercity passenger rail service. 

22 SEC. 202. AMTRAK BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 24302 is amended to read 

24 as follows: 
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1 ‘‘§ 24302. Board of directors 

2 ‘‘(a) COMPOSITION AND TERMS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) The Board of Directors of Amtrak is com4 posed of the following 9 directors, each of whom 

5 must be a citizen of the United States: 

6 ‘‘(A) The Secretary of Transportation. 

7 ‘‘(B) The President of Amtrak. 

8 ‘‘(C) 7 individuals appointed by the Presi9 dent of the United States, by and with the ad10 vice and consent of the Senate, with general 

11 business and financial experience, experience or 

12 qualifications in transportation, freight and 

13 passenger rail transportation, travel, hospi14 tality, cruise line, and passenger air transpor15 tation businesses, or representatives of users of 

16 passenger rail transportation or State govern17 ment. 

18 ‘‘(2) In selecting individuals described in para19 graph (1) for nominations for appointments to the 

20 Board, the President shall consult with the Speaker 

21 of the House of Representatives, the minority leader 

22 of the House of Representatives, the majority leader 

23 of the Senate, and the minority leader of the Senate 

24 and try to provide adequate and balanced represen25 tation of the major geographic regions of the United 

26 States served by Amtrak. 
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1 ‘‘(3) An individual appointed under paragraph 

2 (1)(C) of this subsection serves for 5 years or until 

3 the individual’s successor is appointed and qualified. 

4 Not more than 4 individuals appointed under para5 graph (1)(C) may be members of the same political 

6 party. 

7 ‘‘(4) The Board shall elect a chairman and a 

8 vice chairman from among its membership. The vice 

9 chairman shall serve as chairman in the absence of 

10 the chairman. 

11 ‘‘(5) The Secretary may be represented at 

12 board meetings by the Secretary’s designee. 

13 ‘‘(b) PAY AND EXPENSES.—Each director not em14 ployed by the United States Government is entitled to 

15 $300 a day when performing Board duties. Each Director 

16 is entitled to reimbursement for necessary travel, reason17 able secretarial and professional staff support, and sub18 sistence expenses incurred in attending Board meetings. 

19 ‘‘(c) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Board is filled 

20 in the same way as the original selection, except that an 

21 individual appointed by the President of the United States 

22 under subsection (a)(1)(C) of this section to fill a vacancy 

23 occurring before the end of the term for which the prede24 cessor of that individual was appointed is appointed for 

25 the remainder of that term. A vacancy required to be filled 
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1 by appointment under subsection (a)(1)(C) must be filled 

2 not later than 120 days after the vacancy occurs. 

3 ‘‘(d) QUORUM.—A majority of the members serving 

4 shall constitute a quorum for doing business. 

5 ‘‘(e) BYLAWS.—The Board may adopt and amend by6 laws governing the operation of Amtrak. The bylaws shall 

7 be consistent with this part and the articles of incorpora8 tion.’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE FOR DIRECTORS’ PROVI10 SION.—The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take 

11 effect on January 1, 2006. The members of the Amtrak 

12 Board serving on the date of enactment of this Act may 

13 continue to serve for the remainder of the term to which 

14 they were appointed. 

15 SEC. 203. ESTABLISHMENT OF IMPROVED FINANCIAL AC16 COUNTING SYSTEM. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Amtrak Board of Directors— 

18 (1) may employ an independent financial con19 sultant with experience in railroad accounting to as20 sist Amtrak in improving Amtrak’s financial ac21 counting and reporting system and practices; and 

22 (2) shall implement a modern financial account23 ing and reporting system that will produce accurate 

24 and timely financial information in sufficient de25 tail— 
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1 (A) to enable Amtrak to assign revenues 

2 and expenses appropriately to each of its lines 

3 of business and to each major activity within 

4 each line of business activity, including train 

5 operations, equipment maintenance, ticketing, 

6 and reservations; 

7 (B) to aggregate expenses and revenues re8 lated to infrastructure and distinguish them 

9 from expenses and revenues related to rail oper10 ations; 

11 (C) to allow the analysis of ticketing and 

12 reservation information on a real-time basis; 

13 and 

14 (D) to provide Amtrak cost accounting 

15 data. 

16 (b) VERIFICATION OF SYSTEM; REPORT.—The In17 spector General of the Department of Transportation shall 

18 review the accounting system designed and implemented 

19 under subsection (a) to ensure that it accomplishes the 

20 purposes for which it is intended. The Inspector General 

21 shall report his findings and conclusions, together with 

22 any recommendations, to the Senate Committee on Com23 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep24 resentatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc25 ture. 
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1 SEC. 204. DEVELOPMENT OF 5-YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN. 

2 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF 5-YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN.— 

3 The Amtrak Board of Directors shall submit an annual 

4 budget for Amtrak, and a 5-year financial plan for the 

5 fiscal year to which that budget relates and the subsequent 

6 4 years, prepared in accordance with this section, to the 

7 Secretary of Transportation and the Inspector General of 

8 the Department of Transportation no later than— 

9 (1) the first day of each fiscal year beginning 

10 after the date of enactment of this Act; or 

11 (2) the date that is 60 days after the date of 

12 enactment of an appropriation Act for the fiscal 

13 year, if later. 

14 (b) CONTENTS OF 5-YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN.—The 

15 5-year financial plan for Amtrak shall include, at a min16 imum— 

17 (1) all projected revenues and expenditures for 

18 Amtrak, including governmental funding sources; 

19 (2) projected ridership levels for all Amtrak 

20 passenger operations; 

21 (3) revenue and expenditure forecasts for non22 passenger operations; 

23 (4) capital funding requirements and expendi24 tures necessary to maintain passenger service which 

25 will accommodate predicted ridership levels and pre26 dicted sources of capital funding; 
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1 (5) operational funding needs, if any, to main2 tain current and projected levels of passenger serv3 ice, including state-supported routes and predicted 

4 funding sources; 

5 (6) projected capital and operating require6 ments, ridership, and revenue for any new passenger 

7 service operations or service expansions; 

8 (7) an assessment of the continuing financial 

9 stability of Amtrak, as indicated by factors such as 

10 the ability of the Federal Government to fund cap11 ital and operating requirements adequately, Am12 trak’s ability to efficiently manage its workforce, and 

13 Amtrak’s ability to effectively provide passenger 

14 train service; 

15 (8) estimates of long-term and short-term debt 

16 and associated principle and interest payments (both 

17 current and anticipated); 

18 (9) annual cash flow forecasts; and 

19 (10) a statement describing methods of esti20 mation and significant assumptions. 

21 (c) STANDARDS TO PROMOTE FINANCIAL STA22 BILITY.—In meeting the requirements of subsection (b), 

23 Amtrak shall— 

24 (1) apply sound budgetary practices, including 

25 reducing costs and other expenditures, improving 
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1 productivity, increasing revenues, or combinations of 

2 such practices; 

3 (2) use the categories specified in the financial 

4 accounting and reporting system developed under 

5 section 203 when preparing its 5-year financial plan; 

6 and 

7 (3) ensure that the plan is consistent with the 

8 authorizations of appropriations under title I of this 

9 Act. 

10 (d) ASSESSMENT BY DOT INSPECTOR GENERAL.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of 

12 the Department of Transportation shall assess the 

13 5-year financial plans prepared by Amtrak under 

14 this section to determine whether they meet the re15 quirements of subsection (b), and may suggest revi16 sions to any components thereof that do not meet 

17 those requirements. 

18 (2) ASSESSMENT TO BE FURNISHED TO THE

19 CONGRESS.—The Inspector General shall furnish to 

20 the House of Representatives Committee on Appro21 priations, the Senate Committee on Appropriations, 

22 the House of Representatives Committee on Trans23 portation and Infrastructure, and the Senate Com24 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation— 
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1 (A) an assessment of the annual budget 

2 within 90 days after receiving it from Amtrak; 

3 and 

4 (B) an assessment of the remaining 4 

5 years of the 5-year financial plan within 180 

6 days after receiving it from Amtrak. 

7 SEC. 205. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROCESS. 

8 (a) GRANT REQUESTS.—Amtrak shall submit grant 

9 requests (including a schedule for the disbursement of 

10 funds), consistent with the requirements of this Act, to 

11 the Secretary of Transportation for funds authorized to 

12 be appropriated to the Secretary for the use of Amtrak 

13 under sections 101 (a) and (b), 103, and 105. 

14 (b) PROCEDURES FOR GRANT REQUESTS.—The Sec15 retary shall establish substantive and procedural require16 ments, including schedules, for grant requests under this 

17 section not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 

18 of this Act and shall transmit copies to the Senate Com19 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

20 House of Representatives Committee on Transportation 

21 and Infrastructure. 

22 (c) REVIEW AND APPROVAL.— 

23 (1) 30-DAY APPROVAL PROCESS.—The Sec24 retary shall complete the review of a complete grant 

25 request (including the disbursement schedule) and 
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1 approve or disapprove the request within 30 days 

2 after the date on which Amtrak submits the grant 

3 request. If the Secretary disapproves the request or 

4 determines that the request is incomplete or defi5 cient, the Secretary shall include the reason for dis6 approval or the incomplete items or deficiencies in 

7 the notice to Amtrak. 

8 (2) 15-DAY MODIFICATION PERIOD.—Within 15 

9 days after receiving notification from the Secretary 

10 under the preceding sentence, Amtrak shall submit 

11 a modified request for the Secretary’s review. 

12 (3) REVISED REQUESTS.—Within 15 days after 

13 receiving a modified request from Amtrak, the Sec14 retary shall either approve the modified request, or, 

15 if the Secretary finds that the request is still incom16 plete or deficient, the Secretary shall identify in writ17 ing to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, 

18 and Transportation and the House of Representatives 

19 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure the 

20 remaining deficiencies and recommend a process for 

21 resolving the outstanding portions of the request. 

22 SEC. 206. STATE-SUPPORTED ROUTES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 2 years after the date of 

24 enactment of this Act, the Board of Directors of Amtrak, 

25 in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation and 
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1 the chief executive officer of each State and the District 

2 of Columbia, shall develop and implement a standardized 

3 methodology for establishing and allocating the operating 

4 and capital costs among the States and Amtrak associated 

5 with trains operated on routes described in section 

6 24102(5) (B) or (D) or section 24702 that— 

7 (1) ensures, within 5 years after the date of en8 actment of this Act, equal treatment in the provision 

9 of like services of all States and groups of States 

10 (including the District of Columbia); and 

11 (2) allocates to each route the costs incurred 

12 only for the benefit of that route and a propor13 tionate share, based upon factors that reasonably re14 flect relative use, of cost incurred for the common 

15 benefit of more than 1 route. 

16 (b) REVIEW.—If Amtrak and the States (including 

17 the District of Columbia) in which Amtrak operates such 

18 routes do not voluntarily adopt and implement the meth19 odology developed under subsection (a) in allocating costs 

20 and determining compensation for the provision of service 

21 in accordance with the date established therein, the Sur22 face Transportation Board shall determine the appro23 priate methodology required under subsection (a) for such 

24 services in accordance with the procedures and procedural 

25 schedule applicable to a proceeding under section 24904(c) 
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1 of title 49, United States Code, and require the full imple2 mentation of this methodology with regards to the provi3 sion of such service within 1 year after the Board’s deter4 mination of the appropriate methodology. 

5 (c) USE OF CHAPTER 244 FUNDS.—Funds provided 

6 to a State under chapter 244 of title 49, United States 

7 Code, may be used, as provided in that chapter, to pay 

8 capital costs determined in accordance with this section. 

9 SEC. 207. INDEPENDENT AUDITOR TO ESTABLISH METH10 ODOLOGIES FOR AMTRAK ROUTE AND SERV11 ICE PLANNING DECISIONS. 

12 (a) METHODOLOGY DEVELOPMENT.—The Federal 

13 Railroad Administration shall obtain the services of an 

14 independent auditor or consultant to develop and rec15 ommend objective methodologies for determining intercity 

16 passenger routes and services, including the establishment 

17 of new routes, the elimination of existing routes, and the 

18 contraction or expansion of services or frequencies over 

19 such routes. In developing such methodologies, the auditor 

20 or consultant shall consider— 

21 (1) the current or expected performance and 

22 service quality of intercity train operations, including 

23 cost recovery, on-time performance and minutes of 

24 delay, ridership, on-board services, stations, facili25 ties, equipment, and other services; 
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1 (2) connectivity of a route with other routes; 

2 (3) the transportation needs of communities 

3 and populations that are not well served by other 

4 forms of public transportation; and 

5 (4) Amtrak’s and other major intercity pas6 senger rail service providers in other countries’ 

7 methodologies for determining intercity passenger 

8 rail routes and services. 

9 (b) SUBMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The auditor or con10 sultant shall submit recommendations developed under 

11 subsection (a) to Amtrak, the House of Representatives 

12 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the 

13 Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor14 tation. 

15 (c) CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—With16 in 90 days after receiving the recommendations developed 

17 under subsection (a) by the independent auditor or con18 sultant, the Amtrak Board shall consider the adoption of 

19 those recommendations. The Board shall transmit a report 

20 to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

21 Transportation and the House of Representatives Com22 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure explaining its 

23 action in adopting or failing to adopt any of the rec24 ommendations. 
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1 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be made available to the Secretary of 

3 Transportation, out of any amounts authorized by this Act 

4 to be appropriated for the benefit of Amtrak and not oth5 erwise obligated or expended, such sums as may be nec6 essary to carry out this section. 

7 SEC. 208. METRICS AND STANDARDS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal 

10 Railroad Administration and Amtrak shall jointly, in con11 sultation with the Surface Transportation Board, and rail 

12 carriers over whose rail lines Amtrak trains operate, as 

13 appropriate, develop new or improve existing metrics and 

14 minimum standards for measuring the performance and 

15 service quality of intercity train operations, including cost 

16 recovery, on-time performance and minutes of delay, rider17 ship, on-board services, stations, facilities, equipment, and 

18 other services. Such metrics, at a minimum, shall include 

19 the percentage of avoidable and fully allocated operating 

20 costs covered by passenger revenues on each route, rider21 ship per train mile operated, measures of on-time perform22 ance and delays incurred by intercity trains on the rail 

23 lines of each rail carrier and, for long distance routes, and 

24 measures of connectivity with other routes. Amtrak shall 

25 provide reasonable access to the Federal Railroad Admin-
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1 istration in order to enable the Administration to carry 

2 out its duty under this section. 

3 (b) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—The Administrator of 

4 the Federal Railroad Administration shall collect the nec5 essary data and publish a quarterly report on the perform6 ance and service quality of intercity train operations, in7 cluding cost recovery, ridership, on-time performance and 

8 minutes of delay, causes of delay, on-board services, sta9 tions, facilities, equipment, and other services. 

10 SEC. 209. PASSENGER TRAIN PERFORMANCE. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 24308 is amended by 

12 adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(f) PASSENGER TRAIN PERFORMANCE AND OTHER

14 STANDARDS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) INVESTIGATION OF SUBSTANDARD PER16 FORMANCE.—If the on-time performance of any 

17 intercity passenger train averages less than 80 per18 cent for any 2 consecutive calendar quarters, or the 

19 service quality of intercity train operations for which 

20 minimum standards are established under section 

21 208 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improve22 ment Act of 2005 fails to meet those standards for 

23 2 consecutive calendar quarters, the Surface Trans24 portation Board shall investigate whether, and to 

25 what extent, delays or failure to achieve minimum 
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1 standards are due to causes that could reasonably be 

2 addressed by a rail carrier over the tracks of which 

3 the intercity passenger train operates or reasonably 

4 addressed by the intercity passenger rail operator. 

5 In carrying out such an investigation, the Board 

6 shall obtain information from all parties involved 

7 and make recommendations regarding reasonable 

8 measures to improve the service, quality, and on9 time performance of the train. 

10 ‘‘(2) PROBLEMS CAUSED BY HOST RAIL CAR11 RIER.—If the Board determines that delays or fail12 ures to achieve minimum standards investigated 

13 under paragraph (1) are attributable to a rail car14 rier’s failure to provide preference to Amtrak over 

15 freight transportation under subsection (c), then the 

16 Board shall enforce its recommendations for relief 

17 under this section. 

18 ‘‘(3) PENALTIES.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall pub20 lish a schedule of penalties which will— 

21 ‘‘(i) fairly reflect the extent to which 

22 Amtrak suffers financial loss as a result of 

23 host rail carrier delays or failure to achieve 

24 minimum standards; and 
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1 ‘‘(ii) will adequately deter future ac2 tions which may reasonably be expected to 

3 be likely to result in delays to Amtrak. 

4 ‘‘(B) ASSESSMENT.—The Board may as5 sess these penalties upon a host rail carrier. 

6 ‘‘(C) USE.—The Board shall make any 

7 amounts received as penalties under this para8 graph available to Amtrak. 

9 (b) CHANGE OF REFERENCE.—Section 24308 is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘Interstate Commerce Commis12 sion’’ in subsection (a)(2)(A) and inserting ‘‘Surface 

13 Transportation Board’’; 

14 (2) by striking ‘‘Commission’’ each place it ap15 pears and inserting ‘‘Board’’; 

16 (3) by striking ‘‘Secretary’’ the last 3 places it 

17 appears in subsection (c) and inserting ‘‘Board’’. 

18 SEC. 210. LONG DISTANCE ROUTES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 247 is amended by add20 ing at the end thereof the following: 

21 ‘‘§ 24710. Long distance routes 

22 ‘‘(a) ANNUAL EVALUATION.—Using the financial and 

23 performance metrics developed under section 208 of the 

24 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2005, 

25 Amtrak shall— 
26 

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1 ‘‘(1) evaluate annually the performance of each 

2 long distance passenger rail route operated by Am3 trak; and 

4 ‘‘(2) rank the overall performance of such 

5 routes for 2006 and identify each long distance pas6 senger rail route operated by Amtrak in 2006 ac7 cording to its overall performance as belonging to 

8 the best performing third of such routes, the second 

9 best performing third of such routes, or the worst 

10 performing third of such routes. 

11 ‘‘(b) PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PLAN.—Amtrak 

12 shall develop a performance improvement plan for its long 

13 distance passenger rail routes based on the data collected 

14 through the application of the financial and performance 

15 metrics developed under section 208 of that Act. The plan 

16 shall address— 

17 ‘‘(1) on-time performance; 

18 ‘‘(2) scheduling, frequency, routes, and stops; 

19 ‘‘(3) the feasibility of restructuring service into 

20 connected corridor service; 

21 ‘‘(4) performance-related equipment changes 

22 and capital improvements; 

23 ‘‘(5) on-board amenities and service, including 

24 food and sleeping car service; 
27 

•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘(6) State or other non-Federal financial con2 tributions; and 

3 ‘‘(7) other aspects of Amtrak’s long distance 

4 passenger rail routes that affect the financial, com5 petitive, and functional performance of service on 

6 Amtrak’s long distance passenger rail routes. 

7 ‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION.—Amtrak shall implement 

8 the performance improvement plan developed under sub9 section (b)— 

10 ‘‘(1) beginning in fiscal year 2007 for those 

11 routes identified as being in the worst performing 

12 third under subsection (a)(3); 

13 ‘‘(2) beginning in fiscal year 2008 for those 

14 routes identified as being in the second best per15 forming third under subsection (a)(3); and 

16 ‘‘(3) beginning in fiscal year 2009 for those 

17 routes identified as being in the best performing 

18 third under subsection (a)(3). 

19 ‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT.—The Federal Railroad Admin20 istration shall monitor the development, implementation, 

21 and outcome of improvement plans under this section. If, 

22 for any year, it determines that Amtrak is not making 

23 reasonable progress in implementing its performance im24 provement plan or in achieving the expected outcome of 
28 

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1 the plan for any calendar year, the Federal Railroad Ad2 ministration— 

3 ‘‘(1) shall notify Amtrak of its determination 

4 under this subsection; 

5 ‘‘(2) shall provide an opportunity for a hearing 

6 with respect to that determination; and 

7 ‘‘(3) may withhold any appropriated funds oth8 erwise available to Amtrak for the operation of a 

9 route or routes on which it is not making progress, 

10 other than funds made available for passenger safety 

11 or security measures.’’. 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal13 ysis for chapter 247 is amended by inserting after the item 

14 relating to section 24709 the following: 

‘‘24710. Long distance routes.’’. 

15 SEC. 211. ALTERNATE PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE PRO16 GRAM. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 247, as amended by sec18 tion 209, is amended by adding at the end thereof the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘§ 24711. Alternate passenger rail service program 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Within 1 year after the date of 

22 enactment of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improve23 ment Act of 2005, the Federal Railroad Administration 

24 shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding to develop a pro25 gram under which— 
29 

•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘(1) a rail carrier or rail carriers that own in2 frastructure over which Amtrak operates a pas3 senger rail service route described in subparagraph 

4 (B) or (D) of section 24102(5) or in section 24702 

5 of title 49, United States Code may petition the 

6 Federal Railroad Administration to be considered as 

7 a passenger rail service provider over that route in 

8 lieu of Amtrak; 

9 ‘‘(2) the Administration would notify Amtrak 

10 within 30 days after receiving a petition under para11 graph (1) and establish a deadline by which both the 

12 petitioner and Amtrak would be required to submit 

13 a bid to provide passenger rail service over the route 

14 to which the petition relates; 

15 ‘‘(3) the Administration would make a decision 

16 within a specified, limited time after that deadline 

17 awarding to the winning bidder— 

18 ‘‘(A) the right and obligation to provide 

19 passenger rail service over that route subject to 

20 such performance standards as the Administra21 tion may require; and 

22 ‘‘(B) an operating subsidy will be pro23 vided— 

24 ‘‘(i) for the first year at a level not in 

25 excess of the level in effect during the fis-
30 

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1 cal year preceding the fiscal year in which 

2 the petition was received, adjusted for in3 flation; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) for any subsequent years at such 

5 level, adjusted for inflation. 

6 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) INITIAL PETITIONS.—Pursuant to any 

8 rules or regulations promulgated under subsection 

9 (A), the Administration shall establish a deadline for 

10 the submission of a petition under subsection (a)— 

11 ‘‘(A) during fiscal year 2007 for operations 

12 commencing in fiscal year 2008; and 

13 ‘‘(B) during the immediately preceding fis14 cal year for operations commencing in subse15 quent fiscal years. 

16 ‘‘(2) ROUTE LIMITATIONS.—The Administra17 tion may not make the program available with re18 spect to more than 1 Amtrak passenger rail routes 

19 for operations beginning in fiscal year 2008 nor to 

20 more than 2 such routes for operations beginning in 

21 fiscal year 2009 and subsequent fiscal years. 

22 ‘‘(c) PERFORMANCE STANDARDS; ACCESS TO FACILI23 TIES; EMPLOYEES.—If the Administration awards the 

24 right and obligation to provide passenger rail service over 
31 

•S 1516 IS 

1 a route under the program to a rail carrier or rail car2 riers— 

3 ‘‘(1) it shall execute a contract with the rail 

4 carrier or rail carriers for rail passenger operations 

5 on that route that conditions the operating and sub6 sidy rights upon the service provider’s compliance 

7 with the minimum standards established under sec8 tion 208 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Im9 provement Act of 2005 and such additional perform10 ance standards as the Administration may establish; 

11 ‘‘(2) it shall, if the award is made to a rail car12 rier other than Amtrak, require Amtrak to provide 

13 access to its reservation system, stations, and facili14 ties to any rail carrier or rail carriers awarded a 

15 contract under this section, in accordance with sec16 tion 218 of that Act, necessary to carry our the pur17 poses of this section; and 

18 ‘‘(3) any person used by a rail carrier or rail 

19 carriers to operate a route under this section shall 

20 be considered an employee of that carrier or carriers 

21 and subject to the applicable Federal laws and regu22 lations governing similar crafts or classes of employ23 ees of Amtrak, including provisions under section 

24 121 of the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act 
32 

•S 1516 IS 

1 of 1997 relating to employees that provide food and 

2 beverage service. 

3 ‘‘(d) CESSATION OF SERVICE.—If a rail carrier or 

4 rail carriers awarded a route under this section cease to 

5 operate the service or fail to fulfill their obligations under 

6 the contract required under subsection (c), the Adminis7 trator, in collaboration with the Surface Transportation 

8 Board when applicable, shall take any necessary action 

9 consistent with this title to enforce the contract and en10 sure the continued provision of service, including the in11 stallment of an interim service provider and re-bidding the 

12 contract to operate the service. 

13 ‘‘(e) ADEQUATE RESOURCES.—Before taking any ac14 tion allowed under this section, the Secretary shall certify 

15 that the Administrator has sufficient resources that are 

16 adequate to undertake the program established under this 

17 section.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal19 ysis for chapter 247, as amended by section 209, is 

20 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

21 24710 the following: 

‘‘24711. Alternate passenger rail service program.’’. 

22 SEC. 212. EMPLOYEE TRANSITION ASSISTANCE. 

23 (a) PROVISION OF FINANCIAL INCENTIVES.—For 

24 Amtrak employees who are adversely affected by the ces25 sation of the operation of a long distance route or any 
33 

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1 other route under section 24711 of title 49, United States 

2 Code, previously operated by Amtrak, the Secretary shall 

3 develop a program under which the Secretary may, in the 

4 Secretary’s discretion, provide grants for financial incen5 tives to be provided to employees of the National Railroad 

6 Passenger Corporation who voluntarily terminate their 

7 employment with the Corporation and relinquish any legal 

8 rights to receive termination-related payments under any 

9 contractual agreement with the Corporation. 

10 (b) CONDITIONS FOR FINANCIAL INCENTIVES.—As a 

11 condition for receiving financial assistance grants under 

12 this section, the Corporation must certify that— 

13 (1) a reasonable attempt was made to reassign 

14 an employee adversely affected under section 24711 

15 of title 49, United States Code, or by the elimination 

16 of any route, to other positions within the Corpora17 tion in accordance with any contractual agreements; 

18 (2) the financial assistance results in a net re19 duction in the total number of employees equal to 

20 the number receiving financial incentives; 

21 (3) the financial assistance results in a net re22 duction in total employment expense equivalent to 

23 the total employment expenses associated with the 

24 employees receiving financial incentives; and 
34 

•S 1516 IS 

1 (4) the total number of employees eligible for 

2 termination-related payments will not be increased 

3 without the express written consent of the Secretary. 

4 (c) AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL INCENTIVES.—The fi5 nancial incentives authorized under this section may be 

6 no greater than $50,000 per employee. 

7 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

9 such sums as may be necessary to make grants to the Na10 tional Railroad Passenger Corporation to provide financial 

11 incentives under subsection (a). 

12 (e) TERMINATION-RELATED PAYMENTS.—If Amtrak 

13 employees adversely affected by the cessation of Amtrak 

14 service resulting from the awarding of a grant to an oper15 ator other than Amtrak for the operation of a route under 

16 section 24711 of title 49, United States Code, or any other 

17 route, previously operated by Amtrak do not receive finan18 cial incentives under subsection (a), then the Secretary 

19 shall make grants to the National Railroad Passenger Cor20 poration from funds authorized by section 102 of this Act 

21 for termination-related payments to employees under ex22 isting contractual agreements. 
35 

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1 SEC. 213. NORTHEAST CORRIDOR STATE-OF-GOOD-REPAIR 

2 PLAN. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 6 months after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the National Railroad Passenger 

5 Corporation, in consultation with the Secretary and the 

6 States (including the District of Columbia) that make up 

7 the Northeast Corridor (as defined in section 24102 of 

8 title 49, United States Code), shall prepare a capital 

9 spending plan for capital projects required to return the 

10 Northeast Corridor to a state of good repair by the end 

11 of fiscal year 2011, consistent with the funding levels au12 thorized in this Act and shall submit the plan to the Sec13 retary. 

14 (b) APPROVAL BY THE SECRETARY.— 

15 (1) The Corporation shall submit the capital 

16 spending plan prepared under this section to the 

17 Secretary of Transportation for review and approval 

18 pursuant to the procedures developed under section 

19 205 of this Act. 

20 (2) The Secretary of Transportation shall re21 quire that the plan be updated at least annually and 

22 shall review and approve such updates. During re23 view, the Secretary shall seek comments and review 

24 from the commission established under section 

25 24905 of title 49, United States Code, and other 

26 Northeast Corridor users regarding the plan. 
36 

•S 1516 IS 

1 (3) The Secretary shall make grants to the Cor2 poration with funds authorized by section 101(b) for 

3 Northeast Corridor capital investments contained 

4 within the capital spending plan prepared by the 

5 Corporation and approved by the Secretary. 

6 (c) ELIGIBILITY OF EXPENDITURES.—The Federal 

7 share of expenditures for capital improvements under this 

8 section may not exceed 100 percent. 

9 SEC. 214. NORTHEAST CORRIDOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND 

10 OPERATIONS IMPROVEMENTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 24905(a) is amended to 

12 read as follows: 

13 ‘‘§ 24905. Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Op14 erations Advisory Commission; Safety 

15 and Security Committee 

16 ‘‘(a) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND

17 OPERATIONS ADVISORY COMMISSION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) Within 180 days after the date of enact19 ment of the Passenger Rail Investment and Im20 provement Act of 2005, the Secretary of Transpor21 tation shall establish a ‘Northeast Corridor Infra22 structure and Operations Advisory Commission’ 

23 (hereinafter referred to in this section as the ‘Com24 mission’) to promote mutual cooperation and plan25 ning pertaining to the rail operations and related ac-
37 

•S 1516 IS 

1 tivities of the Northeast Corridor. The Commission 

2 shall be made up of— 

3 ‘‘(A) members representing the National 

4 Railroad Passenger Corporation; 

5 ‘‘(B) members representing the Federal 

6 Railroad Administration; and 

7 ‘‘(C) 1 member from each of the States 

8 (including the District of Columbia) that con9 stitute the Northeast Corridor as defined in sec10 tion 24102, designated by the chief executive 

11 officer thereof. 

12 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall ensure that the mem13 bership belonging to any of the groups enumerated 

14 under subparagraph (1) shall not constitute a major15 ity of the commission’s memberships. 

16 ‘‘(3) The commission shall establish a schedule 

17 and location for convening meetings, but shall meet 

18 no less than four times per fiscal year, and the com19 mission shall develop rules and procedures to govern 

20 the commission’s proceedings. 

21 ‘‘(4) A vacancy in the Commission shall be 

22 filled in the manner in which the original appoint23 ment was made. 

24 ‘‘(5) Members shall serve without pay but shall 

25 receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
38 

•S 1516 IS 

1 subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702 and 

2 5703 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 ‘‘(6) The Chairman of the Commission shall be 

4 elected by the members. 

5 ‘‘(7) The Commission may appoint and fix the 

6 pay of such personnel as it considers appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(8) Upon request of the Commission, the head 

8 of any department or agency of the United States 

9 may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the per10 sonnel of that department or agency to the Commis11 sion to assist it in carrying out its duties under this 

12 section. 

13 ‘‘(9) Upon the request of the Commission, the 

14 Administrator of General Services shall provide to 

15 the Commission, on a reimbursable basis, the admin16 istrative support services necessary for the Commis17 sion to carry out its responsibilities under this sec18 tion. 

19 ‘‘(10) The commission shall consult with freight 

20 railroads users of the Northeast Corridor and other 

21 entities as appropriate. 

22 ‘‘(b) GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commis23 sion shall develop recommendations concerning northeast 

24 corridor rail infrastructure and operations including pro25 posals addressing, as appropriate— 
39 

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1 ‘‘(1) short-term and long term capital invest2 ment needs beyond the stat-of-good-repair under sec3 tion 213; 

4 ‘‘(2) future funding requirements for capital 

5 improvements and maintenance; 

6 ‘‘(3) operational improvements of intercity pas7 senger rail, commuter rail, and freight rail services; 

8 ‘‘(4) opportunities for additional non-rail uses 

9 of the Northeast Corridor; 

10 ‘‘(5) scheduling and dispatching; 

11 ‘‘(6) safety and security enhancements; 

12 ‘‘(7) equipment design; 

13 ‘‘(8) marketing of rail services; and 

14 ‘‘(9) future capacity requirements. 

15 ‘‘(c) ACCESS COSTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT OF FORMULA.—Within 1 

17 year after verification of Amtrak’s new financial ac18 counting system pursuant to section 203(b) of the 

19 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 

20 2005, the Commission shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) develop a standardized formula for 

22 determining and allocating costs, revenues, and 

23 compensation for northeast corridor commuter 

24 rail passenger transportation, as defined in sec25 tion 24102 of this title, that use National Rail-
40 

•S 1516 IS 

1 road Passenger Corporation facilities or services 

2 or that provide such facilities or services to the 

3 National Railroad Passenger Corporation that 

4 ensure that— 

5 ‘‘(i) there is no cross-subsidization of 

6 commuter rail passenger, intercity rail pas7 senger, or freight rail transportation; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) each service is assigned the costs 

9 incurred only for the benefit of that serv10 ice, and a proportionate share, based upon 

11 factors that reasonably reflect relative use, 

12 of costs incurred for the common benefit of 

13 more than 1 service; 

14 ‘‘(B) develop a proposed timetable for im15 plementing the formula before the end of the 

16 6th year following the date of enactment of that 

17 Act; and 

18 ‘‘(C) transmit the proposed timetable to 

19 the Surface Transportation Board. 

20 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION.—The National Rail21 road Passenger Corporation and the commuter au22 thorities providing commuter rail passenger trans23 portation on the northeast corridor shall implement 

24 new agreements for usage of facilities or services 

25 based on the formula proposed in paragraph (1) in 
41 

•S 1516 IS 

1 accordance with the timetable established therein. If 

2 the parties fail to implement such new agreements 

3 in accordance with the timetable, the parties shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) submit any dispute regarding such 

5 implementation to binding arbitration con6 ducted by a mutually agreed upon arbitrator 

7 and comply with the decision of that arbitrator; 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(B) petition the Surface Transportation 

10 Board to determine the appropriate compensa11 tion amounts for such services in accordance 

12 with section 24904(c) of this title. 

13 ‘‘(d) TRANSMISSION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—The 

14 commission shall annually transmit the recommendations 

15 developed under subsection (b) and the formula and time16 table developed under subsection (c)(1) to the Senate 

17 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

18 and the House of Representatives Committee on Trans19 portation and Infrastructure.’’. 

20 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF NORTHEAST CORRIDOR

21 SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMITTEE.— 

22 (1) Section 24905(b)(1) is amended— 

23 (A) by striking the first sentence and in24 serting ‘‘The Secretary shall establish a North25 east Corridor Safety and Security Committee 
42 

•S 1516 IS 

1 composed of members appointed by the Sec2 retary.’’; 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon 

4 in subparagraph (F); and 

5 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as 

6 subparagraph (H) and inserting after subpara7 graph (F) the following: 

8 ‘‘(G) the Transportation Security Administra9 tion; and’’. 

10 (2) Subsections (b)(2) and (b)(3) of section 

11 24905 are each amended by inserting ‘‘and security’’ 

12 after ‘‘safety’’ each place it appears. 

13 (3) The first sentence of section 24905(b)(3) is 

14 amended by inserting ‘‘to the commission established 

15 under subsection (a) and’’ after ‘‘report’’. 

16 (4) Section 24905(b)(4) is amended by striking 

17 ‘‘January 1, 1999,’’ and inserting ‘‘January 1, 

18 2009,’’. 

19 SEC. 215. RESTRUCTURING LONG-TERM DEBT AND CAP20 ITAL LEASES. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury, in 

22 consultation with the Secretary of Transportation and 

23 Amtrak, may make agreements to restructure Amtrak’s 

24 indebtedness as of the date of enactment of this Act. This 

25 authorization expires on January 1, 2007. 
43 

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1 (b) DEBT RESTRUCTURING.—The Secretary of 

2 Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of the Trans3 portation and Amtrak, shall enter into negotiations with 

4 the holders of Amtrak debt, including leases, outstanding 

5 on the date of enactment of this Act for the purpose of 

6 restructuring (including repayment) and repaying that 

7 debt. The Secretary of the Treasury shall secure agree8 ments for restructuring or repayment on such terms as 

9 the Secretary of the Treasury deems favorable to the in10 terests of the Government. 

11 (c) CRITERIA.—In restructuring Amtrak’s indebted12 ness, the Secretary and Amtrak— 

13 (1) shall take into consideration repayment 

14 costs, the term of any loan or loans, and market 

15 conditions; and 

16 (2) shall ensure that the restructuring results 

17 in significant savings to Amtrak and the United 

18 States Government. 

19 (d) PAYMENT OF RENEGOTIATED DEBT.—If the cri20 teria under subsection (c) are met, the Secretary of Treas21 ury shall assume or repay the restructured debt, as appro22 priate. 

23 (e) AMTRAK PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAY24 MENTS.— 
44 

•S 1516 IS 

1 (1) PRINCIPAL ON DEBT SERVICE.—Unless the 

2 Secretary of Treasury makes sufficient payments to 

3 creditors under subsection (d) so that Amtrak is re4 quired to make no payments to creditors in a fiscal 

5 year, the Secretary of Transportation shall use 

6 funds authorized by section 103(a)(1) for the use of 

7 Amtrak for retirement of principal on loans for cap8 ital equipment, or capital leases. 

9 (2) INTEREST ON DEBT.—Unless the Secretary 

10 of Treasury makes sufficient payments to creditors 

11 under subsection (d) so that Amtrak is required to 

12 make no payments to creditors in a fiscal year, the 

13 Secretary of Transportation shall use funds author14 ized by section 103(a)(2) for the use of Amtrak for 

15 the payment of interest on loans for capital equip16 ment, or capital leases. 

17 (3) REDUCTIONS IN AUTHORIZATION LEVELS.— 

18 Whenever action taken by the Secretary of the 

19 Treasury under subsection (a) results in reductions 

20 in amounts of principal or interest that Amtrak 

21 must service on existing debt, the corresponding 

22 amounts authorized by section 103(a)(1) or (2) shall 

23 be reduced accordingly. 

24 (f) LEGAL EFFECT OF PAYMENTS UNDER THIS SEC25 TION.—The payment of principal and interest on secured 
45 

•S 1516 IS 

1 debt, other than debt assumed under subsection (d), with 

2 the proceeds of grants under subsection (e) shall not— 

3 (1) modify the extent or nature of any indebt4 edness of the National Railroad Passenger Corpora5 tion to the United States in existence of the date of 

6 enactment of this Act; 

7 (2) change the private nature of Amtrak’s or its 

8 successors’ liabilities; or 

9 (3) imply any Federal guarantee or commit10 ment to amortize Amtrak’s outstanding indebted11 ness. 

12 (g) SECRETARY APPROVAL.—Amtrak may not incur 

13 more debt after the date of enactment of this Act without 

14 the express advance approval of the Secretary of Trans15 portation. 

16 (h) REPORT.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall 

17 transmit a report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

18 Science, and Transportation, the Senate Committee on 

19 Appropriations, the House of Representatives Committee 

20 on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House of 

21 Representatives Committee on Appropriations by June 1, 

22 2007— 

23 (1) describing in detail any agreements to re24 structure the Amtrak debt; and 
46 

•S 1516 IS 

1 (2) providing an estimate of the savings to Am2 trak and the United States Government. 

3 SEC. 216. STUDY OF COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS AT EX4 ISTING INTERCITY RAIL STATIONS. 

5 Amtrak shall evaluate the improvements necessary to 

6 make all existing stations it serves readily accessible to 

7 and usable by individuals with disabilities, as required by 

8 section 242(e)(2) of the Americans with Disabilities Act 

9 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12162(e)(2)). The evaluation shall in10 clude the estimated cost of the improvements necessary, 

11 the identification of the responsible person (as defined in 

12 section 241(5) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 12161(5))), and the 

13 earliest practicable date when such improvements can be 

14 made. Amtrak shall submit the survey to the Senate Com15 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the 

16 House of Representatives Committee on Transportation 

17 and Infrastructure, and the National Council on Disability 

18 by September 30, 2006, along with recommendations for 

19 funding the necessary improvements. 

20 SEC. 217. INCENTIVE PAY. 

21 The Amtrak Board of Directors is encouraged to de22 velop an incentive pay program for Amtrak employees. 

23 SEC. 218. ACCESS TO AMTRAK EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES. 

24 If a State desires to select or selects an entity other 

25 than Amtrak to provide services required for the operation 
47 

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1 of a route described in section 24102(5)(D) or 24702 of 

2 title 49, United States Code, the State may make an 

3 agreement with Amtrak to use facilities and equipment of, 

4 or have services provided by, Amtrak under terms agreed 

5 to by the State and Amtrak to enable the State to utilize 

6 an entity other than Amtrak to provide services required 

7 for operation of the route. If the parties cannot agree upon 

8 terms, and the Surface Transportation Board finds that 

9 access to Amtrak’s facilities or equipment, or the provision 

10 of services by Amtrak, is necessary to carry out this provi11 sion and that the operation of Amtrak’s other services will 

12 not be impaired thereby, the Surface Transportation 

13 Board shall, within 120 days after submission of the dis14 pute, issue an order that the facilities and equipment be 

15 made available, and that services be provided, by Amtrak, 

16 and shall determine reasonable compensation, liability and 

17 other terms for use of the facilities and equipment and 

18 provision of the services. Compensation shall be deter19 mined in accord with the methodology established pursu20 ant to section 206 of this Act. 

21 SEC. 219. GENERAL AMTRAK PROVISIONS. 

22 (a) REPEAL OF SELF-SUFFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS. 

23 (1) TITLE 49 AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 241 is 

24 amended— 
48 

•S 1516 IS 

1 (A) by striking the last sentence of section 

2 24101(d); and 

3 (B) by striking the last sentence of section 

4 24104(a). 

5 (2) AMTRAK REFORM AND ACCOUNTABILITY

6 ACT AMENDMENTS.—Title II of the Amtrak Reform 

7 and Accountability Act of 1997 (49 U.S.C. 24101 

8 nt) is amended by striking sections 204 and 205. 

9 (3) COMMON STOCK REDEMPTION DATE.—Sec10 tion 415 of the Amtrak Reform and Accountability 

11 Act of 1997 (49 U.S.C. 24304 nt) is amended by 

12 striking subsection (b). 

13 (b) LEASE ARRANGEMENTS.—Amtrak may obtain 

14 services from the Administrator of General Services, and 

15 the Administrator may provide services to Amtrak, under 

16 section 201(b) and 211(b) of the Federal Property and 

17 Administrative Service Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 481(b) and 

18 491(b)) for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2011. 

19 SEC. 220. PRIVATE SECTOR FUNDING OF PASSENGER 

20 TRAINS. 

21 Amtrak is encouraged to increase its operation of 

22 trains funded by the private sector in order to minimize 

23 its need for Federal subsidies. Amtrak shall utilize the 

24 provisions of section 24308 of title 49, United States 

25 Code, when necessary to obtain access to facilities, train 
49 

•S 1516 IS 

1 and engine crews, or services of a rail carrier or regional 

2 transportation authority that are required to operate such 

3 trains. 

4 SEC. 221. ON-BOARD SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 1 year after metrics and 

6 standards are established under section 208 of this Act, 

7 Amtrak shall develop and implement a plan to improve 

8 on-board service pursuant to the metrics and standards 

9 for such service developed under that section. 

10 (b) REPORT.—Amtrak shall provide a report to the 

11 Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor12 tation and the House of Representatives Committee on 

13 Transportation and Infrastructure on the on-board service 

14 improvements proscribed in the plan and the timeline for 

15 implementing such improvements. 

16 TITLE III—INTERCITY 

17 PASSENGER RAIL POLICY 

18 SEC. 301. CAPITAL ASSISTANCE FOR INTERCITY PAS19 SENGER RAIL SERVICE; STATE RAIL PLANS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part C of subtitle V is amended 

21 by inserting the following after chapter 243: 

‘‘CHAPTER 244—INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE CORRIDOR 

CAPITAL ASSISTANCE 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘24401. Definitions. 

‘‘24402. Capital investment grants to support intercity passenger rail service. 

‘‘24403. Project management oversight. 

‘‘24404. Use of capital grants to finance first-dollar liability of grant project. 

‘‘24405. Grant conditions. 
50 

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1 ‘‘§ 24401. Definitions 

2 ‘‘In this subchapter: 

3 ‘‘(1) APPLICANT.—The term ‘applicant’ means 

4 a State (including the District of Columbia), a group 

5 of States, an Interstate Compact, or a public agency 

6 established by one or more States and having re7 sponsibility for providing intercity passenger rail 

8 service. 

9 ‘‘(2) CAPITAL PROJECT.—The term ‘capital 

10 project’ means a project or program in a State rail 

11 plan developed under chapter 225 of this title for— 

12 ‘‘(A) acquiring, constructing, improving, or 

13 inspecting equipment or a facility for use in or 

14 for the primary benefit of intercity passenger 

15 rail service, expenses incidental to the acquisi16 tion or construction (including designing, engi17 neering, location surveying, mapping, environ18 mental studies, and acquiring rights-of-way), 

19 payments for the capital portions of rail track20 age rights agreements, highway-rail grade 

21 crossing improvements related to intercity pas22 senger rail service, security, mitigating environ23 mental impacts, communication and signaliza24 tion improvements, relocation assistance, ac25 quiring replacement housing sites, and acquir-
51 

•S 1516 IS 

1 ing, constructing, relocating, and rehabilitating 

2 replacement housing; 

3 ‘‘(B) rehabilitating, remanufacturing or 

4 overhauling rail rolling stock and facilities used 

5 primarily in intercity passenger rail service; 

6 ‘‘(C) costs associated with developing State 

7 rail plans; and 

8 ‘‘(D) the first-dollar liability costs for in9 surance related to the provision of intercity pas10 senger rail service under section 24404. 

11 ‘‘(3) INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE.— 

12 The term ‘intercity passenger rail service’ means 

13 transportation services with the primary purpose of 

14 passenger transportation between towns, cities and 

15 metropolitan areas by rail, including high-speed rail, 

16 as defined in section 24102 of title 49, United 

17 States Code. 

18 ‘‘§ 24402. Capital investment grants to support inter19 city passenger rail service 

20 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.— 

21 ‘‘(1) The Secretary of Transportation may 

22 make grants under this section to an applicant to 

23 assist in financing the capital costs of facilities and 

24 equipment necessary to provide or improve intercity 

25 passenger rail transportation. 
52 

•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall require that a grant 

2 under this section be subject to the terms, condi3 tions, requirements, and provisions the Secretary de4 cides are necessary or appropriate for the purposes 

5 of this section, including requirements for the dis6 position of net increases in value of real property re7 sulting from the project assisted under this section 

8 and shall prescribe procedures and schedules for the 

9 awarding of grants under this title, including appli10 cation and qualification procedures and a record of 

11 decision on applicant eligibility. The Secretary shall 

12 issue a final rule establishing such procedures not 

13 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 

14 the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement 

15 Act of 2005. 

16 ‘‘(b) PROJECT AS PART OF STATE RAIL PLAN.— 

17 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may not approve a grant for 

18 a project under this section unless the Secretary 

19 finds that the project is part of a State rail plan de20 veloped under chapter 225 of this title and that the 

21 applicant or recipient has or will have the legal, fi22 nancial, and technical capacity to carry out the 

23 project, satisfactory continuing control over the use 

24 of the equipment or facilities, and the capability and 

25 willingness to maintain the equipment or facilities. 
53 

•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘(2) An applicant shall provide sufficient infor2 mation upon which the Secretary can make the find3 ings required by this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(3) If an applicant has not selected the pro5 posed operator of its service competitively, the appli6 cant shall provide written justification to the Sec7 retary showing why the proposed operator is the 

8 best, taking into account price and other factors, 

9 and that use of the proposed operator will not un10 necessarily increase the cost of the project. 

11 ‘‘(c) PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Sec12 retary, in selecting the recipients of financial assistance 

13 to be provided under subsection (a), shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) require that each proposed project meet all 

15 safety and security requirements that are applicable 

16 to the project under law; 

17 ‘‘(2) give preference to projects with high levels 

18 of estimated ridership, increased on-time perform19 ance, reduced trip time, additional service frequency, 

20 or other significant service enhancements as meas21 ured against minimum standards developed under 

22 section 208 of the Passenger Rail Investment and 

23 Improvement Act of 2005; 

24 ‘‘(3) encourage intermodal connectivity through 

25 projects that provide direct connections between 
54 

•S 1516 IS 

1 train stations, airports, bus terminals, subway sta2 tions, ferry ports, and other modes of transpor3 tation; 

4 ‘‘(4) ensure that each project is compatible 

5 with, and is operated in conformance with— 

6 ‘‘(A) plans developed pursuant to the re7 quirements of section 135 of title 23, United 

8 States Code; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the national rail plan (if it is avail10 able); and 

11 ‘‘(5) favor the following kinds of projects: 

12 ‘‘(A) Projects that are expected to have a 

13 significant favorable impact on air or highway 

14 traffic congestion, capacity, or safety. 

15 ‘‘(B) Projects that also improve freight or 

16 commuter rail operations. 

17 ‘‘(C) Projects that have significant envi18 ronmental benefits. 

19 ‘‘(D) Projects that are— 

20 ‘‘(i) at a stage of preparation that all 

21 pre-commencement compliance with envi22 ronmental protection requirements has al23 ready been completed; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) ready to be commenced. 
55 

•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘(E) Projects with positive economic and 

2 employment impacts. 

3 ‘‘(F) Projects that encourage the use of 

4 positive train control technologies. 

5 ‘‘(G) Projects that have commitments of 

6 funding from non-Federal Government sources 

7 in a total amount that exceeds the minimum 

8 amount of the non-Federal contribution re9 quired for the project. 

10 ‘‘(H) Projects that involve donated prop11 erty interests or services. 

12 ‘‘(I) Projects that are identified by the 

13 Surface Transportation Board as necessary to 

14 improve the on time performance and reliability 

15 of intercity passenger rail under section 

16 24308(f). 

17 ‘‘(d) AMTRAK ELIGIBILITY.—To receive a grant 

18 under this section, the National Railroad Passenger Cor19 poration may enter into a cooperative agreement with 1 

20 or more States to carry out 1 or more projects on a State 

21 rail plan’s ranked list of rail capital projects developed 

22 under section 22504(a)(5) of this title. 

23 ‘‘(e) LETTERS OF INTENT, FULL FUNDING GRANT

24 AGREEMENTS, AND EARLY SYSTEMS WORK AGREE25 MENTS.— 
56 

•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘(1)(A) The Secretary may issue a letter of in2 tent to an applicant announcing an intention to obli3 gate, for a major capital project under this section, 

4 an amount from future available budget authority 

5 specified in law that is not more than the amount 

6 stipulated as the financial participation of the Sec7 retary in the project. 

8 ‘‘(B) At least 30 days before issuing a let9 ter under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph 

10 or entering into a full funding grant agreement, 

11 the Secretary shall notify in writing the Com12 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

13 the House of Representatives and the Com14 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor15 tation of the Senate and the House and Senate 

16 Committees on Appropriations of the proposed 

17 letter or agreement. The Secretary shall include 

18 with the notification a copy of the proposed let19 ter or agreement as well as the evaluations and 

20 ratings for the project. 

21 ‘‘(C) An obligation or administrative com22 mitment may be made only when amounts are 

23 appropriated. 
57 

•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary may make a full funding 

2 grant agreement with an applicant. The agreement 

3 shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) establish the terms of participa5 tion by the United States Government in a 

6 project under this section; 

7 ‘‘(ii) establish the maximum amount 

8 of Government financial assistance for the 

9 project; 

10 ‘‘(iii) cover the period of time for com11 pleting the project, including a period ex12 tending beyond the period of an authoriza13 tion; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) make timely and efficient man15 agement of the project easier according to 

16 the law of the United States. 

17 ‘‘(B) An agreement under this paragraph 

18 obligates an amount of available budget author19 ity specified in law and may include a commit20 ment, contingent on amounts to be specified in 

21 law in advance for commitments under this 

22 paragraph, to obligate an additional amount 

23 from future available budget authority specified 

24 in law. The agreement shall state that the con25 tingent commitment is not an obligation of the 
58 

•S 1516 IS 

1 Government and is subject to the availability of 

2 appropriations made by Federal law and to 

3 Federal laws in force on or enacted after the 

4 date of the contingent commitment. Interest 

5 and other financing costs of efficiently carrying 

6 out a part of the project within a reasonable 

7 time are a cost of carrying out the project 

8 under a full funding grant agreement, except 

9 that eligible costs may not be more than the 

10 cost of the most favorable financing terms rea11 sonably available for the project at the time of 

12 borrowing. The applicant shall certify, in a way 

13 satisfactory to the Secretary, that the applicant 

14 has shown reasonable diligence in seeking the 

15 most favorable financing terms. 

16 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary may make an early sys17 tems work agreement with an applicant if a record 

18 of decision under the National Environmental Policy 

19 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) has been 

20 issued on the project and the Secretary finds there 

21 is reason to believe— 

22 ‘‘(i) a full funding grant agreement 

23 for the project will be made; and 
59 

•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘(ii) the terms of the work agreement 

2 will promote ultimate completion of the 

3 project more rapidly and at less cost. 

4 ‘‘(B) A work agreement under this para5 graph obligates an amount of available budget 

6 authority specified in law and shall provide for 

7 reimbursement of preliminary costs of carrying 

8 out the project, including land acquisition, time9 ly procurement of system elements for which 

10 specifications are decided, and other activities 

11 the Secretary decides are appropriate to make 

12 efficient, long-term project management easier. 

13 A work agreement shall cover the period of time 

14 the Secretary considers appropriate. The period 

15 may extend beyond the period of current au16 thorization. Interest and other financing costs 

17 of efficiently carrying out the work agreement 

18 within a reasonable time are a cost of carrying 

19 out the agreement, except that eligible costs 

20 may not be more than the cost of the most fa21 vorable financing terms reasonably available for 

22 the project at the time of borrowing. The appli23 cant shall certify, in a way satisfactory to the 

24 Secretary, that the applicant has shown reason25 able diligence in seeking the most favorable fi-
60 

•S 1516 IS 

1 nancing terms. If an applicant does not carry 

2 out the project for reasons within the control of 

3 the applicant, the applicant shall repay all Gov4 ernment payments made under the work agree5 ment plus reasonable interest and penalty 

6 charges the Secretary establishes in the agree7 ment. 

8 ‘‘(4) The total estimated amount of future obli9 gations of the Government and contingent commit10 ments to incur obligations covered by all outstanding 

11 letters of intent, full funding grant agreements, and 

12 early systems work agreements may be not more 

13 than the amount authorized under section 101(c) of 

14 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 

15 2005, less an amount the Secretary reasonably esti16 mates is necessary for grants under this section not 

17 covered by a letter. The total amount covered by 

18 new letters and contingent commitments included in 

19 full funding grant agreements and early systems 

20 work agreements may be not more than a limitation 

21 specified in law. 

22 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL SHARE OF NET PROJECT COST.— 

23 ‘‘(1)(A) Based on engineering studies, studies 

24 of economic feasibility, and information on the ex-
61 

•S 1516 IS 

1 pected use of equipment or facilities, the Secretary 

2 shall estimate the net project cost. 

3 ‘‘(B) A grant for the project shall not ex4 ceed 80 percent of the project net capital cost. 

5 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall give priority in 

6 allocating future obligations and contingent 

7 commitments to incur obligations to grant re8 quests seeking a lower Federal share of the 

9 project net capital cost. 

10 ‘‘(2) Up to an additional 20 percent of the re11 quired non-Federal funds may be funded from 

12 amounts appropriated to or made available to a de13 partment or agency of the Federal Government that 

14 are eligible to be expended for transportation. 

15 ‘‘(3) 50 percent of the average amounts ex16 pended by a State or group of States (including the 

17 District of Columbia) for capital projects to benefit 

18 intercity passenger rail service in fiscal years 2004 

19 and 2005 shall be credited towards the matching re20 quirements for grants awarded under this section. 

21 The Secretary may require such information as nec22 essary to verify such expenditures. 

23 ‘‘(4) 50 percent of the average amounts ex24 pended by a State or group of States (including the 

25 District of Columbia) in a fiscal year beginning in 
62 

•S 1516 IS 

1 2006 for capital projects to benefit intercity pas2 senger rail service or for the operating costs of such 

3 service above the average of expenditures made for 

4 such service in fiscal years 2004 and 2005 shall be 

5 credited towards the matching requirements for 

6 grants awarded under this section. The Secretary 

7 may require such information as necessary to verify 

8 such expenditures. 

9 ‘‘(g) UNDERTAKING PROJECTS IN ADVANCE.— 

10 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may pay the Federal share 

11 of the net capital project cost to an applicant that 

12 carries out any part of a project described in this 

13 section according to all applicable procedures and re14 quirements if— 

15 ‘‘(A) the applicant applies for the payment; 

16 ‘‘(B) the Secretary approves the payment; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(C) before carrying out the part of the 

19 project, the Secretary approves the plans and 

20 specifications for the part in the same way as 

21 other projects under this section. 

22 ‘‘(2) The cost of carrying out part of a project 

23 includes the amount of interest earned and payable 

24 on bonds issued by the applicant to the extent pro25 ceeds of the bonds are expended in carrying out the 
63 

•S 1516 IS 

1 part. However, the amount of interest under this 

2 paragraph may not be more than the most favorable 

3 interest terms reasonably available for the project at 

4 the time of borrowing. The applicant shall certify, in 

5 a manner satisfactory to the Secretary, that the ap6 plicant has shown reasonable diligence in seeking the 

7 most favorable financial terms. 

8 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall consider changes in 

9 capital project cost indices when determining the es10 timated cost under paragraph (2) of this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(h) 2-YEAR AVAILABILITY.—Funds appropriated 

12 under this section shall remain available until expended. 

13 If any amount provided as a grant under this section is 

14 not obligated or expended for the purposes described in 

15 subsection (a) within 2 years after the date on which the 

16 State received the grant, such sums shall be returned to 

17 the Secretary for other intercity passenger rail develop18 ment projects under this section at the discretion of the 

19 Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(i) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A metropolitan planning 

22 organization, State transportation department, or 

23 other project sponsor may enter into an agreement 

24 with any public, private, or nonprofit entity to coop-
64 

•S 1516 IS 

1 eratively implement any project funded with a grant 

2 under this title. 

3 ‘‘(2) FORMS OF PARTICIPATION.—Participation 

4 by an entity under paragraph (1) may consist of— 

5 ‘‘(A) ownership or operation of any land, 

6 facility, locomotive, rail car, vehicle, or other 

7 physical asset associated with the project; 

8 ‘‘(B) cost-sharing of any project expense; 

9 ‘‘(C) carrying out administration, construc10 tion management, project management, project 

11 operation, or any other management or oper12 ational duty associated with the project; and 

13 ‘‘(D) any other form of participation ap14 proved by the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(3) SUB-ALLOCATION.—A State may allocate 

16 funds under this section to any entity described in 

17 paragraph (1). 

18 ‘‘(j) SPECIAL TRANSPORTATION CIRCUMSTANCES.— 

19 In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall allocate 

20 an appropriate portion of the amounts available under this 

21 section to provide grants to States— 

22 ‘‘(1) in which there is no intercity passenger 

23 rail service for the purpose of funding freight rail 

24 capital projects that are on a State rail plan devel25 oped under chapter 225 of this title that provide 
65 

•S 1516 IS 

1 public benefits (as defined in chapter 225) as deter2 mined by the Secretary; or 

3 ‘‘(2) in which the rail transportation system is 

4 not physically connected to rail systems in the conti5 nental United States or may not otherwise qualify 

6 for a grant under this section due to the unique 

7 characteristics of the geography of that State or 

8 other relevant considerations, for the purpose of 

9 funding transportation-related capital projects. 

10 ‘‘§ 24403. Project management oversight 

11 ‘‘(a) PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN REQUIRE12 MENTS.—To receive Federal financial assistance for a 

13 major capital project under this subchapter, an applicant 

14 must prepare and carry out a project management plan 

15 approved by the Secretary of Transportation. The plan 

16 shall provide for— 

17 ‘‘(1) adequate recipient staff organization with 

18 well-defined reporting relationships, statements of 

19 functional responsibilities, job descriptions, and job 

20 qualifications; 

21 ‘‘(2) a budget covering the project management 

22 organization, appropriate consultants, property ac23 quisition, utility relocation, systems demonstration 

24 staff, audits, and miscellaneous payments the recipi25 ent may be prepared to justify; 
66 

•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘(3) a construction schedule for the project; 

2 ‘‘(4) a document control procedure and record3 keeping system; 

4 ‘‘(5) a change order procedure that includes a 

5 documented, systematic approach to handling the 

6 construction change orders; 

7 ‘‘(6) organizational structures, management 

8 skills, and staffing levels required throughout the 

9 construction phase; 

10 ‘‘(7) quality control and quality assurance func11 tions, procedures, and responsibilities for construc12 tion, system installation, and integration of system 

13 components; 

14 ‘‘(8) material testing policies and procedures; 

15 ‘‘(9) internal plan implementation and reporting 

16 requirements; 

17 ‘‘(10) criteria and procedures to be used for 

18 testing the operational system or its major compo19 nents; 

20 ‘‘(11) periodic updates of the plan, especially 

21 related to project budget and project schedule, fi22 nancing, and ridership estimates; and 

23 ‘‘(12) the recipient’s commitment to submit a 

24 project budget and project schedule to the Secretary 

25 each month. 
67 

•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘(b) SECRETARIAL OVERSIGHT.— 

2 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may use no more than 0.5 

3 percent of amounts made available in a fiscal year 

4 for capital projects under this subchapter to enter 

5 into contracts to oversee the construction of such 

6 projects. 

7 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may use amounts available 

8 under paragraph (1) of this subsection to make con9 tracts for safety, procurement, management, and fi10 nancial compliance reviews and audits of a recipient 

11 of amounts under paragraph (1). 

12 ‘‘(3) The Federal Government shall pay the en13 tire cost of carrying out a contract under this sub14 section. 

15 ‘‘(c) ACCESS TO SITES AND RECORDS.—Each recipi16 ent of assistance under this subchapter shall provide the 

17 Secretary and a contractor the Secretary chooses under 

18 subsection (c) of this section with access to the construc19 tion sites and records of the recipient when reasonably 

20 necessary. 

21 ‘‘§ 24404. Use of capital grants to finance first-dollar 

22 liability of grant project 

23 ‘‘Notwithstanding the requirements of section 24402 

24 of this subchapter, the Secretary of Transportation may 

25 approve the use of capital assistance under this sub-
68 

•S 1516 IS 

1 chapter to fund self-insured retention of risk for the first 

2 tier of liability insurance coverage for rail passenger serv3 ice associated with the capital assistance grant, but the 

4 coverage may not exceed $20,000,000 per occurrence or 

5 $20,000,000 in aggregate per year. 

6 ‘‘§ 24405. Grant conditions 

7 ‘‘(a) DOMESTIC BUYING PREFERENCE.— 

8 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out a 

10 project funded in whole or in part with a grant 

11 under this title, the grant recipient shall pur12 chase only— 

13 ‘‘(i) unmanufactured articles, mate14 rial, and supplies mined or produced in the 

15 United States; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) manufactured articles, material, 

17 and supplies manufactured in the United 

18 States substantially from articles, material, 

19 and supplies mined, produced, or manufac20 tured in the United States. 

21 ‘‘(B) DE MINIMIS AMOUNT.—Subpara22 graph (1) applies only to a purchase in an total 

23 amount that is not less than $1,000,000. 

24 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTIONS.—On application of a recipi25 ent, the Secretary may exempt a recipient from the 
69 

•S 1516 IS 

1 requirements of this subsection if the Secretary de2 cides that, for particular articles, material, or sup3 plies— 

4 ‘‘(A) such requirements are inconsistent 

5 with the public interest; 

6 ‘‘(B) the cost of imposing the requirements 

7 is unreasonable; or 

8 ‘‘(C) the articles, material, or supplies, or 

9 the articles, material, or supplies from which 

10 they are manufactured, are not mined, pro11 duced, or manufactured in the United States in 

12 sufficient and reasonably available commercial 

13 quantities and are not of a satisfactory quality. 

14 ‘‘(3) UNITED STATES DEFINED.—In this sub15 section, the term ‘the United States’ means the 

16 States, territories, and possessions of the United 

17 States and the District of Columbia. 

18 ‘‘(b) OPERATORS DEEMED RAIL CARRIERS AND EM19 PLOYERS FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.—A person that con20 ducts rail operations over rail infrastructure constructed 

21 or improved with funding provided in whole or in part in 

22 a grant made under this title— 

23 ‘‘(1) shall be considered an employer for pur24 poses of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 

25 U.S.C. 231 et seq.); and 
70 

•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘(2) shall be considered a carrier for purposes 

2 of the Railway Labor Act (43 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). 

3 ‘‘(c) GRANT CONDITIONS.—The Secretary shall re4 quire as a condition of making any grant under this title 

5 that includes the improvement or use of rights-of-way 

6 owned by a railroad that— 

7 ‘‘(1) a written agreement exist between the ap8 plicant and the railroad regarding such use and 

9 ownership, including— 

10 ‘‘(A) any compensation for such use; 

11 ‘‘(B) assurances regarding the adequacy of 

12 infrastructure capacity to accommodate both 

13 existing and future freight and passenger oper14 ations; and 

15 ‘‘(C) an assurance by the railroad that col16 lective bargaining agreements with the rail17 road’s employees (including terms regulating 

18 the contracting of work) will remain in full 

19 force and effect according to their terms for 

20 work performed by the railroad on the railroad 

21 transportation corridor; and 

22 ‘‘(2) the applicant agrees to comply with— 

23 ‘‘(A) the standards of section 24312 of this 

24 title, as such section was in effect on September 

25 1, 2003, with respect to the project in the same 
71 

•S 1516 IS 

1 manner that the National Railroad Passenger 

2 Corporation is required to comply with those 

3 standards for construction work financed under 

4 an agreement made under section 24308(a) of 

5 this title; and 

6 ‘‘(B) the protective arrangements estab7 lished under section 504 of the Railroad Revi8 talization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 

9 (45 U.S.C. 836) with respect to employees af10 fected by actions taken in connection with the 

11 project to be financed in whole or in part by 

12 grants under this subchapter. 

13 ‘‘(d) REPLACEMENT OF EXISTING INTERCITY PAS14 SENGER RAIL SERVICE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT

16 FOR INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL PROJECTS.—Any 

17 entity providing intercity passenger railroad trans18 portation that begins operations after the date of en19 actment of this Act on a project funded in whole or 

20 in part by grants made under this title and replaces 

21 intercity rail passenger service that was provided by 

22 Amtrak, unless such service was provided solely by 

23 Amtrak to another entity, as of such date shall enter 

24 into an agreement with the authorized bargaining 
72 

•S 1516 IS 

1 agent or agents for adversely affected employees of 

2 the predecessor provider that— 

3 ‘‘(A) gives each such qualified employee of 

4 the predecessor provider priority in hiring ac5 cording to the employee’s seniority on the pred6 ecessor provider for each position with the re7 placing entity that is in the employee’s craft or 

8 class and is available within 3 years after the 

9 termination of the service being replaced; 

10 ‘‘(B) establishes a procedure for notifying 

11 such an employee of such positions; 

12 ‘‘(C) establishes a procedure for such an 

13 employee to apply for such positions; and 

14 ‘‘(D) establishes rates of pay, rules, and 

15 working conditions. 

16 ‘‘(2) IMMEDIATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE.— 

17 ‘‘(A) NEGOTIATIONS.—If the replacement 

18 of preexisting intercity rail passenger service oc19 curs concurrent with or within a reasonable 

20 time before the commencement of the replacing 

21 entity’s rail passenger service, the replacing en22 tity shall give written notice of its plan to re23 place existing rail passenger service to the au24 thorized collective bargaining agent or agents 

25 for the potentially adversely affected employees 
73 

•S 1516 IS 

1 of the predecessor provider at least 90 days be2 fore the date on which it plans to commence 

3 service. Within 5 days after the date of receipt 

4 of such written notice, negotiations between the 

5 replacing entity and the collective bargaining 

6 agent or agents for the employees of the prede7 cessor provider shall commence for the purpose 

8 of reaching agreement with respect to all mat9 ters set forth in subparagraphs (A) through (D) 

10 of paragraph (1). The negotiations shall con11 tinue for 30 days or until an agreement is 

12 reached, whichever is sooner. If at the end of 

13 30 days the parties have not entered into an 

14 agreement with respect to all such matters, the 

15 unresolved issues shall be submitted for arbitra16 tion in accordance with the procedure set forth 

17 in subparagraph (B). 

18 ‘‘(B) ARBITRATION.—If an agreement has 

19 not been entered into with respect to all mat20 ters set forth in subparagraphs (A) through (D) 

21 of paragraph (1) as described in subparagraph 

22 (A) of this paragraph, the parties shall select 

23 an arbitrator. If the parties are unable to agree 

24 upon the selection of such arbitrator within 5 

25 days, either or both parties shall notify the Na-
74 

•S 1516 IS 

1 tional Mediation Board, which shall provide a 

2 list of seven arbitrators with experience in arbi3 trating rail labor protection disputes. Within 5 

4 days after such notification, the parties shall al5 ternately strike names from the list until only 

6 1 name remains, and that person shall serve as 

7 the neutral arbitrator. Within 45 days after se8 lection of the arbitrator, the arbitrator shall 

9 conduct a hearing on the dispute and shall 

10 render a decision with respect to the unresolved 

11 issues among the matters set forth in subpara12 graphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1). This 

13 decision shall be final, binding, and conclusive 

14 upon the parties. The salary and expenses of 

15 the arbitrator shall be borne equally by the par16 ties; all other expenses shall be paid by the 

17 party incurring them. 

18 ‘‘(3) SERVICE COMMENCEMENT.—A replacing 

19 entity under this subsection shall commence service 

20 only after an agreement is entered into with respect 

21 to the matters set forth in subparagraphs (A) 

22 through (D) of paragraph (1) or the decision of the 

23 arbitrator has been rendered. 

24 ‘‘(4) SUBSEQUENT REPLACEMENT OF SERV25 ICE.—If the replacement of existing rail passenger 
75 

•S 1516 IS 

1 service takes place within 3 years after the replacing 

2 entity commences intercity passenger rail service, 

3 the replacing entity and the collective bargaining 

4 agent or agents for the adversely affected employees 

5 of the predecessor provider shall enter into an agree6 ment with respect to the matters set forth in sub7 paragraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1). If the 

8 parties have not entered into an agreement with re9 spect to all such matters within 60 days after the 

10 date on which the replacing entity replaces the pred11 ecessor provider, the parties shall select an arbi12 trator using the procedures set forth in paragraph 

13 (2)(B), who shall, within 20 days after the com14 mencement of the arbitration, conduct a hearing and 

15 decide all unresolved issues. This decision shall be 

16 final, binding, and conclusive upon the parties. 

17 ‘‘(e) INAPPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN RAIL OPER18 ATIONS.— Nothing in this section applies to— 

19 ‘‘(1) commuter rail passenger transportation 

20 (as defined in section 24102(4) of this title) oper21 ations of a State or local government authority (as 

22 those terms are defined in section 5302(11) and (6), 

23 respectively, of this title) eligible to receive financial 

24 assistance under section 5307 of this title, or to its 
76 

•S 1516 IS 

1 contractor performing services in connection with 

2 commuter rail passenger operations (as so defined); 

3 ‘‘(2) the Alaska Railroad or its contractors; or 

4 ‘‘(3) the National Railroad Passenger Corpora5 tion’s access rights to railroad rights of way and fa6 cilities under current law for projects funded under 

7 this title where train operating speeds do not exceed 

8 79 miles per hour.’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

10 (1) The table of chapters for the title is amend11 ed by inserting the following after the item relating 

12 to chapter 243: 

‘‘244. Intercity passenger rail service capital assistance ......................... 24401’’. 

13 ‘‘(2) The chapter analysis for subtitle V is 

14 amended by inserting the following after the item re15 lating to chapter 243: 

‘‘244. Intercity passenger rail service capital assistance ......................... 24401’’. 

16 SEC. 302. STATE RAIL PLANS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of subtitle V is amended 

18 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘CHAPTER 225—STATE RAIL PLANS AND HIGH PRIORITY 

PROJECTS 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘22501. Definitions. 

‘‘22502. Authority. 

‘‘22503. Purposes. 

‘‘22504. Transparency; coordination; review. 

‘‘22505. Content. 

‘‘22506. Review. 
77 

•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘§ 22501. Definitions 

2 ‘‘In this subchapter: 

3 ‘‘(1) PRIVATE BENEFIT.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘private 

5 benefit’— 

6 ‘‘(i) means a benefit accrued to a per7 son or private entity, other than the Na8 tional Railroad Passenger Corporation, 

9 that directly improves the economic and 

10 competitive condition of that person or en11 tity through improved assets, cost reduc12 tions, service improvements, or any other 

13 means as defined by the Secretary; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) shall be determined on a project15 by-project basis, based upon an agreement 

16 between the parties. 

17 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary may 

18 seek the advice of the States and rail carriers 

19 in further defining this term. 

20 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC BENEFIT.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘public ben22 efit’— 

23 ‘‘(i) means a benefit accrued to the 

24 public in the form of enhanced mobility of 

25 people or goods, environmental protection 

26 or enhancement, congestion mitigation, en-
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1 hanced trade and economic development, 

2 improved air quality or land use, more effi3 cient energy use, enhanced public safety or 

4 security, reduction of public expenditures 

5 due to improved transportation efficiency 

6 or infrastructure preservation, and any 

7 other positive community effects as defined 

8 by the Secretary; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) shall be determined on a project10 by-project basis, based upon an agreement 

11 between the parties. 

12 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary may 

13 seek the advice of the States and rail carriers 

14 in further defining this term. 

15 ‘‘(3) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any of 

16 the 50 States and the District of Columbia. 

17 ‘‘(4) STATE RAIL TRANSPORTATION AUTHOR18 ITY.—The term ‘State rail transportation authority’ 

19 means the State agency or official responsible under 

20 the direction of the Governor of the State or a State 

21 law for preparation, maintenance, coordination, and 

22 administration of the State rail plan.’’. 
79 

•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘§ 22502. Authority 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State may prepare and 

3 maintain a State rail plan in accordance with the provi4 sions of this subchapter. 

5 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—For the preparation and peri6 odic revision of a State rail plan, a State shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) establish or designate a State rail trans8 portation authority to prepare, maintain, coordinate, 

9 and administer the plan; 

10 ‘‘(2) establish or designate a State rail plan ap11 proval authority to approve the plan; 

12 ‘‘(3) submit the State’s approved plan to the 

13 Secretary of Transportation for review; and 

14 ‘‘(4) revise and resubmit a State-approved plan 

15 no less frequently than once every 5 years for re16 approval by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘§ 22503. Purposes 

18 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of a State rail plan 

19 are as follows: 

20 ‘‘(1) To set forth State policy involving freight 

21 and passenger rail transportation, including com22 muter rail operations, in the State. 

23 ‘‘(2) To establish the period covered by the 

24 State rail plan. 
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•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘(3) To present priorities and strategies to en2 hance rail service in the State that benefits the pub3 lic. 

4 ‘‘(4) To serve as the basis for Federal and 

5 State rail investments within the State. 

6 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION.—A State rail plan shall be co7 ordinated with other State transportation planning goals 

8 and programs and set forth rail transportation’s role with9 in the State transportation system. 

10 ‘‘§ 22504. Transparency; coordination; review 

11 ‘‘(a) PREPARATION.—A State shall provide adequate 

12 and reasonable notice and opportunity for comment and 

13 other input to the public, rail carriers, commuter and tran14 sit authorities operating in, or affected by rail operations 

15 within the State, units of local government, and other in16 terested parties in the preparation and review of its State 

17 rail plan. 

18 ‘‘(b) INTERGOVERNMENTAL COORDINATION.—A 

19 State shall review the freight and passenger rail service 

20 activities and initiatives by regional planning agencies, re21 gional transportation authorities, and municipalities with22 in the State, or in the region in which the State is located, 

23 while preparing the plan, and shall include any rec24 ommendations made by such agencies, authorities, and 

25 municipalities as deemed appropriate by the State. 
81 

•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘§ 22505. Content 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State rail plan shall con3 tain the following: 

4 ‘‘(1) An inventory of the existing overall rail 

5 transportation system and rail services and facilities 

6 within the State and an analysis of the role of rail 

7 transportation within the State’s surface transpor8 tation system. 

9 ‘‘(2) A review of all rail lines within the State, 

10 including proposed high speed rail corridors and sig11 nificant rail line segments not currently in service. 

12 ‘‘(3) A statement of the State’s passenger rail 

13 service objectives, including minimum service levels, 

14 for rail transportation routes in the State. 

15 ‘‘(4) A general analysis of rail’s transportation, 

16 economic, and environmental impacts in the State, 

17 including congestion mitigation, trade and economic 

18 development, air quality, land-use, energy-use, and 

19 community impacts. 

20 ‘‘(5) A long-range rail investment program for 

21 current and future freight and passenger infrastruc22 ture in the State that meets the requirements of 

23 subsection (b). 

24 ‘‘(6) A statement of public financing issues for 

25 rail projects and service in the State, including a list 

26 of current and prospective public capital and oper-
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•S 1516 IS 

1 ating funding resources, public subsidies, State tax2 ation, and other financial policies relating to rail in3 frastructure development. 

4 ‘‘(7) An identification of rail infrastructure 

5 issues within the State that reflects consultation 

6 with all relevant stake holders. 

7 ‘‘(8) A review of major passenger and freight 

8 intermodal rail connections and facilities within the 

9 State, including seaports, and prioritized options to 

10 maximize service integration and efficiency between 

11 rail and other modes of transportation within the 

12 State. 

13 ‘‘(9) A review of publicly funded projects within 

14 the State to improve rail transportation safety and 

15 security, including all major projects funded under 

16 section 130 of title 23. 

17 ‘‘(10) A performance evaluation of passenger 

18 rail services operating in the State, including pos19 sible improvements in those services, and a descrip20 tion of strategies to achieve those improvements. 

21 ‘‘(11) A compilation of studies and reports on 

22 high-speed rail corridor development within the 

23 State not included in a previous plan under this sub24 chapter, and a plan for funding any recommended 

25 development of such corridors in the State. 
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•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘(12) A statement that the State is in compli2 ance with the requirements of section 22102. 

3 ‘‘(b) LONG-RANGE SERVICE AND INVESTMENT PRO4 GRAM.— 

5 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM CONTENT.—A long-range rail 

6 investment program included in a State rail plan 

7 under subsection (a)(5) shall include the following 

8 matters: 

9 ‘‘(A) A list of any rail capital projects ex10 pected to be undertaken or supported in whole 

11 or in part by the State. 

12 ‘‘(B) A detailed funding plan for those 

13 projects. 

14 ‘‘(2) PROJECT LIST CONTENT.—The list of rail 

15 capital projects shall contain— 

16 ‘‘(A) a description of the anticipated public 

17 and private benefits of each such project; and 

18 ‘‘(B) a statement of the correlation be19 tween— 

20 ‘‘(i) public funding contributions for 

21 the projects; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) the public benefits. 

23 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROJECT LIST.—In 

24 preparing the list of freight and intercity passenger 

25 rail capital projects, a State rail transportation au-
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•S 1516 IS 

1 thority should take into consideration the following 

2 matters: 

3 ‘‘(A) Contributions made by non-Federal 

4 and non-State sources through user fees, 

5 matching funds, or other private capital involve6 ment. 

7 ‘‘(B) Rail capacity and congestion effects. 

8 ‘‘(C) Effects to highway, aviation, and 

9 maritime capacity, congestion, or safety. 

10 ‘‘(D) Regional balance. 

11 ‘‘(E) Environmental impact. 

12 ‘‘(F) Economic and employment impacts. 

13 ‘‘(G) Projected ridership and other service 

14 measures for passenger rail projects. 

15 ‘‘§ 22506. Review 

16 The Secretary shall prescribe procedures for States 

17 to submit State rail plans for review under this title, in18 cluding standardized format and data requirements.’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

20 (1) The table of chapters for the title is amend21 ed by inserting the following after the item relating 

22 to chapter 223: 

‘‘225. State rail plans .............................................................................. 22501’’. 
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•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘(2) The chapter analysis for subtitle V is 

2 amended by inserting the following after the item re3 lating to chapter 223: 

‘‘225. State rail plans .............................................................................. 24401’’. 

4 SEC. 303. NEXT GENERATION CORRIDOR TRAIN EQUIP5 MENT POOL. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days after the date 

7 of enactment of this Act, Amtrak shall establish a Next 

8 Generation Corridor Equipment Pool Committee, com9 prised of representatives of Amtrak, the Federal Railroad 

10 Administration, and interested States. The purpose of the 

11 Committee shall be to design, develop specifications for, 

12 and procure standardized next-generation corridor equip13 ment. 

14 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The Committee may— 

15 (1) determine the number of different types of 

16 equipment required, taking into account variations 

17 in operational needs and corridor infrastructure; 

18 (2) establish a pool of equipment to be used on 

19 corridor routes funded by participating States; and 

20 (3) subject to agreements between Amtrak and 

21 States, utilize services provided by Amtrak to design, 

22 maintain and remanufacture equipment. 

23 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Amtrak and 

24 States participating in the Committee may enter into 

25 agreements for the funding, procurement, remanufacture, 
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•S 1516 IS 

1 ownership and management of corridor equipment, includ2 ing equipment currently owned or leased by Amtrak and 

3 next-generation corridor equipment acquired as a result 

4 of the Committee’s actions, and may establish a corpora5 tion, which may be owned or jointly-owned by Amtrak, 

6 participating States or other entities, to perform these 

7 functions. 

8 (d) FUNDING.—In addition to the authorization pro9 vided in section 105 of this Act, capital projects to carry 

10 out the purposes of this section shall be eligible for grants 

11 made pursuant to chapter 244 of title 49, United States 

12 Code. 

13 SEC. 304. FEDERAL RAIL POLICY. 

14 Section 103 is amended— 

15 (1) by inserting ‘‘IN GENERAL.—’’ before ‘‘The 

16 Federal’’ in subsection (a); 

17 (2) by striking the second and third sentences 

18 of subsection (a); 

19 (3) by inserting ‘‘ADMINISTRATOR.—’’ before 

20 ‘‘The head’’ in subsection (b); 

21 (4) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and 

22 (e) as subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively and 

23 by inserting after subsection (b) the following: 

24 ‘‘(c) SAFETY.—To carry out all railroad safety laws 

25 of the United States, the Administration is divided on a 
87 

•S 1516 IS 

1 geographical basis into at least 8 safety offices. The Sec2 retary of Transportation is responsible for all acts taken 

3 under those laws and for ensuring that the laws are uni4 formly administered and enforced among the safety of5 fices.’’; 

6 (5) by inserting ‘‘POWERS AND DUTIES.—’’ be7 fore ‘‘The’’ in subsection (d), as redesignated; 

8 (6) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in 

9 paragraph (1) of subsection (d), as redesignated; 

10 (7) by redesignating paragraph (2) of sub11 section (d), as redesignated, as paragraph (3) and 

12 inserting after paragraph (1) the following: 

13 ‘‘(2) the duties and powers related to railroad 

14 policy and development under subsection (e); and’’; 

15 (8) by inserting ‘‘TRANSFERS OF DUTY.—’’ be16 fore ‘‘A duty’’ in subsection (e), as redesignated; 

17 (9) by inserting ‘‘CONTRACTS, GRANTS, LEASES, 

18 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, AND SIMILAR TRANS19 ACTIONS.—’’ before ‘‘Subject’’ in subsection (f), as 

20 redesignated; 

21 (10) by striking the last sentence in subsection 

22 (f), as redesignated; and 

23 (11) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(g) ADDITIONAL DUTIES OF THE ADMINIS25 TRATOR.—The Administrator shall— 
88 

•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘(1) provide assistance to States in developing 

2 State rail plans prepared under chapter 225 and re3 view all State rail plans submitted under that sec4 tion; 

5 ‘‘(2) develop a long range national rail plan 

6 that is consistent with approved State rail plans and 

7 the rail needs of the Nation, as determined by the 

8 Secretary in order to promote an integrated, cohe9 sive, efficient, and optimized national rail system for 

10 the movement of goods and people; 

11 ‘‘(3) develop a preliminary national rail plan 

12 within a year after the date of enactment of the Pas13 senger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 

14 2005; 

15 ‘‘(4) develop and enhance partnerships with the 

16 freight and passenger railroad industry, States, and 

17 the public concerning rail development; 

18 ‘‘(5) support rail intermodal development and 

19 high-speed rail development, including high speed 

20 rail planning; 

21 ‘‘(6) ensure that programs and initiatives devel22 oped under this section benefit the public and work 

23 toward achieving regional and national transpor24 tation goals; and 
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•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘(7) facilitate and coordinate efforts to assist 

2 freight and passenger rail carriers, transit agencies 

3 and authorities, municipalities, and States in pas4 senger-freight service integration on shared rights of 

5 way by providing neutral assistance at the joint re6 quest of affected rail service providers and infra7 structure owners relating to operations and capacity 

8 analysis, capital requirements, operating costs, and 

9 other research and planning related to corridors 

10 shared by passenger or commuter rail service and 

11 freight rail operations. 

12 ‘‘(h) PERFORMANCE GOALS AND REPORTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) PERFORMANCE GOALS.—In conjunction 

14 with the objectives established and activities under15 taken under section 103(e) of this title, the Adminis16 trator shall develop a schedule for achieving specific, 

17 measurable performance goals. 

18 ‘‘(2) RESOURCE NEEDS.—The strategy and an19 nual plans shall include estimates of the funds and 

20 staff resources needed to accomplish each goal and 

21 the additional duties required under section 103(e). 

22 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION WITH PRESIDENT’S BUDG23 ET.—Beginning with fiscal year 2007 and each fis24 cal year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to 

25 Congress, at the same time as the President’s budg-
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•S 1516 IS 

1 et submission, the Administration’s performance 

2 goals and schedule developed under paragraph (1), 

3 including an assessment of the progress of the Ad4 ministration toward achieving its performance 

5 goals.’’. 

6 SEC. 305. RAIL COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND CONTENT.—Chapter 249 

8 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘§ 24910. Rail cooperative research program 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

11 and carry out a rail cooperative research program. The 

12 program shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) address, among other matters, intercity 

14 rail passenger and freight rail services, including ex15 isting rail passenger and freight technologies and 

16 speeds, incrementally enhanced rail systems and in17 frastructure, and new high-speed wheel-on-rail sys18 tems and rail security; 

19 ‘‘(2) address ways to expand the transportation 

20 of international trade traffic by rail, enhance the ef21 ficiency of intermodal interchange at ports and other 

22 intermodal terminals, and increase capacity and 

23 availability of rail service for seasonal freight needs; 
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•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘(3) consider research on the interconnected2 ness of commuter rail, passenger rail, freight rail, 

3 and other rail networks; and 

4 ‘‘(4) give consideration to regional concerns re5 garding rail passenger and freight transportation, 

6 including meeting research needs common to des7 ignated high-speed corridors, long-distance rail serv8 ices, and regional intercity rail corridors, projects, 

9 and entities. 

10 ‘‘(b) CONTENT.—The program to be carried out 

11 under this section shall include research designed— 

12 ‘‘(1) to identify the unique aspects and at13 tributes of rail passenger and freight service; 

14 ‘‘(2) to develop more accurate models for evalu15 ating the impact of rail passenger and freight serv16 ice, including the effects on highway and airport and 

17 airway congestion, environmental quality, and energy 

18 consumption; 

19 ‘‘(3) to develop a better understanding of modal 

20 choice as it affects rail passenger and freight trans21 portation, including development of better models to 

22 predict utilization; 

23 ‘‘(4) to recommend priorities for technology 

24 demonstration and development; 
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•S 1516 IS 

1 ‘‘(5) to meet additional priorities as determined 

2 by the advisory board established under subsection 

3 (c), including any recommendations made by the Na4 tional Research Council; 

5 ‘‘(6) to explore improvements in management, 

6 financing, and institutional structures; 

7 ‘‘(7) to address rail capacity constraints that 

8 affect passenger and freight rail service through a 

9 wide variety of options, ranging from operating im10 provements to dedicated new infrastructure, taking 

11 into account the impact of such options on oper12 ations; 

13 ‘‘(8) to improve maintenance, operations, cus14 tomer service, or other aspects of intercity rail pas15 senger and freight service; 

16 ‘‘(9) to recommend objective methodologies for 

17 determining intercity passenger rail routes and serv18 ices, including the establishment of new routes, the 

19 elimination of existing routes, and the contraction or 

20 expansion of services or frequencies over such 

21 routes; 

22 ‘‘(10) to review the impact of equipment and 

23 operational safety standards on the further develop24 ment of high speed passenger rail operations con-
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•S 1516 IS 

1 nected to or integrated with non-high speed freight 

2 or passenger rail operations; and 

3 ‘‘(11) to recommend any legislative or regu4 latory changes necessary to foster further develop5 ment and implementation of high speed passenger 

6 rail operations while ensuring the safety of such op7 erations that are connected to or integrated with 

8 non-high speed freight or passenger rail operations. 

9 ‘‘(c) ADVISORY BOARD.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—In consultation with 

11 the heads of appropriate Federal departments and 

12 agencies, the Secretary shall establish an advisory 

13 board to recommend research, technology, and tech14 nology transfer activities related to rail passenger 

15 and freight transportation. 

16 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The advisory board shall 

17 include— 

18 ‘‘(A) representatives of State transpor19 tation agencies; 

20 ‘‘(B) transportation and environmental 

21 economists, scientists, and engineers; and 

22 ‘‘(C) representatives of Amtrak, the Alaska 

23 Railroad, freight railroads, transit operating 

24 agencies, intercity rail passenger agencies, rail-
94 

•S 1516 IS 

1 way labor organizations, and environmental or2 ganizations. 

3 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.— The Sec4 retary may make grants to, and enter into cooperative 

5 agreements with, the National Academy of Sciences to 

6 carry out such activities relating to the research, tech7 nology, and technology transfer activities described in sub8 section (b) as the Secretary deems appropriate.’’. 

9 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis 

10 for chapter 249 is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

‘‘24910. Rail cooperative research program.’’. 

12 TITLE IV—PASSENGER RAIL 

13 SECURITY AND SAFETY 

14 SEC. 401. SYSTEMWIDE AMTRAK SECURITY UPGRADES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL—Subject to subsection (c) the Sec16 retary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Sec17 retary of Transportation, is authorized to make grants to 

18 Amtrak— 

19 (1) to secure major tunnel access points and en20 sure tunnel integrity in New York, Baltimore, and 

21 Washington, DC; 

22 (2) to secure Amtrak trains; 

23 (3) to secure Amtrak stations; 

24 (4) to obtain a watch list identification system 

25 approved by the Secretary; 
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•S 1516 IS 

1 (5) to obtain train tracking and interoperable 

2 communications systems that are coordinated to the 

3 maximum extent possible; 

4 (6) to hire additional police and security offi5 cers, including canine units; and 

6 (7) to expand emergency preparedness efforts. 

7 (b) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary of Transportation 

8 shall disburse funds to Amtrak provided under subsection 

9 (a) for projects contained in a systemwide security plan 

10 approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security. The 

11 plan shall include appropriate measures to address secu12 rity awareness, emergency response, and passenger evacu13 ation training. 

14 (c) EQUITABLE GEOGRAPHIC ALLOCATION.—The 

15 Secretary shall ensure that, subject to meeting the highest 

16 security needs on Amtrak’s entire system, stations and fa17 cilities located outside of the Northeast Corridor receive 

18 an equitable share of the security funds authorized by this 

19 section. 

20 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

22 Homeland Security to carry out this section— 

23 (1) $63,500,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

24 (2) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; and 

25 (3) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 
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1 Amounts appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall 

2 remain available until expended. 

3 SEC. 402. FIRE AND LIFE-SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS. 

4 (a) LIFE-SAFETY NEEDS.—The Secretary of Trans5 portation is authorized to make grants to Amtrak for the 

6 purpose of making fire and life-safety improvements to 

7 Amtrak tunnels on the Northeast Corridor in New York, 

8 NY, Baltimore, MD, and Washington, DC. 

9 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

11 Transportation for the purposes of carrying out subsection 

12 (a) the following amounts: 

13 (1) For the 6 New York tunnels to provide ven14 tilation, electrical, and fire safety technology up15 grades, emergency communication and lighting sys16 tems, and emergency access and egress for pas17 sengers— 

18 (A) $190,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

19 (B) $190,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

20 (C) $190,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

21 (2) For the Baltimore & Potomac tunnel and 

22 the Union tunnel, together, to provide adequate 

23 drainage, ventilation, communication, lighting, and 

24 passenger egress upgrades— 

25 (A) $19,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 
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•S 1516 IS 

1 (B) $19,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

2 (C) $19,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

3 (3) For the Washington, DC, Union Station 

4 tunnels to improve ventilation, communication, light5 ing, and passenger egress upgrades— 

6 (A) $13,333,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

7 (B) $13,333,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

8 (C) $13,333,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

9 (c) INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES.—There are au10 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transpor11 tation for fiscal year 2006 $3,000,000 for the preliminary 

12 design of options for a new tunnel on a different alignment 

13 to augment the capacity of the existing Baltimore tunnels. 

14 (d) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.— 

15 Amounts made available pursuant to this section shall re16 main available until expended. 

17 (e) PLANS REQUIRED.—The Secretary may not make 

18 amounts available to Amtrak for obligation or expenditure 

19 under subsection (a)— 

20 (1) until Amtrak has submitted to the Sec21 retary, and the Secretary has approved, an engineer22 ing and financial plan for such projects; and 

23 (2) unless, for each project funded pursuant to 

24 this section, the Secretary has approved a project 

25 management plan prepared by Amtrak addressing 
98 

•S 1516 IS 

1 appropriate project budget, construction schedule, 

2 recipient staff organization, document control and 

3 record keeping, change order procedure, quality con4 trol and assurance, periodic plan updates, and peri5 odic status reports. 

6 (f) REVIEW OF PLANS.—The Secretary of Transpor7 tation shall complete the review of the plans required by 

8 paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (e) and approve or 

9 disapprove the plans within 45 days after the date on 

10 which each such plan is submitted by Amtrak. If the Sec11 retary determines that a plan is incomplete or deficient, 

12 the Secretary shall notify Amtrak of the incomplete items 

13 or deficiencies and Amtrak shall, within 30 days after re14 ceiving the Secretary’s notification, submit a modified 

15 plan for the Secretary’s review. Within 15 days after re16 ceiving additional information on items previously included 

17 in the plan, and within 45 days after receiving items newly 

18 included in a modified plan, the Secretary shall either ap19 prove the modified plan, or, if the Secretary finds the plan 

20 is still incomplete or deficient, the Secretary shall identify 

21 in writing to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, 

22 and Transportation and the House of Representatives 

23 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure the por24 tions of the plan the Secretary finds incomplete or defi25 cient, approve all other portions of the plan, obligate the 
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•S 1516 IS 

1 funds associated with those other portions, and execute 

2 an agreement with Amtrak within 15 days thereafter on 

3 a process for resolving the remaining portions of the plan. 

4 (g) FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION FROM OTHER TUN5 NEL USERS.—The Secretary shall, taking into account the 

6 need for the timely completion of all portions of the tunnel 

7 projects described in subsection (a)— 

8 (1) consider the extent to which rail carriers 

9 other than Amtrak use or plan to use the tunnels; 

10 (2) consider the feasibility of seeking a financial 

11 contribution from those other rail carriers toward 

12 the costs of the projects; and 

13 (3) obtain financial contributions or commit14 ments from such other rail carriers at levels reflect15 ing the extent of their use or planned use of the tun16 nels, if feasible. 

17 SEC. 403. AMTRAK PLAN TO ASSIST FAMILIES OF PAS18 SENGERS INVOLVED IN RAIL PASSENGER AC19 CIDENTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 243 of title 49, United 

21 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 
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1 ‘‘§ 24316. Plans to address needs of families of pas2 sengers involved in rail passenger acci3 dents 

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

5 months after the date of the enactment of the Passenger 

6 Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2005, Amtrak 

7 shall submit to the Chairman of the National Transpor8 tation Safety Board and the Secretary of Transportation 

9 a plan for addressing the needs of the families of pas10 sengers involved in any rail passenger accident involving 

11 an Amtrak intercity train and resulting in a loss of life. 

12 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—The plan to be sub13 mitted by Amtrak under subsection (a) shall include, at 

14 a minimum, the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) A process by which Amtrak will maintain 

16 and provide to the National Transportation Safety 

17 Board and the Secretary of Transportation, imme18 diately upon request, a list (which is based on the 

19 best available information at the time of the request) 

20 of the names of the passengers aboard the train 

21 (whether or not such names have been verified), and 

22 will periodically update the list. The plan shall in23 clude a procedure, with respect to unreserved trains 

24 and passengers not holding reservations on other 

25 trains, for Amtrak to use reasonable efforts to ascer-
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1 tain the number and names of passengers aboard a 

2 train involved in an accident. 

3 ‘‘(2) A plan for creating and publicizing a reli4 able, toll-free telephone number within 4 hours after 

5 such an accident occurs, and for providing staff, to 

6 handle calls from the families of the passengers. 

7 ‘‘(3) A process for notifying the families of the 

8 passengers, before providing any public notice of the 

9 names of the passengers, by suitably trained individ10 uals. 

11 ‘‘(4) A process for providing the notice de12 scribed in paragraph (2) to the family of a pas13 senger as soon as Amtrak has verified that the pas14 senger was aboard the train (whether or not the 

15 names of all of the passengers have been verified). 

16 ‘‘(5) A process by which the family of each pas17 senger will be consulted about the disposition of all 

18 remains and personal effects of the passenger within 

19 Amtrak’s control; that any possession of the pas20 senger within Amtrak’s control will be returned to 

21 the family unless the possession is needed for the ac22 cident investigation or any criminal investigation; 

23 and that any unclaimed possession of a passenger 

24 within Amtrak’s control will be retained by the rail 

25 passenger carrier for at least 18 months. 
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1 ‘‘(6) A process by which the treatment of the 

2 families of nonrevenue passengers will be the same 

3 as the treatment of the families of revenue pas4 sengers. 

5 ‘‘(7) An assurance that Amtrak will provide 

6 adequate training to its employees and agents to 

7 meet the needs of survivors and family members fol8 lowing an accident. 

9 ‘‘(c) USE OF INFORMATION.—The National Trans10 portation Safety Board, the Secretary of Transportation, 

11 and Amtrak may not release to any person information 

12 on a list obtained under subsection (b)(1) but may provide 

13 information on the list about a passenger to the family 

14 of the passenger to the extent that the Board or Amtrak 

15 considers appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—Amtrak shall not 

17 be liable for damages in any action brought in a Federal 

18 or State court arising out of the performance of Amtrak 

19 in preparing or providing a passenger list, or in providing 

20 information concerning a train reservation, pursuant to a 

21 plan submitted by Amtrak under subsection (b), unless 

22 such liability was caused by Amtrak’s conduct. 

23 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 

24 Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the 

25 actions that Amtrak may take, or the obligations that Am-
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1 trak may have, in providing assistance to the families of 

2 passengers involved in a rail passenger accident. 

3 ‘‘(f) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro4 priated to the Secretary of Transportation for the use of 

5 Amtrak $500,000 for fiscal year 2006 to carry out this 

6 section. Amounts made available pursuant to this sub7 section shall remain available until expended.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal9 ysis for chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is 

10 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘24316. Plan to assist families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents.’’. 

11 SEC. 404. NORTHERN BORDER RAIL PASSENGER REPORT. 

12 Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

13 Act, the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with 

14 the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Assistant Sec15 retary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Ad16 ministration), heads of other appropriate Federal depart17 ments, and agencies and the National Railroad Passenger 

18 Corporation, shall transmit a report to the Senate Com19 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

20 House of Representatives Committee on Transportation 

21 and Infrastructure that contains— 

22 (1) a description of the current system for 

23 screening passengers and baggage on passenger rail 

24 service between the United States and Canada; 
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1 (2) an assessment of the current program to 

2 provide preclearance of airline passengers between 

3 the United States and Canada as outlined in ‘‘The 

4 Agreement on Air Transport Preclearance between 

5 the Government of Canada and the Government of 

6 the United States of America’’, dated January 18, 

7 2001; 

8 (3) an assessment of the current program to 

9 provide preclearance of freight railroad traffic be10 tween the United States and Canada as outlined in 

11 the ‘‘Declaration of Principle for the Improved Secu12 rity of Rail Shipments by Canadian National Rail13 way and Canadian Pacific Railway from Canada to 

14 the United States’’, dated April 2, 2003; 

15 (4) information on progress by the Department 

16 of Homeland Security and other Federal agencies to17 wards finalizing a bilateral protocol with Canada 

18 that would provide for preclearance of passengers on 

19 trains operating between the United States and Can20 ada; 

21 (5) a description of legislative, regulatory, 

22 budgetary, or policy barriers within the United 

23 States Government to providing pre-screened pas24 senger lists for rail passengers traveling between the 
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1 United States and Canada to the Department of 

2 Homeland Security; 

3 (6) a description of the position of the Govern4 ment of Canada and relevant Canadian agencies 

5 with respect to preclearance of such passengers; 

6 (7) a draft of any changes in existing Federal 

7 law necessary to provide for pre-screening of such 

8 passengers and providing pre-screened passenger 

9 lists to the Department of Homeland Security; and 

10 (8) an analysis of the feasibility of reinstating 

11 United States Customs and Border Patrol rolling in12 spections onboard international Amtrak trains. 

13 SEC. 405. PASSENGER, BAGGAGE, AND CARGO SCREENING. 

14 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR STUDY AND REPORT.—The 

15 Secretary of Homeland Security, in cooperation with the 

16 Secretary of Transportation through the Assistant Sec17 retary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Ad18 ministration) and other appropriate agencies, shall— 

19 (1) study the cost and feasibility of requiring 

20 security screening for passengers, baggage, and 

21 cargo on passenger trains including an analysis of 

22 any passenger train screening pilot programs under23 taken by the Department of Homeland Security; and 

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

25 with any recommendations that the Secretary of 
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1 Homeland Security may have for implementing a 

2 rail security screening program to the Senate Com3 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

4 and the House of Representatives Committee on 

5 Transportation and Infrastructure within 1 year 

6 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

7 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

9 Homeland Security $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 to 

10 carry out this section. 

11 TITLE V—RAIL BOND 

12 AUTHORITY 

13 SEC. 501. INTERCITY RAIL FACILITY BONDS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 261 is amended by add15 ing at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘§ 26106. Rail infrastructure bonds 

17 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary may designate 

18 bonds for purposes of section 54 of the Internal Revenue 

19 Code of 1986 if— 

20 ‘‘(1) the bonds are to be issued by— 

21 ‘‘(A) a State, if the entire railroad pas22 senger transportation corridor containing the 

23 infrastructure project to be financed is within 

24 the State; 
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1 ‘‘(B) 1 or more of the States that have en2 tered into an agreement or an interstate com3 pact consented to by Congress under section 

4 410(a) of Public Law 105–134 (49 U.S.C. 

5 24101 note); 

6 ‘‘(C) an agreement or an interstate com7 pact described in subparagraph (B); or 

8 ‘‘(D) Amtrak, for capital projects under its 

9 5-year plan; 

10 ‘‘(2) the bonds are for the purpose of financing 

11 projects that make a substantial contribution to pro12 viding the infrastructure and equipment required to 

13 complete or improve a rail transportation corridor 

14 (including projects for the acquisition, financing, or 

15 refinancing of equipment and other capital improve16 ments, including the introduction of new high-speed 

17 technologies such as magnetic levitation systems, 

18 track or signal improvements, the elimination of 

19 grade crossings, development of intermodal facilities, 

20 improvement of train speeds or safety, or both, and 

21 station rehabilitation or construction), but only if 

22 the Secretary determines that the projects are part 

23 of a viable and comprehensive rail transportation 

24 corridor design for intercity passenger service in-
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1 cluded in a State rail plan under chapter 225 (ex2 cept for bonds issued under paragraph (1)(D)); and 

3 ‘‘(3) for a railroad passenger transportation 

4 corridor not operated by Amtrak that includes the 

5 use of rights-of-way owned by a freight railroad, a 

6 written agreement exists between the applicant and 

7 the freight railroad regarding such use and owner8 ship, including compensation for such use and assur9 ances regarding the adequacy of infrastructure ca10 pacity to accommodate both existing and future 

11 freight and passenger operations, and including an 

12 assurance by the freight railroad that collective bar13 gaining agreements with the freight railroad’s em14 ployees (including terms regulating the contracting 

15 of work) shall remain in full force and effect accord16 ing to their terms for work performed by the freight 

17 railroad on such railroad passenger transportation 

18 corridor. 

19 ‘‘(b) BOND AMOUNT LIMITATION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of bonds des21 ignated under this section may not exceed in the 

22 case of section 54 bonds, $1,300,000,000 for each of 

23 the fiscal years 2006 through 2015. 

24 ‘‘(2) CARRYOVER OF UNUSED LIMITATION.—If 

25 for any fiscal year the limitation amount under 
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1 paragraph (1) exceeds the amount of section 54 

2 bonds issued during such year, the limitation 

3 amount under paragraph (1) for the following fiscal 

4 year (through fiscal year 2019) shall be increased by 

5 the amount of such excess. 

6 ‘‘(c) PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary 

7 shall give preference to the designation under this section 

8 of bonds for projects selected using the criteria in chapter 

9 244. 

10 ‘‘(d) TIMELY DISPOSITION OF APPLICATION.—The 

11 Secretary shall grant or deny a requested designation 

12 within 9 months after receipt of an application. 

13 ‘‘(e) REFINANCING RULES.—Bonds designated by 

14 the Secretary under subsection (a) may be issued for refi15 nancing projects only if the indebtedness being refinanced 

16 (including any obligation directly or indirectly refinanced 

17 by such indebtedness) was originally incurred by the 

18 issuer— 

19 ‘‘(1) after the date of the enactment of this sec20 tion; 

21 ‘‘(2) for a term of not more than 3 years; 

22 ‘‘(3) to finance projects described in subsection 

23 (a)(2); and 

24 ‘‘(4) in anticipation of being refinanced with 

25 proceeds of a bond designated under subsection (a). 
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1 ‘‘(f) APPLICATION OF CONDITIONS.—Any entity pro2 viding railroad transportation (within the meaning of sec3 tion 20102) that begins operations after the date of the 

4 enactment of this section and that uses property acquired 

5 pursuant to this section (except as provided in subsection 

6 (a)(2)(B)), shall be subject to the conditions under section 

7 24405. 

8 ‘‘(g) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.—Not later than 6 

9 months after the date of the enactment of the Passenger 

10 Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2005, the Sec11 retary shall issue regulations for carrying out this section. 

12 ‘‘(h) SECTION 54 DEFINED.—In this section, the 

13 term ‘section 54 bond’ means a bond designated by the 

14 Secretary under subsection (a) for purposes of section 54 

15 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to credit 

16 to holders of qualified rail infrastructure bonds).’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec18 tions for chapter 261 is amended by adding after the item 

19 relating to section 26105 the following new item: 

‘‘26106. Rail infrastructure bonds.’’. 

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