II 

Calendar No. 235 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1516 

[Report No. 109–143] 

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, Mrs. 

HUTCHISON, Mr. BURNS, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. DEWINE, Ms. SNOWE, 

Ms. COLLINS, Mr. CARPER, Mr. CORZINE, and Mr. JEFFORDS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

OCTOBER 18, 2005 

Reported by Mr. STEVENS, with an amendment 

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

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’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE. 

2 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 

3 this Act an amendment is expressed in terms of an amend4 ment to a section or other provision of law, the reference 

5 shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi6 sion of title 49, United States Code. 

7 SEC. 3. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

8 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 
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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. 

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 
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1 expenses of the national railroad passenger transportation 

2 system, and for purposes of making capital grants to 

3 states under section 301 of this Act, the following 

4 amounts: 

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

6 (2) For fiscal year 2007, $910,000,000. 

7 (3) For fiscal year 2008, $1,071,000,000. 

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

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

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

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

12 amounts authorized under subsection (b), the following 

13 percentage shall be available each fiscal year for capital 

14 grants to States under section 301 of this Act, to be ad15 ministered by the Secretary of Transportation: 

16 (1) 3 percent for fiscal year 2006. 

17 (2) 11 percent for fiscal year 2007. 

18 (3) 23 percent for fiscal year 2008. 

19 (4) 25 percent for fiscal year 2009. 

20 (5) 31 percent for fiscal year 2010. 

21 (6) 33 percent for fiscal year 2011. 

22 (d) PROJECT MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT.—The Secretary may withhold up to 1 23 ⁄2 of 1 percent of amounts 

24 appropriated pursuant to subsection (b) for the costs of 
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1 project management oversight of capital projects carried 

2 out by Amtrak. 

3 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZATION FOR THE FEDERAL RAILROAD 

4 ADMINISTRATION. 

5 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec6 retary of Transportation for the use of the Federal Rail7 road Administration such sums as necessary to implement 

8 the provisions required under this Act for fiscal years 

9 2006 through 2011. 

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

11 LEASES. 

12 (a) AMTRAK PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAY13 MENTS.— 

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

15 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

16 Transportation for the use of Amtrak for retirement 

17 of principal on loans for capital equipment, or cap18 ital leases, not more than the following amounts: 

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

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

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

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

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

24 (F) For fiscal year 2011, $193,500,000. 
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1 (2) INTEREST ON DEBT.—There are authorized 

2 to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transpor3 tation for the use of Amtrak for the payment of in4 terest on loans for capital equipment, or capital 

5 leases, the following amounts: 

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

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

8 (C) For fiscal year 2008, $133,800,000. 

9 (D) For fiscal year 2009, $124,000,000. 

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

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

12 (3) EARLY BUYOUT OPTION.—There are au13 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

14 Transportation such sums as may be necessary for 

15 the use of Amtrak for the payment of costs associ16 ated with early buyout options if the exercise of 

17 those options is determined to be advantageous to 

18 Amtrak. 

19 SEC. 104. EXCESS RAILROAD RETIREMENT. 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec21 retary of Transportation, beginning with fiscal year 2006, 

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

23 Retirement Account an amount equal to the amount Am24 trak must pay under section 3221 of the Internal Revenue 

25 Code of 1986 in such fiscal years that is more than the 
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1 amount needed for benefits for individuals who retire from 

2 Amtrak and for their beneficiaries. For each fiscal year 

3 in which the Secretary makes such a payment, the 

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

5 an amount equal to such payment. 

6 SEC. 105. OTHER AUTHORIZATIONS. 

7 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec8 retary of Transportation— 

9 (1) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 

10 through 2011 to carry out the rail cooperative re11 search program under section 24910 of title 49, 

12 United States Code; and 

13 (2) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, to remain 

14 available until expended, for grants to Amtrak and 

15 States participating in the Next Generation Corridor 

16 Train Equipment Pool Committee established under 

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

18 developing specifications for, and initiating the pro19 curement of an initial order of 1 or more types of 

20 standardized next-generation corridor train equip21 ment and establishing a jointly-owned corporation to 

22 manage that equipment. 
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1 TITLE II—AMTRAK REFORM AND 

2 OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS 

3 SEC. 201. NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER TRANSPOR4 TATION SYSTEM DEFINED. 

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

6 (1) by striking paragraph (2); 

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

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

9 (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) as so re10 designated the following: 

11 ‘‘(5) ‘national rail passenger transportation sys12 tem’ means— 

13 ‘‘(A) the segment of the Northeast Cor14 ridor between Boston, Massachusetts and 

15 Washington, D.C.; 

16 ‘‘(B) rail corridors that have been des17 ignated by the Secretary of Transportation as 

18 high-speed corridors (other than corridors de19 scribed in subpargraph (A)), but only after they 

20 have been improved to permit operation of high21 speed service; 

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

23 750 miles between endpoints operated by Am24 trak as of the date of enactment of the Pas-
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1 senger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 

2 2005; and 

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

4 not more than 750 miles between endpoints, op5 erated by— 

6 ‘‘(i) Amtrak; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) another rail carrier that receives 

8 funds under chapter 244.’’. 

9 (b) AMTRAK ROUTES WITH STATE FUNDING.— 

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

11 inserting after section 24701 the following: 

12 ‘‘§ 24702. Transportation requested by States, au13 thorities, and other persons 

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

15 and a State, a regional or local authority, or another per16 son may enter into a contract for Amtrak to operate an 

17 intercity rail service or route not included in the national 

18 rail passenger transportation system upon such terms as 

19 the parties thereto may agree. 

20 ‘‘(b) DISCONTINUANCE.—Upon termination of a con21 tract entered into under this section, or the cessation of 

22 financial support under such a contract by either party, 

23 Amtrak may discontinue such service or route, notwith24 standing any other provision of law.’’. 
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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter 

2 analysis for chapter 247 is amended by inserting 

3 after the item relating to section 24701 the fol4 lowing: 

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

5 (c) AMTRAK TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE NON-HIGH6 SPEED SERVICES.—Nothing in this Act is intended to pre7 clude Amtrak from restoring, improving, or developing 

8 non-high-speed intercity passenger rail service. 

9 SEC. 202. AMTRAK BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

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

11 as follows: 

12 ‘‘§ 24302. Board of directors 

13 ‘‘(a) COMPOSITION AND TERMS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) The Board of Directors of Amtrak is com15 posed of the following 9 directors, each of whom 

16 must be a citizen of the United States: 

17 ‘‘(A) The Secretary of Transportation. 

18 ‘‘(B) The President of Amtrak. 

19 ‘‘(C) 7 individuals appointed by the Presi20 dent of the United States, by and with the ad21 vice and consent of the Senate, with general 

22 business and financial experience, experience or 

23 qualifications in transportation, freight and 

24 passenger rail transportation, travel, hospi25 tality, cruise line, and passenger air transpor-
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1 tation businesses, or representatives of users of 

2 passenger rail transportation or State govern3 ment. 

4 ‘‘(2) In selecting individuals described in para5 graph (1) for nominations for appointments to the 

6 Board, the President shall consult with the Speaker 

7 of the House of Representatives, the minority leader 

8 of the House of Representatives, the majority leader 

9 of the Senate, and the minority leader of the Senate 

10 and try to provide adequate and balanced represen11 tation of the major geographic regions of the United 

12 States served by Amtrak. 

13 ‘‘(3) An individual appointed under paragraph 

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

15 the individual’s successor is appointed and qualified. 

16 Not more than 4 individuals appointed under para17 graph (1)(C) may be members of the same political 

18 party. 

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

20 vice chairman from among its membership. The vice 

21 chairman shall serve as chairman in the absence of 

22 the chairman. 

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

24 board meetings by the Secretary’s designee. 
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1 ‘‘(b) PAY AND EXPENSES.—Each director not em2 ployed by the United States Government is entitled to 

3 $300 a day when performing Board duties. Each Director 

4 is entitled to reimbursement for necessary travel, reason5 able secretarial and professional staff support, and sub6 sistence expenses incurred in attending Board meetings. 

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

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

9 individual appointed by the President of the United States 

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

11 occurring before the end of the term for which the prede12 cessor of that individual was appointed is appointed for 

13 the remainder of that term. A vacancy required to be filled 

14 by appointment under subsection (a)(1)(C) must be filled 

15 not later than 120 days after the vacancy occurs. 

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

17 shall constitute a quorum for doing business. 

18 ‘‘(e) BYLAWS.—The Board may adopt and amend by19 laws governing the operation of Amtrak. The bylaws shall 

20 be consistent with this part and the articles of incorpora21 tion.’’. 

22 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE FOR DIRECTORS’ PROVI23 SION.—The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take 

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

25 Board serving on the date of enactment of this Act may 
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1 continue to serve for the remainder of the term to which 

2 they were appointed. 

3 SEC. 203. ESTABLISHMENT OF IMPROVED FINANCIAL AC4 COUNTING SYSTEM. 

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

6 (1) may employ an independent financial con7 sultant with experience in railroad accounting to as8 sist Amtrak in improving Amtrak’s financial ac9 counting and reporting system and practices; and 

10 (2) shall implement a modern financial account11 ing and reporting system that will produce accurate 

12 and timely financial information in sufficient de13 tail— 

14 (A) to enable Amtrak to assign revenues 

15 and expenses appropriately to each of its lines 

16 of business and to each major activity within 

17 each line of business activity, including train 

18 operations, equipment maintenance, ticketing, 

19 and reservations; 

20 (B) to aggregate expenses and revenues re21 lated to infrastructure and distinguish them 

22 from expenses and revenues related to rail oper23 ations; 
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1 (C) to allow the analysis of ticketing and 

2 reservation information on a real-time basis; 

3 and 

4 (D) to provide Amtrak cost accounting 

5 data. 

6 (b) VERIFICATION OF SYSTEM; REPORT.—The In7 spector General of the Department of Transportation shall 

8 review the accounting system designed and implemented 

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

10 purposes for which it is intended. The Inspector General 

11 shall report his findings and conclusions, together with 

12 any recommendations, to the Senate Committee on Com13 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep14 resentatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc15 ture. 

16 SEC. 204. DEVELOPMENT OF 5-YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN. 

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

18 The Amtrak Board of Directors shall submit an annual 

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

20 fiscal year to which that budget relates and the subsequent 

21 4 years, prepared in accordance with this section, to the 

22 Secretary of Transportation and the Inspector General of 

23 the Department of Transportation no later than— 

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

25 after the date of enactment of this Act; or 
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1 (2) the date that is 60 days after the date of 

2 enactment of an appropriation Act for the fiscal 

3 year, if later. 

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

5 5-year financial plan for Amtrak shall include, at a min6 imum— 

7 (1) all projected revenues and expenditures for 

8 Amtrak, including governmental funding sources; 

9 (2) projected ridership levels for all Amtrak 

10 passenger operations; 

11 (3) revenue and expenditure forecasts for non12 passenger operations; 

13 (4) capital funding requirements and expendi14 tures necessary to maintain passenger service which 

15 will accommodate predicted ridership levels and pre16 dicted sources of capital funding; 

17 (5) operational funding needs, if any, to main18 tain current and projected levels of passenger serv19 ice, including state-supported routes and predicted 

20 funding sources; 

21 (6) projected capital and operating require22 ments, ridership, and revenue for any new passenger 

23 service operations or service expansions; 

24 (7) an assessment of the continuing financial 

25 stability of Amtrak, as indicated by factors such as 
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1 the ability of the Federal Government to fund cap2 ital and operating requirements adequately, Am3 trak’s ability to efficiently manage its workforce, and 

4 Amtrak’s ability to effectively provide passenger 

5 train service; 

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

7 and associated principle and interest payments (both 

8 current and anticipated); 

9 (9) annual cash flow forecasts; and 

10 (10) a statement describing methods of esti11 mation and significant assumptions. 

12 (c) STANDARDS TO PROMOTE FINANCIAL STA13 BILITY.—In meeting the requirements of subsection (b), 

14 Amtrak shall— 

15 (1) apply sound budgetary practices, including 

16 reducing costs and other expenditures, improving 

17 productivity, increasing revenues, or combinations of 

18 such practices; 

19 (2) use the categories specified in the financial 

20 accounting and reporting system developed under 

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

22 and 

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

24 authorizations of appropriations under title I of this 

25 Act. 
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1 (d) ASSESSMENT BY DOT INSPECTOR GENERAL.— 

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

3 the Department of Transportation shall assess the 

4 5-year financial plans prepared by Amtrak under 

5 this section to determine whether they meet the re6 quirements of subsection (b), and may suggest revi7 sions to any components thereof that do not meet 

8 those requirements. 

9 (2) ASSESSMENT TO BE FURNISHED TO THE

10 CONGRESS.—The Inspector General shall furnish to 

11 the House of Representatives Committee on Appro12 priations, the Senate Committee on Appropriations, 

13 the House of Representatives Committee on Trans14 portation and Infrastructure, and the Senate Com15 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation— 

16 (A) an assessment of the annual budget 

17 within 90 days after receiving it from Amtrak; 

18 and 

19 (B) an assessment of the remaining 4 

20 years of the 5-year financial plan within 180 

21 days after receiving it from Amtrak. 

22 SEC. 205. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROCESS. 

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

24 requests (including a schedule for the disbursement of 

25 funds), consistent with the requirements of this Act, to 
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1 the Secretary of Transportation for funds authorized to 

2 be appropriated to the Secretary for the use of Amtrak 

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

4 (b) PROCEDURES FOR GRANT REQUESTS.—The Sec5 retary shall establish substantive and procedural require6 ments, including schedules, for grant requests under this 

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

8 of this Act and shall transmit copies to the Senate Com9 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

10 House of Representatives Committee on Transportation 

11 and Infrastructure. 

12 (c) REVIEW AND APPROVAL.— 

13 (1) 30-DAY APPROVAL PROCESS.—The Sec14 retary shall complete the review of a complete grant 

15 request (including the disbursement schedule) and 

16 approve or disapprove the request within 30 days 

17 after the date on which Amtrak submits the grant 

18 request. If the Secretary disapproves the request or 

19 determines that the request is incomplete or defi20 cient, the Secretary shall include the reason for dis21 approval or the incomplete items or deficiencies in 

22 the notice to Amtrak. 

23 (2) 15-DAY MODIFICATION PERIOD.—Within 15 

24 days after receiving notification from the Secretary 
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1 under the preceding sentence, Amtrak shall submit 

2 a modified request for the Secretary’s review. 

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

4 receiving a modified request from Amtrak, the Sec5 retary shall either approve the modified request, or, 

6 if the Secretary finds that the request is still incom7 plete or deficient, the Secretary shall identify in 

8 writing to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

9 Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep10 resentatives Committee on Transportation and In11 frastructure the remaining deficiencies and rec12 ommend a process for resolving the outstanding por13 tions of the request. 

14 SEC. 206. STATE-SUPPORTED ROUTES. 

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

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

17 in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation and 

18 the chief executive officer of each State and the District 

19 of Columbia, shall develop and implement a standardized 

20 methodology for establishing and allocating the operating 

21 and capital costs among the States and Amtrak associated 

22 with trains operated on routes described in section 

23 24102(5) (B) or (D) or section 24702 that— 

24 (1) ensures, within 5 years after the date of en25 actment of this Act, equal treatment in the provision 
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1 of like services of all States and groups of States 

2 (including the District of Columbia); and 

3 (2) allocates to each route the costs incurred 

4 only for the benefit of that route and a propor5 tionate share, based upon factors that reasonably re6 flect relative use, of cost incurred for the common 

7 benefit of more than 1 route. 

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

9 the District of Columbia) in which Amtrak operates such 

10 routes do not voluntarily adopt and implement the meth11 odology developed under subsection (a) in allocating costs 

12 and determining compensation for the provision of service 

13 in accordance with the date established therein, the Sur14 face Transportation Board shall determine the appro15 priate methodology required under subsection (a) for such 

16 services in accordance with the procedures and procedural 

17 schedule applicable to a proceeding under section 24904(c) 

18 of title 49, United States Code, and require the full imple19 mentation of this methodology with regards to the provi20 sion of such service within 1 year after the Board’s deter21 mination of the appropriate methodology. 

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

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

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

25 capital costs determined in accordance with this section. 
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1 SEC. 207. INDEPENDENT AUDITOR TO ESTABLISH METH2 ODOLOGIES FOR AMTRAK ROUTE AND SERV3 ICE PLANNING DECISIONS. 

4 (a) METHODOLOGY DEVELOPMENT.—The Federal 

5 Railroad Administration shall obtain the services of an 

6 independent auditor or consultant to develop and rec7 ommend objective methodologies for determining intercity 

8 passenger routes and services, including the establishment 

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

10 contraction or expansion of services or frequencies over 

11 such routes. In developing such methodologies, the auditor 

12 or consultant shall consider— 

13 (1) the current or expected performance and 

14 service quality of intercity train operations, including 

15 cost recovery, on-time performance and minutes of 

16 delay, ridership, on-board services, stations, facili17 ties, equipment, and other services; 

18 (2) connectivity of a route with other routes; 

19 (3) the transportation needs of communities 

20 and populations that are not well served by other 

21 forms of public transportation; and 

22 (4) Amtrak’s and other major intercity pas23 senger rail service providers in other countries’ 

24 methodologies for determining intercity passenger 

25 rail routes and services. 
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1 (b) SUBMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The auditor or con2 sultant shall submit recommendations developed under 

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

4 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the 

5 Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor6 tation. 

7 (c) CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—With8 in 90 days after receiving the recommendations developed 

9 under subsection (a) by the independent auditor or con10 sultant, the Amtrak Board shall consider the adoption of 

11 those recommendations. The Board shall transmit a report 

12 to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

13 Transportation and the House of Representatives Com14 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure explaining its 

15 action in adopting or failing to adopt any of the rec16 ommendations. 

17 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be made available to the Secretary of 

19 Transportation, out of any amounts authorized by this Act 

20 to be appropriated for the benefit of Amtrak and not oth21 erwise obligated or expended, such sums as may be nec22 essary to carry out this section. 

23 SEC. 208. METRICS AND STANDARDS. 

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

25 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal 
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1 Railroad Administration and Amtrak shall jointly, in con2 sultation with the Surface Transportation Board, and rail 

3 carriers over whose rail lines Amtrak trains operate, as 

4 appropriate, develop new or improve existing metrics and 

5 minimum standards for measuring the performance and 

6 service quality of intercity train operations, including cost 

7 recovery, on-time performance and minutes of delay, rider8 ship, on-board services, stations, facilities, equipment, and 

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

10 the percentage of avoidable and fully allocated operating 

11 costs covered by passenger revenues on each route, rider12 ship per train mile operated, measures of on-time perform13 ance and delays incurred by intercity trains on the rail 

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

15 measures of connectivity with other routes. Amtrak shall 

16 provide reasonable access to the Federal Railroad Admin17 istration in order to enable the Administration to carry 

18 out its duty under this section. 

19 (b) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—The Administrator of 

20 the Federal Railroad Administration shall collect the nec21 essary data and publish a quarterly report on the perform22 ance and service quality of intercity train operations, in23 cluding cost recovery, ridership, on-time performance and 

24 minutes of delay, causes of delay, on-board services, sta25 tions, facilities, equipment, and other services. 
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1 SEC. 209. PASSENGER TRAIN PERFORMANCE. 

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

3 adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(f) PASSENGER TRAIN PERFORMANCE AND OTHER

5 STANDARDS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) INVESTIGATION OF SUBSTANDARD PER7 FORMANCE.—If the on-time performance of any 

8 intercity passenger train averages less than 80 per9 cent for any 2 consecutive calendar quarters, or the 

10 service quality of intercity train operations for which 

11 minimum standards are established under section 

12 208 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improve13 ment Act of 2005 fails to meet those standards for 

14 2 consecutive calendar quarters, the Surface Trans15 portation Board shall investigate whether, and to 

16 what extent, delays or failure to achieve minimum 

17 standards are due to causes that could reasonably be 

18 addressed by a rail carrier over the tracks of which 

19 the intercity passenger train operates or reasonably 

20 addressed by the intercity passenger rail operator. 

21 In carrying out such an investigation, the Board 

22 shall obtain information from all parties involved 

23 and make recommendations regarding reasonable 

24 measures to improve the service, quality, and on25 time performance of the train. 
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1 ‘‘(2) PROBLEMS CAUSED BY HOST RAIL CAR2 RIER.—If the Board determines that delays or fail3 ures to achieve minimum standards investigated 

4 under paragraph (1) are attributable to a rail car5 rier’s failure to provide preference to Amtrak over 

6 freight transportation under subsection (c), then the 

7 Board shall enforce its recommendations for relief 

8 under this section. 

9 ‘‘(3) PENALTIES.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall pub11 lish a schedule of penalties which will— 

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

13 Amtrak suffers financial loss as a result of 

14 host rail carrier delays or failure to achieve 

15 minimum standards; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) will adequately deter future ac17 tions which may reasonably be expected to 

18 be likely to result in delays to Amtrak. 

19 ‘‘(B) ASSESSMENT.—The Board may as20 sess these penalties upon a host rail carrier. 

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

22 amounts received as penalties under this para23 graph available to Amtrak. 

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

25 amended— 
26 

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1 (1) by striking ‘‘Interstate Commerce Commis2 sion’’ in subsection (a)(2)(A) and inserting ‘‘Surface 

3 Transportation Board’’; 

4 (2) by striking ‘‘Commission’’ each place it ap5 pears and inserting ‘‘Board’’; 

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

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

8 SEC. 210. LONG DISTANCE ROUTES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 247 is amended by add10 ing at the end thereof the following: 

11 ‘‘§ 24710. Long distance routes 

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

13 performance metrics developed under section 208 of the 

14 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2005, 

15 Amtrak shall— 

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

17 long distance passenger rail route operated by Am18 trak; and 

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

20 routes for 2006 and identify each long distance pas21 senger rail route operated by Amtrak in 2006 ac22 cording to its overall performance as belonging to 

23 the best performing third of such routes, the second 

24 best performing third of such routes, or the worst 

25 performing third of such routes. 
27 

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

2 shall develop a performance improvement plan for its long 

3 distance passenger rail routes based on the data collected 

4 through the application of the financial and performance 

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

6 shall address— 

7 ‘‘(1) on-time performance; 

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

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

10 connected corridor service; 

11 ‘‘(4) performance-related equipment changes 

12 and capital improvements; 

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

14 food and sleeping car service; 

15 ‘‘(6) State or other non-Federal financial con16 tributions; and 

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

18 passenger rail routes that affect the financial, com19 petitive, and functional performance of service on 

20 Amtrak’s long distance passenger rail routes. 

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

22 the performance improvement plan developed under sub23 section (b)— 
28 

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

2 routes identified as being in the worst performing 

3 third under subsection (a)(3); 

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

5 routes identified as being in the second best per6 forming third under subsection (a)(3); and 

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

8 routes identified as being in the best performing 

9 third under subsection (a)(3). 

10 ‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT.—The Federal Railroad Admin11 istration shall monitor the development, implementation, 

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

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

14 reasonable progress in implementing its performance im15 provement plan or in achieving the expected outcome of 

16 the plan for any calendar year, the Federal Railroad Ad17 ministration— 

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

19 under this subsection; 

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

21 with respect to that determination; and 

22 ‘‘(3) may withhold any appropriated funds oth23 erwise available to Amtrak for the operation of a 

24 route or routes on which it is not making progress, 
29 

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1 other than funds made available for passenger safety 

2 or security measures.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal4 ysis for chapter 247 is amended by inserting after the item 

5 relating to section 24709 the following: 

‘‘24710. Long distance routes.’’. 

6 SEC. 211. ALTERNATE PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE PRO7 GRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 247, as amended by sec9 tion 209, is amended by adding at the end thereof the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘§ 24711. Alternate passenger rail service program 

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

13 enactment of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improve14 ment Act of 2005, the Federal Railroad Administration 

15 shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding to develop a pro16 gram under which— 

17 ‘‘(1) a rail carrier or rail carriers that own in18 frastructure over which Amtrak operates a pas19 senger rail service route described in subparagraph 

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

21 of title 49, United States Code may petition the 

22 Federal Railroad Administration to be considered as 

23 a passenger rail service provider over that route in 

24 lieu of Amtrak; 
30 

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1 ‘‘(2) the Administration would notify Amtrak 

2 within 30 days after receiving a petition under para3 graph (1) and establish a deadline by which both the 

4 petitioner and Amtrak would be required to submit 

5 a bid to provide passenger rail service over the route 

6 to which the petition relates; 

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

8 within a specified, limited time after that deadline 

9 awarding to the winning bidder— 

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

11 passenger rail service over that route subject to 

12 such performance standards as the Administra13 tion may require; and 

14 ‘‘(B) an operating subsidy will be pro15 vided— 

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

17 excess of the level in effect during the fis18 cal year preceding the fiscal year in which 

19 the petition was received, adjusted for in20 flation; and 

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

22 level, adjusted for inflation. 

23 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

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

25 rules or regulations promulgated under subsection 
31 

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

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

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

4 commencing in fiscal year 2008; and 

5 ‘‘(B) during the immediately preceding fis6 cal year for operations commencing in subse7 quent fiscal years. 

8 ‘‘(2) ROUTE LIMITATIONS.—The Administra9 tion may not make the program available with re10 spect to more than 1 Amtrak passenger rail routes 

11 for operations beginning in fiscal year 2008 nor to 

12 more than 2 such routes for operations beginning in 

13 fiscal year 2009 and subsequent fiscal years. 

14 ‘‘(c) PERFORMANCE STANDARDS; ACCESS TO FACILI15 TIES; EMPLOYEES.—If the Administration awards the 

16 right and obligation to provide passenger rail service over 

17 a route under the program to a rail carrier or rail car18 riers— 

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

20 carrier or rail carriers for rail passenger operations 

21 on that route that conditions the operating and sub22 sidy rights upon the service provider’s compliance 

23 with the minimum standards established under sec24 tion 208 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Im-
32 

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1 provement Act of 2005 and such additional perform2 ance standards as the Administration may establish; 

3 ‘‘(2) it shall, if the award is made to a rail car4 rier other than Amtrak, require Amtrak to provide 

5 access to its reservation system, stations, and facili6 ties to any rail carrier or rail carriers awarded a 

7 contract under this section, in accordance with sec8 tion 218 of that Act, necessary to carry our the pur9 poses of this section; and 

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

11 carriers to operate a route under this section shall 

12 be considered an employee of that carrier or carriers 

13 and subject to the applicable Federal laws and regu14 lations governing similar crafts or classes of employ15 ees of Amtrak, including provisions under section 

16 121 of the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act 

17 of 1997 relating to employees that provide food and 

18 beverage service. 

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

20 rail carriers awarded a route under this section cease to 

21 operate the service or fail to fulfill their obligations under 

22 the contract required under subsection (c), the Adminis23 trator, in collaboration with the Surface Transportation 

24 Board when applicable, shall take any necessary action 

25 consistent with this title to enforce the contract and en-
33 

•S 1516 RS 

1 sure the continued provision of service, including the in2 stallment of an interim service provider and re-bidding the 

3 contract to operate the service. 

4 ‘‘(e) ADEQUATE RESOURCES.—Before taking any ac5 tion allowed under this section, the Secretary shall certify 

6 that the Administrator has sufficient resources that are 

7 adequate to undertake the program established under this 

8 section.’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal10 ysis for chapter 247, as amended by section 209, is 

11 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

12 24710 the following: 

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

13 SEC. 212. EMPLOYEE TRANSITION ASSISTANCE. 

14 (a) PROVISION OF FINANCIAL INCENTIVES.—For 

15 Amtrak employees who are adversely affected by the ces16 sation of the operation of a long distance route or any 

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

18 Code, previously operated by Amtrak, the Secretary shall 

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

20 Secretary’s discretion, provide grants for financial incen21 tives to be provided to employees of the National Railroad 

22 Passenger Corporation who voluntarily terminate their 

23 employment with the Corporation and relinquish any legal 

24 rights to receive termination-related payments under any 

25 contractual agreement with the Corporation. 
34 

•S 1516 RS 

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

2 condition for receiving financial assistance grants under 

3 this section, the Corporation must certify that— 

4 (1) a reasonable attempt was made to reassign 

5 an employee adversely affected under section 24711 

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

7 of any route, to other positions within the Corpora8 tion in accordance with any contractual agreements; 

9 (2) the financial assistance results in a net re10 duction in the total number of employees equal to 

11 the number receiving financial incentives; 

12 (3) the financial assistance results in a net re13 duction in total employment expense equivalent to 

14 the total employment expenses associated with the 

15 employees receiving financial incentives; and 

16 (4) the total number of employees eligible for 

17 termination-related payments will not be increased 

18 without the express written consent of the Secretary. 

19 (c) AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL INCENTIVES.—The fi20 nancial incentives authorized under this section may be 

21 no greater than $50,000 per employee. 

22 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

24 such sums as may be necessary to make grants to the Na-
35 

•S 1516 RS 

1 tional Railroad Passenger Corporation to provide financial 

2 incentives under subsection (a). 

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

4 employees adversely affected by the cessation of Amtrak 

5 service resulting from the awarding of a grant to an oper6 ator other than Amtrak for the operation of a route under 

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

8 route, previously operated by Amtrak do not receive finan9 cial incentives under subsection (a), then the Secretary 

10 shall make grants to the National Railroad Passenger Cor11 poration from funds authorized by section 102 of this Act 

12 for termination-related payments to employees under ex13 isting contractual agreements. 

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

15 PLAN. 

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

17 of enactment of this Act, the National Railroad Passenger 

18 Corporation, in consultation with the Secretary and the 

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

20 the Northeast Corridor (as defined in section 24102 of 

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

22 spending plan for capital projects required to return the 

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

24 of fiscal year 2011, consistent with the funding levels au-
36 

•S 1516 RS 

1 thorized in this Act and shall submit the plan to the Sec2 retary. 

3 (b) APPROVAL BY THE SECRETARY.— 

4 (1) The Corporation shall submit the capital 

5 spending plan prepared under this section to the 

6 Secretary of Transportation for review and approval 

7 pursuant to the procedures developed under section 

8 205 of this Act. 

9 (2) The Secretary of Transportation shall re10 quire that the plan be updated at least annually and 

11 shall review and approve such updates. During re12 view, the Secretary shall seek comments and review 

13 from the commission established under section 

14 24905 of title 49, United States Code, and other 

15 Northeast Corridor users regarding the plan. 

16 (3) The Secretary shall make grants to the Cor17 poration with funds authorized by section 101(b) for 

18 Northeast Corridor capital investments contained 

19 within the capital spending plan prepared by the 

20 Corporation and approved by the Secretary. 

21 (c) ELIGIBILITY OF EXPENDITURES.—The Federal 

22 share of expenditures for capital improvements under this 

23 section may not exceed 100 percent. 
37 

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1 SEC. 214. NORTHEAST CORRIDOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND 

2 OPERATIONS IMPROVEMENTS. 

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

4 read as follows: 

5 ‘‘§ 24905. Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Op6 erations Advisory Commission; Safety 

7 and Security Committee 

8 ‘‘(a) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND

9 OPERATIONS ADVISORY COMMISSION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) Within 180 days after the date of enact11 ment of the Passenger Rail Investment and Im12 provement Act of 2005, the Secretary of Transpor13 tation shall establish a ‘Northeast Corridor Infra14 structure and Operations Advisory Commission’ 

15 (hereinafter referred to in this section as the ‘Com16 mission’) to promote mutual cooperation and plan17 ning pertaining to the rail operations and related ac18 tivities of the Northeast Corridor. The Commission 

19 shall be made up of— 

20 ‘‘(A) members representing the National 

21 Railroad Passenger Corporation; 

22 ‘‘(B) members representing the Federal 

23 Railroad Administration; and 

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

25 (including the District of Columbia) that con26 stitute the Northeast Corridor as defined in sec-
38 

•S 1516 RS 

1 tion 24102, designated by the chief executive 

2 officer thereof. 

3 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall ensure that the mem4 bership belonging to any of the groups enumerated 

5 under subparagraph (1) shall not constitute a major6 ity of the commission’s memberships. 

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

8 and location for convening meetings, but shall meet 

9 no less than four times per fiscal year, and the com10 mission shall develop rules and procedures to govern 

11 the commission’s proceedings. 

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

13 filled in the manner in which the original appoint14 ment was made. 

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

16 receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 

17 subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702 and 

18 5703 of title 5, United States Code. 

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

20 elected by the members. 

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

22 pay of such personnel as it considers appropriate. 

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

24 of any department or agency of the United States 

25 may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the per-
39 

•S 1516 RS 

1 sonnel of that department or agency to the Commis2 sion to assist it in carrying out its duties under this 

3 section. 

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

5 Administrator of General Services shall provide to 

6 the Commission, on a reimbursable basis, the admin7 istrative support services necessary for the Commis8 sion to carry out its responsibilities under this sec9 tion. 

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

11 railroads users of the Northeast Corridor and other 

12 entities as appropriate. 

13 ‘‘(b) GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commis14 sion shall develop recommendations concerning northeast 

15 corridor rail infrastructure and operations including pro16 posals addressing, as appropriate— 

17 ‘‘(1) short-term and long term capital invest18 ment needs beyond the stat-of-good-repair under sec19 tion 213; 

20 ‘‘(2) future funding requirements for capital 

21 improvements and maintenance; 

22 ‘‘(3) operational improvements of intercity pas23 senger rail, commuter rail, and freight rail services; 

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

25 of the Northeast Corridor; 
40 

•S 1516 RS 

1 ‘‘(5) scheduling and dispatching; 

2 ‘‘(6) safety and security enhancements; 

3 ‘‘(7) equipment design; 

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

5 ‘‘(9) future capacity requirements. 

6 ‘‘(c) ACCESS COSTS.— 

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

8 year after verification of Amtrak’s new financial ac9 counting system pursuant to section 203(b) of the 

10 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 

11 2005, the Commission shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) develop a standardized formula for 

13 determining and allocating costs, revenues, and 

14 compensation for northeast corridor commuter 

15 rail passenger transportation, as defined in sec16 tion 24102 of this title, that use National Rail17 road Passenger Corporation facilities or services 

18 or that provide such facilities or services to the 

19 National Railroad Passenger Corporation that 

20 ensure that— 

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

22 commuter rail passenger, intercity rail pas23 senger, or freight rail transportation; and 

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

25 incurred only for the benefit of that serv-
41 

•S 1516 RS 

1 ice, and a proportionate share, based upon 

2 factors that reasonably reflect relative use, 

3 of costs incurred for the common benefit of 

4 more than 1 service; 

5 ‘‘(B) develop a proposed timetable for im6 plementing the formula before the end of the 

7 6th year following the date of enactment of that 

8 Act; and 

9 ‘‘(C) transmit the proposed timetable to 

10 the Surface Transportation Board. 

11 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION.—The National Rail12 road Passenger Corporation and the commuter au13 thorities providing commuter rail passenger trans14 portation on the northeast corridor shall implement 

15 new agreements for usage of facilities or services 

16 based on the formula proposed in paragraph (1) in 

17 accordance with the timetable established therein. If 

18 the parties fail to implement such new agreements 

19 in accordance with the timetable, the parties shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) submit any dispute regarding such 

21 implementation to binding arbitration con22 ducted by a mutually agreed upon arbitrator 

23 and comply with the decision of that arbitrator; 

24 or 
42 

•S 1516 RS 

1 ‘‘(B) petition the Surface Transportation 

2 Board to determine the appropriate compensa3 tion amounts for such services in accordance 

4 with section 24904(c) of this title. 

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

6 commission shall annually transmit the recommendations 

7 developed under subsection (b) and the formula and time8 table developed under subsection (c)(1) to the Senate 

9 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

10 and the House of Representatives Committee on Trans11 portation and Infrastructure.’’. 

12 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF NORTHEAST CORRIDOR

13 SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMITTEE.— 

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

15 (A) by striking the first sentence and in16 serting ‘‘The Secretary shall establish a North17 east Corridor Safety and Security Committee 

18 composed of members appointed by the Sec19 retary.’’; 

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

21 in subparagraph (F); and 

22 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as 

23 subparagraph (H) and inserting after subpara24 graph (F) the following: 
43 

•S 1516 RS 

1 ‘‘(G) the Transportation Security Administra2 tion; and’’. 

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

4 24905 are each amended by inserting ‘‘and security’’ 

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

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

7 amended by inserting ‘‘to the commission established 

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

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

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

11 2009,’’. 

12 SEC. 215. RESTRUCTURING LONG-TERM DEBT AND CAP13 ITAL LEASES. 

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

15 consultation with the Secretary of Transportation and 

16 Amtrak, may make agreements to restructure Amtrak’s 

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

18 authorization expires on January 1, 2007. 

19 (b) DEBT RESTRUCTURING.—The Secretary of 

20 Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of the Trans21 portation and Amtrak, shall enter into negotiations with 

22 the holders of Amtrak debt, including leases, outstanding 

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

24 restructuring (including repayment) and repaying that 

25 debt. The Secretary of the Treasury shall secure agree-
44 

•S 1516 RS 

1 ments for restructuring or repayment on such terms as 

2 the Secretary of the Treasury deems favorable to the in3 terests of the Government. 

4 (c) CRITERIA.—In restructuring Amtrak’s indebted5 ness, the Secretary and Amtrak— 

6 (1) shall take into consideration repayment 

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

8 conditions; and 

9 (2) shall ensure that the restructuring results 

10 in significant savings to Amtrak and the United 

11 States Government. 

12 (d) PAYMENT OF RENEGOTIATED DEBT.—If the cri13 teria under subsection (c) are met, the Secretary of Treas14 ury shall assume or repay the restructured debt, as appro15 priate. 

16 (e) AMTRAK PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAY17 MENTS.— 

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

19 Secretary of Treasury makes sufficient payments to 

20 creditors under subsection (d) so that Amtrak is re21 quired to make no payments to creditors in a fiscal 

22 year, the Secretary of Transportation shall use 

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

24 Amtrak for retirement of principal on loans for cap25 ital equipment, or capital leases. 
45 

•S 1516 RS 

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

2 of Treasury makes sufficient payments to creditors 

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

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

5 Secretary of Transportation shall use funds author6 ized by section 103(a)(2) for the use of Amtrak for 

7 the payment of interest on loans for capital equip8 ment, or capital leases. 

9 (3) REDUCTIONS IN AUTHORIZATION LEVELS.— 

10 Whenever action taken by the Secretary of the 

11 Treasury under subsection (a) results in reductions 

12 in amounts of principal or interest that Amtrak 

13 must service on existing debt, the corresponding 

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

15 be reduced accordingly. 

16 (f) LEGAL EFFECT OF PAYMENTS UNDER THIS SEC17 TION.—The payment of principal and interest on secured 

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

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

20 (1) modify the extent or nature of any indebt21 edness of the National Railroad Passenger Corpora22 tion to the United States in existence of the date of 

23 enactment of this Act; 

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

25 successors’ liabilities; or 
46 

•S 1516 RS 

1 (3) imply any Federal guarantee or commit2 ment to amortize Amtrak’s outstanding indebted3 ness. 

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

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

6 the express advance approval of the Secretary of Trans7 portation. 

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

9 transmit a report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

10 Science, and Transportation, the Senate Committee on 

11 Appropriations, the House of Representatives Committee 

12 on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House of 

13 Representatives Committee on Appropriations by June 1, 

14 2007— 

15 (1) describing in detail any agreements to re16 structure the Amtrak debt; and 

17 (2) providing an estimate of the savings to Am18 trak and the United States Government. 

19 SEC. 216. STUDY OF COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS AT EX20 ISTING INTERCITY RAIL STATIONS. 

21 Amtrak shall evaluate the improvements necessary to 

22 make all existing stations it serves readily accessible to 

23 and usable by individuals with disabilities, as required by 

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

25 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12162(e)(2)). The evaluation shall in-
47 

•S 1516 RS 

1 clude the estimated cost of the improvements necessary, 

2 the identification of the responsible person (as defined in 

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

4 earliest practicable date when such improvements can be 

5 made. Amtrak shall submit the survey to the Senate Com6 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the 

7 House of Representatives Committee on Transportation 

8 and Infrastructure, and the National Council on Disability 

9 by September 30, 2006, along with recommendations for 

10 funding the necessary improvements. 

11 SEC. 217. INCENTIVE PAY. 

12 The Amtrak Board of Directors is encouraged to de13 velop an incentive pay program for Amtrak employees. 

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

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

16 than Amtrak to provide services required for the operation 

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

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

19 agreement with Amtrak to use facilities and equipment of, 

20 or have services provided by, Amtrak under terms agreed 

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

22 an entity other than Amtrak to provide services required 

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

24 terms, and the Surface Transportation Board finds that 

25 access to Amtrak’s facilities or equipment, or the provision 
48 

•S 1516 RS 

1 of services by Amtrak, is necessary to carry out this provi2 sion and that the operation of Amtrak’s other services will 

3 not be impaired thereby, the Surface Transportation 

4 Board shall, within 120 days after submission of the dis5 pute, issue an order that the facilities and equipment be 

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

7 and shall determine reasonable compensation, liability and 

8 other terms for use of the facilities and equipment and 

9 provision of the services. Compensation shall be deter10 mined in accord with the methodology established pursu11 ant to section 206 of this Act. 

12 SEC. 219. GENERAL AMTRAK PROVISIONS. 

13 (a) REPEAL OF SELF-SUFFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS. 

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

15 amended— 

16 (A) by striking the last sentence of section 

17 24101(d); and 

18 (B) by striking the last sentence of section 

19 24104(a). 

20 (2) AMTRAK REFORM AND ACCOUNTABILITY

21 ACT AMENDMENTS.—Title II of the Amtrak Reform 

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

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

24 (3) COMMON STOCK REDEMPTION DATE.—Sec25 tion 415 of the Amtrak Reform and Accountability 
49 

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

2 striking subsection (b). 

3 (b) LEASE ARRANGEMENTS.—Amtrak may obtain 

4 services from the Administrator of General Services, and 

5 the Administrator may provide services to Amtrak, under 

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

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

8 491(b)) for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2011. 

9 SEC. 220. PRIVATE SECTOR FUNDING OF PASSENGER 

10 TRAINS. 

11 Amtrak is encouraged to increase its operation of 

12 trains funded by the private sector in order to minimize 

13 its need for Federal subsidies. Amtrak shall utilize the 

14 provisions of section 24308 of title 49, United States 

15 Code, when necessary to obtain access to facilities, train 

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

17 transportation authority that are required to operate such 

18 trains. 

19 SEC. 221. ON-BOARD SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS. 

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

21 standards are established under section 208 of this Act, 

22 Amtrak shall develop and implement a plan to improve 

23 on-board service pursuant to the metrics and standards 

24 for such service developed under that section. 
50 

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

2 Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor3 tation and the House of Representatives Committee on 

4 Transportation and Infrastructure on the on-board service 

5 improvements proscribed in the plan and the timeline for 

6 implementing such improvements. 

7 TITLE III—INTERCITY 

8 PASSENGER RAIL POLICY 

9 SEC. 301. CAPITAL ASSISTANCE FOR INTERCITY PAS10 SENGER RAIL SERVICE; STATE RAIL PLANS. 

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

12 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. 

13 ‘‘§ 24401. Definitions 

14 ‘‘In this subchapter: 

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

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

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

18 established by one or more States and having re19 sponsibility for providing intercity passenger rail 

20 service. 
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1 ‘‘(2) CAPITAL PROJECT.—The term ‘capital 

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

3 plan developed under chapter 225 of this title for— 

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

5 inspecting equipment or a facility for use in or 

6 for the primary benefit of intercity passenger 

7 rail service, expenses incidental to the acquisi8 tion or construction (including designing, engi9 neering, location surveying, mapping, environ10 mental studies, and acquiring rights-of-way), 

11 payments for the capital portions of rail track12 age rights agreements, highway-rail grade 

13 crossing improvements related to intercity pas14 senger rail service, security, mitigating environ15 mental impacts, communication and signaliza16 tion improvements, relocation assistance, ac17 quiring replacement housing sites, and acquir18 ing, constructing, relocating, and rehabilitating 

19 replacement housing; 

20 ‘‘(B) rehabilitating, remanufacturing or 

21 overhauling rail rolling stock and facilities used 

22 primarily in intercity passenger rail service; 

23 ‘‘(C) costs associated with developing State 

24 rail plans; and 
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1 ‘‘(D) the first-dollar liability costs for in2 surance related to the provision of intercity pas3 senger rail service under section 24404. 

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

5 The term ‘intercity passenger rail service’ means 

6 transportation services with the primary purpose of 

7 passenger transportation between towns, cities and 

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

9 as defined in section 24102 of title 49, United 

10 States Code. 

11 ‘‘§ 24402. Capital investment grants to support inter12 city passenger rail service 

13 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.— 

14 ‘‘(1) The Secretary of Transportation may 

15 make grants under this section to an applicant to 

16 assist in financing the capital costs of facilities and 

17 equipment necessary to provide or improve intercity 

18 passenger rail transportation. 

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

20 under this section be subject to the terms, condi21 tions, requirements, and provisions the Secretary de22 cides are necessary or appropriate for the purposes 

23 of this section, including requirements for the dis24 position of net increases in value of real property re25 sulting from the project assisted under this section 
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1 and shall prescribe procedures and schedules for the 

2 awarding of grants under this title, including appli3 cation and qualification procedures and a record of 

4 decision on applicant eligibility. The Secretary shall 

5 issue a final rule establishing such procedures not 

6 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 

7 the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement 

8 Act of 2005. 

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

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

11 a project under this section unless the Secretary 

12 finds that the project is part of a State rail plan de13 veloped under chapter 225 of this title and that the 

14 applicant or recipient has or will have the legal, fi15 nancial, and technical capacity to carry out the 

16 project, satisfactory continuing control over the use 

17 of the equipment or facilities, and the capability and 

18 willingness to maintain the equipment or facilities. 

19 ‘‘(2) An applicant shall provide sufficient infor20 mation upon which the Secretary can make the find21 ings required by this subsection. 

22 ‘‘(3) If an applicant has not selected the pro23 posed operator of its service competitively, the appli24 cant shall provide written justification to the Sec25 retary showing why the proposed operator is the 
54 

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1 best, taking into account price and other factors, 

2 and that use of the proposed operator will not un3 necessarily increase the cost of the project. 

4 ‘‘(c) PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Sec5 retary, in selecting the recipients of financial assistance 

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

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

8 safety and security requirements that are applicable 

9 to the project under law; 

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

11 of estimated ridership, increased on-time perform12 ance, reduced trip time, additional service frequency, 

13 or other significant service enhancements as meas14 ured against minimum standards developed under 

15 section 208 of the Passenger Rail Investment and 

16 Improvement Act of 2005; 

17 ‘‘(3) encourage intermodal connectivity through 

18 projects that provide direct connections between 

19 train stations, airports, bus terminals, subway sta20 tions, ferry ports, and other modes of transpor21 tation; 

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

23 with, and is operated in conformance with— 
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1 ‘‘(A) plans developed pursuant to the re2 quirements of section 135 of title 23, United 

3 States Code; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the national rail plan (if it is avail5 able); and 

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

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

8 significant favorable impact on air or highway 

9 traffic congestion, capacity, or safety. 

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

11 commuter rail operations. 

12 ‘‘(C) Projects that have significant envi13 ronmental benefits. 

14 ‘‘(D) Projects that are— 

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

16 pre-commencement compliance with envi17 ronmental protection requirements has al18 ready been completed; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) ready to be commenced. 

20 ‘‘(E) Projects with positive economic and 

21 employment impacts. 

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

23 positive train control technologies. 

24 ‘‘(G) Projects that have commitments of 

25 funding from non-Federal Government sources 
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1 in a total amount that exceeds the minimum 

2 amount of the non-Federal contribution re3 quired for the project. 

4 ‘‘(H) Projects that involve donated prop5 erty interests or services. 

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

7 Surface Transportation Board as necessary to 

8 improve the on time performance and reliability 

9 of intercity passenger rail under section 

10 24308(f). 

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

12 under this section, the National Railroad Passenger Cor13 poration may enter into a cooperative agreement with 1 

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

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

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

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

18 AGREEMENTS, AND EARLY SYSTEMS WORK AGREE19 MENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1)(A) The Secretary may issue a letter of in21 tent to an applicant announcing an intention to obli22 gate, for a major capital project under this section, 

23 an amount from future available budget authority 

24 specified in law that is not more than the amount 
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1 stipulated as the financial participation of the Sec2 retary in the project. 

3 ‘‘(B) At least 30 days before issuing a let4 ter under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph 

5 or entering into a full funding grant agreement, 

6 the Secretary shall notify in writing the Com7 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

8 the House of Representatives and the Com9 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor10 tation of the Senate and the House and Senate 

11 Committees on Appropriations of the proposed 

12 letter or agreement. The Secretary shall include 

13 with the notification a copy of the proposed let14 ter or agreement as well as the evaluations and 

15 ratings for the project. 

16 ‘‘(C) An obligation or administrative com17 mitment may be made only when amounts are 

18 appropriated. 

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

20 grant agreement with an applicant. The agreement 

21 shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) establish the terms of participa23 tion by the United States Government in a 

24 project under this section; 
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1 ‘‘(ii) establish the maximum amount 

2 of Government financial assistance for the 

3 project; 

4 ‘‘(iii) cover the period of time for com5 pleting the project, including a period ex6 tending beyond the period of an authoriza7 tion; and 

8 ‘‘(iv) make timely and efficient man9 agement of the project easier according to 

10 the law of the United States. 

11 ‘‘(B) An agreement under this paragraph 

12 obligates an amount of available budget author13 ity specified in law and may include a commit14 ment, contingent on amounts to be specified in 

15 law in advance for commitments under this 

16 paragraph, to obligate an additional amount 

17 from future available budget authority specified 

18 in law. The agreement shall state that the con19 tingent commitment is not an obligation of the 

20 Government and is subject to the availability of 

21 appropriations made by Federal law and to 

22 Federal laws in force on or enacted after the 

23 date of the contingent commitment. Interest 

24 and other financing costs of efficiently carrying 

25 out a part of the project within a reasonable 
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1 time are a cost of carrying out the project 

2 under a full funding grant agreement, except 

3 that eligible costs may not be more than the 

4 cost of the most favorable financing terms rea5 sonably available for the project at the time of 

6 borrowing. The applicant shall certify, in a way 

7 satisfactory to the Secretary, that the applicant 

8 has shown reasonable diligence in seeking the 

9 most favorable financing terms. 

10 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary may make an early sys11 tems work agreement with an applicant if a record 

12 of decision under the National Environmental Policy 

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

14 issued on the project and the Secretary finds there 

15 is reason to believe— 

16 ‘‘(i) a full funding grant agreement 

17 for the project will be made; and 

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

19 will promote ultimate completion of the 

20 project more rapidly and at less cost. 

21 ‘‘(B) A work agreement under this para22 graph obligates an amount of available budget 

23 authority specified in law and shall provide for 

24 reimbursement of preliminary costs of carrying 

25 out the project, including land acquisition, time-
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1 ly procurement of system elements for which 

2 specifications are decided, and other activities 

3 the Secretary decides are appropriate to make 

4 efficient, long-term project management easier. 

5 A work agreement shall cover the period of time 

6 the Secretary considers appropriate. The period 

7 may extend beyond the period of current au8 thorization. Interest and other financing costs 

9 of efficiently carrying out the work agreement 

10 within a reasonable time are a cost of carrying 

11 out the agreement, except that eligible costs 

12 may not be more than the cost of the most fa13 vorable financing terms reasonably available for 

14 the project at the time of borrowing. The appli15 cant shall certify, in a way satisfactory to the 

16 Secretary, that the applicant has shown reason17 able diligence in seeking the most favorable fi18 nancing terms. If an applicant does not carry 

19 out the project for reasons within the control of 

20 the applicant, the applicant shall repay all Gov21 ernment payments made under the work agree22 ment plus reasonable interest and penalty 

23 charges the Secretary establishes in the agree24 ment. 
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1 ‘‘(4) The total estimated amount of future obli2 gations of the Government and contingent commit3 ments to incur obligations covered by all outstanding 

4 letters of intent, full funding grant agreements, and 

5 early systems work agreements may be not more 

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

7 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 

8 2005, less an amount the Secretary reasonably esti9 mates is necessary for grants under this section not 

10 covered by a letter. The total amount covered by 

11 new letters and contingent commitments included in 

12 full funding grant agreements and early systems 

13 work agreements may be not more than a limitation 

14 specified in law. 

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

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

17 of economic feasibility, and information on the ex18 pected use of equipment or facilities, the Secretary 

19 shall estimate the net project cost. 

20 ‘‘(B) A grant for the project shall not ex21 ceed 80 percent of the project net capital cost. 

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

23 allocating future obligations and contingent 

24 commitments to incur obligations to grant re-
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1 quests seeking a lower Federal share of the 

2 project net capital cost. 

3 ‘‘(2) Up to an additional 20 percent of the re4 quired non-Federal funds may be funded from 

5 amounts appropriated to or made available to a de6 partment or agency of the Federal Government that 

7 are eligible to be expended for transportation. 

8 ‘‘(3) 50 percent of the average amounts ex9 pended by a State or group of States (including the 

10 District of Columbia) for capital projects to benefit 

11 intercity passenger rail service in fiscal years 2004 

12 and 2005 shall be credited towards the matching re13 quirements for grants awarded under this section. 

14 The Secretary may require such information as nec15 essary to verify such expenditures. 

16 ‘‘(4) 50 percent of the average amounts ex17 pended by a State or group of States (including the 

18 District of Columbia) in a fiscal year beginning in 

19 2006 for capital projects to benefit intercity pas20 senger rail service or for the operating costs of such 

21 service above the average of expenditures made for 

22 such service in fiscal years 2004 and 2005 shall be 

23 credited towards the matching requirements for 

24 grants awarded under this section. The Secretary 
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1 may require such information as necessary to verify 

2 such expenditures. 

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

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

5 of the net capital project cost to an applicant that 

6 carries out any part of a project described in this 

7 section according to all applicable procedures and re8 quirements if— 

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

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

11 and 

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

13 project, the Secretary approves the plans and 

14 specifications for the part in the same way as 

15 other projects under this section. 

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

17 includes the amount of interest earned and payable 

18 on bonds issued by the applicant to the extent pro19 ceeds of the bonds are expended in carrying out the 

20 part. However, the amount of interest under this 

21 paragraph may not be more than the most favorable 

22 interest terms reasonably available for the project at 

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

24 a manner satisfactory to the Secretary, that the ap-
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1 plicant has shown reasonable diligence in seeking the 

2 most favorable financial terms. 

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

4 capital project cost indices when determining the es5 timated cost under paragraph (2) of this subsection. 

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

7 under this section shall remain available until expended. 

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

9 not obligated or expended for the purposes described in 

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

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

12 the Secretary for other intercity passenger rail develop13 ment projects under this section at the discretion of the 

14 Secretary. 

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

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

17 organization, State transportation department, or 

18 other project sponsor may enter into an agreement 

19 with any public, private, or nonprofit entity to coop20 eratively implement any project funded with a grant 

21 under this title. 

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

23 by an entity under paragraph (1) may consist of— 
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1 ‘‘(A) ownership or operation of any land, 

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

3 physical asset associated with the project; 

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

5 ‘‘(C) carrying out administration, construc6 tion management, project management, project 

7 operation, or any other management or oper8 ational duty associated with the project; and 

9 ‘‘(D) any other form of participation ap10 proved by the Secretary. 

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

12 funds under this section to any entity described in 

13 paragraph (1). 

14 ‘‘(j) SPECIAL TRANSPORTATION CIRCUMSTANCES.— 

15 In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall allocate 

16 an appropriate portion of the amounts available under this 

17 section to provide grants to States— 

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

19 rail service for the purpose of funding freight rail 

20 capital projects that are on a State rail plan devel21 oped under chapter 225 of this title that provide 

22 public benefits (as defined in chapter 225) as deter23 mined by the Secretary; or 

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

25 not physically connected to rail systems in the conti-
66 

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1 nental United States or may not otherwise qualify 

2 for a grant under this section due to the unique 

3 characteristics of the geography of that State or 

4 other relevant considerations, for the purpose of 

5 funding transportation-related capital projects. 

6 ‘‘§ 24403. Project management oversight 

7 ‘‘(a) PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN REQUIRE8 MENTS.—To receive Federal financial assistance for a 

9 major capital project under this subchapter, an applicant 

10 must prepare and carry out a project management plan 

11 approved by the Secretary of Transportation. The plan 

12 shall provide for— 

13 ‘‘(1) adequate recipient staff organization with 

14 well-defined reporting relationships, statements of 

15 functional responsibilities, job descriptions, and job 

16 qualifications; 

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

18 organization, appropriate consultants, property ac19 quisition, utility relocation, systems demonstration 

20 staff, audits, and miscellaneous payments the recipi21 ent may be prepared to justify; 

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

23 ‘‘(4) a document control procedure and record24 keeping system; 
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1 ‘‘(5) a change order procedure that includes a 

2 documented, systematic approach to handling the 

3 construction change orders; 

4 ‘‘(6) organizational structures, management 

5 skills, and staffing levels required throughout the 

6 construction phase; 

7 ‘‘(7) quality control and quality assurance func8 tions, procedures, and responsibilities for construc9 tion, system installation, and integration of system 

10 components; 

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

12 ‘‘(9) internal plan implementation and reporting 

13 requirements; 

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

15 testing the operational system or its major compo16 nents; 

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

18 related to project budget and project schedule, fi19 nancing, and ridership estimates; and 

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

21 project budget and project schedule to the Secretary 

22 each month. 

23 ‘‘(b) SECRETARIAL OVERSIGHT.— 

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

25 percent of amounts made available in a fiscal year 
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1 for capital projects under this subchapter to enter 

2 into contracts to oversee the construction of such 

3 projects. 

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

5 under paragraph (1) of this subsection to make con6 tracts for safety, procurement, management, and fi7 nancial compliance reviews and audits of a recipient 

8 of amounts under paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(3) The Federal Government shall pay the en10 tire cost of carrying out a contract under this sub11 section. 

12 ‘‘(c) ACCESS TO SITES AND RECORDS.—Each recipi13 ent of assistance under this subchapter shall provide the 

14 Secretary and a contractor the Secretary chooses under 

15 subsection (c) of this section with access to the construc16 tion sites and records of the recipient when reasonably 

17 necessary. 

18 ‘‘§ 24404. Use of capital grants to finance first-dollar 

19 liability of grant project 

20 ‘‘Notwithstanding the requirements of section 24402 

21 of this subchapter, the Secretary of Transportation may 

22 approve the use of capital assistance under this sub23 chapter to fund self-insured retention of risk for the first 

24 tier of liability insurance coverage for rail passenger serv25 ice associated with the capital assistance grant, but the 
69 

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

2 $20,000,000 in aggregate per year. 

3 ‘‘§ 24405. Grant conditions 

4 ‘‘(a) DOMESTIC BUYING PREFERENCE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.— 

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

7 project funded in whole or in part with a grant 

8 under this title, the grant recipient shall pur9 chase only— 

10 ‘‘(i) unmanufactured articles, mate11 rial, and supplies mined or produced in the 

12 United States; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) manufactured articles, material, 

14 and supplies manufactured in the United 

15 States substantially from articles, material, 

16 and supplies mined, produced, or manufac17 tured in the United States. 

18 ‘‘(B) DE MINIMIS AMOUNT.—Subpara19 graph (1) applies only to a purchase in an total 

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

21 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTIONS.—On application of a recipi22 ent, the Secretary may exempt a recipient from the 

23 requirements of this subsection if the Secretary de24 cides that, for particular articles, material, or sup25 plies— 
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1 ‘‘(A) such requirements are inconsistent 

2 with the public interest; 

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

4 is unreasonable; or 

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

6 the articles, material, or supplies from which 

7 they are manufactured, are not mined, pro8 duced, or manufactured in the United States in 

9 sufficient and reasonably available commercial 

10 quantities and are not of a satisfactory quality. 

11 ‘‘(3) UNITED STATES DEFINED.—In this sub12 section, the term ‘the United States’ means the 

13 States, territories, and possessions of the United 

14 States and the District of Columbia. 

15 ‘‘(b) OPERATORS DEEMED RAIL CARRIERS AND EM16 PLOYERS FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.—A person that con17 ducts rail operations over rail infrastructure constructed 

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

19 a grant made under this title— 

20 ‘‘(1) shall be considered an employer for pur21 poses of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 

22 U.S.C. 231 et seq.); and 

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

24 of the Railway Labor Act (43 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). 
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1 ‘‘(c) GRANT CONDITIONS.—The Secretary shall re2 quire as a condition of making any grant under this title 

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

4 owned by a railroad that— 

5 ‘‘(1) a written agreement exist between the ap6 plicant and the railroad regarding such use and 

7 ownership, including— 

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

9 ‘‘(B) assurances regarding the adequacy of 

10 infrastructure capacity to accommodate both 

11 existing and future freight and passenger oper12 ations; and 

13 ‘‘(C) an assurance by the railroad that col14 lective bargaining agreements with the rail15 road’s employees (including terms regulating 

16 the contracting of work) will remain in full 

17 force and effect according to their terms for 

18 work performed by the railroad on the railroad 

19 transportation corridor; and 

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

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

22 title, as such section was in effect on September 

23 1, 2003, with respect to the project in the same 

24 manner that the National Railroad Passenger 

25 Corporation is required to comply with those 
72 

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1 standards for construction work financed under 

2 an agreement made under section 24308(a) of 

3 this title; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the protective arrangements estab5 lished under section 504 of the Railroad Revi6 talization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 

7 (45 U.S.C. 836) with respect to employees af8 fected by actions taken in connection with the 

9 project to be financed in whole or in part by 

10 grants under this subchapter. 

11 ‘‘(d) REPLACEMENT OF EXISTING INTERCITY PAS12 SENGER RAIL SERVICE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT

14 FOR INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL PROJECTS.—Any 

15 entity providing intercity passenger railroad trans16 portation that begins operations after the date of en17 actment of this Act on a project funded in whole or 

18 in part by grants made under this title and replaces 

19 intercity rail passenger service that was provided by 

20 Amtrak, unless such service was provided solely by 

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

22 into an agreement with the authorized bargaining 

23 agent or agents for adversely affected employees of 

24 the predecessor provider that— 
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1 ‘‘(A) gives each such qualified employee of 

2 the predecessor provider priority in hiring ac3 cording to the employee’s seniority on the pred4 ecessor provider for each position with the re5 placing entity that is in the employee’s craft or 

6 class and is available within 3 years after the 

7 termination of the service being replaced; 

8 ‘‘(B) establishes a procedure for notifying 

9 such an employee of such positions; 

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

11 employee to apply for such positions; and 

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

13 working conditions. 

14 ‘‘(2) IMMEDIATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE.— 

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

16 of preexisting intercity rail passenger service oc17 curs concurrent with or within a reasonable 

18 time before the commencement of the replacing 

19 entity’s rail passenger service, the replacing en20 tity shall give written notice of its plan to re21 place existing rail passenger service to the au22 thorized collective bargaining agent or agents 

23 for the potentially adversely affected employees 

24 of the predecessor provider at least 90 days be25 fore the date on which it plans to commence 
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1 service. Within 5 days after the date of receipt 

2 of such written notice, negotiations between the 

3 replacing entity and the collective bargaining 

4 agent or agents for the employees of the prede5 cessor provider shall commence for the purpose 

6 of reaching agreement with respect to all mat7 ters set forth in subparagraphs (A) through (D) 

8 of paragraph (1). The negotiations shall con9 tinue for 30 days or until an agreement is 

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

11 30 days the parties have not entered into an 

12 agreement with respect to all such matters, the 

13 unresolved issues shall be submitted for arbitra14 tion in accordance with the procedure set forth 

15 in subparagraph (B). 

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

17 not been entered into with respect to all mat18 ters set forth in subparagraphs (A) through (D) 

19 of paragraph (1) as described in subparagraph 

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

21 an arbitrator. If the parties are unable to agree 

22 upon the selection of such arbitrator within 5 

23 days, either or both parties shall notify the Na24 tional Mediation Board, which shall provide a 

25 list of seven arbitrators with experience in arbi-
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1 trating rail labor protection disputes. Within 5 

2 days after such notification, the parties shall al3 ternately strike names from the list until only 

4 1 name remains, and that person shall serve as 

5 the neutral arbitrator. Within 45 days after se6 lection of the arbitrator, the arbitrator shall 

7 conduct a hearing on the dispute and shall 

8 render a decision with respect to the unresolved 

9 issues among the matters set forth in subpara10 graphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1). This 

11 decision shall be final, binding, and conclusive 

12 upon the parties. The salary and expenses of 

13 the arbitrator shall be borne equally by the par14 ties; all other expenses shall be paid by the 

15 party incurring them. 

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

17 entity under this subsection shall commence service 

18 only after an agreement is entered into with respect 

19 to the matters set forth in subparagraphs (A) 

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

21 arbitrator has been rendered. 

22 ‘‘(4) SUBSEQUENT REPLACEMENT OF SERV23 ICE.—If the replacement of existing rail passenger 

24 service takes place within 3 years after the replacing 

25 entity commences intercity passenger rail service, 
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1 the replacing entity and the collective bargaining 

2 agent or agents for the adversely affected employees 

3 of the predecessor provider shall enter into an agree4 ment with respect to the matters set forth in sub5 paragraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1). If the 

6 parties have not entered into an agreement with re7 spect to all such matters within 60 days after the 

8 date on which the replacing entity replaces the pred9 ecessor provider, the parties shall select an arbi10 trator using the procedures set forth in paragraph 

11 (2)(B), who shall, within 20 days after the com12 mencement of the arbitration, conduct a hearing and 

13 decide all unresolved issues. This decision shall be 

14 final, binding, and conclusive upon the parties. 

15 ‘‘(e) INAPPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN RAIL OPER16 ATIONS.— Nothing in this section applies to— 

17 ‘‘(1) commuter rail passenger transportation 

18 (as defined in section 24102(4) of this title) oper19 ations of a State or local government authority (as 

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

21 respectively, of this title) eligible to receive financial 

22 assistance under section 5307 of this title, or to its 

23 contractor performing services in connection with 

24 commuter rail passenger operations (as so defined); 

25 ‘‘(2) the Alaska Railroad or its contractors; or 
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1 ‘‘(3) the National Railroad Passenger Corpora2 tion’s access rights to railroad rights of way and fa3 cilities under current law for projects funded under 

4 this title where train operating speeds do not exceed 

5 79 miles per hour.’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

7 (1) The table of chapters for the title is amend8 ed by inserting the following after the item relating 

9 to chapter 243: 

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

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

11 amended by inserting the following after the item re12 lating to chapter 243: 

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

13 SEC. 302. STATE RAIL PLANS. 

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

15 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. 

16 ‘‘§ 22501. Definitions 

17 ‘‘In this subchapter: 

18 ‘‘(1) PRIVATE BENEFIT.— 
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘private 

2 benefit’— 

3 ‘‘(i) means a benefit accrued to a per4 son or private entity, other than the Na5 tional Railroad Passenger Corporation, 

6 that directly improves the economic and 

7 competitive condition of that person or en8 tity through improved assets, cost reduc9 tions, service improvements, or any other 

10 means as defined by the Secretary; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) shall be determined on a project12 by-project basis, based upon an agreement 

13 between the parties. 

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

15 seek the advice of the States and rail carriers 

16 in further defining this term. 

17 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC BENEFIT.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘public ben19 efit’— 

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

21 public in the form of enhanced mobility of 

22 people or goods, environmental protection 

23 or enhancement, congestion mitigation, en24 hanced trade and economic development, 

25 improved air quality or land use, more effi-
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1 cient energy use, enhanced public safety or 

2 security, reduction of public expenditures 

3 due to improved transportation efficiency 

4 or infrastructure preservation, and any 

5 other positive community effects as defined 

6 by the Secretary; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) shall be determined on a project8 by-project basis, based upon an agreement 

9 between the parties. 

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

11 seek the advice of the States and rail carriers 

12 in further defining this term. 

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

14 the 50 States and the District of Columbia. 

15 ‘‘(4) STATE RAIL TRANSPORTATION AUTHOR16 ITY.—The term ‘State rail transportation authority’ 

17 means the State agency or official responsible under 

18 the direction of the Governor of the State or a State 

19 law for preparation, maintenance, coordination, and 

20 administration of the State rail plan.’’. 

21 ‘‘§ 22502. Authority 

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

23 maintain a State rail plan in accordance with the provi24 sions of this subchapter. 
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1 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—For the preparation and peri2 odic revision of a State rail plan, a State shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) establish or designate a State rail trans4 portation authority to prepare, maintain, coordinate, 

5 and administer the plan; 

6 ‘‘(2) establish or designate a State rail plan ap7 proval authority to approve the plan; 

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

9 Secretary of Transportation for review; and 

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

11 no less frequently than once every 5 years for re12 approval by the Secretary. 

13 ‘‘§ 22503. Purposes 

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

15 are as follows: 

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

17 and passenger rail transportation, including com18 muter rail operations, in the State. 

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

20 State rail plan. 

21 ‘‘(3) To present priorities and strategies to en22 hance rail service in the State that benefits the pub23 lic. 

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

25 State rail investments within the State. 
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1 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION.—A State rail plan shall be co2 ordinated with other State transportation planning goals 

3 and programs and set forth rail transportation’s role with4 in the State transportation system. 

5 ‘‘§ 22504. Transparency; coordination; review 

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

7 and reasonable notice and opportunity for comment and 

8 other input to the public, rail carriers, commuter and tran9 sit authorities operating in, or affected by rail operations 

10 within the State, units of local government, and other in11 terested parties in the preparation and review of its State 

12 rail plan. 

13 ‘‘(b) INTERGOVERNMENTAL COORDINATION.—A 

14 State shall review the freight and passenger rail service 

15 activities and initiatives by regional planning agencies, re16 gional transportation authorities, and municipalities with17 in the State, or in the region in which the State is located, 

18 while preparing the plan, and shall include any rec19 ommendations made by such agencies, authorities, and 

20 municipalities as deemed appropriate by the State. 

21 ‘‘§ 22505. Content 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State rail plan shall con23 tain the following: 

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

25 transportation system and rail services and facilities 
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1 within the State and an analysis of the role of rail 

2 transportation within the State’s surface transpor3 tation system. 

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

5 including proposed high speed rail corridors and sig6 nificant rail line segments not currently in service. 

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

8 service objectives, including minimum service levels, 

9 for rail transportation routes in the State. 

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

11 economic, and environmental impacts in the State, 

12 including congestion mitigation, trade and economic 

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

14 community impacts. 

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

16 current and future freight and passenger infrastruc17 ture in the State that meets the requirements of 

18 subsection (b). 

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

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

21 of current and prospective public capital and oper22 ating funding resources, public subsidies, State tax23 ation, and other financial policies relating to rail in24 frastructure development. 
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1 ‘‘(7) An identification of rail infrastructure 

2 issues within the State that reflects consultation 

3 with all relevant stake holders. 

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

5 intermodal rail connections and facilities within the 

6 State, including seaports, and prioritized options to 

7 maximize service integration and efficiency between 

8 rail and other modes of transportation within the 

9 State. 

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

11 the State to improve rail transportation safety and 

12 security, including all major projects funded under 

13 section 130 of title 23. 

14 ‘‘(10) A performance evaluation of passenger 

15 rail services operating in the State, including pos16 sible improvements in those services, and a descrip17 tion of strategies to achieve those improvements. 

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

19 high-speed rail corridor development within the 

20 State not included in a previous plan under this sub21 chapter, and a plan for funding any recommended 

22 development of such corridors in the State. 

23 ‘‘(12) A statement that the State is in compli24 ance with the requirements of section 22102. 
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1 ‘‘(b) LONG-RANGE SERVICE AND INVESTMENT PRO2 GRAM.— 

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

4 investment program included in a State rail plan 

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

6 matters: 

7 ‘‘(A) A list of any rail capital projects ex8 pected to be undertaken or supported in whole 

9 or in part by the State. 

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

11 projects. 

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

13 capital projects shall contain— 

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

15 and private benefits of each such project; and 

16 ‘‘(B) a statement of the correlation be17 tween— 

18 ‘‘(i) public funding contributions for 

19 the projects; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the public benefits. 

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

22 preparing the list of freight and intercity passenger 

23 rail capital projects, a State rail transportation au24 thority should take into consideration the following 

25 matters: 
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1 ‘‘(A) Contributions made by non-Federal 

2 and non-State sources through user fees, 

3 matching funds, or other private capital involve4 ment. 

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

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

7 maritime capacity, congestion, or safety. 

8 ‘‘(D) Regional balance. 

9 ‘‘(E) Environmental impact. 

10 ‘‘(F) Economic and employment impacts. 

11 ‘‘(G) Projected ridership and other service 

12 measures for passenger rail projects. 

13 ‘‘§ 22506. Review 

14 The Secretary shall prescribe procedures for States 

15 to submit State rail plans for review under this title, in16 cluding standardized format and data requirements.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

18 (1) The table of chapters for the title is amend19 ed by inserting the following after the item relating 

20 to chapter 223: 

‘‘225. State rail plans .............................................................................. 22501’’. 

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

22 amended by inserting the following after the item re23 lating to chapter 223: 

‘‘225. State rail plans .............................................................................. 24401’’. 
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1 SEC. 303. NEXT GENERATION CORRIDOR TRAIN EQUIP2 MENT POOL. 

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

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

5 Generation Corridor Equipment Pool Committee, com6 prised of representatives of Amtrak, the Federal Railroad 

7 Administration, and interested States. The purpose of the 

8 Committee shall be to design, develop specifications for, 

9 and procure standardized next-generation corridor equip10 ment. 

11 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The Committee may— 

12 (1) determine the number of different types of 

13 equipment required, taking into account variations 

14 in operational needs and corridor infrastructure; 

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

16 corridor routes funded by participating States; and 

17 (3) subject to agreements between Amtrak and 

18 States, utilize services provided by Amtrak to design, 

19 maintain and remanufacture equipment. 

20 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Amtrak and 

21 States participating in the Committee may enter into 

22 agreements for the funding, procurement, remanufacture, 

23 ownership and management of corridor equipment, includ24 ing equipment currently owned or leased by Amtrak and 

25 next-generation corridor equipment acquired as a result 

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

2 participating States or other entities, to perform these 

3 functions. 

4 (d) FUNDING.—In addition to the authorization pro5 vided in section 105 of this Act, capital projects to carry 

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

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

8 Code. 

9 SEC. 304. FEDERAL RAIL POLICY. 

10 Section 103 is amended— 

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

12 Federal’’ in subsection (a); 

13 (2) by striking the second and third sentences 

14 of subsection (a); 

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

16 ‘‘The head’’ in subsection (b); 

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

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

19 by inserting after subsection (b) the following: 

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

21 of the United States, the Administration is divided on a 

22 geographical basis into at least 8 safety offices. The Sec23 retary of Transportation is responsible for all acts taken 

24 under those laws and for ensuring that the laws are uni-
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1 formly administered and enforced among the safety of2 fices.’’; 

3 (5) by inserting ‘‘POWERS AND DUTIES.—’’ be4 fore ‘‘The’’ in subsection (d), as redesignated; 

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

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

7 (7) by redesignating paragraph (2) of sub8 section (d), as redesignated, as paragraph (3) and 

9 inserting after paragraph (1) the following: 

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

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

12 (8) by inserting ‘‘TRANSFERS OF DUTY.—’’ be13 fore ‘‘A duty’’ in subsection (e), as redesignated; 

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

15 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, AND SIMILAR TRANS16 ACTIONS.—’’ before ‘‘Subject’’ in subsection (f), as 

17 redesignated; 

18 (10) by striking the last sentence in subsection 

19 (f), as redesignated; and 

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

21 ‘‘(g) ADDITIONAL DUTIES OF THE ADMINIS22 TRATOR.—The Administrator shall— 

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

24 State rail plans prepared under chapter 225 and re-
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1 view all State rail plans submitted under that sec2 tion; 

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

4 that is consistent with approved State rail plans and 

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

6 Secretary in order to promote an integrated, cohe7 sive, efficient, and optimized national rail system for 

8 the movement of goods and people; 

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

10 within a year after the date of enactment of the Pas11 senger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 

12 2005; 

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

14 freight and passenger railroad industry, States, and 

15 the public concerning rail development; 

16 ‘‘(5) support rail intermodal development and 

17 high-speed rail development, including high speed 

18 rail planning; 

19 ‘‘(6) ensure that programs and initiatives devel20 oped under this section benefit the public and work 

21 toward achieving regional and national transpor22 tation goals; and 

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

24 freight and passenger rail carriers, transit agencies 

25 and authorities, municipalities, and States in pas-
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1 senger-freight service integration on shared rights of 

2 way by providing neutral assistance at the joint re3 quest of affected rail service providers and infra4 structure owners relating to operations and capacity 

5 analysis, capital requirements, operating costs, and 

6 other research and planning related to corridors 

7 shared by passenger or commuter rail service and 

8 freight rail operations. 

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

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

11 with the objectives established and activities under12 taken under section 103(e) of this title, the Adminis13 trator shall develop a schedule for achieving specific, 

14 measurable performance goals. 

15 ‘‘(2) RESOURCE NEEDS.—The strategy and an16 nual plans shall include estimates of the funds and 

17 staff resources needed to accomplish each goal and 

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

19 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION WITH PRESIDENT’S BUDG20 ET.—Beginning with fiscal year 2007 and each fis21 cal year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to 

22 Congress, at the same time as the President’s budg23 et submission, the Administration’s performance 

24 goals and schedule developed under paragraph (1), 

25 including an assessment of the progress of the Ad-
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1 ministration toward achieving its performance 

2 goals.’’. 

3 SEC. 305. RAIL COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND CONTENT.—Chapter 249 

5 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘§ 24910. Rail cooperative research program 

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

8 and carry out a rail cooperative research program. The 

9 program shall— 

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

11 rail passenger and freight rail services, including ex12 isting rail passenger and freight technologies and 

13 speeds, incrementally enhanced rail systems and in14 frastructure, and new high-speed wheel-on-rail sys15 tems and rail security; 

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

17 of international trade traffic by rail, enhance the ef18 ficiency of intermodal interchange at ports and other 

19 intermodal terminals, and increase capacity and 

20 availability of rail service for seasonal freight needs; 

21 ‘‘(3) consider research on the interconnected22 ness of commuter rail, passenger rail, freight rail, 

23 and other rail networks; and 

24 ‘‘(4) give consideration to regional concerns re25 garding rail passenger and freight transportation, 
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1 including meeting research needs common to des2 ignated high-speed corridors, long-distance rail serv3 ices, and regional intercity rail corridors, projects, 

4 and entities. 

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

6 under this section shall include research designed— 

7 ‘‘(1) to identify the unique aspects and at8 tributes of rail passenger and freight service; 

9 ‘‘(2) to develop more accurate models for evalu10 ating the impact of rail passenger and freight serv11 ice, including the effects on highway and airport and 

12 airway congestion, environmental quality, and energy 

13 consumption; 

14 ‘‘(3) to develop a better understanding of modal 

15 choice as it affects rail passenger and freight trans16 portation, including development of better models to 

17 predict utilization; 

18 ‘‘(4) to recommend priorities for technology 

19 demonstration and development; 

20 ‘‘(5) to meet additional priorities as determined 

21 by the advisory board established under subsection 

22 (c), including any recommendations made by the Na23 tional Research Council; 

24 ‘‘(6) to explore improvements in management, 

25 financing, and institutional structures; 
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1 ‘‘(7) to address rail capacity constraints that 

2 affect passenger and freight rail service through a 

3 wide variety of options, ranging from operating im4 provements to dedicated new infrastructure, taking 

5 into account the impact of such options on oper6 ations; 

7 ‘‘(8) to improve maintenance, operations, cus8 tomer service, or other aspects of intercity rail pas9 senger and freight service; 

10 ‘‘(9) to recommend objective methodologies for 

11 determining intercity passenger rail routes and serv12 ices, including the establishment of new routes, the 

13 elimination of existing routes, and the contraction or 

14 expansion of services or frequencies over such 

15 routes; 

16 ‘‘(10) to review the impact of equipment and 

17 operational safety standards on the further develop18 ment of high speed passenger rail operations con19 nected to or integrated with non-high speed freight 

20 or passenger rail operations; and 

21 ‘‘(11) to recommend any legislative or regu22 latory changes necessary to foster further develop23 ment and implementation of high speed passenger 

24 rail operations while ensuring the safety of such op-
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1 erations that are connected to or integrated with 

2 non-high speed freight or passenger rail operations. 

3 ‘‘(c) ADVISORY BOARD.— 

4 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—In consultation with 

5 the heads of appropriate Federal departments and 

6 agencies, the Secretary shall establish an advisory 

7 board to recommend research, technology, and tech8 nology transfer activities related to rail passenger 

9 and freight transportation. 

10 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The advisory board shall 

11 include— 

12 ‘‘(A) representatives of State transpor13 tation agencies; 

14 ‘‘(B) transportation and environmental 

15 economists, scientists, and engineers; and 

16 ‘‘(C) representatives of Amtrak, the Alaska 

17 Railroad, freight railroads, transit operating 

18 agencies, intercity rail passenger agencies, rail19 way labor organizations, and environmental or20 ganizations. 

21 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.— The Sec22 retary may make grants to, and enter into cooperative 

23 agreements with, the National Academy of Sciences to 

24 carry out such activities relating to the research, tech-
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1 nology, and technology transfer activities described in sub2 section (b) as the Secretary deems appropriate.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis 

4 for chapter 249 is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

‘‘24910. Rail cooperative research program.’’. 

6 TITLE IV—PASSENGER RAIL 

7 SECURITY AND SAFETY 

8 SEC. 401. SYSTEMWIDE AMTRAK SECURITY UPGRADES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL—Subject to subsection (c) the Sec10 retary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Sec11 retary of Transportation, is authorized to make grants to 

12 Amtrak— 

13 (1) to secure major tunnel access points and en14 sure tunnel integrity in New York, Baltimore, and 

15 Washington, DC; 

16 (2) to secure Amtrak trains; 

17 (3) to secure Amtrak stations; 

18 (4) to obtain a watch list identification system 

19 approved by the Secretary; 

20 (5) to obtain train tracking and interoperable 

21 communications systems that are coordinated to the 

22 maximum extent possible; 

23 (6) to hire additional police and security offi24 cers, including canine units; and 

25 (7) to expand emergency preparedness efforts. 
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1 (b) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary of Transportation 

2 shall disburse funds to Amtrak provided under subsection 

3 (a) for projects contained in a systemwide security plan 

4 approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security. The 

5 plan shall include appropriate measures to address secu6 rity awareness, emergency response, and passenger evacu7 ation training. 

8 (c) EQUITABLE GEOGRAPHIC ALLOCATION.—The 

9 Secretary shall ensure that, subject to meeting the highest 

10 security needs on Amtrak’s entire system, stations and fa11 cilities located outside of the Northeast Corridor receive 

12 an equitable share of the security funds authorized by this 

13 section. 

14 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

16 Homeland Security to carry out this section— 

17 (1) $63,500,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

18 (2) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; and 

19 (3) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

20 Amounts appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall 

21 remain available until expended. 

22 SEC. 402. FIRE AND LIFE-SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS. 

23 (a) LIFE-SAFETY NEEDS.—The Secretary of Trans24 portation is authorized to make grants to Amtrak for the 

25 purpose of making fire and life-safety improvements to 
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1 Amtrak tunnels on the Northeast Corridor in New York, 

2 NY, Baltimore, MD, and Washington, DC. 

3 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

5 Transportation for the purposes of carrying out subsection 

6 (a) the following amounts: 

7 (1) For the 6 New York tunnels to provide ven8 tilation, electrical, and fire safety technology up9 grades, emergency communication and lighting sys10 tems, and emergency access and egress for pas11 sengers— 

12 (A) $190,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

13 (B) $190,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

14 (C) $190,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

15 (2) For the Baltimore & Potomac tunnel and 

16 the Union tunnel, together, to provide adequate 

17 drainage, ventilation, communication, lighting, and 

18 passenger egress upgrades— 

19 (A) $19,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

20 (B) $19,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

21 (C) $19,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

22 (3) For the Washington, DC, Union Station 

23 tunnels to improve ventilation, communication, light24 ing, and passenger egress upgrades— 

25 (A) $13,333,000 for fiscal year 2006; 
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1 (B) $13,333,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

2 (C) $13,333,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

3 (c) INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES.—There are au4 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transpor5 tation for fiscal year 2006 $3,000,000 for the preliminary 

6 design of options for a new tunnel on a different alignment 

7 to augment the capacity of the existing Baltimore tunnels. 

8 (d) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.— 

9 Amounts made available pursuant to this section shall re10 main available until expended. 

11 (e) PLANS REQUIRED.—The Secretary may not make 

12 amounts available to Amtrak for obligation or expenditure 

13 under subsection (a)— 

14 (1) until Amtrak has submitted to the Sec15 retary, and the Secretary has approved, an engineer16 ing and financial plan for such projects; and 

17 (2) unless, for each project funded pursuant to 

18 this section, the Secretary has approved a project 

19 management plan prepared by Amtrak addressing 

20 appropriate project budget, construction schedule, 

21 recipient staff organization, document control and 

22 record keeping, change order procedure, quality con23 trol and assurance, periodic plan updates, and peri24 odic status reports. 
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1 (f) REVIEW OF PLANS.—The Secretary of Transpor2 tation shall complete the review of the plans required by 

3 paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (e) and approve or 

4 disapprove the plans within 45 days after the date on 

5 which each such plan is submitted by Amtrak. If the Sec6 retary determines that a plan is incomplete or deficient, 

7 the Secretary shall notify Amtrak of the incomplete items 

8 or deficiencies and Amtrak shall, within 30 days after re9 ceiving the Secretary’s notification, submit a modified 

10 plan for the Secretary’s review. Within 15 days after re11 ceiving additional information on items previously included 

12 in the plan, and within 45 days after receiving items newly 

13 included in a modified plan, the Secretary shall either ap14 prove the modified plan, or, if the Secretary finds the plan 

15 is still incomplete or deficient, the Secretary shall identify 

16 in writing to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, 

17 and Transportation and the House of Representatives 

18 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure the por19 tions of the plan the Secretary finds incomplete or defi20 cient, approve all other portions of the plan, obligate the 

21 funds associated with those other portions, and execute 

22 an agreement with Amtrak within 15 days thereafter on 

23 a process for resolving the remaining portions of the plan. 

24 (g) FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION FROM OTHER TUN25 NEL USERS.—The Secretary shall, taking into account the 
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1 need for the timely completion of all portions of the tunnel 

2 projects described in subsection (a)— 

3 (1) consider the extent to which rail carriers 

4 other than Amtrak use or plan to use the tunnels; 

5 (2) consider the feasibility of seeking a financial 

6 contribution from those other rail carriers toward 

7 the costs of the projects; and 

8 (3) obtain financial contributions or commit9 ments from such other rail carriers at levels reflect10 ing the extent of their use or planned use of the tun11 nels, if feasible. 

12 SEC. 403. AMTRAK PLAN TO ASSIST FAMILIES OF PAS13 SENGERS INVOLVED IN RAIL PASSENGER AC14 CIDENTS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 243 of title 49, United 

16 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘§ 24316. Plans to address needs of families of pas19 sengers involved in rail passenger acci20 dents 

21 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—Not later than 6 

22 months after the date of the enactment of the Passenger 

23 Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2005, Amtrak 

24 shall submit to the Chairman of the National Transpor25 tation Safety Board and the Secretary of Transportation 
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1 a plan for addressing the needs of the families of pas2 sengers involved in any rail passenger accident involving 

3 an Amtrak intercity train and resulting in a loss of life. 

4 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—The plan to be sub5 mitted by Amtrak under subsection (a) shall include, at 

6 a minimum, the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) A process by which Amtrak will maintain 

8 and provide to the National Transportation Safety 

9 Board and the Secretary of Transportation, imme10 diately upon request, a list (which is based on the 

11 best available information at the time of the request) 

12 of the names of the passengers aboard the train 

13 (whether or not such names have been verified), and 

14 will periodically update the list. The plan shall in15 clude a procedure, with respect to unreserved trains 

16 and passengers not holding reservations on other 

17 trains, for Amtrak to use reasonable efforts to ascer18 tain the number and names of passengers aboard a 

19 train involved in an accident. 

20 ‘‘(2) A plan for creating and publicizing a reli21 able, toll-free telephone number within 4 hours after 

22 such an accident occurs, and for providing staff, to 

23 handle calls from the families of the passengers. 

24 ‘‘(3) A process for notifying the families of the 

25 passengers, before providing any public notice of the 
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1 names of the passengers, by suitably trained individ2 uals. 

3 ‘‘(4) A process for providing the notice de4 scribed in paragraph (2) to the family of a pas5 senger as soon as Amtrak has verified that the pas6 senger was aboard the train (whether or not the 

7 names of all of the passengers have been verified). 

8 ‘‘(5) A process by which the family of each pas9 senger will be consulted about the disposition of all 

10 remains and personal effects of the passenger within 

11 Amtrak’s control; that any possession of the pas12 senger within Amtrak’s control will be returned to 

13 the family unless the possession is needed for the ac14 cident investigation or any criminal investigation; 

15 and that any unclaimed possession of a passenger 

16 within Amtrak’s control will be retained by the rail 

17 passenger carrier for at least 18 months. 

18 ‘‘(6) A process by which the treatment of the 

19 families of nonrevenue passengers will be the same 

20 as the treatment of the families of revenue pas21 sengers. 

22 ‘‘(7) An assurance that Amtrak will provide 

23 adequate training to its employees and agents to 

24 meet the needs of survivors and family members fol25 lowing an accident. 
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1 ‘‘(c) USE OF INFORMATION.—The National Trans2 portation Safety Board, the Secretary of Transportation, 

3 and Amtrak may not release to any person information 

4 on a list obtained under subsection (b)(1) but may provide 

5 information on the list about a passenger to the family 

6 of the passenger to the extent that the Board or Amtrak 

7 considers appropriate. 

8 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—Amtrak shall not 

9 be liable for damages in any action brought in a Federal 

10 or State court arising out of the performance of Amtrak 

11 in preparing or providing a passenger list, or in providing 

12 information concerning a train reservation, pursuant to a 

13 plan submitted by Amtrak under subsection (b), unless 

14 such liability was caused by Amtrak’s conduct. 

15 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 

16 Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the 

17 actions that Amtrak may take, or the obligations that Am18 trak may have, in providing assistance to the families of 

19 passengers involved in a rail passenger accident. 

20 ‘‘(f) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro21 priated to the Secretary of Transportation for the use of 

22 Amtrak $500,000 for fiscal year 2006 to carry out this 

23 section. Amounts made available pursuant to this sub24 section shall remain available until expended.’’. 
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal2 ysis for chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘24316. Plan to assist families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents.’’. 

4 SEC. 404. NORTHERN BORDER RAIL PASSENGER REPORT. 

5 Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

6 Act, the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with 

7 the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Assistant Sec8 retary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Ad9 ministration), heads of other appropriate Federal depart10 ments, and agencies and the National Railroad Passenger 

11 Corporation, shall transmit a report to the Senate Com12 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

13 House of Representatives Committee on Transportation 

14 and Infrastructure that contains— 

15 (1) a description of the current system for 

16 screening passengers and baggage on passenger rail 

17 service between the United States and Canada; 

18 (2) an assessment of the current program to 

19 provide preclearance of airline passengers between 

20 the United States and Canada as outlined in ‘‘The 

21 Agreement on Air Transport Preclearance between 

22 the Government of Canada and the Government of 

23 the United States of America’’, dated January 18, 

24 2001; 
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1 (3) an assessment of the current program to 

2 provide preclearance of freight railroad traffic be3 tween the United States and Canada as outlined in 

4 the ‘‘Declaration of Principle for the Improved Secu5 rity of Rail Shipments by Canadian National Rail6 way and Canadian Pacific Railway from Canada to 

7 the United States’’, dated April 2, 2003; 

8 (4) information on progress by the Department 

9 of Homeland Security and other Federal agencies to10 wards finalizing a bilateral protocol with Canada 

11 that would provide for preclearance of passengers on 

12 trains operating between the United States and Can13 ada; 

14 (5) a description of legislative, regulatory, 

15 budgetary, or policy barriers within the United 

16 States Government to providing pre-screened pas17 senger lists for rail passengers traveling between the 

18 United States and Canada to the Department of 

19 Homeland Security; 

20 (6) a description of the position of the Govern21 ment of Canada and relevant Canadian agencies 

22 with respect to preclearance of such passengers; 

23 (7) a draft of any changes in existing Federal 

24 law necessary to provide for pre-screening of such 
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1 passengers and providing pre-screened passenger 

2 lists to the Department of Homeland Security; and 

3 (8) an analysis of the feasibility of reinstating 

4 United States Customs and Border Patrol rolling in5 spections onboard international Amtrak trains. 

6 SEC. 405. PASSENGER, BAGGAGE, AND CARGO SCREENING. 

7 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR STUDY AND REPORT.—The 

8 Secretary of Homeland Security, in cooperation with the 

9 Secretary of Transportation through the Assistant Sec10 retary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Ad11 ministration) and other appropriate agencies, shall— 

12 (1) study the cost and feasibility of requiring 

13 security screening for passengers, baggage, and 

14 cargo on passenger trains including an analysis of 

15 any passenger train screening pilot programs under16 taken by the Department of Homeland Security; and 

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

18 with any recommendations that the Secretary of 

19 Homeland Security may have for implementing a 

20 rail security screening program to the Senate Com21 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

22 and the House of Representatives Committee on 

23 Transportation and Infrastructure within 1 year 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act. 
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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

3 Homeland Security $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 to 

4 carry out this section. 

5 TITLE V—RAIL BOND 

6 AUTHORITY 

7 SEC. 501. INTERCITY RAIL FACILITY BONDS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 261 is amended by add9 ing at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘§ 26106. Rail infrastructure bonds 

11 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary may designate 

12 bonds for purposes of section 54 of the Internal Revenue 

13 Code of 1986 if— 

14 ‘‘(1) the bonds are to be issued by— 

15 ‘‘(A) a State, if the entire railroad pas16 senger transportation corridor containing the 

17 infrastructure project to be financed is within 

18 the State; 

19 ‘‘(B) 1 or more of the States that have en20 tered into an agreement or an interstate com21 pact consented to by Congress under section 

22 410(a) of Public Law 105–134 (49 U.S.C. 

23 24101 note); 

24 ‘‘(C) an agreement or an interstate com25 pact described in subparagraph (B); or 
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1 ‘‘(D) Amtrak, for capital projects under its 

2 5-year plan; 

3 ‘‘(2) the bonds are for the purpose of financing 

4 projects that make a substantial contribution to pro5 viding the infrastructure and equipment required to 

6 complete or improve a rail transportation corridor 

7 (including projects for the acquisition, financing, or 

8 refinancing of equipment and other capital improve9 ments, including the introduction of new high-speed 

10 technologies such as magnetic levitation systems, 

11 track or signal improvements, the elimination of 

12 grade crossings, development of intermodal facilities, 

13 improvement of train speeds or safety, or both, and 

14 station rehabilitation or construction), but only if 

15 the Secretary determines that the projects are part 

16 of a viable and comprehensive rail transportation 

17 corridor design for intercity passenger service in18 cluded in a State rail plan under chapter 225 (ex19 cept for bonds issued under paragraph (1)(D)); and 

20 ‘‘(3) for a railroad passenger transportation 

21 corridor not operated by Amtrak that includes the 

22 use of rights-of-way owned by a freight railroad, a 

23 written agreement exists between the applicant and 

24 the freight railroad regarding such use and owner25 ship, including compensation for such use and assur-
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1 ances regarding the adequacy of infrastructure ca2 pacity to accommodate both existing and future 

3 freight and passenger operations, and including an 

4 assurance by the freight railroad that collective bar5 gaining agreements with the freight railroad’s em6 ployees (including terms regulating the contracting 

7 of work) shall remain in full force and effect accord8 ing to their terms for work performed by the freight 

9 railroad on such railroad passenger transportation 

10 corridor. 

11 ‘‘(b) BOND AMOUNT LIMITATION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of bonds des13 ignated under this section may not exceed in the 

14 case of section 54 bonds, $1,300,000,000 for each of 

15 the fiscal years 2006 through 2015. 

16 ‘‘(2) CARRYOVER OF UNUSED LIMITATION.—If 

17 for any fiscal year the limitation amount under 

18 paragraph (1) exceeds the amount of section 54 

19 bonds issued during such year, the limitation 

20 amount under paragraph (1) for the following fiscal 

21 year (through fiscal year 2019) shall be increased by 

22 the amount of such excess. 

23 ‘‘(c) PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary 

24 shall give preference to the designation under this section 
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1 of bonds for projects selected using the criteria in chapter 

2 244. 

3 ‘‘(d) TIMELY DISPOSITION OF APPLICATION.—The 

4 Secretary shall grant or deny a requested designation 

5 within 9 months after receipt of an application. 

6 ‘‘(e) REFINANCING RULES.—Bonds designated by 

7 the Secretary under subsection (a) may be issued for refi8 nancing projects only if the indebtedness being refinanced 

9 (including any obligation directly or indirectly refinanced 

10 by such indebtedness) was originally incurred by the 

11 issuer— 

12 ‘‘(1) after the date of the enactment of this sec13 tion; 

14 ‘‘(2) for a term of not more than 3 years; 

15 ‘‘(3) to finance projects described in subsection 

16 (a)(2); and 

17 ‘‘(4) in anticipation of being refinanced with 

18 proceeds of a bond designated under subsection (a). 

19 ‘‘(f) APPLICATION OF CONDITIONS.—Any entity pro20 viding railroad transportation (within the meaning of sec21 tion 20102) that begins operations after the date of the 

22 enactment of this section and that uses property acquired 

23 pursuant to this section (except as provided in subsection 

24 (a)(2)(B)), shall be subject to the conditions under section 

25 24405. 
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1 ‘‘(g) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.—Not later than 6 

2 months after the date of the enactment of the Passenger 

3 Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2005, the Sec4 retary shall issue regulations for carrying out this section. 

5 ‘‘(h) SECTION 54 DEFINED.—In this section, the 

6 term ‘section 54 bond’ means a bond designated by the 

7 Secretary under subsection (a) for purposes of section 54 

8 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to credit 

9 to holders of qualified rail infrastructure bonds).’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec11 tions for chapter 261 is amended by adding after the item 

12 relating to section 26105 the following new item: 

‘‘26106. Rail infrastructure bonds.’’. 

13 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

14 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Passenger Rail Invest15 ment and Improvement Act of 2005’’. 

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

17 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 

18 this Act an amendment is expressed in terms of an amend19 ment to a section or other provision of law, the reference 

20 shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi21 sion of title 49, United States Code. 

22 SEC. 3. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

23 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. 
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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. 

Sec. 405. Passenger, baggage, and cargo screening. 

TITLE V—RAIL BOND AUTHORITY 

Sec. 501. Intercity rail facility bonds. 
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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 be 

6 appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation for the use 

7 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 ap15 propriated to the Secretary of Transportation for the use 

16 of Amtrak to bring the Northeast Corridor as defined in 

17 section 24102(a) to a state-of-good-repair, for capital ex18 penses of the national railroad passenger transportation 

19 system, and for purposes of making capital grants to states 

20 under section 301 of this Act, the following amounts: 

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

22 (2) For fiscal year 2007, $910,000,000. 

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

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

25 (5) For fiscal year 2010, $1,191,000,000. 
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1 (6) For fiscal year 2011, $1,231,000,000. 

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

3 amounts authorized under subsection (b), the following per4 centage shall be available each fiscal year for capital grants 

5 to States under section 301 of this Act, to be administered 

6 by the Secretary of Transportation: 

7 (1) 3 percent for fiscal year 2006. 

8 (2) 11 percent for fiscal year 2007. 

9 (3) 23 percent for fiscal year 2008. 

10 (4) 25 percent for fiscal year 2009. 

11 (5) 31 percent for fiscal year 2010. 

12 (6) 33 percent for fiscal year 2011. 

13 (d) PROJECT MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT.—The Secretary may withhold up to 1 14 ⁄2 of 1 percent of amounts ap15 propriated pursuant to subsection (b) for the costs of project 

16 management oversight of capital projects carried out by 

17 Amtrak. 

18 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZATION FOR THE FEDERAL RAILROAD 

19 ADMINISTRATION. 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec21 retary of Transportation for the use of the Federal Railroad 

22 Administration such sums as necessary to implement the 

23 provisions required under this Act for fiscal years 2006 

24 through 2011. 
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1 SEC. 103. REPAYMENT OF LONG-TERM DEBT AND CAPITAL 

2 LEASES. 

3 (a) AMTRAK PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAYMENTS.— 

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

5 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

6 Transportation for the use of Amtrak for retirement 

7 of principal on loans for capital equipment, or cap8 ital leases, not more than the following amounts: 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

16 to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation 

17 for the use of Amtrak for the payment of interest on 

18 loans for capital equipment, or capital leases, the fol19 lowing amounts: 

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

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

22 (C) For fiscal year 2008, $133,800,000. 

23 (D) For fiscal year 2009, $124,000,000. 

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

25 (F) For fiscal year 2011, $103,800,000. 
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1 (3) EARLY BUYOUT OPTION.—There are author2 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transpor3 tation such sums as may be necessary for the use of 

4 Amtrak for the payment of costs associated with early 

5 buyout options if the exercise of those options is deter6 mined to be advantageous to Amtrak. 

7 SEC. 104. EXCESS RAILROAD RETIREMENT. 

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec9 retary of Transportation, beginning with fiscal year 2006, 

10 such sums as may be necessary to pay to the Railroad Re11 tirement Account an amount equal to the amount Amtrak 

12 must pay under section 3221 of the Internal Revenue Code 

13 of 1986 in such fiscal years that is more than the amount 

14 needed for benefits for individuals who retire from Amtrak 

15 and for their beneficiaries. For each fiscal year in which 

16 the Secretary makes such a payment, the amounts author17 ized by section 101(a) shall be reduced by an amount equal 

18 to such payment. 

19 SEC. 105. OTHER AUTHORIZATIONS. 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec21 retary of Transportation— 

22 (1) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 

23 through 2011 to carry out the rail cooperative re24 search program under section 24910 of title 49, 

25 United States Code; and 
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1 (2) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, to remain 

2 available until expended, for grants to Amtrak and 

3 States participating in the Next Generation Corridor 

4 Train Equipment Pool Committee established under 

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

6 developing specifications for, and initiating the pro7 curement of an initial order of 1 or more types of 

8 standardized next-generation corridor train equip9 ment and establishing a jointly-owned corporation to 

10 manage that equipment. 

11 TITLE II—AMTRAK REFORM AND 

12 OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS 

13 SEC. 201. NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER TRANSPOR14 TATION SYSTEM DEFINED. 

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

16 (1) by striking paragraph (2); 

17 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) 

18 as paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), respectively; and 

19 (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) as so redes20 ignated the following: 

21 ‘‘(5) ‘national rail passenger transportation sys22 tem’ means— 

23 ‘‘(A) the segment of the Northeast Corridor 

24 between Boston, Massachusetts and Washington, 

25 DC; 
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1 ‘‘(B) rail corridors that have been des2 ignated by the Secretary of Transportation as 

3 high-speed corridors (other than corridors de4 scribed in subparagraph (A)), but only after they 

5 have been improved to permit operation of high6 speed service; 

7 ‘‘(C) long-distance routes of more than 750 

8 miles between endpoints operated by Amtrak as 

9 of the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail 

10 Investment and Improvement Act of 2005; and 

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

12 not more than 750 miles between endpoints, op13 erated by— 

14 ‘‘(i) Amtrak; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) another rail carrier that receives 

16 funds under chapter 244.’’. 

17 (b) AMTRAK ROUTES WITH STATE FUNDING.— 

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

19 inserting after section 24701 the following: 

20 ‘‘§ 24702. Transportation requested by States, authori21 ties, and other persons 

22 ‘‘(a) CONTRACTS FOR TRANSPORTATION.—Amtrak and 

23 a State, a regional or local authority, or another person 

24 may enter into a contract for Amtrak to operate an inter25 city rail service or route not included in the national rail 
119 

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1 passenger transportation system upon such terms as the 

2 parties thereto may agree. 

3 ‘‘(b) DISCONTINUANCE.—Upon termination of a con4 tract entered into under this section, or the cessation of fi5 nancial support under such a contract by either party, Am6 trak may discontinue such service or route, notwithstanding 

7 any other provision of law.’’. 

8 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter 

9 analysis for chapter 247 is amended by inserting 

10 after the item relating to section 24701 the following: 

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

11 (c) AMTRAK TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE NON-HIGH12 SPEED SERVICES.—Nothing in this Act is intended to pre13 clude Amtrak from restoring, improving, or developing non14 high-speed intercity passenger rail service. 

15 (d) APPLICABILITY OF SECTION 24706.—Section 

16 24706 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(c) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to all serv18 ice over routes provided by Amtrak, notwithstanding any 

19 provision of section 24701 of this title or any other provi20 sion of this title.’’. 

21 SEC. 202. AMTRAK BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

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

23 as follows: 

24 ‘‘§ 24302. Board of directors 

25 ‘‘(a) COMPOSITION AND TERMS.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) The Board of Directors of Amtrak is com2 posed of the following 9 directors, each of whom must 

3 be a citizen of the United States: 

4 ‘‘(A) The Secretary of Transportation. 

5 ‘‘(B) The President of Amtrak. 

6 ‘‘(C) 7 individuals appointed by the Presi7 dent of the United States, by and with the advice 

8 and consent of the Senate, with general business 

9 and financial experience, experience or qualifica10 tions in transportation, freight and passenger 

11 rail transportation, travel, hospitality, cruise 

12 line, and passenger air transportation busi13 nesses, or representatives of users of passenger 

14 rail transportation or State government. 

15 ‘‘(2) In selecting individuals described in para16 graph (1) for nominations for appointments to the 

17 Board, the President shall consult with the Speaker of 

18 the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of 

19 the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of 

20 the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the Senate 

21 and try to provide adequate and balanced representa22 tion of the major geographic regions of the United 

23 States served by Amtrak. 

24 ‘‘(3) An individual appointed under paragraph 

25 (1)(C) of this subsection serves for 5 years or until the 
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1 individual’s successor is appointed and qualified. Not 

2 more than 4 individuals appointed under paragraph 

3 (1)(C) may be members of the same political party. 

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

5 vice chairman from among its membership. The vice 

6 chairman shall serve as chairman in the absence of 

7 the chairman. 

8 ‘‘(5) The Secretary may be represented at board 

9 meetings by the Secretary’s designee. 

10 ‘‘(b) PAY AND EXPENSES.—Each director not em11 ployed by the United States Government is entitled to $300 

12 a day when performing Board duties. Each Director is enti13 tled to reimbursement for necessary travel, reasonable secre14 tarial and professional staff support, and subsistence ex15 penses incurred in attending Board meetings. 

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

17 the same way as the original selection, except that an indi18 vidual appointed by the President of the United States 

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

20 occurring before the end of the term for which the prede21 cessor of that individual was appointed is appointed for 

22 the remainder of that term. A vacancy required to be filled 

23 by appointment under subsection (a)(1)(C) must be filled 

24 not later than 120 days after the vacancy occurs. 
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1 ‘‘(d) QUORUM.—A majority of the members serving 

2 shall constitute a quorum for doing business. 

3 ‘‘(e) BYLAWS.—The Board may adopt and amend by4 laws governing the operation of Amtrak. The bylaws shall 

5 be consistent with this part and the articles of incorpora6 tion.’’. 

7 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE FOR DIRECTORS’ PROVISION.— 

8 The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on 

9 January 1, 2006. The members of the Amtrak Board serv10 ing on the date of enactment of this Act may continue to 

11 serve for the remainder of the term to which they were ap12 pointed. 

13 SEC. 203. ESTABLISHMENT OF IMPROVED FINANCIAL AC14 COUNTING SYSTEM. 

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

16 (1) may employ an independent financial con17 sultant with experience in railroad accounting to as18 sist Amtrak in improving Amtrak’s financial ac19 counting and reporting system and practices; and 

20 (2) shall implement a modern financial account21 ing and reporting system that will produce accurate 

22 and timely financial information in sufficient de23 tail— 

24 (A) to enable Amtrak to assign revenues 

25 and expenses appropriately to each of its lines of 
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1 business and to each major activity within each 

2 line of business activity, including train oper3 ations, equipment maintenance, ticketing, and 

4 reservations; 

5 (B) to aggregate expenses and revenues re6 lated to infrastructure and distinguish them 

7 from expenses and revenues related to rail oper8 ations; 

9 (C) to allow the analysis of ticketing and 

10 reservation information on a real-time basis; 

11 and 

12 (D) to provide Amtrak cost accounting 

13 data. 

14 (b) VERIFICATION OF SYSTEM; REPORT.—The Inspec15 tor General of the Department of Transportation shall re16 view the accounting system designed and implemented 

17 under subsection (a) to ensure that it accomplishes the pur18 poses for which it is intended. The Inspector General shall 

19 report his findings and conclusions, together with any rec20 ommendations, to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

21 Science, and Transportation and the House of Representa22 tives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. 

23 SEC. 204. DEVELOPMENT OF 5-YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN. 

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

25 Amtrak Board of Directors shall submit an annual budget 
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1 for Amtrak, and a 5-year financial plan for the fiscal year 

2 to which that budget relates and the subsequent 4 years, 

3 prepared in accordance with this section, to the Secretary 

4 of Transportation and the Inspector General of the Depart5 ment of Transportation no later than— 

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

7 after the date of enactment of this Act; or 

8 (2) the date that is 60 days after the date of en9 actment of an appropriation Act for the fiscal year, 

10 if later. 

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

12 year financial plan for Amtrak shall include, at a min13 imum— 

14 (1) all projected revenues and expenditures for 

15 Amtrak, including governmental funding sources; 

16 (2) projected ridership levels for all Amtrak pas17 senger operations; 

18 (3) revenue and expenditure forecasts for non19 passenger operations; 

20 (4) capital funding requirements and expendi21 tures necessary to maintain passenger service which 

22 will accommodate predicted ridership levels and pre23 dicted sources of capital funding; 

24 (5) operational funding needs, if any, to main25 tain current and projected levels of passenger service, 
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1 including state-supported routes and predicted fund2 ing sources; 

3 (6) projected capital and operating requirements, 

4 ridership, and revenue for any new passenger service 

5 operations or service expansions; 

6 (7) an assessment of the continuing financial 

7 stability of Amtrak, as indicated by factors such as 

8 the ability of the Federal government to fund capital 

9 and operating requirements adequately, Amtrak’s 

10 ability to efficiently manage its workforce, and Am11 trak’s ability to effectively provide passenger train 

12 service; 

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

14 and associated principle and interest payments (both 

15 current and anticipated); 

16 (9) annual cash flow forecasts; and 

17 (10) a statement describing methods of esti18 mation and significant assumptions. 

19 (c) STANDARDS TO PROMOTE FINANCIAL STA20 BILITY.—In meeting the requirements of subsection (b), Am21 trak shall— 

22 (1) apply sound budgetary practices, including 

23 reducing costs and other expenditures, improving pro24 ductivity, increasing revenues, or combinations of 

25 such practices; 
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1 (2) use the categories specified in the financial 

2 accounting and reporting system developed under sec3 tion 203 when preparing its 5-year financial plan; 

4 and 

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

6 authorizations of appropriations under title I of this 

7 Act. 

8 (d) ASSESSMENT BY DOT INSPECTOR GENERAL.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of the 

10 Department of Transportation shall assess the 5-year 

11 financial plans prepared by Amtrak under this sec12 tion to determine whether they meet the requirements 

13 of subsection (b), and may suggest revisions to any 

14 components thereof that do not meet those require15 ments. 

16 (2) ASSESSMENT TO BE FURNISHED TO THE

17 CONGRESS.—The Inspector General shall furnish to 

18 the House of Representatives Committee on Appro19 priations, the Senate Committee on Appropriations, 

20 the House of Representatives Committee on Transpor21 tation and Infrastructure, and the Senate Committee 

22 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation— 

23 (A) an assessment of the annual budget 

24 within 90 days after receiving it from Amtrak; 

25 and 
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1 (B) an assessment of the remaining 4 years 

2 of the 5-year financial plan within 180 days 

3 after receiving it from Amtrak. 

4 SEC. 205. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROCESS. 

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

6 requests (including a schedule for the disbursement of 

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

8 Secretary of Transportation for funds authorized to be ap9 propriated to the Secretary for the use of Amtrak under 

10 sections 101(a) and (b), 103, and 105. 

11 (b) PROCEDURES FOR GRANT REQUESTS.—The Sec12 retary shall establish substantive and procedural require13 ments, including schedules, for grant requests under this 

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

15 of this Act and shall transmit copies to the Senate Com16 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

17 House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and 

18 Infrastructure. 

19 (c) REVIEW AND APPROVAL.— 

20 (1) 30-DAY APPROVAL PROCESS.—The Secretary 

21 shall complete the review of a complete grant request 

22 (including the disbursement schedule) and approve or 

23 disapprove the request within 30 days after the date 

24 on which Amtrak submits the grant request. If the 

25 Secretary disapproves the request or determines that 
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1 the request is incomplete or deficient, the Secretary 

2 shall include the reason for disapproval or the incom3 plete items or deficiencies in the notice to Amtrak. 

4 (2) 15-DAY MODIFICATION PERIOD.—Within 15 

5 days after receiving notification from the Secretary 

6 under the preceding sentence, Amtrak shall submit a 

7 modified request for the Secretary’s review. 

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

9 receiving a modified request from Amtrak, the Sec10 retary shall either approve the modified request, or, if 

11 the Secretary finds that the request is still incomplete 

12 or deficient, the Secretary shall identify in writing to 

13 the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

14 Transportation and the House of Representatives 

15 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure the 

16 remaining deficiencies and recommend a process for 

17 resolving the outstanding portions of the request. 

18 SEC. 206. STATE-SUPPORTED ROUTES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 2 years after the date of en20 actment of this Act, the Board of Directors of Amtrak, in 

21 consultation with the Secretary of Transportation and the 

22 chief executive officer of each State and the District of Co23 lumbia, shall develop and implement a standardized meth24 odology for establishing and allocating the operating and 

25 capital costs among the States and Amtrak associated with 
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1 trains operated on routes described in section 24102(5)(B) 

2 or (D) or section 24702 that— 

3 (1) ensures, within 5 years after the date of en4 actment of this Act, equal treatment in the provision 

5 of like services of all States and groups of States (in6 cluding the District of Columbia); and 

7 (2) allocates to each route the costs incurred only 

8 for the benefit of that route and a proportionate 

9 share, based upon factors that reasonably reflect rel10 ative use, of cost incurred for the common benefit of 

11 more than 1 route. 

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

13 District of Columbia) in which Amtrak operates such routes 

14 do not voluntarily adopt and implement the methodology 

15 developed under subsection (a) in allocating costs and deter16 mining compensation for the provision of service in accord17 ance with the date established therein, the Surface Trans18 portation Board shall determine the appropriate method19 ology required under subsection (a) for such services in ac20 cordance with the procedures and procedural schedule ap21 plicable to a proceeding under section 24904(c) of title 49, 

22 United States Code, and require the full implementation 

23 of this methodology with regards to the provision of such 

24 service within 1 year after the Board’s determination of the 

25 appropriate methodology. 
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1 (c) USE OF CHAPTER 244 FUNDS.—Funds provided 

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

3 may be used, as provided in that chapter, to pay capital 

4 costs determined in accordance with this section. 

5 SEC. 207. INDEPENDENT AUDITOR TO ESTABLISH METH6 ODOLOGIES FOR AMTRAK ROUTE AND SERV7 ICE PLANNING DECISIONS. 

8 (a) METHODOLOGY DEVELOPMENT.—The Federal 

9 Railroad Administration shall obtain the services of an 

10 independent auditor or consultant to develop and rec11 ommend objective methodologies for determining intercity 

12 passenger routes and services, including the establishment 

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

14 contraction or expansion of services or frequencies over such 

15 routes. In developing such methodologies, the auditor or con16 sultant shall consider— 

17 (1) the current or expected performance and 

18 service quality of intercity train operations, including 

19 cost recovery, on-time performance and minutes of 

20 delay, ridership, on-board services, stations, facilities, 

21 equipment, and other services; 

22 (2) connectivity of a route with other routes; 

23 (3) the transportation needs of communities and 

24 populations that are not well served by other forms of 

25 public transportation; and 
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1 (4) Amtrak’s and other major intercity passenger 

2 rail service providers in other countries’ methodologies 

3 for determining intercity passenger rail routes and 

4 services. 

5 (b) SUBMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The auditor or con6 sultant shall submit recommendations developed under sub7 section (a) to Amtrak, the House of Representatives Com8 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the Sen9 ate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. 

10 (c) CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—Within 

11 90 days after receiving the recommendations developed 

12 under subsection (a) by the independent auditor or consult13 ant, the Amtrak Board shall consider the adoption of those 

14 recommendations. The Board shall transmit a report to the 

15 Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor16 tation and the House of Representatives Committee on 

17 Transportation and Infrastructure explaining its action in 

18 adopting or failing to adopt any of the recommendations. 

19 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

20 authorized to be made available to the Secretary of Trans21 portation, out of any amounts authorized by this Act to 

22 be appropriated for the benefit of Amtrak and not otherwise 

23 obligated or expended, such sums as may be necessary to 

24 carry out this section. 
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1 (e) PIONEER ROUTE.—Within 2 years after the date 

2 of enactment of this Act, Amtrak shall conduct a 1-time 

3 evaluation of the Pioneer Route formerly operated by Am4 trak to determine, using methodologies adopted under sub5 section (c), whether a level of passenger demand exists that 

6 would warrant consideration of reinstating the entire Pio7 neer Route service or segments of that service. 

8 SEC. 208. METRICS AND STANDARDS. 

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

10 enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal 

11 Railroad Administration and Amtrak shall jointly, in con12 sultation with the Surface Transportation Board, and rail 

13 carriers over whose rail lines Amtrak trains operate, as ap14 propriate, develop new or improve existing metrics and 

15 minimum standards for measuring the performance and 

16 service quality of intercity train operations, including cost 

17 recovery, on-time performance and minutes of delay, rider18 ship, on-board services, stations, facilities, equipment, and 

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

20 the percentage of avoidable and fully allocated operating 

21 costs covered by passenger revenues on each route, ridership 

22 per train mile operated, measures of on-time performance 

23 and delays incurred by intercity trains on the rail lines 

24 of each rail carrier and, for long distance routes, measures 

25 of connectivity with other routes in all regions currently 
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1 receiving Amtrak service and the transportation needs of 

2 communities and populations that are not well-served by 

3 other forms of public transportation.. Amtrak shall provide 

4 reasonable access to the Federal Railroad Administration 

5 in order to enable the Administration to carry out its duty 

6 under this section. 

7 (b) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—The Administrator of the 

8 Federal Railroad Administration shall collect the necessary 

9 data and publish a quarterly report on the performance and 

10 service quality of intercity train operations, including cost 

11 recovery, ridership, on-time performance and minutes of 

12 delay, causes of delay, on-board services, stations, facilities, 

13 equipment, and other services. 

14 SEC. 209. PASSENGER TRAIN PERFORMANCE. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 24308 is amended by add16 ing at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(f) PASSENGER TRAIN PERFORMANCE AND OTHER

18 STANDARDS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) INVESTIGATION OF SUBSTANDARD PER20 FORMANCE.—If the on-time performance of any inter21 city passenger train averages less than 80 percent for 

22 any 2 consecutive calendar quarters, or the service 

23 quality of intercity train operations for which min24 imum standards are established under section 208 of 

25 the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act 
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1 of 2005 fails to meet those standards for 2 consecutive 

2 calendar quarters, the Surface Transportation Board 

3 shall investigate whether, and to what extent, delays 

4 or failure to achieve minimum standards are due to 

5 causes that could reasonably be addressed by a rail 

6 carrier over the tracks of which the intercity pas7 senger train operates or reasonably addressed by the 

8 intercity passenger rail operator. In carrying out 

9 such an investigation, the Board shall obtain infor10 mation from all parties involved and make rec11 ommendations regarding reasonable measures to im12 prove the service, quality, and on-time performance of 

13 the train. 

14 ‘‘(2) PROBLEMS CAUSED BY HOST RAIL CAR15 RIER.—If the Board determines that delays or fail16 ures to achieve minimum standards investigated 

17 under paragraph (1) are attributable to a rail car18 rier’s failure to provide preference to Amtrak over 

19 freight transportation under subsection (c), then the 

20 Board shall enforce its recommendations for relief 

21 under this section. 

22 ‘‘(3) PENALTIES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall pub24 lish a schedule of penalties which will— 
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1 ‘‘(A) fairly reflect the extent to which Am2 trak suffers financial loss as a result of host rail 

3 carrier delays or failure to achieve minimum 

4 standards; and 

5 ‘‘(B) will adequately deter future actions 

6 which may reasonably be expected to be likely to 

7 result in delays to Amtrak. 

8 ‘‘(B) ASSESSMENT.—The Board may assess 

9 these penalties upon a host rail carrier. 

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

11 amounts received as penalties under this para12 graph available to Amtrak.’’. 

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

14 amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘Interstate Commerce Commis16 sion’’ in subsection (a)(2)(A) and inserting ‘‘Surface 

17 Transportation Board’’; 

18 (2) by striking ‘‘Commission’’ each place it ap19 pears and inserting ‘‘Board’’; 

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

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

22 SEC. 210. LONG DISTANCE ROUTES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 247 is amended by adding 

24 at the end thereof the following: 
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1 ‘‘§ 24710. Long distance routes 

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

3 performance metrics developed under section 208 of the Pas4 senger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2005, Am5 trak shall— 

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

7 long distance passenger rail route operated by Am8 trak; and 

9 ‘‘(2) rank the overall performance of such routes 

10 for 2006 and identify each long distance passenger 

11 rail route operated by Amtrak in 2006 according to 

12 its overall performance as belonging to the best per13 forming third of such routes, the second best per14 forming third of such routes, or the worst performing 

15 third of such routes. 

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

17 shall develop a performance improvement plan for its long 

18 distance passenger rail routes based on the data collected 

19 through the application of the financial and performance 

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

21 shall address— 

22 ‘‘(1) on-time performance; 

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

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

25 connected corridor service; 
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1 ‘‘(4) performance-related equipment changes and 

2 capital improvements; 

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

4 food, first class, and sleeping car service; 

5 ‘‘(6) State or other non-Federal financial con6 tributions; and 

7 ‘‘(7) other aspects of Amtrak’s long distance pas8 senger rail routes that affect the financial, competi9 tive, and functional performance of service on Am10 trak’s long distance passenger rail routes. 

11 ‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION.—Amtrak shall implement the 

12 performance improvement plan developed under subsection 

13 (b)— 

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

15 routes identified as being in the worst performing 

16 third under subsection (a)(3); 

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

18 routes identified as being in the second best per19 forming third under subsection (a)(3); and 

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

21 routes identified as being in the best performing third 

22 under subsection (a)(3). 

23 ‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT.—The Federal Railroad Adminis24 tration shall monitor the development, implementation, and 

25 outcome of improvement plans under this section. If, for 
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1 any year, it determines that Amtrak is not making reason2 able progress in implementing its performance improve3 ment plan or in achieving the expected outcome of the plan 

4 for any calendar year, the Federal Railroad Administra5 tion— 

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

7 under this subsection; 

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

9 with respect to that determination; and 

10 ‘‘(3) may withhold any appropriated funds oth11 erwise available to Amtrak for the operation of a 

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

13 other than funds made available for passenger safety 

14 or security measures.’’. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis 

16 for chapter 247 is amended by inserting after the item relat17 ing to section 24709 the following: 

‘‘24710. Long distance routes.’’. 

18 SEC. 211. ALTERNATE PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE PROGRAM. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 247, as amended by sec20 tion 209, is amended by adding at the end thereof the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘§ 24711. Alternate passenger rail service program 

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

24 enactment of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improve25 ment Act of 2005, the Federal Railroad Administration 
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1 shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding to develop a program 

2 under which— 

3 ‘‘(1) a rail carrier or rail carriers that own in4 frastructure over which Amtrak operates a passenger 

5 rail service route described in subparagraph (B), (C), 

6 or (D) of section 24102(5) or in section 24702 of title 

7 49, United States Code may petition the Federal 

8 Railroad Administration to be considered as a pas9 senger rail service provider over that route in lieu of 

10 Amtrak; 

11 ‘‘(2) the Administration would notify Amtrak 

12 within 30 days after receiving a petition under para13 graph (1) and establish a deadline by which both the 

14 petitioner and Amtrak would be required to submit a 

15 bid to provide passenger rail service over the route to 

16 which the petition relates; 

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

18 within a specified, limited time after that deadline 

19 awarding to the winning bidder— 

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

21 passenger rail service over that route subject to 

22 such performance standards as the Administra23 tion may require; and 

24 ‘‘(B) an operating subsidy will be pro25 vided— 
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1 ‘‘(i) for the first year at a level not in 

2 excess of the level in effect during the fiscal 

3 year preceding the fiscal year in which the 

4 petition was received, adjusted for inflation; 

5 and 

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

7 level, adjusted for inflation. 

8 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) INITIAL PETITIONS.—Pursuant to any rules 

10 or regulations promulgated under subsection (A), the 

11 Administration shall establish a deadline for the sub12 mission of a petition under subsection (a)— 

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

14 commencing in fiscal year 2008; and 

15 ‘‘(B) during the immediately preceding fis16 cal year for operations commencing in subse17 quent fiscal years. 

18 ‘‘(2) ROUTE LIMITATIONS.—The Administration 

19 may not make the program available with respect to 

20 more than 1 Amtrak passenger rail routes for oper21 ations beginning in fiscal year 2008 nor to more than 

22 2 such routes for operations beginning in fiscal year 

23 2010 and subsequent fiscal years. 

24 ‘‘(c) PERFORMANCE STANDARDS; ACCESS TO FACILI25 TIES; EMPLOYEES.—If the Administration awards the right 
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1 and obligation to provide passenger rail service over a route 

2 under the program to a rail carrier or rail carriers— 

3 ‘‘(1) it shall execute a contract with the rail car4 rier or rail carriers for rail passenger operations on 

5 that route that conditions the operating and subsidy 

6 rights upon— 

7 ‘‘(A) the service provider continuing to pro8 vide passenger rail service on the route that is no 

9 less frequent, nor over a shorter distance, than 

10 Amtrak provided on that route before the award; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(B) the service provider’s compliance with 

13 the minimum standards established under sec14 tion 208 of the Passenger Rail Investment and 

15 Improvement Act of 2005 and such additional 

16 performance standards as the Administration 

17 may establish; 

18 ‘‘(2) it shall, if the award is made to a rail car19 rier other than Amtrak, require Amtrak to provide 

20 access to its reservation system, stations, and facili21 ties to any rail carrier or rail carriers awarded a 

22 contract under this section, in accordance with sec23 tion 218 of that Act, necessary to carry our the pur24 poses of this section; and 
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1 ‘‘(3) any person used by a rail carrier or rail 

2 carriers (as defined in section 10102(5) of this title) 

3 to operate a route under this section shall be consid4 ered an employee of that carrier or carriers and sub5 ject to the applicable Federal laws and regulations 

6 governing similar crafts or classes of employees of 

7 Amtrak, including provisions under section 121 of the 

8 Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997 relat9 ing to employees that provide food and beverage serv10 ice. 

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

12 carriers awarded a route under this section cease to operate 

13 the service or fail to fulfill their obligations under the con14 tract required under subsection (c), the Administrator, in 

15 collaboration with the Surface Transportation Board when 

16 applicable, shall take any necessary action consistent with 

17 this title to enforce the contract and ensure the continued 

18 provision of service, including the installment of an interim 

19 service provider and re-bidding the contract to operate the 

20 service. 

21 ‘‘(e) ADEQUATE RESOURCES.—Before taking any ac22 tion allowed under this section, the Secretary shall certify 

23 that the Administrator has sufficient resources that are ade24 quate to undertake the program established under this sec25 tion.’’. 
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis 

2 for chapter 247, as amended by section 209, is amended 

3 by inserting after the item relating to section 24710 the fol4 lowing: 

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

5 SEC. 212. EMPLOYEE TRANSITION ASSISTANCE. 

6 (a) PROVISION OF FINANCIAL INCENTIVES.—For Am7 trak employees who are adversely affected by the cessation 

8 of the operation of a long distance route or any other route 

9 under section 24711 of title 49, United States Code, pre10 viously operated by Amtrak, the Secretary shall develop a 

11 program under which the Secretary may, in the Secretary’s 

12 discretion, provide grants for financial incentives to be pro13 vided to employees of the National Railroad Passenger Cor14 poration who voluntarily terminate their employment with 

15 the Corporation and relinquish any legal rights to receive 

16 termination-related payments under any contractual agree17 ment with the Corporation. 

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

19 condition for receiving financial assistance grants under 

20 this section, the Corporation must certify that— 

21 (1) a reasonable attempt was made to reassign 

22 an employee adversely affected under section 24711 of 

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

24 any route, to other positions within the Corporation 

25 in accordance with any contractual agreements; 
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1 (2) the financial assistance results in a net re2 duction in the total number of employees equal to the 

3 number receiving financial incentives; 

4 (3) the financial assistance results in a net re5 duction in total employment expense equivalent to the 

6 total employment expenses associated with the em7 ployees receiving financial incentives; and 

8 (4) the total number of employees eligible for ter9 mination-related payments will not be increased 

10 without the express written consent of the Secretary. 

11 (c) AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL INCENTIVES.—The finan12 cial incentives authorized under this section may be no 

13 greater than $50,000 per employee. 

14 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

15 hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such 

16 sums as may be necessary to make grants to the National 

17 Railroad Passenger Corporation to provide financial incen18 tives under subsection (a). 

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

20 employees adversely affected by the cessation of Amtrak 

21 service resulting from the awarding of a grant to an oper22 ator other than Amtrak for the operation of a route under 

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

24 route, previously operated by Amtrak do not receive finan25 cial incentives under subsection (a), then the Secretary shall 
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1 make grants to the National Railroad Passenger Corpora2 tion from funds authorized by section 102 of this Act for 

3 termination-related payments to employees under existing 

4 contractual agreements. 

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

6 PLAN. 

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

8 enactment of this Act, the National Railroad Passenger Cor9 poration, in consultation with the Secretary and the States 

10 (including the District of Columbia) that make up the 

11 Northeast Corridor (as defined in section 24102 of title 49, 

12 United States Code), shall prepare a capital spending plan 

13 for capital projects required to return the Northeast Cor14 ridor to a state of good repair by the end of fiscal year 

15 2011, consistent with the funding levels authorized in this 

16 Act and shall submit the plan to the Secretary. 

17 (b) APPROVAL BY THE SECRETARY.— 

18 (1) The Corporation shall submit the capital 

19 spending plan prepared under this section to the Sec20 retary of Transportation for review and approval 

21 pursuant to the procedures developed under section 

22 205 of this Act. 

23 (2) The Secretary of Transportation shall require 

24 that the plan be updated at least annually and shall 

25 review and approve such updates. During review, the 
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1 Secretary shall seek comments and review from the 

2 commission established under section 24905 of title 

3 49, United States Code, and other Northeast Corridor 

4 users regarding the plan. 

5 (3) The Secretary shall make grants to the Cor6 poration with funds authorized by section 101(b) for 

7 Northeast Corridor capital investments contained 

8 within the capital spending plan prepared by the 

9 Corporation and approved by the Secretary. 

10 (c) ELIGIBILITY OF EXPENDITURES.—The Federal 

11 share of expenditures for capital improvements under this 

12 section may not exceed 100 percent. 

13 SEC. 214. NORTHEAST CORRIDOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND 

14 OPERATIONS IMPROVEMENTS. 

15 Section 24905 is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘§ 24905. Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Op17 erations Advisory Commission; Safety and 

18 Security Committee. 

19 ‘‘(a) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND

20 OPERATIONS ADVISORY COMMISSION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) Within 180 days after the date of enactment 

22 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement 

23 Act of 2005, the Secretary of Transportation shall es24 tablish a Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Oper25 ations Advisory Commission (hereinafter referred to 
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1 in this section as the ‘Commission’) to promote mu2 tual cooperation and planning pertaining to the rail 

3 operations and related activities of the Northeast Cor4 ridor. The Commission shall be made up of— 

5 ‘‘(A) members representing the National 

6 Railroad Passenger Corporation; 

7 ‘‘(B) members representing the Federal 

8 Railroad Administration; and 

9 ‘‘(C) 1 member from each of the States (in10 cluding the District of Columbia) that constitute 

11 the Northeast Corridor as defined in section 

12 24102, designated by the chief executive officer 

13 thereof. 

14 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall ensure that the member15 ship belonging to any of the groups enumerated under 

16 subparagraph (1) shall not constitute a majority of 

17 the commission’s memberships. 

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

19 and location for convening meetings, but shall meet 

20 no less than four times per fiscal year, and the com21 mission shall develop rules and procedures to govern 

22 the commission’s proceedings. 

23 ‘‘(4) A vacancy in the Commission shall be filled 

24 in the manner in which the original appointment was 

25 made. 
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1 ‘‘(5) Members shall serve without pay but shall 

2 receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 

3 subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702 and 

4 5703 of title 5, United States Code. 

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

6 elected by the members. 

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

8 pay of such personnel as it considers appropriate. 

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

10 of any department or agency of the United States 

11 may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the per12 sonnel of that department or agency to the Commis13 sion to assist it in carrying out its duties under this 

14 section. 

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

16 Administrator of General Services shall provide to the 

17 Commission, on a reimbursable basis, the administra18 tive support services necessary for the Commission to 

19 carry out its responsibilities under this section. 

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

21 railroads users of the Northeast Corridor and other 

22 entities as appropriate. 

23 ‘‘(b) GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission 

24 shall develop recommendations concerning northeast cor-
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1 ridor rail infrastructure and operations including pro2 posals addressing, as appropriate— 

3 ‘‘(1) short-term and long term capital investment 

4 needs beyond the state-of-good-repair under section 

5 213; 

6 ‘‘(2) future funding requirements for capital im7 provements and maintenance; 

8 ‘‘(3) operational improvements of intercity pas9 senger rail, commuter rail, and freight rail services; 

10 ‘‘(4) opportunities for additional non-rail uses of 

11 the Northeast Corridor; 

12 ‘‘(5) scheduling and dispatching; 

13 ‘‘(6) safety and security enhancements; 

14 ‘‘(7) equipment design; 

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

16 ‘‘(9) future capacity requirements. 

17 ‘‘(c) ACCESS COSTS.— 

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

19 year after verification of Amtrak’s new financial ac20 counting system pursuant to section 203(b) of the 

21 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 

22 2005, the Commission shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) develop a standardized formula for de24 termining and allocating costs, revenues, and 

25 compensation for northeast corridor commuter 
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1 rail passenger transportation, as defined in sec2 tion 24102 of this title, that use National Rail3 road Passenger Corporation facilities or services 

4 or that provide such facilities or services to the 

5 National Railroad Passenger Corporation that 

6 ensure that— 

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

8 commuter rail passenger, intercity rail pas9 senger, or freight rail transportation; and 

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

11 incurred only for the benefit of that service, 

12 and a proportionate share, based upon fac13 tors that reasonably reflect relative use, of 

14 costs incurred for the common benefit of 

15 more than 1 service; 

16 ‘‘(B) develop a proposed timetable for im17 plementing the formula before the end of the 6th 

18 year following the date of enactment of that Act; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(C) transmit the proposed timetable to the 

21 Surface Transportation Board. 

22 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION.—The National Railroad 

23 Passenger Corporation and the commuter authorities 

24 providing commuter rail passenger transportation on 

25 the northeast corridor shall implement new agree-
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1 ments for usage of facilities or services based on the 

2 formula proposed in paragraph (1) in accordance 

3 with the timetable established therein. If the parties 

4 fail to implement such new agreements in accordance 

5 with the timetable, the parties shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) submit any dispute regarding such im7 plementation to binding arbitration conducted 

8 by a mutually agreed upon arbitrator and com9 ply with the decision of that arbitrator; or 

10 ‘‘(B) petition the Surface Transportation 

11 Board to determine the appropriate compensa12 tion amounts for such services in accordance 

13 with section 24904(c) of this title. 

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

15 commission shall annually transmit the recommendations 

16 developed under subsection (b) and the formula and time17 table developed under subsection (c)(1) to the Senate Com18 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

19 House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and 

20 Infrastructure. 

21 ‘‘(e) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR SAFETY COMMITTEE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

23 a Northeast Corridor Safety and Security Committee 

24 composed of members appointed by the Secretary. The 

25 members shall be representatives of— 
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1 ‘‘(A) the Secretary; 

2 ‘‘(B) Amtrak; 

3 ‘‘(C) freight carriers operating more than 

4 150,000 train miles a year on the main line of 

5 the Northeast Corridor; 

6 ‘‘(D) commuter agencies; 

7 ‘‘(E) rail passengers; 

8 ‘‘(F) rail labor; 

9 ‘‘(G) the Transportation Security Adminis10 tration; and 

11 ‘‘(H) other individuals and organizations 

12 the Secretary decides have a significant interest 

13 in rail safety. 

14 ‘‘(2) FUNCTION; MEETINGS.—The Secretary shall 

15 consult with the Committee about safety and security 

16 improvements on the Northeast Corridor main line. 

17 The Committee shall meet at least once every 2 years 

18 to consider safety matters on the main line. 

19 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—At the beginning of the first ses20 sion of each Congress, the Secretary shall submit a re21 port to the Commission and to Congress on the status 

22 of efforts to improve safety and security on the North23 east Corridor main line. The report shall include the 

24 safety recommendations of the Committee and the 

25 comments of the Secretary on those recommendations. 
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1 ‘‘(4) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall cease 

2 to exist on January 1, 2009, or on another date the 

3 Secretary decides is appropriate. The Secretary shall 

4 notify Congress in writing of a decision to terminate 

5 the Committee on another date.’’. 

6 SEC. 215. RESTRUCTURING LONG-TERM DEBT AND CAPITAL 

7 LEASES. 

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

9 consultation with the Secretary of Transportation and Am10 trak, may make agreements to restructure Amtrak’s indebt11 edness as of the date of enactment of this Act. This author12 ization expires on January 1, 2007. 

13 (b) DEBT RESTRUCTURING.—The Secretary of Treas14 ury, in consultation with the Secretary of the Transpor15 tation and Amtrak, shall enter into negotiations with the 

16 holders of Amtrak debt, including leases, outstanding on the 

17 date of enactment of this Act for the purpose of restruc18 turing (including repayment) and repaying that debt. The 

19 Secretary of the Treasury may secure agreements for re20 structuring or repayment on such terms as the Secretary 

21 of the Treasury deems favorable to the interests of the Gov22 ernment. 

23 (c) CRITERIA.—In restructuring Amtrak’s indebted24 ness, the Secretary and Amtrak— 
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1 (1) shall take into consideration repayment costs, 

2 the term of any loan or loans, and market conditions; 

3 and 

4 (2) shall ensure that the restructuring results in 

5 significant savings to Amtrak and the United States 

6 Government. 

7 (d) PAYMENT OF RENEGOTIATED DEBT.—If the cri8 teria under subsection (c) are met, the Secretary of Treas9 ury shall assume or repay the restructured debt, as appro10 priate. 

11 (e) AMTRAK PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAYMENTS.— 

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

13 Secretary of Treasury makes sufficient payments to 

14 creditors under subsection (d) so that Amtrak is re15 quired to make no payments to creditors in a fiscal 

16 year, the Secretary of Transportation shall use funds 

17 authorized by section 103(a)(1) for the use of Amtrak 

18 for retirement of principal on loans for capital equip19 ment, or capital leases. 

20 (2) INTEREST ON DEBT.—Unless the Secretary of 

21 Treasury makes sufficient payments to creditors 

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

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

24 Secretary of Transportation shall use funds author25 ized by section 103(a)(2) for the use of Amtrak for the 
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1 payment of interest on loans for capital equipment, 

2 or capital leases. 

3 (3) REDUCTIONS IN AUTHORIZATION LEVELS.— 

4 Whenever action taken by the Secretary of the Treas5 ury under subsection (a) results in reductions in 

6 amounts of principal or interest that Amtrak must 

7 service on existing debt, the corresponding amounts 

8 authorized by section 103(a)(1) or (2) shall be reduced 

9 accordingly. 

10 (f) LEGAL EFFECT OF PAYMENTS UNDER THIS SEC11 TION.—The payment of principal and interest on secured 

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

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

14 (1) modify the extent or nature of any indebted15 ness of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation 

16 to the United States in existence of the date of enact17 ment of this Act; 

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

19 successors’ liabilities; or 

20 (3) imply any Federal guarantee or commitment 

21 to amortize Amtrak’s outstanding indebtedness. 

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

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

24 the express advance approval of the Secretary of Transpor25 tation. 
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1 (h) REPORT.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall 

2 transmit a report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

3 Science, and Transportation, the Senate Committee on Ap4 propriations, the House of Representatives Committee on 

5 Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House of Rep6 resentatives Committee on Appropriations by June 1, 

7 2007— 

8 (1) describing in detail any agreements to re9 structure the Amtrak debt; and 

10 (2) providing an estimate of the savings to Am11 trak and the United States Government. 

12 SEC. 216. STUDY OF COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS AT EX13 ISTING INTERCITY RAIL STATIONS. 

14 Amtrak shall evaluate the improvements necessary to 

15 make all existing stations it serves readily accessible to and 

16 usable by individuals with disabilities, as required by sec17 tion 242(e)(2) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 

18 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12162(e)(2)). The evaluation shall include 

19 the estimated cost of the improvements necessary, the identi20 fication of the responsible person (as defined in section 

21 241(5) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 12161(5))), and the earliest 

22 practicable date when such improvements can be made. Am23 trak shall submit the survey to the Senate Committee on 

24 Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the House of Rep25 resentatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc-
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1 ture, and the National Council on Disability by September 

2 30, 2006, along with recommendations for funding the nec3 essary improvements. 

4 SEC. 217. INCENTIVE PAY. 

5 The Amtrak Board of Directors is encouraged to de6 velop an incentive pay program for Amtrak employees. 

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

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

9 than Amtrak to provide services required for the operation 

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

11 49, United States Code, the State may make an agreement 

12 with Amtrak to use facilities and equipment of, or have 

13 services provided by, Amtrak under terms agreed to by the 

14 State and Amtrak to enable the State to utilize an entity 

15 other than Amtrak to provide services required for operation 

16 of the route. If the parties cannot agree upon terms, and 

17 the Surface Transportation Board finds that access to Am18 trak’s facilities or equipment, or the provision of services 

19 by Amtrak, is necessary to carry out this provision and 

20 that the operation of Amtrak’s other services will not be im21 paired thereby, the Surface Transportation Board shall, 

22 within 120 days after submission of the dispute, issue an 

23 order that the facilities and equipment be made available, 

24 and that services be provided, by Amtrak, and shall deter25 mine reasonable compensation, liability and other terms for 
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1 use of the facilities and equipment and provision of the 

2 services. Compensation shall be determined in accord with 

3 the methodology established pursuant to section 206 of this 

4 Act. 

5 SEC. 219. GENERAL AMTRAK PROVISIONS. 

6 (a) REPEAL OF SELF-SUFFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS. 

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

8 amended— 

9 (A) by striking the last sentence of section 

10 24101(d); and 

11 (B) by striking the last sentence of section 

12 24104(a). 

13 (2) AMTRAK REFORM AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

14 AMENDMENTS.—Title II of the Amtrak Reform and 

15 Accountability Act of 1997 (49 U.S.C. 24101 nt) is 

16 amended by striking sections 204 and 205. 

17 (3) COMMON STOCK REDEMPTION DATE.—Sec18 tion 415 of the Amtrak Reform and Accountability 

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

20 striking subsection (b). 

21 (b) LEASE ARRANGEMENTS.—Amtrak may obtain 

22 services from the Administrator of General Services, and 

23 the Administrator may provide services to Amtrak, under 

24 section 201(b) and 211(b) of the Federal Property and Ad-
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1 ministrative Service Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 481(b) and 

2 491(b)) for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2011. 

3 SEC. 220. PRIVATE SECTOR FUNDING OF PASSENGER 

4 TRAINS. 

5 Amtrak is encouraged to increase its operation of 

6 trains funded by the private sector in order to minimize 

7 its need for Federal subsidies. Amtrak shall utilize the pro8 visions of section 24308 of title 49, United States Code, 

9 when necessary to obtain access to facilities, train and en10 gine crews, or services of a rail carrier or regional transpor11 tation authority that are required to operate such trains. 

12 SEC. 221. ON-BOARD SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS. 

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

14 standards are established under section 208 of this Act, Am15 trak shall develop and implement a plan to improve on16 board service pursuant to the metrics and standards for 

17 such service developed under that section. 

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

19 Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor20 tation and the House of Representatives Committee on 

21 Transportation and Infrastructure on the on-board service 

22 improvements proscribed in the plan and the timeline for 

23 implementing such improvements. 
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1 TITLE III—INTERCITY 

2 PASSENGER RAIL POLICY 

3 SEC. 301. CAPITAL ASSISTANCE FOR INTERCITY PAS4 SENGER RAIL SERVICE; STATE RAIL PLANS. 

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

6 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. 

7 ‘‘§ 24401. Definitions 

8 ‘‘In this subchapter: 

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

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

11 States, an Interstate Compact, or a public agency es12 tablished by one or more States and having responsi13 bility for providing intercity passenger rail service. 

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

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

16 plan developed under chapter 225 of this title for— 

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

18 inspecting equipment or a facility for use in or 

19 for the primary benefit of intercity passenger 

20 rail service, expenses incidental to the acquisi21 tion or construction (including designing, engi-
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1 neering, location surveying, mapping, environ2 mental studies, and acquiring rights-of-way), 

3 payments for the capital portions of rail track4 age rights agreements, highway-rail grade cross5 ing improvements related to intercity passenger 

6 rail service, security, mitigating environmental 

7 impacts, communication and signalization im8 provements, relocation assistance, acquiring re9 placement housing sites, and acquiring, con10 structing, relocating, and rehabilitating replace11 ment housing; 

12 ‘‘(B) rehabilitating, remanufacturing or 

13 overhauling rail rolling stock and facilities used 

14 primarily in intercity passenger rail service; 

15 ‘‘(C) costs associated with developing State 

16 rail plans; and 

17 ‘‘(D) the first-dollar liability costs for insur18 ance related to the provision of intercity pas19 senger rail service under section 24404. 

20 ‘‘(3) INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE.—The 

21 term ‘intercity passenger rail service’ means trans22 portation services with the primary purpose of pas23 senger transportation between towns, cities and met24 ropolitan areas by rail, including high-speed rail, as 
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1 defined in section 24102 of title 49, United States 

2 Code. 

3 ‘‘§ 24402. Capital investment grants to support inter4 city passenger rail service. 

5 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.— 

6 ‘‘(1) The Secretary of Transportation may make 

7 grants under this section to an applicant to assist in 

8 financing the capital costs of facilities and equipment 

9 necessary to provide or improve intercity passenger 

10 rail transportation. 

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

12 under this section be subject to the terms, conditions, 

13 requirements, and provisions the Secretary decides 

14 are necessary or appropriate for the purposes of this 

15 section, including requirements for the disposition of 

16 net increases in value of real property resulting from 

17 the project assisted under this section and shall pre18 scribe procedures and schedules for the awarding of 

19 grants under this title, including application and 

20 qualification procedures and a record of decision on 

21 applicant eligibility. The Secretary shall issue a final 

22 rule establishing such procedures not later than 90 

23 days after the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail 

24 Investment and Improvement Act of 2005. 

25 ‘‘(b) PROJECT AS PART OF STATE RAIL PLAN.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may not approve a grant for 

2 a project under this section unless the Secretary finds 

3 that the project is part of a State rail plan developed 

4 under chapter 225 of this title and that the applicant 

5 or recipient has or will have the legal, financial, and 

6 technical capacity to carry out the project, satisfac7 tory continuing control over the use of the equipment 

8 or facilities, and the capability and willingness to 

9 maintain the equipment or facilities. 

10 ‘‘(2) An applicant shall provide sufficient infor11 mation upon which the Secretary can make the find12 ings required by this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(3) If an applicant has not selected the pro14 posed operator of its service competitively, the appli15 cant shall provide written justification to the Sec16 retary showing why the proposed operator is the best, 

17 taking into account price and other factors, and that 

18 use of the proposed operator will not unnecessarily in19 crease the cost of the project. 

20 ‘‘(c) PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary, 

21 in selecting the recipients of financial assistance to be pro22 vided under subsection (a), shall— 

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

24 safety and security requirements that are applicable 

25 to the project under law; 
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1 ‘‘(2) give preference to projects with high levels 

2 of estimated ridership, increased on-time perform3 ance, reduced trip time, additional service frequency, 

4 or other significant service enhancements as measured 

5 against minimum standards developed under section 

6 208 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improve7 ment Act of 2005; 

8 ‘‘(3) encourage intermodal connectivity through 

9 projects that provide direct connections between train 

10 stations, airports, bus terminals, subway stations, 

11 ferry ports, and other modes of transportation; 

12 ‘‘(4) ensure that each project is compatible with, 

13 and is operated in conformance with— 

14 ‘‘(A) plans developed pursuant to the re15 quirements of section 135 of title 23, United 

16 States Code; and 

17 ‘‘(B) the national rail plan (if it is avail18 able); and 

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

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

21 significant favorable impact on air or highway 

22 traffic congestion, capacity, or safety. 

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

24 commuter rail operations. 
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1 ‘‘(C) Projects that have significant environ2 mental benefits. 

3 ‘‘(D) Projects that are— 

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

5 pre-commencement compliance with envi6 ronmental protection requirements has al7 ready been completed; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) ready to be commenced. 

9 ‘‘(E) Projects with positive economic and 

10 employment impacts. 

11 ‘‘(F) Projects that encourage the use of posi12 tive train control technologies. 

13 ‘‘(G) Projects that have commitments of 

14 funding from non-Federal Government sources in 

15 a total amount that exceeds the minimum 

16 amount of the non-Federal contribution required 

17 for the project. 

18 ‘‘(H) Projects that involve donated property 

19 interests or services. 

20 ‘‘(I) Projects that are identified by the Sur21 face Transportation Board as necessary to im22 prove the on time performance and reliability of 

23 intercity passenger rail under section 24308(f). 

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

25 this section, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation 
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1 may enter into a cooperative agreement with 1 or more 

2 States to carry out 1 or more projects on a State rail plan’s 

3 ranked list of rail capital projects developed under section 

4 22504(a)(5) of this title. 

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

6 AGREEMENTS, AND EARLY SYSTEMS WORK AGREE7 MENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1)(A) The Secretary may issue a letter of in9 tent to an applicant announcing an intention to obli10 gate, for a major capital project under this section, 

11 an amount from future available budget authority 

12 specified in law that is not more than the amount 

13 stipulated as the financial participation of the Sec14 retary in the project. 

15 ‘‘(B) At least 30 days before issuing a letter 

16 under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph or en17 tering into a full funding grant agreement, the 

18 Secretary shall notify in writing the Committee 

19 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

20 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

21 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

22 Senate and the House and Senate Committees on 

23 Appropriations of the proposed letter or agree24 ment. The Secretary shall include with the noti25 fication a copy of the proposed letter or agree-
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1 ment as well as the evaluations and ratings for 

2 the project. 

3 ‘‘(C) An obligation or administrative com4 mitment may be made only when amounts are 

5 appropriated. 

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

7 grant agreement with an applicant. The agreement 

8 shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) establish the terms of participa10 tion by the United States Government in a 

11 project under this section; 

12 ‘‘(ii) establish the maximum amount of 

13 Government financial assistance for the 

14 project; 

15 ‘‘(iii) cover the period of time for com16 pleting the project, including a period ex17 tending beyond the period of an authoriza18 tion; and 

19 ‘‘(iv) make timely and efficient man20 agement of the project easier according to 

21 the law of the United States. 

22 ‘‘(B) An agreement under this paragraph 

23 obligates an amount of available budget author24 ity specified in law and may include a commit25 ment, contingent on amounts to be specified in 
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1 law in advance for commitments under this 

2 paragraph, to obligate an additional amount 

3 from future available budget authority specified 

4 in law. The agreement shall state that the con5 tingent commitment is not an obligation of the 

6 Government and is subject to the availability of 

7 appropriations made by Federal law and to Fed8 eral laws in force on or enacted after the date of 

9 the contingent commitment. Interest and other 

10 financing costs of efficiently carrying out a part 

11 of the project within a reasonable time are a cost 

12 of carrying out the project under a full funding 

13 grant agreement, except that eligible costs may 

14 not be more than the cost of the most favorable 

15 financing terms reasonably available for the 

16 project at the time of borrowing. The applicant 

17 shall certify, in a way satisfactory to the Sec18 retary, that the applicant has shown reasonable 

19 diligence in seeking the most favorable financing 

20 terms. 

21 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary may make an early sys22 tems work agreement with an applicant if a record 

23 of decision under the National Environmental Policy 

24 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) has been issued 
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1 on the project and the Secretary finds there is reason 

2 to believe— 

3 ‘‘(i) a full funding grant agreement for 

4 the project will be made; and 

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

6 will promote ultimate completion of the 

7 project more rapidly and at less cost. 

8 ‘‘(B) A work agreement under this para9 graph obligates an amount of available budget 

10 authority specified in law and shall provide for 

11 reimbursement of preliminary costs of carrying 

12 out the project, including land acquisition, time13 ly procurement of system elements for which 

14 specifications are decided, and other activities 

15 the Secretary decides are appropriate to make ef16 ficient, long-term project management easier. A 

17 work agreement shall cover the period of time the 

18 Secretary considers appropriate. The period may 

19 extend beyond the period of current authoriza20 tion. Interest and other financing costs of effi21 ciently carrying out the work agreement within 

22 a reasonable time are a cost of carrying out the 

23 agreement, except that eligible costs may not be 

24 more than the cost of the most favorable financ25 ing terms reasonably available for the project at 
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1 the time of borrowing. The applicant shall cer2 tify, in a way satisfactory to the Secretary, that 

3 the applicant has shown reasonable diligence in 

4 seeking the most favorable financing terms. If an 

5 applicant does not carry out the project for rea6 sons within the control of the applicant, the ap7 plicant shall repay all Government payments 

8 made under the work agreement plus reasonable 

9 interest and penalty charges the Secretary estab10 lishes in the agreement. 

11 ‘‘(4) The total estimated amount of future obliga12 tions of the Government and contingent commitments 

13 to incur obligations covered by all outstanding letters 

14 of intent, full funding grant agreements, and early 

15 systems work agreements may be not more than the 

16 amount authorized under section 101(c) of Passenger 

17 Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2005, less 

18 an amount the Secretary reasonably estimates is nec19 essary for grants under this section not covered by a 

20 letter. The total amount covered by new letters and 

21 contingent commitments included in full funding 

22 grant agreements and early systems work agreements 

23 may be not more than a limitation specified in law. 

24 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL SHARE OF NET PROJECT COST.— 
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1 ‘‘(1)(A) Based on engineering studies, studies of 

2 economic feasibility, and information on the expected 

3 use of equipment or facilities, the Secretary shall esti4 mate the net project cost. 

5 ‘‘(B) A grant for the project shall not exceed 

6 80 percent of the project net capital cost. 

7 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall give priority in al8 locating future obligations and contingent com9 mitments to incur obligations to grant requests 

10 seeking a lower Federal share of the project net 

11 capital cost. 

12 ‘‘(2) Up to an additional 20 percent of the re13 quired non-Federal funds may be funded from 

14 amounts appropriated to or made available to a de15 partment or agency of the Federal Government that 

16 are eligible to be expended for transportation. 

17 ‘‘(3) 50 percent of the average amounts expended 

18 by a State or group of States (including the District 

19 of Columbia) for capital projects to benefit intercity 

20 passenger rail service in fiscal years 2004 and 2005 

21 shall be credited towards the matching requirements 

22 for grants awarded under this section. The Secretary 

23 may require such information as necessary to verify 

24 such expenditures. 
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1 ‘‘(4) 50 percent of the average amounts expended 

2 by a State or group of States (including the District 

3 of Columbia) in a fiscal year beginning in 2006 for 

4 capital projects to benefit intercity passenger rail 

5 service or for the operating costs of such service above 

6 the average of expenditures made for such service in 

7 fiscal years 2004 and 2005 shall be credited towards 

8 the matching requirements for grants awarded under 

9 this section. The Secretary may require such informa10 tion as necessary to verify such expenditures. 

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

12 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may pay the Federal share of 

13 the net capital project cost to an applicant that car14 ries out any part of a project described in this section 

15 according to all applicable procedures and require16 ments if— 

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

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

19 and 

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

21 project, the Secretary approves the plans and 

22 specifications for the part in the same way as 

23 other projects under this section. 

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

25 includes the amount of interest earned and payable 
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1 on bonds issued by the applicant to the extent pro2 ceeds of the bonds are expended in carrying out the 

3 part. However, the amount of interest under this 

4 paragraph may not be more than the most favorable 

5 interest terms reasonably available for the project at 

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

7 a manner satisfactory to the Secretary, that the ap8 plicant has shown reasonable diligence in seeking the 

9 most favorable financial terms. 

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

11 capital project cost indices when determining the esti12 mated cost under paragraph (2) of this subsection. 

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

14 under this section shall remain available until expended. 

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

16 not obligated or expended for the purposes described in sub17 section (a) within 2 years after the date on which the State 

18 received the grant, such sums shall be returned to the Sec19 retary for other intercity passenger rail development 

20 projects under this section at the discretion of the Secretary. 

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

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A metropolitan planning or23 ganization, State transportation department, or other 

24 project sponsor may enter into an agreement with 

25 any public, private, or nonprofit entity to coopera-
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1 tively 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.—In 

19 carrying out this section, the Secretary shall allocate an 

20 appropriate portion of the amounts available under this 

21 section to provide grants to States— 

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

23 service for the purpose of funding freight rail capital 

24 projects that are on a State rail plan developed under 

25 chapter 225 of this title that provide public benefits 
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1 (as defined in chapter 225) as determined by the Sec2 retary; 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 for 

6 a grant under this section due to the unique charac7 teristics of the geography of that State or other rel8 evant considerations, for the purpose of funding 

9 transportation-related capital projects. 

10 ‘‘§ 24403. Project management oversight 

11 ‘‘(a) PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN REQUIREMENTS.— 

12 To receive Federal financial assistance for a major capital 

13 project under this subchapter, an applicant must prepare 

14 and carry out a project management plan approved by the 

15 Secretary of Transportation. The plan shall provide for— 

16 ‘‘(1) adequate recipient staff organization with 

17 well-defined reporting relationships, statements of 

18 functional responsibilities, job descriptions, and job 

19 qualifications; 

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

21 organization, appropriate consultants, property ac22 quisition, utility relocation, systems demonstration 

23 staff, audits, and miscellaneous payments the recipi24 ent may be prepared to justify; 

25 ‘‘(3) a construction schedule for the project; 
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1 ‘‘(4) a document control procedure and record2 keeping system; 

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

4 documented, systematic approach to handling the con5 struction change orders; 

6 ‘‘(6) organizational structures, management 

7 skills, and staffing levels required throughout the con8 struction phase; 

9 ‘‘(7) quality control and quality assurance func10 tions, procedures, and responsibilities for construc11 tion, system installation, and integration of system 

12 components; 

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

14 ‘‘(9) internal plan implementation and reporting 

15 requirements; 

16 ‘‘(10) criteria and procedures to be used for test17 ing the operational system or its major components; 

18 ‘‘(11) periodic updates of the plan, especially re19 lated to project budget and project schedule, financ20 ing, and ridership estimates; and 

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

22 project budget and project schedule to the Secretary 

23 each month. 

24 ‘‘(b) SECRETARIAL OVERSIGHT.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may use no more than 0.5 

2 percent of amounts made available in a fiscal year 

3 for capital projects under this subchapter to enter into 

4 contracts to oversee the construction of such projects. 

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

6 under paragraph (1) of this subsection to make con7 tracts for safety, procurement, management, and fi8 nancial compliance reviews and audits of a recipient 

9 of amounts under paragraph (1). 

10 ‘‘(3) The Federal Government shall pay the en11 tire cost of carrying out a contract under this sub12 section. 

13 ‘‘(c) ACCESS TO SITES AND RECORDS.—Each recipi14 ent of assistance under this subchapter shall provide the 

15 Secretary and a contractor the Secretary chooses under sub16 section (c) of this section with access to the construction 

17 sites and records of the recipient when reasonably necessary. 

18 ‘‘§ 24404. Use of capital grants to finance first-dollar 

19 liability of grant project 

20 ‘‘Notwithstanding the requirements of section 24402 of 

21 this subchapter, the Secretary of Transportation may ap22 prove the use of capital assistance under this subchapter 

23 to fund self-insured retention of risk for the first tier of li24 ability insurance coverage for rail passenger service associ25 ated with the capital assistance grant, but the coverage may 
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1 not exceed $20,000,000 per occurrence or $20,000,000 in ag2 gregate per year. 

3 ‘‘§ 24405. Grant conditions 

4 ‘‘(a) DOMESTIC BUYING PREFERENCE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.— 

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

7 project funded in whole or in part with a grant 

8 under this title, the grant recipient shall pur9 chase only— 

10 ‘‘(i) unmanufactured articles, material, 

11 and supplies mined or produced in the 

12 United States; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) manufactured articles, material, 

14 and supplies manufactured in the United 

15 States substantially from articles, material, 

16 and supplies mined, produced, or manufac17 tured in the United States. 

18 ‘‘(B) DE MINIMIS AMOUNT.—Subparagraph 

19 (1) applies only to a purchase in an total 

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

21 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTIONS.—On application of a recipi22 ent, the Secretary may exempt a recipient from the 

23 requirements of this subsection if the Secretary de24 cides that, for particular articles, material, or sup25 plies— 
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1 ‘‘(A) such requirements are inconsistent 

2 with the public interest; 

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

4 is unreasonable; or 

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

6 the articles, material, or supplies from which 

7 they are manufactured, are not mined, produced, 

8 or manufactured in the United States in suffi9 cient and reasonably available commercial quan10 tities and are not of a satisfactory quality. 

11 ‘‘(3) UNITED STATES DEFINED.—In this sub12 section, the term ‘the United States’ means the States, 

13 territories, and possessions of the United States and 

14 the District of Columbia. 

15 ‘‘(b) OPERATORS DEEMED RAIL CARRIERS AND EM16 PLOYERS FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.—A person that con17 ducts rail operations over rail infrastructure constructed or 

18 improved with funding provided in whole or in part in a 

19 grant made under this title— 

20 ‘‘(1) shall be considered a rail carrier as defined 

21 in section 10102(5) of this title for purposes of this 

22 title and any other statute that adopts the that defini23 tion or in which that definition applies; 
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1 ‘‘(2) shall be considered an employer for purposes 

2 of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 

3 231 et seq.); and 

4 ‘‘(3) shall be considered a carrier for purposes of 

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

6 ‘‘(c) GRANT CONDITIONS.—The Secretary shall require 

7 as a condition of making any grant under this title that 

8 includes the improvement or use of rights-of-way owned by 

9 a railroad that— 

10 ‘‘(1) a written agreement exist between the appli11 cant and the railroad regarding such use and owner12 ship, including— 

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

14 ‘‘(B) assurances regarding the adequacy of 

15 infrastructure capacity to accommodate both ex16 isting and future freight and passenger oper17 ations; and 

18 ‘‘(C) an assurance by the railroad that col19 lective bargaining agreements with the railroad’s 

20 employees (including terms regulating the con21 tracting of work) will remain in full force and 

22 effect according to their terms for work per23 formed by the railroad on the railroad transpor24 tation corridor; and 

25 ‘‘(2) the applicant agrees to comply with— 
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1 ‘‘(A) the standards of section 24312 of this 

2 title, as such section was in effect on September 

3 1, 2003, with respect to the project in the same 

4 manner that the National Railroad Passenger 

5 Corporation is required to comply with those 

6 standards for construction work financed under 

7 an agreement made under section 24308(a) of 

8 this title; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the protective arrangements established 

10 under section 504 of the Railroad Revitalization 

11 and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 

12 836) with respect to employees affected by ac13 tions taken in connection with the project to be 

14 financed in whole or in part by grants under 

15 this subchapter. 

16 ‘‘(d) REPLACEMENT OF EXISTING INTERCITY PAS17 SENGER RAIL SERVICE.— 

18 ‘‘(1) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT FOR

19 INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL PROJECTS.—Any entity 

20 providing intercity passenger railroad transportation 

21 that begins operations after the date of enactment of 

22 this Act on a project funded in whole or in part by 

23 grants made under this title and replaces intercity 

24 rail passenger service that was provided by Amtrak, 

25 unless such service was provided solely by Amtrak to 
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1 another entity, as of such date shall enter into an 

2 agreement with the authorized bargaining agent or 

3 agents for adversely affected employees of the prede4 cessor provider that— 

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

6 the predecessor provider priority in hiring ac7 cording to the employee’s seniority on the prede8 cessor provider for each position with the replac9 ing entity that is in the employee’s craft or class 

10 and is available within 3 years after the termi11 nation of the service being replaced; 

12 ‘‘(B) establishes a procedure for notifying 

13 such an employee of such positions; 

14 ‘‘(C) establishes a procedure for such an em15 ployee to apply for such positions; and 

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

17 working conditions. 

18 ‘‘(2) IMMEDIATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE.— 

19 ‘‘(A) NEGOTIATIONS.—If the replacement of 

20 preexisting intercity rail passenger service occurs 

21 concurrent with or within a reasonable time be22 fore the commencement of the replacing entity’s 

23 rail passenger service, the replacing entity shall 

24 give written notice of its plan to replace existing 

25 rail passenger service to the authorized collective 
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1 bargaining agent or agents for the potentially 

2 adversely affected employees of the predecessor 

3 provider at least 90 days before the date on 

4 which it plans to commence service. Within 5 

5 days after the date of receipt of such written no6 tice, negotiations between the replacing entity 

7 and the collective bargaining agent or agents for 

8 the employees of the predecessor provider shall 

9 commence for the purpose of reaching agreement 

10 with respect to all matters set forth in subpara11 graphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1). The 

12 negotiations shall continue for 30 days or until 

13 an agreement is reached, whichever is sooner. If 

14 at the end of 30 days the parties have not en15 tered into an agreement with respect to all such 

16 matters, the unresolved issues shall be submitted 

17 for arbitration in accordance with the procedure 

18 set forth in subparagraph (B). 

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

20 not been entered into with respect to all matters 

21 set forth in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of 

22 paragraph (1) as described in subparagraph (A) 

23 of this paragraph, the parties shall select an ar24 bitrator. If the parties are unable to agree upon 

25 the selection of such arbitrator within 5 days, ei-
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1 ther or both parties shall notify the National Me2 diation Board, which shall provide a list of seven 

3 arbitrators with experience in arbitrating rail 

4 labor protection disputes. Within 5 days after 

5 such notification, the parties shall alternately 

6 strike names from the list until only 1 name re7 mains, and that person shall serve as the neutral 

8 arbitrator. Within 45 days after selection of the 

9 arbitrator, the arbitrator shall conduct a hearing 

10 on the dispute and shall render a decision with 

11 respect to the unresolved issues among the mat12 ters set forth in subparagraphs (A) through (D) 

13 of paragraph (1). This decision shall be final, 

14 binding, and conclusive upon the parties. The 

15 salary and expenses of the arbitrator shall be 

16 borne equally by the parties; all other expenses 

17 shall be paid by the party incurring them. 

18 ‘‘(3) SERVICE COMMENCEMENT.—A replacing en19 tity under this subsection shall commence service only 

20 after an agreement is entered into with respect to the 

21 matters set forth in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of 

22 paragraph (1) or the decision of the arbitrator has 

23 been rendered. 

24 ‘‘(4) SUBSEQUENT REPLACEMENT OF SERVICE.— 

25 If the replacement of existing rail passenger service 
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1 takes place within 3 years after the replacing entity 

2 commences intercity passenger rail service, the replac3 ing entity and the collective bargaining agent or 

4 agents for the adversely affected employees of the pred5 ecessor provider shall enter into an agreement with 

6 respect to the matters set forth in subparagraphs (A) 

7 through (D) of paragraph (1). If the parties have not 

8 entered into an agreement with respect to all such 

9 matters within 60 days after the date on which the 

10 replacing entity replaces the predecessor provider, the 

11 parties shall select an arbitrator using the procedures 

12 set forth in paragraph (2)(B), who shall, within 20 

13 days after the commencement of the arbitration, con14 duct a hearing and decide all unresolved issues. This 

15 decision shall be final, binding, and conclusive upon 

16 the parties. 

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

19 ‘‘(1) commuter rail passenger transportation (as 

20 defined in section 24102(4) of this title) operations of 

21 a State or local government authority (as those terms 

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

23 of this title) eligible to receive financial assistance 

24 under section 5307 of this title, or to its contractor 
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1 performing services in connection with commuter rail 

2 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 amended 

11 by inserting the following after the item relating to 

12 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. 
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1 ‘‘§ 22501. Definitions 

2 ‘‘In this subchapter: 

3 ‘‘(1) PRIVATE BENEFIT.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘private ben5 efit’— 

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

9 directly improves the economic and com10 petitive condition of that person or entity 

11 through improved assets, cost reductions, 

12 service improvements, or any other means 

13 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 in 

19 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 or 

26 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 or 

6 infrastructure preservation, and any other 

7 positive community effects as defined by the 

8 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 in 

14 further defining this term. 

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

16 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.’’. 
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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 transpor8 tation 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 Sec13 retary 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 State 

24 rail plan. 

25 ‘‘(3) To present priorities and strategies to en26 hance rail service in the State that benefits the public. 
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1 ‘‘(4) To serve as the basis for Federal and State 

2 rail investments within the State. 

3 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION.—A State rail plan shall be co4 ordinated with other State transportation planning goals 

5 and programs and set forth rail transportation’s role with6 in the State transportation system. 

7 ‘‘§ 22504. Transparency; coordination; review 

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

9 and reasonable notice and opportunity for comment and 

10 other input to the public, rail carriers, commuter and tran11 sit authorities operating in, or affected by rail operations 

12 within the State, units of local government, and other inter13 ested parties in the preparation and review of its State rail 

14 plan. 

15 ‘‘(b) INTERGOVERNMENTAL COORDINATION.—A State 

16 shall review the freight and passenger rail service activities 

17 and initiatives by regional planning agencies, regional 

18 transportation authorities, and municipalities within the 

19 State, or in the region in which the State is located, while 

20 preparing the plan, and shall include any recommendations 

21 made by such agencies, authorities, and municipalities as 

22 deemed appropriate by the State. 

23 ‘‘§ 22505. Content 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State rail plan shall contain 

25 the following: 
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1 ‘‘(1) An inventory of the existing overall rail 

2 transportation system and rail services and facilities 

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

4 transportation within the State’s surface transpor5 tation system. 

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

7 including proposed high speed rail corridors and sig8 nificant rail line segments not currently in service. 

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

10 service objectives, including minimum service levels, 

11 for rail transportation routes in the State. 

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

13 economic, and environmental impacts in the State, 

14 including congestion mitigation, trade and economic 

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

16 community impacts. 

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

18 current and future freight and passenger infrastruc19 ture in the State that meets the requirements of sub20 section (b). 

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

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

23 of current and prospective public capital and oper24 ating funding resources, public subsidies, State tax-
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1 ation, and other financial policies relating to rail in2 frastructure development. 

3 ‘‘(7) An identification of rail infrastructure 

4 issues within the State that reflects consultation with 

5 all relevant stake holders. 

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

7 intermodal rail connections and facilities within the 

8 State, including seaports, and prioritized options to 

9 maximize service integration and efficiency between 

10 rail and other modes of transportation within the 

11 State. 

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

13 the State to improve rail transportation safety and 

14 security, including all major projects funded under 

15 section 130 of title 23. 

16 ‘‘(10) A performance evaluation of passenger rail 

17 services operating in the State, including possible im18 provements in those services, and a description of 

19 strategies to achieve those improvements. 

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

21 high-speed rail corridor development within the State 

22 not included in a previous plan under this sub23 chapter, and a plan for funding any recommended de24 velopment of such corridors in the State. 
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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 in6 vestment 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 or 

11 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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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, match5 ing funds, or other private capital involvement. 

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

7 ‘‘(C) Effects to highway, aviation, and mar8 itime capacity, congestion, or safety. 

9 ‘‘(D) Regional balance. 

10 ‘‘(E) Environmental impact. 

11 ‘‘(F) Economic and employment impacts. 

12 ‘‘(G) Projected ridership and other service 

13 measures for passenger rail projects. 

14 ‘‘§ 22506. Review 

15 The Secretary shall prescribe procedures for States to 

16 submit State rail plans for review under this title, includ17 ing standardized format and data requirements.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

19 (1) The table of chapters for the title is amended 

20 by inserting the following after the item relating to 

21 chapter 223: 

‘‘225. State rail plans ..................................................................................... 22501’’. 

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

23 amended by inserting the following after the item re24 lating to chapter 223: 

‘‘225. State rail plans ..................................................................................... 24401’’. 
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1 SEC. 303. NEXT GENERATION CORRIDOR TRAIN EQUIPMENT 

2 POOL. 

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

4 enactment of this Act, Amtrak shall establish a Next Gen5 eration Corridor Equipment Pool Committee, comprised of 

6 representatives of Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Adminis7 tration, and interested States. The purpose of the Com8 mittee shall be to design, develop specifications for, and pro9 cure standardized next-generation corridor equipment. 

10 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The Committee may— 

11 (1) determine the number of different types of 

12 equipment required, taking into account variations in 

13 operational needs and corridor infrastructure; 

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

15 corridor routes funded by participating States; and 

16 (3) subject to agreements between Amtrak and 

17 States, utilize services provided by Amtrak to design, 

18 maintain and remanufacture equipment. 

19 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Amtrak and States 

20 participating in the Committee may enter into agreements 

21 for the funding, procurement, remanufacture, ownership 

22 and management of corridor equipment, including equip23 ment currently owned or leased by Amtrak and next-genera24 tion corridor equipment acquired as a result of the Commit25 tee’s actions, and may establish a corporation, which may 
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1 be owned or jointly-owned by Amtrak, participating States 

2 or other entities, to perform these functions. 

3 (d) FUNDING.—In addition to the authorization pro4 vided in section 105 of this Act, capital projects to carry 

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

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

7 Code. 

8 SEC. 304. FEDERAL RAIL POLICY. 

9 Section 103 is amended— 

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

11 Federal’’ in subsection (a); 

12 (2) by striking the second and third sentences of 

13 subsection (a); 

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

15 ‘‘The head’’ in subsection (b); 

16 (4) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (e) 

17 as subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively and by in18 serting after subsection (b) the following: 

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

20 of the United States, the Administration is divided on a 

21 geographical basis into at least 8 safety offices. The Sec22 retary of Transportation is responsible for all acts taken 

23 under those laws and for ensuring that the laws are uni24 formly administered and enforced among the safety of25 fices.’’; 
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1 (5) by inserting ‘‘POWERS AND DUTIES.—’’ be2 fore ‘‘The’’ in subsection (d), as redesignated; 

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

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

5 (7) by redesignating paragraph (2) of subsection 

6 (d), as redesignated, as paragraph (3) and inserting 

7 after paragraph (1) the following: 

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

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

10 (8) by inserting ‘‘TRANSFERS OF DUTY.—’’ be11 fore ‘‘A duty’’ in subsection (e), as redesignated; 

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

13 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, AND SIMILAR TRANS14 ACTIONS.—’’ before ‘‘Subject’’ in subsection (f), as re15 designated; 

16 (10) by striking the last sentence in subsection 

17 (f), as redesignated; and 

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

19 ‘‘(g) ADDITIONAL DUTIES OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.— 

20 The Administrator shall— 

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

22 State rail plans prepared under chapter 225 and re23 view all State rail plans submitted under that sec24 tion; 
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1 ‘‘(2) develop a long range national rail plan that 

2 is consistent with approved State rail plans and the 

3 rail needs of the Nation, as determined by the Sec4 retary in order to promote an integrated, cohesive, ef5 ficient, and optimized national rail system for the 

6 movement of goods and people; 

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

8 within a year after the date of enactment of the Pas9 senger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2005; 

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

11 freight and passenger railroad industry, States, and 

12 the public concerning rail development; 

13 ‘‘(5) support rail intermodal development and 

14 high-speed rail development, including high speed rail 

15 planning; 

16 ‘‘(6) ensure that programs and initiatives devel17 oped under this section benefit the public and work 

18 toward achieving regional and national transpor19 tation goals; and 

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

21 freight and passenger rail carriers, transit agencies 

22 and authorities, municipalities, and States in pas23 senger-freight service integration on shared rights of 

24 way by providing neutral assistance at the joint re25 quest of affected rail service providers and infrastruc-
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1 ture owners relating to operations and capacity anal2 ysis, capital requirements, operating costs, and other 

3 research and planning related to corridors shared by 

4 passenger or commuter rail service and freight rail 

5 operations. 

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

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

8 with the objectives established and activities under9 taken under section 103(e) of this title, the Adminis10 trator shall develop a schedule for achieving specific, 

11 measurable performance goals. 

12 ‘‘(2) RESOURCE NEEDS.—The strategy and an13 nual plans shall include estimates of the funds and 

14 staff resources needed to accomplish each goal and the 

15 additional duties required under section 103(e). 

16 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION WITH PRESIDENT’S BUDGET.— 

17 Beginning with fiscal year 2007 and each fiscal year 

18 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress, at 

19 the same time as the President’s budget submission, 

20 the Administration’s performance goals and schedule 

21 developed under paragraph (1), including an assess22 ment of the progress of the Administration toward 

23 achieving its performance goals.’’. 
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1 SEC. 305. RAIL COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND CONTENT.—Chapter 249 is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘§ 24910. Rail cooperative research program 

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

6 carry out a rail cooperative research program. The program 

7 shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) address, among other matters, intercity rail 

9 passenger and freight rail services, including existing 

10 rail passenger and freight technologies and speeds, in11 crementally enhanced rail systems and infrastructure, 

12 and new high-speed wheel-on-rail systems and rail se13 curity; 

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

15 of international trade traffic by rail, enhance the effi16 ciency of intermodal interchange at ports and other 

17 intermodal terminals, and increase capacity and 

18 availability of rail service for seasonal freight needs; 

19 ‘‘(3) consider research on the interconnectedness 

20 of commuter rail, passenger rail, freight rail, and 

21 other rail networks; and 

22 ‘‘(4) give consideration to regional concerns re23 garding rail passenger and freight transportation, in24 cluding meeting research needs common to designated 

25 high-speed corridors, long-distance rail services, and 

26 regional intercity rail corridors, projects, and entities. 
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1 ‘‘(b) CONTENT.—The program to be carried out under 

2 this section shall include research designed— 

3 ‘‘(1) to identify the unique aspects and attributes 

4 of rail passenger and freight service; 

5 ‘‘(2) to develop more accurate models for evalu6 ating the impact of rail passenger and freight service, 

7 including the effects on highway and airport and air8 way congestion, environmental quality, and energy 

9 consumption; 

10 ‘‘(3) to develop a better understanding of modal 

11 choice as it affects rail passenger and freight trans12 portation, including development of better models to 

13 predict utilization; 

14 ‘‘(4) to recommend priorities for technology dem15 onstration and development; 

16 ‘‘(5) to meet additional priorities as determined 

17 by the advisory board established under subsection 

18 (c), including any recommendations made by the Na19 tional Research Council; 

20 ‘‘(6) to explore improvements in management, fi21 nancing, and institutional structures; 

22 ‘‘(7) to address rail capacity constraints that af23 fect passenger and freight rail service through a wide 

24 variety of options, ranging from operating improve-
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1 ments to dedicated new infrastructure, taking into ac2 count the impact of such options on operations; 

3 ‘‘(8) to improve maintenance, operations, cus4 tomer service, or other aspects of intercity rail pas5 senger and freight service; 

6 ‘‘(9) to recommend objective methodologies for de7 termining intercity passenger rail routes and services, 

8 including the establishment of new routes, the elimi9 nation of existing routes, and the contraction or ex10 pansion of services or frequencies over such routes; 

11 ‘‘(10) to review the impact of equipment and 

12 operational safety standards on the further develop13 ment of high speed passenger rail operations con14 nected to or integrated with non-high speed freight or 

15 passenger rail operations; and 

16 ‘‘(11) to recommend any legislative or regulatory 

17 changes necessary to foster further development and 

18 implementation of high speed passenger rail oper19 ations while ensuring the safety of such operations 

20 that are connected to or integrated with non-high 

21 speed freight or passenger rail operations. 

22 ‘‘(c) ADVISORY BOARD.— 

23 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—In consultation with the 

24 heads of appropriate Federal departments and agen25 cies, the Secretary shall establish an advisory board 
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1 to recommend research, technology, and technology 

2 transfer activities related to rail passenger and freight 

3 transportation. 

4 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The advisory board shall 

5 include— 

6 ‘‘(A) representatives of State transportation 

7 agencies; 

8 ‘‘(B) transportation and environmental 

9 economists, scientists, and engineers; and 

10 ‘‘(C) representatives of Amtrak, the Alaska 

11 Railroad, freight railroads, transit operating 

12 agencies, intercity rail passenger agencies, rail13 way labor organizations, and environmental or14 ganizations. 

15 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.— The Sec16 retary may make grants to, and enter into cooperative 

17 agreements with, the National Academy of Sciences to carry 

18 out such activities relating to the research, technology, and 

19 technology transfer activities described in subsection (b) as 

20 the Secretary deems appropriate.’’. 

21 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis for 

22 chapter 249 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘24910. Rail cooperative research program.’’. 
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1 TITLE IV—PASSENGER RAIL 

2 SECURITY AND SAFETY 

3 SEC. 401. SYSTEMWIDE AMTRAK SECURITY UPGRADES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL—Subject to subsection (c) the Sec5 retary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Sec6 retary of Transportation, is authorized to make grants to 

7 Amtrak— 

8 (1) to secure major tunnel access points and en9 sure tunnel integrity in New York, Baltimore, and 

10 Washington, DC; 

11 (2) to secure Amtrak trains; 

12 (3) to secure Amtrak stations; 

13 (4) to obtain a watch list identification system 

14 approved by the Secretary; 

15 (5) to obtain train tracking and interoperable 

16 communications systems that are coordinated to the 

17 maximum extent possible; 

18 (6) to hire additional police and security officers, 

19 including canine units; and 

20 (7) to expand emergency preparedness efforts. 

21 (b) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary of Transportation 

22 shall disburse funds to Amtrak provided under subsection 

23 (a) for projects contained in a systemwide security plan 

24 approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security. The plan 

25 shall include appropriate measures to address security 
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1 awareness, emergency response, and passenger evacuation 

2 training. 

3 (c) EQUITABLE GEOGRAPHIC ALLOCATION.—The Sec4 retary shall ensure that, subject to meeting the highest secu5 rity needs on Amtrak’s entire system, stations and facilities 

6 located outside of the Northeast Corridor receive an equi7 table share of the security funds authorized by this section. 

8 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

9 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Homeland 

10 Security to carry out this section— 

11 (1) $63,500,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

12 (2) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; and 

13 (3) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

14 Amounts appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall re15 main available until expended. 

16 SEC. 402. FIRE AND LIFE-SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS. 

17 (a) LIFE-SAFETY NEEDS.—The Secretary of Trans18 portation is authorized to make grants to Amtrak for the 

19 purpose of making fire and life-safety improvements to Am20 trak tunnels on the Northeast Corridor in New York, NY, 

21 Baltimore, MD, and Washington, DC. 

22 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

23 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transpor24 tation for the purposes of carrying out subsection (a) the 

25 following amounts: 
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1 (1) For the 6 New York tunnels to provide ven2 tilation, electrical, and fire safety technology up3 grades, emergency communication and lighting sys4 tems, and emergency access and egress for pas5 sengers— 

6 (A) $190,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

7 (B) $190,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

8 (C) $190,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

9 (2) For the Baltimore & Potomac tunnel and the 

10 Union tunnel, together, to provide adequate drainage, 

11 ventilation, communication, lighting, and passenger 

12 egress upgrades— 

13 (A) $19,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

14 (B) $19,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

15 (C) $19,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

16 (3) For the Washington, DC, Union Station tun17 nels to improve ventilation, communication, lighting, 

18 and passenger egress upgrades— 

19 (A) $13,333,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

20 (B) $13,333,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

21 (C) $13,333,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

22 (c) INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES.—There are author23 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation 

24 for fiscal year 2006 $3,000,000 for the preliminary design 
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1 of options for a new tunnel on a different alignment to aug2 ment the capacity of the existing Baltimore tunnels. 

3 (d) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.— 

4 Amounts made available pursuant to this section shall re5 main available until expended. 

6 (e) PLANS REQUIRED.—The Secretary may not make 

7 amounts available to Amtrak for obligation or expenditure 

8 under subsection (a)— 

9 (1) until Amtrak has submitted to the Secretary, 

10 and the Secretary has approved, an engineering and 

11 financial plan for such projects; and 

12 (2) unless, for each project funded pursuant to 

13 this section, the Secretary has approved a project 

14 management plan prepared by Amtrak addressing 

15 appropriate project budget, construction schedule, re16 cipient staff organization, document control and 

17 record keeping, change order procedure, quality con18 trol and assurance, periodic plan updates, and peri19 odic status reports. 

20 (f) REVIEW OF PLANS.—The Secretary of Transpor21 tation shall complete the review of the plans required by 

22 paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (e) and approve or 

23 disapprove the plans within 45 days after the date on which 

24 each such plan is submitted by Amtrak. If the Secretary 

25 determines that a plan is incomplete or deficient, the Sec-
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1 retary shall notify Amtrak of the incomplete items or defi2 ciencies and Amtrak shall, within 30 days after receiving 

3 the Secretary’s notification, submit a modified plan for the 

4 Secretary’s review. Within 15 days after receiving addi5 tional information on items previously included in the 

6 plan, and within 45 days after receiving items newly in7 cluded in a modified plan, the Secretary shall either ap8 prove the modified plan, or, if the Secretary finds the plan 

9 is still incomplete or deficient, the Secretary shall identify 

10 in writing to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, 

11 and Transportation and the House of Representatives Com12 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure the portions 

13 of the plan the Secretary finds incomplete or deficient, ap14 prove all other portions of the plan, obligate the funds asso15 ciated with those other portions, and execute an agreement 

16 with Amtrak within 15 days thereafter on a process for re17 solving the remaining portions of the plan. 

18 (g) FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION FROM OTHER TUNNEL

19 USERS.—The Secretary shall, taking into account the need 

20 for the timely completion of all portions of the tunnel 

21 projects described in subsection (a)— 

22 (1) consider the extent to which rail carriers 

23 other than Amtrak use or plan to use the tunnels; 
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1 (2) consider the feasibility of seeking a financial 

2 contribution from those other rail carriers toward the 

3 costs of the projects; and 

4 (3) obtain financial contributions or commit5 ments from such other rail carriers at levels reflecting 

6 the extent of their use or planned use of the tunnels, 

7 if feasible. 

8 SEC. 403. AMTRAK PLAN TO ASSIST FAMILIES OF PAS9 SENGERS INVOLVED IN RAIL PASSENGER AC10 CIDENTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 243 of title 49, United 

12 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘§ 24316. Plans to address needs of families of pas14 sengers involved in rail passenger acci15 dents 

16 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—Not later than 6 months 

17 after the date of the enactment of the Passenger Rail Invest18 ment and Improvement Act of 2005, Amtrak shall submit 

19 to the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety 

20 Board and the Secretary of Transportation a plan for ad21 dressing the needs of the families of passengers involved in 

22 any rail passenger accident involving an Amtrak intercity 

23 train and resulting in a loss of life. 
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1 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—The plan to be submitted 

2 by Amtrak under subsection (a) shall include, at a min3 imum, the following: 

4 ‘‘(1) A process by which Amtrak will maintain 

5 and provide to the National Transportation Safety 

6 Board and the Secretary of Transportation, imme7 diately upon request, a list (which is based on the best 

8 available information at the time of the request) of 

9 the names of the passengers aboard the train (whether 

10 or not such names have been verified), and will peri11 odically update the list. The plan shall include a pro12 cedure, with respect to unreserved trains and pas13 sengers not holding reservations on other trains, for 

14 Amtrak to use reasonable efforts to ascertain the num15 ber and names of passengers aboard a train involved 

16 in an accident. 

17 ‘‘(2) A plan for creating and publicizing a reli18 able, toll-free telephone number within 4 hours after 

19 such an accident occurs, and for providing staff, to 

20 handle calls from the families of the passengers. 

21 ‘‘(3) A process for notifying the families of the 

22 passengers, before providing any public notice of the 

23 names of the passengers, by suitably trained individ24 uals. 
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1 ‘‘(4) A process for providing the notice described 

2 in paragraph (2) to the family of a passenger as soon 

3 as Amtrak has verified that the passenger was aboard 

4 the train (whether or not the names of all of the pas5 sengers have been verified). 

6 ‘‘(5) A process by which the family of each pas7 senger will be consulted about the disposition of all 

8 remains and personal effects of the passenger within 

9 Amtrak’s control; that any possession of the passenger 

10 within Amtrak’s control will be returned to the family 

11 unless the possession is needed for the accident inves12 tigation or any criminal investigation; and that any 

13 unclaimed possession of a passenger within Amtrak’s 

14 control will be retained by the rail passenger carrier 

15 for at least 18 months. 

16 ‘‘(6) A process by which the treatment of the 

17 families of nonrevenue passengers will be the same as 

18 the treatment of the families of revenue passengers. 

19 ‘‘(7) An assurance that Amtrak will provide ade20 quate training to its employees and agents to meet the 

21 needs of survivors and family members following an 

22 accident. 

23 ‘‘(c) USE OF INFORMATION.—The National Transpor24 tation Safety Board, the Secretary of Transportation, and 

25 Amtrak may not release to any person information on a 
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1 list obtained under subsection (b)(1) but may provide infor2 mation on the list about a passenger to the family of the 

3 passenger to the extent that the Board or Amtrak considers 

4 appropriate. 

5 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—Amtrak shall not be 

6 liable for damages in any action brought in a Federal or 

7 State court arising out of the performance of Amtrak in 

8 preparing or providing a passenger list, or in providing 

9 information concerning a train reservation, pursuant to a 

10 plan submitted by Amtrak under subsection (b), unless such 

11 liability was caused by Amtrak’s conduct. 

12 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 

13 Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the 

14 actions that Amtrak may take, or the obligations that Am15 trak may have, in providing assistance to the families of 

16 passengers involved in a rail passenger accident. 

17 ‘‘(f) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro18 priated to the Secretary of Transportation for the use of 

19 Amtrak $500,000 for fiscal year 2006 to carry out this sec20 tion. Amounts made available pursuant to this subsection 

21 shall remain available until expended.’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis 

23 for chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

24 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘24316. Plan to assist families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents.’’. 
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1 SEC. 404. NORTHERN BORDER RAIL PASSENGER REPORT. 

2 Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

3 Act, the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with 

4 the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Assistant Sec5 retary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Ad6 ministration), heads of other appropriate Federal depart7 ments, and agencies and the National Railroad Passenger 

8 Corporation, shall transmit a report to the Senate Com9 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

10 House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and 

11 Infrastructure that contains— 

12 (1) a description of the current system for 

13 screening passengers and baggage on passenger rail 

14 service between the United States and Canada; 

15 (2) an assessment of the current program to pro16 vide preclearance of airline passengers between the 

17 United States and Canada as outlined in ‘‘The Agree18 ment on Air Transport Preclearance between the Gov19 ernment of Canada and the Government of the United 

20 States of America’’, dated January 18, 2001; 

21 (3) an assessment of the current program to pro22 vide preclearance of freight railroad traffic between 

23 the United States and Canada as outlined in the 

24 ‘‘Declaration of Principle for the Improved Security 

25 of Rail Shipments by Canadian National Railway 
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1 and Canadian Pacific Railway from Canada to the 

2 United States’’, dated April 2, 2003; 

3 (4) information on progress by the Department 

4 of Homeland Security and other Federal agencies to5 wards finalizing a bilateral protocol with Canada 

6 that would provide for preclearance of passengers on 

7 trains operating between the United States and Can8 ada; 

9 (5) a description of legislative, regulatory, budg10 etary, or policy barriers within the United States 

11 Government to providing pre-screened passenger lists 

12 for rail passengers traveling between the United 

13 States and Canada to the Department of Homeland 

14 Security; 

15 (6) a description of the position of the Govern16 ment of Canada and relevant Canadian agencies with 

17 respect to preclearance of such passengers; 

18 (7) a draft of any changes in existing Federal 

19 law necessary to provide for pre-screening of such 

20 passengers and providing pre-screened passenger lists 

21 to the Department of Homeland Security; and 

22 (8) an analysis of the feasibility of reinstating 

23 United States Customs and Border Patrol rolling in24 spections onboard international Amtrak trains. 
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1 SEC. 405. PASSENGER, BAGGAGE, AND CARGO SCREENING. 

2 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR STUDY AND REPORT.—The 

3 Secretary of Homeland Security, in cooperation with the 

4 Secretary of Transportation through the Assistant Sec5 retary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Ad6 ministration) and other appropriate agencies, shall— 

7 (1) study the cost and feasibility of requiring se8 curity screening for passengers, baggage, and cargo on 

9 passenger trains including an analysis of any pas10 senger train screening pilot programs undertaken by 

11 the Department of Homeland Security; and 

12 (2) report the results of the study, together with 

13 any recommendations that the Secretary of Homeland 

14 Security may have for implementing a rail security 

15 screening program to the Senate Committee on Com16 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of 

17 Representatives Committee on Transportation and 

18 Infrastructure within 1 year after the date of enact19 ment of this Act. 

20 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

21 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Homeland 

22 Security $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 to carry out this 

23 section. 
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1 TITLE V—RAIL BOND 

2 AUTHORITY 

3 SEC. 501. INTERCITY RAIL FACILITY BONDS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 261 is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘§ 26106. Rail infrastructure bonds 

7 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary may designate 

8 bonds for purposes of section 54A of the Internal Revenue 

9 Code of 1986 if— 

10 ‘‘(1) the bonds are to be issued by— 

11 ‘‘(A) a State, if the entire railroad pas12 senger transportation corridor containing the in13 frastructure project to be financed is within the 

14 State; 

15 ‘‘(B) 1 or more of the States that have en16 tered into an agreement or an interstate compact 

17 consented to by Congress under section 410(a) of 

18 Public Law 105–134 (49 U.S.C. 24101 note); 

19 ‘‘(C) an agreement or an interstate compact 

20 described in subparagraph (B); or 

21 ‘‘(D) Amtrak, for capital projects under its 

22 5-year plan; 

23 ‘‘(2) the bonds are for the purpose of financing 

24 projects that make a substantial contribution to pro25 viding the infrastructure and equipment required to 
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1 complete or improve a rail transportation corridor 

2 (including projects for the acquisition, financing, or 

3 refinancing of equipment and other capital improve4 ments, including the introduction of new high-speed 

5 technologies such as magnetic levitation systems, track 

6 or signal improvements, the elimination of grade 

7 crossings, development of intermodal facilities, im8 provement of train speeds or safety, or both, and sta9 tion rehabilitation or construction), but only if the 

10 Secretary determines that the projects are part of a 

11 viable and comprehensive rail transportation corridor 

12 design for intercity passenger service included in a 

13 State rail plan under chapter 225 (except for bonds 

14 issued under paragraph (1)(D)); and 

15 ‘‘(3) for a railroad passenger transportation cor16 ridor not operated by Amtrak that includes the use of 

17 rights-of-way owned by a freight railroad, a written 

18 agreement exists between the applicant and the freight 

19 railroad regarding such use and ownership, including 

20 compensation for such use and assurances regarding 

21 the adequacy of infrastructure capacity to accommo22 date both existing and future freight and passenger 

23 operations, and including an assurance by the freight 

24 railroad that collective bargaining agreements with 

25 the freight railroad’s employees (including terms reg-
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1 ulating the contracting of work) shall remain in full 

2 force and effect according to their terms for work per3 formed by the freight railroad on such railroad pas4 senger transportation corridor. 

5 ‘‘(b) BOND AMOUNT LIMITATION.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of bonds des7 ignated under this section may not exceed in the case 

8 of section 54A bonds, $1,300,000,000 for each of the 

9 fiscal years 2006 through 2015. 

10 ‘‘(2) CARRYOVER OF UNUSED LIMITATION.—If 

11 for any fiscal year the limitation amount under 

12 paragraph (1) exceeds the amount of section 54A 

13 bonds issued during such year, the limitation amount 

14 under paragraph (1) for the following fiscal year 

15 (through fiscal year 2019) shall be increased by the 

16 amount of such excess. 

17 ‘‘(c) PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary 

18 shall give preference to the designation under this section 

19 of bonds for projects selected using the criteria in chapter 

20 244. 

21 ‘‘(d) TIMELY DISPOSITION OF APPLICATION.—The 

22 Secretary shall grant or deny a requested designation with23 in 9 months after receipt of an application. 

24 ‘‘(e) REFINANCING RULES.—Bonds designated by the 

25 Secretary under subsection (a) may be issued for refi-
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1 nancing projects only if the indebtedness being refinanced 

2 (including any obligation directly or indirectly refinanced 

3 by such indebtedness) was originally incurred by the 

4 issuer— 

5 ‘‘(1) after the date of the enactment of this sec6 tion; 

7 ‘‘(2) for a term of not more than 3 years; 

8 ‘‘(3) to finance projects described in subsection 

9 (a)(2); and 

10 ‘‘(4) in anticipation of being refinanced with 

11 proceeds of a bond designated under subsection (a). 

12 ‘‘(f) APPLICATION OF CONDITIONS.—Any entity pro13 viding railroad transportation (within the meaning of sec14 tion 20102) that begins operations after the date of the en15 actment of this section and that uses property acquired pur16 suant to this section (except as provided in subsection 

17 (a)(2)(B)), shall be subject to the conditions under section 

18 24405. 

19 ‘‘(g) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.—Not later than 6 

20 months after the date of the enactment of the Passenger Rail 

21 Investment and Improvement Act of 2005, the Secretary 

22 shall issue regulations for carrying out this section. 

23 ‘‘(h) SECTION 54A BOND DEFINED.—In this section, 

24 the term ‘section 54A bond’ means a bond designated by 

25 the Secretary under subsection (a) for purposes of section 
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1 54A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to credit 

2 to holders of qualified rail infrastructure bonds).’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

4 for chapter 261 is amended by adding after the item relat5 ing to section 26105 the following new item: 

‘‘26106. Rail infrastructure bonds.’’. 

Calendar No. 235 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1516 

[Report No. 109–143] 

A BILL 

To reauthorize Amtrak, and for other purposes. 

OCTOBER 18, 2005 

Reported with an amendment