IB 

Union Calendar No. 20 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 749 

[Report No. 114–30] 

To reauthorize Federal support for passenger rail programs, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 5, 2015 

Mr. SHUSTER (for himself, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. DENHAM, and Mr. CAPUANO) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Transportation and Infrastructure 

FEBRUARY 26, 2015 

Additional sponsors: Mr. HANNA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. BARLETTA, Ms. BROWN

of Florida, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. FRANKEL of Florida, Mrs. MIMI WALTERS of California, Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania, and Mr. CURBELO

of Florida 

FEBRUARY 26, 2015 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 

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A BILL 

To reauthorize Federal support for passenger rail programs, 

and for other purposes. 

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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 

Sec. 101. Authorization for Amtrak. 

Sec. 102. Authorization for Amtrak Office of the Inspector General. 

Sec. 103. National infrastructure investments. 

Sec. 104. Northeast Corridor. 

TITLE II—AMTRAK REFORM 

Sec. 201. Amtrak planning and grant process. 

Sec. 202. 5-Year capital and operating plan. 

Sec. 203. State-supported routes. 

Sec. 204. Route and service planning decisions. 

Sec. 205. Competition. 

Sec. 206. Food and beverage reform. 

Sec. 207. Right of way leveraging. 

Sec. 208. Station development. 

Sec. 209. Amtrak debt. 

Sec. 210. Amtrak pilot program for passengers transporting domesticated cats 

and dogs. 

Sec. 211. Amtrak boarding procedures. 

TITLE III—INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL POLICY 

Sec. 301. Federal-State partnership for Northeast Corridor development and 

improvement. 

Sec. 302. RRIF improvements. 

Sec. 303. NEC fast forward. 

Sec. 304. Large capital project requirements. 

Sec. 305. Small business participation study. 

Sec. 306. Gulf Coast rail service working group. 

Sec. 307. Miscellaneous. 

TITLE IV—PROJECT DELIVERY 

Sec. 401. Project delivery rulemaking. 

Sec. 402. Historic preservation of railroads. 

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

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Sec. 501. Definition. 

Sec. 502. Title 49 definitions. 

1 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF 

2 APPROPRIATIONS 

3 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION FOR AMTRAK. 

4 (a) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT FUND.— 

5 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

6 for the use of Amtrak for deposit into the Northeast Cor7 ridor Improvement Fund account established under sec8 tion 24319(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code (as added 

9 by section 201 of this Act), the following amounts: 

10 (1) For fiscal year 2016, $439,000,000. 

11 (2) For fiscal year 2017, $464,000,000. 

12 (3) For fiscal year 2018, $480,000,000. 

13 (4) For fiscal year 2019, $498,000,000. 

14 (b) NATIONAL NETWORK.—There are authorized to 

15 be appropriated to the Secretary for the use of Amtrak 

16 for deposit into the National Network account established 

17 under section 24319(a)(2) of title 49, United States Code 

18 (as added by section 201 of this Act), the following 

19 amounts: 

20 (1) For fiscal year 2016, $973,000,000. 

21 (2) For fiscal year 2017, $974,000,000. 

22 (3) For fiscal year 2018, $985,000,000. 

23 (4) For fiscal year 2019, $997,000,000. 

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1 (c) PROJECT MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT.—The Sec2 retary may withhold up to $2,000,000 of the amount ap3 propriated pursuant to subsection (a), and up to 

4 $2,000,000 of the amount appropriated pursuant to sub5 section (b), for the costs of management oversight of Am6 trak. 

7 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZATION FOR AMTRAK OFFICE OF THE 

8 INSPECTOR GENERAL. 

9 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec10 retary for the Office of the Inspector General of Amtrak 

11 the following amounts: 

12 (1) For fiscal year 2016, $23,000,000. 

13 (2) For fiscal year 2017, $24,000,000. 

14 (3) For fiscal year 2018, $24,000,000. 

15 (4) For fiscal year 2019, $25,000,000. 

16 SEC. 103. NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro18 priated to the Secretary for capital grants under chapter 

19 244 of title 49, United States Code, and section 20154 

20 of title 49, United States Code, the following amounts: 

21 (1) For fiscal year 2016, $300,000,000. 

22 (2) For fiscal year 2017, $300,000,000. 

23 (3) For fiscal year 2018, $300,000,000. 

24 (4) For fiscal year 2019, $300,000,000. 

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1 (b) FEDERAL-STATE PARTNERSHIP FOR NORTHEAST

2 CORRIDOR DEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVEMENT.—Of the 

3 amounts authorized to be appropriated under subsection 

4 (a), 50 percent for each fiscal year shall be available for 

5 carrying out section 24407 of title 49, United States Code, 

6 as added by section 301 of this Act. 

7 (c) PROJECT MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT.—The Secretary may withhold up to 1 8 ⁄2 of 1 percent of amounts 

9 appropriated pursuant to chapter 244 of title 49, United 

10 States Code, for the costs of project management over11 sight of capital projects carried out pursuant to such chap12 ter. 

13 SEC. 104. NORTHEAST CORRIDOR. 

14 For purposes of this title, the term ‘‘Northeast Cor15 ridor’’ means the Northeast Corridor main line between 

16 Boston, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia, and 

17 facilities and services used to operate and maintain that 

18 line. 

19 TITLE II—AMTRAK REFORM 

20 SEC. 201. AMTRAK PLANNING AND GRANT PROCESS. 

21 (a) REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES.— 

22 (1) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 243 of title 49, 

23 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

24 end the following new sections: 

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1 ‘‘§ 24317. Costs and revenues 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

3 date of enactment of the Passenger Rail Reform and In4 vestment Act of 2015, Amtrak shall establish and main5 tain internal controls to ensure Amtrak’s costs and reve6 nues are allocated to either the Northeast Corridor or the 

7 National Network, including proportional shares of com8 mon and fixed costs. 

9 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this chapter, the 

10 term ‘Northeast Corridor’ means the Northeast Corridor 

11 main line between Boston, Massachusetts, and the District 

12 of Columbia, and facilities and services used to operate 

13 and maintain that line. 

14 ‘‘§ 24318. Grant process 

15 ‘‘(a) PROCEDURES FOR GRANT REQUESTS.—Not 

16 later than 30 days after the date of enactment of the Pas17 senger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015, the Sec18 retary of Transportation shall establish and transmit to 

19 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and 

20 the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep21 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

22 and Transportation and the Committee on Appropriations 

23 of the Senate substantive and procedural requirements, in24 cluding schedules, for grant requests under this section. 

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1 ‘‘(b) GRANT REQUESTS.—Amtrak shall transmit 

2 grant requests for Federal funds to be appropriated to the 

3 Secretary for the use of Amtrak to— 

4 ‘‘(1) the Secretary; and 

5 ‘‘(2) the Committee on Transportation and In6 frastructure and the Committee on Appropriations 

7 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

8 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

9 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. 

10 ‘‘(c) CONTENTS.—A grant request under subsection 

11 (b) shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) provide a detailed financial analysis for the 

13 upcoming fiscal year for the Northeast Corridor, 

14 State-supported routes, and long-distance routes, in15 cluding projections for the items listed in 

16 24320(c)(1), as applicable, in comparison to prior 

17 fiscal year projections; 

18 ‘‘(2) include a description of the work to be 

19 funded, along with cost estimates and an estimated 

20 timetable for completion of the projects covered by 

21 the request; 

22 ‘‘(3) include an assessment of the continuing fi23 nancial stability of Amtrak; 

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1 ‘‘(4) be displayed on Amtrak’s website within a 

2 reasonable timeframe following its submission to the 

3 entities described in subsection (b); and 

4 ‘‘(5) be in similar format and substance to 

5 those submitted by executive agencies of the Federal 

6 Government. 

7 ‘‘(d) REVIEW AND APPROVAL.— 

8 ‘‘(1) 30-DAY APPROVAL PROCESS.—The Sec9 retary shall complete the review of a grant request 

10 and approve or disapprove the request not later than 

11 30 days after the date on which Amtrak submits the 

12 grant request. If the Secretary disapproves the re13 quest or determines that the request is incomplete or 

14 deficient, the Secretary shall include the reason for 

15 disapproval or the incomplete items or deficiencies in 

16 a notice to Amtrak. 

17 ‘‘(2) 15-DAY MODIFICATION PERIOD.—Not later 

18 than 15 days after receiving notification from the 

19 Secretary under paragraph (1), Amtrak shall submit 

20 a modified request for the Secretary’s review. 

21 ‘‘(3) REVISED REQUESTS.—Not later than 15 

22 days after receiving a modified request from Am23 trak, the Secretary shall either approve the modified 

24 request, or, if the Secretary finds that the request 

25 is still incomplete or deficient, the Secretary shall 

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1 identify in writing to the Committee on Transpor2 tation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Ap3 propriations of the House of Representatives and the 

4 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor5 tation and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

6 Senate the remaining deficiencies and recommend a 

7 process for resolving the outstanding portions of the 

8 request. 

9 ‘‘(e) PAYMENT TO AMTRAK.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graph (2), in each fiscal year for which amounts are 

12 authorized to be appropriated, amounts appropriated 

13 shall be paid to Amtrak as follows: 

14 ‘‘(A) 50 percent on October 1. 

15 ‘‘(B) 25 percent on January 1. 

16 ‘‘(C) 25 percent on April 1. 

17 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary may make a 

18 payment to Amtrak of appropriated funds more fre19 quently than once every 90 days if Amtrak, for good 

20 cause, requests more frequent payment before a 90- 

21 day period ends. 

22 ‘‘(f) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS AND EARLY APPRO23 PRIATIONS.—Amounts appropriated to the Secretary for 

24 the use of Amtrak shall remain available until expended. 

25 Amounts for capital acquisitions and improvements may 

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1 be appropriated for a fiscal year before the fiscal year in 

2 which the amounts will be obligated. 

3 ‘‘(g) LIMITATIONS ON USE.—Amounts appropriated 

4 to the Secretary for the use of Amtrak may not be used 

5 to subsidize operating losses of commuter rail passenger 

6 or rail freight transportation. 

7 ‘‘§ 24319. Accounts 

8 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNTS.—Amtrak shall 

9 establish— 

10 ‘‘(1) a Northeast Corridor Improvement Fund 

11 account; and 

12 ‘‘(2) a National Network account. 

13 ‘‘(b) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT FUND

14 ACCOUNT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) DEPOSITS.—Amtrak shall deposit in the 

16 Northeast Corridor Improvement Fund account es17 tablished under subsection (a)(1)— 

18 ‘‘(A) grant funds appropriated for the 

19 Northeast Corridor Improvement Fund pursu20 ant to section 101(a) of the Passenger Rail Re21 form and Investment Act of 2015 or any subse22 quent Act; 

23 ‘‘(B) compensation received from com24 muter rail passenger transportation on the 

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1 Northeast Corridor provided to Amtrak pursu2 ant to section 24905(c); and 

3 ‘‘(C) any operating surplus of the North4 east Corridor, as allocated pursuant to section 

5 24317. 

6 ‘‘(2) USE OF NORTHEAST CORRIDOR IMPROVE7 MENT FUND ACCOUNT.—Except as provided in sub8 section (d), amounts deposited in the Northeast Cor9 ridor Improvement Fund account shall be made 

10 available for the use of Amtrak for— 

11 ‘‘(A) capital projects described in section 

12 24401(2) (A) or (B) to bring the Northeast 

13 Corridor to a state-of-good-repair, including 

14 projects described in section 

15 24911(a)(2)(E)(i)(I); 

16 ‘‘(B) capital projects intended to increase 

17 corridor capacity, improve service reliability, 

18 and reduce travel time for rail users on the 

19 Northeast Corridor, including projects described 

20 in subclauses (II) and (III) of section 

21 24911(a)(2)(E)(i), consistent with the planning 

22 process established under section 24911; and 

23 ‘‘(C) retirement of principal and payment 

24 of interest on loans for capital equipment, or 

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1 capital leases, attributable to the Northeast 

2 Corridor. 

3 ‘‘(c) NATIONAL NETWORK ACCOUNT.— 

4 ‘‘(1) DEPOSITS.—Amtrak shall deposit in the 

5 account established under subsection (a)(2)— 

6 ‘‘(A) grant funds appropriated for the Na7 tional Network pursuant to section 101(b) of 

8 the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act 

9 of 2015, or any subsequent Act; 

10 ‘‘(B) compensation received from States 

11 provided to Amtrak pursuant to section 209 of 

12 the Passenger Rail Investment and Improve13 ment Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 24101 note); and 

14 ‘‘(C) any operating surplus from the Na15 tional Network, as allocated pursuant to section 

16 24317. 

17 ‘‘(2) USE OF NATIONAL NETWORK ACCOUNT.— 

18 Except as provided in subsection (d), amounts de19 posited in the National Network account shall be 

20 made available for the use of Amtrak for capital ex21 penses and operating costs of the National Network 

22 and retirement of principal and payment of interest 

23 on loans for capital equipment, or capital leases, at24 tributable to the National Network. 

25 ‘‘(d) TRANSFER AUTHORITY.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—Amtrak may transfer any 

2 funds appropriated pursuant to the Passenger Rail 

3 Reform and Investment Act of 2015 or any other 

4 Act, or any surplus generated by operations, between 

5 the Northeast Corridor Improvement Fund and Na6 tional Network accounts upon the expiration of 60 

7 days after Amtrak has notified the Amtrak Board of 

8 Directors of such transfer. 

9 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after 

10 the Amtrak Board of Directors receives notification 

11 from Amtrak under paragraph (1), the Board shall 

12 transmit a report to the Secretary, the Committee 

13 on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Com14 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Represent15 atives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

16 and Transportation and the Committee on Appro17 priations of the Senate, that includes— 

18 ‘‘(A) the amount of the transfer; and 

19 ‘‘(B) a detailed explanation of the reason 

20 for the transfer, including effects on Amtrak 

21 services if no transfer were made. 

22 ‘‘(e) LETTERS OF INTENT.— 

23 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall issue 

24 a letter of intent to Amtrak announcing an intention 

25 to obligate, for a major capital project described in 

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1 subclauses (II) and (III) of section 

2 24911(a)(2)(E)(i), an amount from future available 

3 budget authority specified in law that is not more 

4 than the amount stipulated as the financial partici5 pation of the Secretary in the project. 

6 ‘‘(2) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—At least 30 days 

7 before issuing a letter under paragraph (1), the Sec8 retary shall notify in writing the Committee on 

9 Transportation and Infrastructure and the Com10 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Represent11 atives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

12 and Transportation and the Committee on Appro13 priations of the Senate, of the proposed letter. The 

14 Secretary shall include with the notification a copy 

15 of the proposed letter, the criteria used for selecting 

16 the project for a grant award, and a description of 

17 how the project meets criteria of this section. 

18 ‘‘(3) CONTINGENT NATURE OF OBLIGATION OR

19 COMMITMENT.—An obligation or administrative 

20 commitment may be made only when amounts are 

21 appropriated. The letter of intent shall state that the 

22 contingent commitment is not an obligation of the 

23 Federal Government, and is subject to the avail24 ability of appropriations under Federal law and to 

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1 Federal laws in force or enacted after the date of 

2 the contingent commitment. 

3 ‘‘(f) ROLLING STOCK PURCHASES.—Prior to entering 

4 into contracts in excess of $100,000,000 for rolling stock 

5 procurements, Amtrak shall submit a business case anal6 ysis to the Secretary, the Committee on Transportation 

7 and Infrastructure and the Committee on Appropriations 

8 of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

9 Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Com10 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate, on the utility of 

11 such purchase. This analysis shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) include a cost and benefit comparison that 

13 describes the total lifecycle costs and the anticipated 

14 benefits related to revenue, operational efficiency, re15 liability, and other factors; 

16 ‘‘(2) set forth the total payments by fiscal year; 

17 ‘‘(3) identify the specific source and amounts of 

18 funding for each payment, including Federal funds, 

19 State funds, Amtrak profits, Federal, State, or pri20 vate loans or loan guarantees, and other funding; 

21 ‘‘(4) include whether any payment under the 

22 contract will increase Amtrak’s grant request, as re23 quired under section 24318, in that particular fiscal 

24 year; and 

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1 ‘‘(5) describe how Amtrak will adjust the pro2 curement if future funding is not available.’’. 

3 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The 

4 table of sections for chapter 243 of title 49, United 

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

6 following new items: 

‘‘24317. Costs and revenues. 

‘‘24318. Grant process. 

‘‘24319. Accounts.’’. 

7 (b) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR PLANNING.— 

8 (1) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 249 of title 49, 

9 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following new section: 

11 ‘‘§ 24911. Northeast Corridor planning 

12 ‘‘(a) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR CAPITAL INVESTMENT

13 PLAN.— 

14 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 12 

15 months after the date of enactment of the Passenger 

16 Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015, and annu17 ally thereafter, the Northeast Corridor Infrastruc18 ture and Operations Advisory Commission estab19 lished under section 24905 (referred to in this sec20 tion as the ‘Commission’) shall develop a capital in21 vestment plan for the Northeast Corridor main line 

22 between Boston, Massachusetts, and the District of 

23 Columbia, and the Northeast Corridor branch lines 

24 connecting to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Springfield, 

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1 Massachusetts, and Spuyten Duyvil, New York, and 

2 facilities and services used to operate and maintain 

3 those lines. 

4 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each such plan shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) be developed to establish a coordi6 nated approach to capital spending on the 

7 Northeast Corridor; 

8 ‘‘(B) cover a period of 5 fiscal years, be9 ginning with the first fiscal year after the date 

10 of the plan; 

11 ‘‘(C) notwithstanding section 24902(b), 

12 prioritize projects and investments along the 

13 Northeast Corridor based on— 

14 ‘‘(i) the anticipated benefits and costs 

15 of projects; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the anticipated Federal and non17 Federal funding available; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) the information contained in the 

19 Northeast Corridor asset management 

20 plans required under subsection (b), once 

21 available; 

22 ‘‘(D) ensure coordination and optimization 

23 across the entire Northeast Corridor and among 

24 the various owners and users; 

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1 ‘‘(E) include a financial plan for the in2 vestment period that— 

3 ‘‘(i) categorizes each capital project as 

4 being primarily associated with— 

5 ‘‘(I) normalized capital replace6 ment; 

7 ‘‘(II) replacement, rehabilitation, 

8 or repair of Northeast Corridor infra9 structure assets, including tunnels, 

10 bridges, stations, and other assets; or 

11 ‘‘(III) improvement of train per12 formance on the Northeast Corridor, 

13 including reduced trip times, in14 creased train frequencies, higher oper15 ating speeds, and other improvements; 

16 ‘‘(ii) identifies the anticipated funding 

17 source and financing method for each cap18 ital project described in subclauses (II) 

19 and (III) of clause (i); 

20 ‘‘(iii) describes the anticipated out21 comes of each project, including— 

22 ‘‘(I) an assessment of the poten23 tial effect on passenger accessibility, 

24 operations, safety, reliability, and re25 siliency, and on the ability of inframstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 structure owners and operators to 

2 meet regulatory requirements should 

3 the project not be funded; and 

4 ‘‘(II) an assessment of the bene5 fits and costs; 

6 ‘‘(iv) identifies the extent to which the 

7 capital assets are or will be jointly used by 

8 intercity passenger rail service and other 

9 users, and the proportionate share of that 

10 joint usage; and 

11 ‘‘(v) for projects that are expected to 

12 be fully or partially funded through Fed13 eral financial assistance, identifies the 

14 most appropriate public agency or entity to 

15 receive those funds and implement each 

16 capital project. 

17 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL CONTENTS.—Any plan devel18 oped under paragraph (1) after the publication by 

19 the Secretary of Transportation of the Northeast 

20 Corridor service development plan shall also— 

21 ‘‘(A) be developed to identify, prioritize, 

22 and phase the implementation of projects nec23 essary to achieve the goals and findings con24 tained in such Northeast Corridor service devel25 opment plan; 

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1 ‘‘(B) allow for flexibility to change 

2 prioritization and programs based upon the 

3 availability of Federal and non-Federal funding; 

4 ‘‘(C) inform the Secretary in developing 

5 recommendations for Congress on Federal fund6 ing needs for the Northeast Corridor and any 

7 corresponding Federal investments in the re8 spective capital programs for Northeast Cor9 ridor infrastructure owners and users; and 

10 ‘‘(D) capture the network-level anticipated 

11 outcomes associated with plan implementation, 

12 including the anticipated effect on passenger 

13 accessibility, operations, safety, reliability, and 

14 resiliency. 

15 ‘‘(b) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR ASSET MANAGEMENT

16 PLANS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) CONTENTS.—Amtrak, and States and pub18 lic transportation entities that own infrastructure 

19 that supports or provides for intercity rail passenger 

20 transportation on the Northeast Corridor, shall de21 velop and update as necessary Northeast Corridor 

22 asset management plans for the Northeast Corridor 

23 main line between Boston, Massachusetts, and the 

24 District of Columbia, and the Northeast Corridor 

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1 vania, Springfield, Massachusetts, and Spuyten 

2 Duyvil, New York, and facilities and services used to 

3 operate and maintain those lines, that— 

4 ‘‘(A) are consistent with the Federal Tran5 sit Administration process, as authorized under 

6 section 5326, when implemented; and 

7 ‘‘(B) include, at a minimum— 

8 ‘‘(i) an inventory of all capital assets 

9 owned by the developer of the plan; 

10 ‘‘(ii) an assessment of the condition of 

11 each of those assets; 

12 ‘‘(iii) a description of how the condi13 tion of each asset has changed since the 

14 previous iteration of the plan; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) a description of the necessary re16 sources and processes for bringing or 

17 maintaining those assets in a state-of-good 

18 repair, including decision support tools and 

19 investment prioritization methodologies. 

20 ‘‘(2) TRANSMITTAL TO COMMISSION.—Not later 

21 than 12 months after the date of enactment of the 

22 Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015, 

23 each entity described in paragraph (1) shall transmit 

24 to the Commission a plan developed under paramstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 graph (1). Any updates to such plan shall also be 

2 transmitted to the Commission. 

3 ‘‘(c) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR SERVICE DEVELOP4 MENT PLAN UPDATES.—The Commission shall, at least 

5 once every 10 years, update the Northeast Corridor service 

6 development plan.’’. 

7 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The 

8 table of sections for chapter 249 of title 49, United 

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

10 following new item: 

‘‘24911. Northeast Corridor planning.’’. 

11 (c) REPEALS.—The following provisions are repealed: 

12 (1) Sections 206 and 211 of the Passenger Rail 

13 Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, and the 

14 items relating thereto in the table of contents of 

15 such Act. 

16 (2) Section 24104 of title 49, United States 

17 Code, and the item relating thereto in the table of 

18 sections for chapter 241 of such title. 

19 SEC. 202. 5-YEAR CAPITAL AND OPERATING PLAN. 

20 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 243 of title 49, United 

21 States Code, is further amended by adding at the end the 

22 following new section: 

23 ‘‘§ 24320. 5-Year capital and operating plan 

24 ‘‘(a) PLAN.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

25 of enactment of an Act appropriating funds pursuant to 

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1 section 101 of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment 

2 Act of 2015, or any subsequent authorization of appro3 priations for the same purposes, the Amtrak Board of Di4 rectors shall prepare and transmit to the Committee on 

5 Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on 

6 Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 

7 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

8 and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a 5- 

9 year capital and operating plan for the Northeast Corridor 

10 and National Network. 

11 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—Each such plan shall be pre12 pared in consultation with— 

13 ‘‘(1) the Federal Railroad Administration; 

14 ‘‘(2) the Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and 

15 Operations Advisory Commission, with respect to the 

16 Northeast Corridor; and 

17 ‘‘(3) the requisite States, with respect to the 

18 National Network. 

19 ‘‘(c) CONTENTS.—A plan prepared under this section 

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) for each of the Northeast Corridor and the 

22 National Network, include— 

23 ‘‘(A) projected revenues and expenditures 

24 for the Northeast Corridor, State-supported 

25 routes, long-distance routes, and corporate demstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 velopment, including Federal and non-Federal 

2 funding sources; 

3 ‘‘(B) projected ridership levels for the 

4 Northeast Corridor, State-supported routes, 

5 and long-distance routes; 

6 ‘‘(C) projected capital and operational 

7 funding requirements necessary to maintain 

8 passenger service in order to accommodate pre9 dicted ridership levels and predicted sources of 

10 Federal and non-Federal funding; 

11 ‘‘(D) projected capital and operating re12 quirements, ridership, revenue, and expendi13 tures for new passenger service operations or 

14 service expansions; 

15 ‘‘(E) an assessment of the continuing fi16 nancial stability of Amtrak, as indicated by fac17 tors including anticipated Federal funding of 

18 capital and operating costs, Amtrak’s ability to 

19 efficiently recruit, retain, and manage its work20 force, and Amtrak’s ability to effectively provide 

21 passenger rail service; 

22 ‘‘(F) estimates of long-term and short-term 

23 debt and associated principal and interest pay24 ments (both current and anticipated); 

25 ‘‘(G) annual cash flow forecasts; 

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1 ‘‘(H) a statement describing methods of 

2 estimation and significant assumptions; 

3 ‘‘(I) specific measures that demonstrate 

4 measurable improvement year over year in the 

5 financial results of Amtrak’s operations; 

6 ‘‘(J) prior fiscal year and projected— 

7 ‘‘(i) operating ratio, cash operating 

8 loss, and cash operating loss per passenger 

9 on a route, business line, and corporate 

10 basis; 

11 ‘‘(ii) specific costs and savings esti12 mates resulting from reform initiatives; 

13 ‘‘(iii) productivity statistics on a 

14 route, business line, and corporate basis; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(iv) equipment reliability statistics; 

17 ‘‘(K) capital and operating expenditures 

18 for anticipated security needs; and 

19 ‘‘(L) a prioritization of capital expendi20 tures by business line; and 

21 ‘‘(2) reflect the Northeast Corridor planning, as 

22 applicable, and grant processes established under 

23 sections 24911 and 24318. 

24 ‘‘(d) CONFORMANCE TO AUTHORIZED FUNDING LEV25 ELS.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), any financial projection for a fiscal year 

3 that is included in a plan prepared under this sec4 tion shall be based on the amount of dedicated fund5 ing for such fiscal year. 

6 ‘‘(2) ABSENCE OF APPROPRIATION.—In the ab7 sence of an appropriation of funds for such fiscal 

8 year, the projection shall be based on the amount of 

9 funds authorized by law to be appropriated for that 

10 fiscal year, plus other dedicated funding. 

11 ‘‘(3) DEDICATED FUNDING DEFINED.—In this 

12 subsection, the term ‘dedicated funding’ means any 

13 amounts appropriated for a fiscal year and any 

14 other funding sources, including revenues and other 

15 ancillary funding streams, for the Northeast Cor16 ridor or the National Network. 

17 ‘‘(e) STANDARDS TO PROMOTE FINANCIAL STA18 BILITY.—In preparing a plan under this section, the 

19 Board shall apply sound budgetary practices, including re20 ducing costs and other expenditures, improving produc21 tivity, increasing revenues, or combinations of such prac22 tices. 

23 ‘‘(f) UPDATES.—Amtrak shall provide monthly re24 ports for the current fiscal year in electronic format to 

25 the Secretary and the Committee on Transportation and 

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1 Infrastructure and the Committee on Appropriations of 

2 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com3 merce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on 

4 Appropriations of the Senate regarding the items de5 scribed in subsection (c)(1), which shall include a descrip6 tion of the work completed to date, any differences from 

7 projections, and the reasons for such differences.’’. 

8 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

9 sections for such chapter 243 is amended by adding at 

10 the end the following new item: 

‘‘24320. 5-Year capital and operating plan.’’. 

11 (c) REPEAL.—Section 204 of the Passenger Rail In12 vestment and Improvement Act of 2008 (49 U.S.C. 24101 

13 note), and the item relating thereto in the table of con14 tents of such Act, are repealed. 

15 SEC. 203. STATE-SUPPORTED ROUTES. 

16 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 247 of title 49, United 

17 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing new section: 

19 ‘‘§ 24712. State-supported routes 

20 ‘‘(a) STATE-SUPPORTED ROUTE ADVISORY COM21 MITTEE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

23 after the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail 

24 Reform and Investment Act of 2015, the Secretary 

25 of Transportation shall establish a State-Supported 

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1 Route Advisory Committee to promote mutual co2 operation and planning pertaining to the rail oper3 ations and related activities of trains operated on 

4 State-supported routes and to further implement 

5 section 209 of the Passenger Rail Investment and 

6 Improvement Act of 2008 (49 U.S.C. 24101 note). 

7 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall con8 sist of representatives of— 

9 ‘‘(A) Amtrak; 

10 ‘‘(B) the Department of Transportation, 

11 including the Federal Railroad Administration; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(C) 7 States that sponsor State-supported 

14 routes, selected by the Administrator of the 

15 Federal Railroad Administration on the basis of 

16 appropriate expertise and geographic balance, 

17 and in a manner that ensures that all appro18 priate States are represented periodically on the 

19 Committee. 

20 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION OF MEMBERSHIP.—The 

21 membership belonging to any of the groups de22 scribed in each individual subparagraph of para23 graph (2) shall not constitute a majority of the 

24 Committee’s memberships. 

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1 ‘‘(4) MEETINGS; RULES AND PROCEDURES.— 

2 The Committee shall establish a schedule and loca3 tion for convening meetings, but shall meet no less 

4 than 2 times every fiscal year. The Committee shall 

5 develop rules and procedures to govern the Commit6 tee’s proceedings. 

7 ‘‘(b) COST, SERVICE, AND RIDERSHIP FORECASTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 31, 

9 2016, and annually thereafter, Amtrak shall trans10 mit to each State that sponsors a State-supported 

11 route, and to the Committee on Transportation and 

12 Infrastructure and the Committee on Appropriations 

13 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

14 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

15 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate— 

16 ‘‘(A) a final statement of costs, revenues, 

17 ridership, and other information determined ap18 propriate by the Committee established under 

19 subsection (a), pertaining to each such route for 

20 the prior fiscal year; and 

21 ‘‘(B) a cost, service, and ridership forecast 

22 for each such route for the upcoming fiscal 

23 year, developed pursuant to the methodology es24 tablished under section 209 of the Passenger 

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1 Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 

2 (49 U.S.C. 24101 note). 

3 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The Committee may estab4 lish a different deadline than is required under para5 graph (1) for submission of final financial state6 ments and cost, service, and ridership forecasts. 

7 ‘‘(3) QUARTERLY UPDATES.—Beginning in 

8 2016, and each year thereafter, Amtrak shall trans9 mit to each State that sponsors a State-supported 

10 route quarterly updates of the cost, service, and rid11 ership forecast described in paragraph (1)(B) to en12 able States to pace costs against State budgets, plan 

13 effectively, and address unexpected changes in costs 

14 in a timely manner, on the following dates: 

15 ‘‘(A) April 30, for the period encompassing 

16 January through March of such year. 

17 ‘‘(B) July 31, for the period encompassing 

18 April through June of such year. 

19 ‘‘(C) October 31, for the period encom20 passing July through September of such year. 

21 ‘‘(c) INVOICES.—Not later than February 15, 2016, 

22 and monthly thereafter, Amtrak shall provide to each 

23 State that sponsors a State-supported route a monthly in24 voice of the cost of operating such route, including fixed 

25 costs and third-party costs. 

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1 ‘‘(d) DISPUTE RESOLUTION.— 

2 ‘‘(1) REQUEST FOR EXPEDITED RESOLUTION.— 

3 If a dispute arises with respect to a forecast devel4 oped under subsection (b), an invoice developed 

5 under subsection (c), or the terms of a contract for 

6 operation of a State-supported route negotiated be7 tween Amtrak and a State that sponsors the route, 

8 either Amtrak or the State may request that the 

9 Surface Transportation Board conduct expedited 

10 dispute resolution under this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURES.—The Surface Transpor12 tation Board shall establish procedures for expedited 

13 resolution of disputes brought before it under this 

14 subsection. 

15 ‘‘(3) BINDING EFFECT.—The decision of the 

16 Surface Transportation Board under this subsection 

17 shall be binding on the parties to the dispute. 

18 ‘‘(e) FRA ASSISTANCE.—The Federal Railroad Ad19 ministration may provide assistance to the parties in the 

20 course of negotiations for a contract for operation of a 

21 State-supported route. 

22 ‘‘(f) PERFORMANCE METRICS.—In negotiating a con23 tract for operation of a State-supported route, Amtrak 

24 and the State or States that sponsor the route shall con25 sider including provisions that provide penalties and incenmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tives for performance based on metrics that take into ac2 count only those factors within the control of Amtrak or 

3 the State or States. 

4 ‘‘(g) DEFINITION OF STATE.—In this section, the 

5 term ‘State’ means each of the 50 States and the District 

6 of Columbia.’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

8 sections for such chapter 247 is amended by adding at 

9 the end the following new item: 

‘‘24712. State-supported routes.’’. 

10 SEC. 204. ROUTE AND SERVICE PLANNING DECISIONS. 

11 Section 208 of the Passenger Rail Investment and 

12 Improvement Act of 2008 (49 U.S.C. 24101 note) is 

13 amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 208. METHODOLOGIES FOR AMTRAK ROUTE AND 

15 SERVICE PLANNING DECISIONS. 

16 ‘‘(a) METHODOLOGY DEVELOPMENT.—Not later 

17 than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Pas18 senger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015, as a con19 dition of receiving a grant under section 101 of such Act, 

20 Amtrak shall obtain the services of an independent entity 

21 to develop and recommend objective methodologies for 

22 Amtrak to use in determining what intercity rail passenger 

23 transportation routes and services it should provide, in24 cluding the establishment of new routes, the elimination 

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1 of existing routes, and the contraction or expansion of 

2 services or frequencies over such routes. 

3 ‘‘(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—Amtrak shall require the 

4 entity, in developing the methodologies described in sub5 section (a), to consider— 

6 ‘‘(1) the current and expected performance and 

7 service quality of intercity rail passenger transpor8 tation operations, including cost recovery, on-time 

9 performance, ridership, on-board services, stations, 

10 facilities, equipment, and other services; 

11 ‘‘(2) connectivity of a route with other routes; 

12 ‘‘(3) the transportation needs of communities 

13 and populations that are not well served by intercity 

14 rail passenger transportation service or by other 

15 forms of intercity transportation; 

16 ‘‘(4) the methodologies of Amtrak and major 

17 intercity rail passenger transportation service pro18 viders in other countries for determining intercity 

19 passenger rail routes and services; 

20 ‘‘(5) the views of States, rail carriers that own 

21 infrastructure over which Amtrak operates, Amtrak 

22 employee representatives, and other interested par23 ties; and 

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1 ‘‘(6) the funding levels that will be available 

2 under authorization levels that have been enacted 

3 into law. 

4 ‘‘(c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 1 year 

5 after the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail Reform 

6 and Investment Act of 2015, Amtrak shall transmit to the 

7 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

8 House of Representatives, and the Committee on Com9 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate the rec10 ommendations developed by the entity pursuant to sub11 section (a). 

12 ‘‘(d) CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not 

13 later than 90 days after transmitting the recommenda14 tions pursuant to subsection (c), the Amtrak Board of Di15 rectors shall consider the adoption of the recommenda16 tions and transmit to the Committee on Transportation 

17 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 

18 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

19 of the Senate a report containing an explanation of any 

20 reasons for adopting or not adopting the recommenda21 tions.’’. 

22 SEC. 205. COMPETITION. 

23 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 24711 of title 49, United 

24 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

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1 ‘‘§ 24711. Alternate passenger rail service pilot pro2 gram 

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

4 date of enactment of the Passenger Rail Reform and In5 vestment Act of 2015, the Federal Railroad Administra6 tion shall complete a rulemaking proceeding to develop a 

7 pilot program that— 

8 ‘‘(1) permits a rail carrier or rail carriers that 

9 own infrastructure over which Amtrak operates a 

10 passenger rail service route described in subpara11 graph (B), (C), or (D) of section 24102(7) or in sec12 tion 24702(a) to petition the Federal Railroad Ad13 ministration to be considered as a passenger rail 

14 service provider over that route in lieu of Amtrak for 

15 an operations period of 5 years; 

16 ‘‘(2) requires the Federal Railroad Administra17 tion to notify Amtrak within 30 days after receiving 

18 a petition under paragraph (1) and establish a dead19 line by which both the petitioner and Amtrak would 

20 be required to submit a bid to provide passenger rail 

21 service over the route to which the petition relates; 

22 ‘‘(3) requires that each bid describe how the 

23 bidder would operate the route, what Amtrak pas24 senger equipment would be needed, if any, and what 

25 sources of non-Federal funding the bidder would 

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1 use, including any State subsidy, among other 

2 things; 

3 ‘‘(4) requires the Federal Railroad Administra4 tion to execute a contract within a specified, limited 

5 time after the deadline established under paragraph 

6 (2) and award to the winning bidder— 

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

8 passenger rail service over that route subject to 

9 such performance standards as the Federal 

10 Railroad Administration may require; and 

11 ‘‘(B) an operating subsidy— 

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

13 excess of 90 percent of the level in effect 

14 for that specific route during the fiscal 

15 year preceding the fiscal year in which the 

16 petition was received, adjusted for infla17 tion; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) for any subsequent years at the 

19 level calculated under clause (i), adjusted 

20 for inflation; and 

21 ‘‘(5) requires that each bid contain a staffing 

22 plan describing the number of employees needed to 

23 operate the service, the job assignments and require24 ments, and the terms of work for prospective and 

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1 lined in the bid, and that such staffing plan be made 

2 available by the winning bidder to the public after 

3 the bid award. 

4 ‘‘(b) ROUTE LIMITATIONS.—The Federal Railroad 

5 Administration may not make the program available with 

6 respect to more than 2 Amtrak intercity passenger rail 

7 routes. 

8 ‘‘(c) PERFORMANCE STANDARDS; ACCESS TO FACILI9 TIES; EMPLOYEES.—If the Federal Railroad Administra10 tion awards the right and obligation to provide passenger 

11 rail service over a route under this section to a rail carrier 

12 or rail carriers— 

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

14 carrier or rail carriers for rail passenger operations 

15 on that route that conditions the operating and sub16 sidy rights on— 

17 ‘‘(A) the service provider continuing to 

18 provide passenger rail service on the route that 

19 is no less frequent, nor over a shorter distance, 

20 than Amtrak provided on that route before the 

21 award; and 

22 ‘‘(B) the service provider’s compliance with 

23 the standards established under subsection 

24 (a)(4)(A), and such additional performance 

25 standards as the Administration may establish; 

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1 ‘‘(2) it shall, if the award is made to a rail car2 rier other than Amtrak, require Amtrak to provide 

3 access to its reservation system, stations, and facili4 ties directly related to operations to any rail carrier 

5 or rail carriers awarded a contract under this sec6 tion, in accordance with subsection (d), necessary to 

7 carry out the purposes of this section; 

8 ‘‘(3) an employee of any person used by such 

9 rail carrier or rail carriers in the operation of a 

10 route under this section shall be considered an em11 ployee of that carrier or carriers and subject to the 

12 applicable Federal laws and regulations governing 

13 similar crafts or classes of employees of Amtrak, in14 cluding provisions under section 121 of the Amtrak 

15 Reform and Accountability Act of 1997 (49 U.S.C. 

16 4312 note) relating to employees that provide food 

17 and beverage service; and 

18 ‘‘(4) the winning bidder shall provide hiring 

19 preference to qualified Amtrak employees displaced 

20 by the award of the bid, consistent with the staffing 

21 plan submitted by the bidder, and shall be subject 

22 to the grant conditions under section 24405 of this 

23 title. 

24 ‘‘(d) DISPUTES.—If Amtrak and the rail carrier or 

25 rail carriers awarded a route under this section cannot 

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1 agree upon terms to carry out subsection (c)(2), and the 

2 Surface Transportation Board finds that access to Am3 trak’s facilities or equipment, or the provision of services 

4 by Amtrak, is necessary to carry out subsection (c)(2) and 

5 that the operation of Amtrak’s other services will not be 

6 impaired thereby, the Surface Transportation Board shall, 

7 within 120 days after submission of the dispute, issue an 

8 order that the facilities and equipment be made available, 

9 and that services be provided, by Amtrak, and shall deter10 mine reasonable compensation, liability, and other terms 

11 for use of the facilities and equipment and provision of 

12 the services. 

13 ‘‘(e) CESSATION OF SERVICE.—If a rail carrier or rail 

14 carriers awarded a route under this section cease to oper15 ate the service or fail to fulfill their obligations under the 

16 contract required under subsection (c), the Federal Rail17 road Administration, in collaboration with the Surface 

18 Transportation Board, shall take any necessary action 

19 consistent with this title to enforce the contract and en20 sure the continued provision of service, including the in21 stallment of an interim service provider and rebidding the 

22 contract to operate the service. The entity providing serv23 ice shall either be Amtrak or a rail carrier defined in sub24 section (a)(1). 

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1 ‘‘(f) ADEQUATE RESOURCES.—Before taking any ac2 tion allowed under this section, the Secretary shall certify 

3 that the Federal Railroad Administration has sufficient 

4 resources appropriated under section 101(b) of Passenger 

5 Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015, or any subse6 quent appropriation, for that purpose that are adequate 

7 to undertake the program established under this section. 

8 ‘‘(g) BUDGET AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Trans9 portation may provide to a winning bidder selected under 

10 this section appropriations authorized under sections 

11 101(b) of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act 

12 of 2015, or any subsequent appropriation for the same 

13 purposes, necessary to cover the operating subsidy de14 scribed in subsection (a)(4)(B).’’. 

15 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the conclu16 sion of the pilot program established under the amend17 ment made by subsection (a), the Federal Railroad Ad18 ministration shall submit to the Committee on Transpor19 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

20 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor21 tation of the Senate a report on the results on the pilot 

22 program established under section 24711 of title 49 

23 United States Code, and any recommendations for further 

24 action. 

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1 SEC. 206. FOOD AND BEVERAGE REFORM. 

2 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 243 of title 49, United 

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

4 following new section: 

5 ‘‘§ 24321. Food and beverage reform 

6 ‘‘(a) PLAN.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

7 of enactment of the Passenger Rail Reform and Invest8 ment Act of 2015, Amtrak shall develop and begin imple9 menting a plan to eliminate, within 5 years of such date 

10 of enactment, the operating loss associated with providing 

11 food and beverage service on board Amtrak trains. 

12 ‘‘(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing and imple13 menting the plan, Amtrak shall consider a combination of 

14 cost management and revenue generation initiatives, in15 cluding— 

16 ‘‘(1) scheduling optimization; 

17 ‘‘(2) on-board logistics; 

18 ‘‘(3) product development and supply chain effi19 ciency; 

20 ‘‘(4) training, awards, and accountability; 

21 ‘‘(5) technology enhancements and process im22 provements; and 

23 ‘‘(6) ticket revenue allocation. 

24 ‘‘(c) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Amtrak shall ensure that no 

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1 actment of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act 

2 of 2015 is involuntarily separated because of— 

3 ‘‘(1) the development and implementation of the 

4 plan required under subsection (a); or 

5 ‘‘(2) any other action taken by Amtrak to im6 plement this section. 

7 ‘‘(d) NO FEDERAL FUNDING FOR OPERATING

8 LOSSES.—Beginning on the date that is 5 years after the 

9 date of enactment of the Passenger Rail Reform and In10 vestment Act of 2015, no Federal funds may be used to 

11 cover any operating loss associated with providing food 

12 and beverage service on a route operated by Amtrak or 

13 an alternative passenger rail service provider that operates 

14 a route in lieu of Amtrak pursuant to section 24711. 

15 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the 

16 date of enactment of the Passenger Rail Reform and In17 vestment Act of 2015, and annually thereafter for 5 years, 

18 Amtrak shall transmit to the Committee on Transpor19 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

20 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor21 tation of the Senate a report containing the plan developed 

22 pursuant to subsection (a) and a description of progress 

23 in the implementation of the plan.’’. 

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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec2 tions for chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘24321. Food and beverage reform.’’. 

4 SEC. 207. RIGHT OF WAY LEVERAGING. 

5 (a) REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.—Not later than 180 

6 days after the date of enactment of this Act, Amtrak shall 

7 issue a Request for Proposals seeking private sector per8 sons or entities to utilize Amtrak-owned right-of-way for 

9 telecommunications systems, energy distribution systems, 

10 and other activities considered appropriate by Amtrak. 

11 The Request for Proposals shall provide sufficient infor12 mation on Amtrak’s right-of-way real estate assets to en13 able respondents to propose an arrangement that will 

14 monetize such assets through revenue sharing agreements 

15 with Amtrak. 

16 (b) CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSALS.—Not later than 

17 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Amtrak 

18 Board of Directors shall review and consider each proposal 

19 submitted pursuant to subsection (a). Amtrak may enter 

20 into such agreements as are necessary to implement any 

21 such proposal or proposals. 

22 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 18 

23 months after the date of enactment of this Act, Amtrak 

24 shall transmit to the Committee on Transportation and 

25 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the 

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1 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

2 the Senate a report on the Request for Proposals required 

3 by this section, including summary information of any pro4 posals submitted to Amtrak and any proposals accepted 

5 by the Amtrak Board of Directors. 

6 SEC. 208. STATION DEVELOPMENT. 

7 (a) REPORT ON DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS.—Not later 

8 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, Am9 trak shall transmit to the Committee on Transportation 

10 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 

11 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

12 of the Senate a report on options to enhance development 

13 around Amtrak stations, including— 

14 (1) strengthening multimodal connections, in15 cluding intercity buses; 

16 (2) options for capturing development-related 

17 revenue streams; and 

18 (3) other opportunities to better leverage sta19 tion assets. 

20 (b) PROPOSALS.— 

21 (1) REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.—Not later than 

22 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 

23 Amtrak shall issue a Request for Proposals seeking 

24 persons or entities, where appropriate, to carry out 

25 the options identified under subsection (a). 

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1 (2) CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSALS.—Not later 

2 than 24 months after the date of enactment of this 

3 Act, the Amtrak Board of Directors shall review and 

4 consider each proposal submitted pursuant to para5 graph (1). Amtrak may enter into such agreements 

6 as are necessary to implement any such proposal or 

7 proposals. 

8 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 30 

9 months after the date of enactment of this Act, Amtrak 

10 shall transmit to the Committee on Transportation and 

11 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the 

12 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

13 the Senate a report on the Request for Proposals required 

14 by this section, including summary information of any pro15 posals submitted to Amtrak and any proposals accepted 

16 by the Amtrak Board of Directors. 

17 SEC. 209. AMTRAK DEBT. 

18 Section 205 of the Passenger Rail Investment and 

19 Improvement Act of 2008 (49 U.S.C. 24101 note) is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, to the ex22 tent provided in advance in appropriations Acts’’ 

23 after ‘‘Amtrak’s indebtedness’’; 

24 (2) by striking ‘‘as of the date of enactment of 

25 this Act’’ each place it appears; 

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1 (3) in subsection (a), by striking the second 

2 sentence; 

3 (4) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘The Sec4 retary of the Treasury, in consultation’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘To the extent amounts are provided in advance 

6 in appropriations Acts, the Secretary of the Treas7 ury, in consultation’’; 

8 (5) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘, to the ex9 tent provided in advance in appropriations Acts’’ 

10 after ‘‘as appropriate’’; 

11 (6) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘by section 

12 102 of this division’’; and 

13 (7) in subsection (e)(2), by striking ‘‘by section 

14 102’’ and inserting ‘‘for Amtrak’’. 

15 SEC. 210. AMTRAK PILOT PROGRAM FOR PASSENGERS 

16 TRANSPORTING DOMESTICATED CATS AND 

17 DOGS. 

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

19 date of enactment of this Act, Amtrak shall develop a pilot 

20 program that allows passengers to transport domesticated 

21 cats or dogs on certain trains operated by Amtrak. 

22 (b) PET POLICY.—In developing the pilot program 

23 required under subsection (a), Amtrak shall— 

24 (1) in the case of a passenger train that is com25 prised of more than 1 car, designate, where feasible, 

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1 at least 1 car in which a ticketed passenger may 

2 transport a domesticated cat or dog in the same 

3 manner as carry-on baggage if— 

4 (A) the cat or dog is contained in a pet 

5 kennel; 

6 (B) the pet kennel is stowed in accordance 

7 with Amtrak size requirements for carriage of 

8 carry-on baggage; 

9 (C) the passenger is traveling on a train 

10 operating on a route described in subparagraph 

11 (A), (B), or (D) of section 24102(7) of title 49, 

12 United States Code; and 

13 (D) the passenger pays a fee described in 

14 paragraph (3); 

15 (2) allow a ticketed passenger to transport a 

16 domesticated cat or dog on a train in the same man17 ner as cargo if— 

18 (A) the cat or dog is contained in a pet 

19 kennel; 

20 (B) the pet kennel is stowed in accordance 

21 with Amtrak requirements for cargo stowage; 

22 (C) the passenger is traveling on a train 

23 operating on a route described in subparagraph 

24 (A), (B), or (D) of section 24102(7) of title 49, 

25 United States Code; 

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1 (D) the cargo area is temperature con2 trolled in a manner protective of cat and dog 

3 safety and health; and 

4 (E) the passenger pays a fee described in 

5 paragraph (3); and 

6 (3) collect fees for each cat or dog transported 

7 by a ticketed passenger in an amount that, in the 

8 aggregate and at a minimum, covers the full costs 

9 of the pilot program. 

10 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the pilot 

11 program required under subsection (a) is first imple12 mented, Amtrak shall transmit to the Committee on 

13 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep14 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

15 and Transportation of the Senate a report containing an 

16 evaluation of the pilot program. 

17 (d) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 

18 (1) SERVICE ANIMALS.—The pilot program re19 quired under subsection (a) shall be separate from 

20 and in addition to the policy governing Amtrak pas21 sengers traveling with service animals. Nothing in 

22 this section may be interpreted to limit or waive the 

23 rights of passengers to transport service animals. 

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1 (2) ADDITIONAL TRAIN CARS.—Nothing in this 

2 section may be interpreted to require Amtrak to add 

3 additional train cars or modify existing train cars. 

4 (3) FEDERAL FUNDS.—No Federal funds may 

5 be used to implement the pilot program required 

6 under this section. 

7 SEC. 211. AMTRAK BOARDING PROCEDURES. 

8 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, the Amtrak Office of Inspector 

10 General shall transmit to the Committee on Transpor11 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

12 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor13 tation of the Senate a report that— 

14 (1) evaluates Amtrak’s boarding procedures at 

15 its 10 stations through which the most people pass; 

16 (2) compares Amtrak’s boarding procedures 

17 to— 

18 (A) commuter railroad boarding proce19 dures at stations shared with Amtrak; 

20 (B) international intercity passenger rail 

21 boarding procedures; and 

22 (C) fixed guideway transit boarding proce23 dures; and 

24 (3) makes recommendations, as appropriate, to 

25 improve Amtrak’s boarding procedures, including 

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1 recommendations regarding the queuing of pas2 sengers and free-flow of all station-users. 

3 (b) CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not 

4 later than 6 months after the release of the report re5 quired under subsection (a), the Amtrak Board of Direc6 tors shall consider each recommendation provided under 

7 subsection (a)(3) for implementation across the Amtrak 

8 system. 

9 TITLE III—INTERCITY 

10 PASSENGER RAIL POLICY 

11 SEC. 301. FEDERAL-STATE PARTNERSHIP FOR NORTHEAST 

12 CORRIDOR DEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVE13 MENT. 

14 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 244 of title 49, United 

15 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing new section: 

17 ‘‘§ 24407. Federal-State partnership for Northeast 

18 Corridor rehabilitation and improvement 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

20 shall develop and implement a program for issuing grants 

21 to applicants, on a competitive basis, for the purpose of 

22 financing the capital projects included in the Northeast 

23 Corridor Priority Project List developed under subsection 

24 (c). 

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1 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

2 definitions apply: 

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

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

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

6 established by one or more States and having re7 sponsibility for providing intercity passenger or com8 muter rail service. 

9 ‘‘(2) MAJOR STATE-OF-GOOD-REPAIR

10 PROJECT.—The term ‘major state-of-good-repair 

11 project’ means a capital project primarily intended 

12 to replace, rehabilitate or repair major Northeast 

13 Corridor infrastructure assets utilized for providing 

14 intercity rail passenger transportation, including 

15 tunnels, bridges, stations, and other assets as deter16 mined by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(3) IMPROVEMENT PROJECT.—The term ‘im18 provement project’ means a capital project primarily 

19 intended to improve intercity passenger rail perform20 ance on the Northeast Corridor, including reduced 

21 trip times, increased train frequencies, higher oper22 ating speeds, and other improvements as determined 

23 by the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(c) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR PRIORITY PROJECT

25 LIST.—The Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Opermstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ations Advisory Commission, established under section 

2 24905, shall develop and approve a Northeast Corridor 

3 Priority Project List that shall include— 

4 ‘‘(1) a list of prioritized individual major state5 of-good-repair projects and improvement projects 

6 along the Northeast Corridor that— 

7 ‘‘(A) can be completed based on— 

8 ‘‘(i) the funding authorized under sec9 tion 103(b) of the Passenger Rail Reform 

10 and Investment Act of 2015; 

11 ‘‘(ii) any subsequent applicable au12 thorization in effect; 

13 ‘‘(iii) in the absence of such an au14 thorization, a 5-year funding amount based 

15 on the most recent appropriation; or 

16 ‘‘(iv) the requirements of subsection 

17 (d); and 

18 ‘‘(B) are consistent with the Northeast 

19 Corridor capital investment plan required under 

20 section 24911(a); 

21 ‘‘(2) an identification of the applicant for each 

22 individual project; 

23 ‘‘(3) an identification of the sources of non24 Federal matching funds for each project; and 

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1 ‘‘(4) a description of the benefits each project 

2 will bring to intercity rail passenger services. 

3 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—The Federal grants author4 ized under this section shall be for no more than 50 per5 cent of the net project cost of the project involved. 

6 ‘‘(e) APPLICABILITY OF CAPITAL GRANT REQUIRE7 MENTS.—Except as specifically provided in this section, 

8 the use of any amounts appropriated for grants under this 

9 section shall be subject to the requirements of this chap10 ter. 

11 ‘‘(f) MATCH REQUIREMENTS.—No grants may be ob12 ligated to an applicant under this section unless the appli13 cant has transmitted to the Secretary of Transportation 

14 a binding written commitment to provide all amounts nec15 essary for the purpose of matching Federal contributions 

16 as required by this section. 

17 ‘‘(g) UPDATES TO LIST.—The Northeast Corridor 

18 Infrastructure and Operations Advisory Commission shall 

19 revise the NEC Priority Project List as necessary to re20 flect— 

21 ‘‘(1) any differences in the availability of Fed22 eral funding from the levels assumed for purposes of 

23 subsection (c)(1)(A) (i) and (ii); 

24 ‘‘(2) any elimination or addition of projects; 

25 and 

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1 ‘‘(3) any reduction or increase in benefits to be 

2 derived from a project. 

3 ‘‘(h) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated for car4 rying out this section shall remain available until ex5 pended. 

6 ‘‘(i) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall 

7 supplant the requirement of applicants to compensate Am8 trak for the use of Amtrak facilities or services pursuant 

9 to section 24905(c). 

10 ‘‘(j) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

11 term ‘Northeast Corridor’ means the Northeast Corridor 

12 main line between Boston, Massachusetts, and the District 

13 of Columbia, and the Northeast Corridor branch lines con14 necting to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Springfield, Massa15 chusetts, and Spuyten Duyvil, New York, and facilities 

16 and services used to operate and maintain those lines.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec18 tions for chapter 244 of title 49, United States Code, is 

19 amended by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘24407. Federal-State partnership for Northeast Corridor rehabilitation and improvement.’’. 

20 SEC. 302. RRIF IMPROVEMENTS. 

21 (a) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor23 tation shall issue regulations implementing the amend24 ments made by this section. 

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1 (b) COLLATERAL.—Section 502(h)(2) of the Railroad 

2 Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 

3 U.S.C. 822(h)(2)) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘(2) The Secretary’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary’’; 

6 (2) by inserting ‘‘The Secretary may subordi7 nate rights of the Secretary under any provision of 

8 title 49 or title 23 of the United States Code, to the 

9 rights of the Secretary under this section and sec10 tion 503.’’ after ‘‘from another source.’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub12 paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall, for purposes of making a 

14 finding under subsection (g)(4), accept the net present 

15 value on a future stream of State or local subsidy income 

16 or dedicated revenue as collateral offered to secure the 

17 loan.’’. 

18 (c) OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET RE19 VIEW.—Section 502(i) of such Act (45 U.S.C. 822(i)) is 

20 amended by inserting ‘‘In order to enable compliance with 

21 such time limit, the Office of Management and Budget 

22 shall take any actions required with respect to the applica23 tion within such 90-day period.’’ after ‘‘disapprove the ap24 plication.’’. 

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1 (d) RRIF APPLICATION.—Section 502(i) of such Act 

2 (45 U.S.C. 822(i)) is further amended— 

3 (1) by striking ‘‘DISAPPROVAL.—Not later than 

4 90 days after receiving’’ and inserting ‘‘DIS5 APPROVAL.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

7 after an application is determined pursuant to para8 graph (2) to be’’; and 

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

10 paragraphs: 

11 ‘‘(2) COMPLETION OF APPLICATION.—The Sec12 retary shall establish procedures for making a deter13 mination, not later than 45 days after submission of 

14 an application under this section, whether the appli15 cation is complete. Such procedures shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) provide for a checklist of the required 

17 components of a complete application; 

18 ‘‘(B) require the Secretary to provide to 

19 the applicant a description of the specific com20 ponents of the application that remain incom21 plete if an application is determined to be in22 complete; and 

23 ‘‘(C) permit reapplication without preju24 dice for applications determined to be incom25 plete. 

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1 ‘‘(3) INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL ANALYST.—The 

2 Secretary shall assign an independent financial ana3 lyst within 45 days of submittal of a complete appli4 cation.’’. 

5 (e) POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL.—Section 502(c)(1) of 

6 such Act (45 U.S.C. 822(c)(1)) is amended by inserting 

7 ‘‘, including projects for the installation of a positive train 

8 control (as defined in section 20157(i) of title 49, United 

9 States Code) system’’ after ‘‘public safety’’. 

10 (f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Section 502 of such Act 

11 (45 U.S.C. 822) is further amended by adding at the end 

12 the following new subsection: 

13 ‘‘(k) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

14 after the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail Reform 

15 and Investment Act of 2015, and annually thereafter, the 

16 Secretary shall transmit to Congress a report on the pro17 gram under this section that provides information on loans 

18 approved and disapproved by the Secretary during the pre19 vious year. Such report shall not disclose the identity of 

20 direct loan or loan guarantee recipients. The report shall 

21 describe— 

22 ‘‘(1) the number of pre-application meetings 

23 with potential applicants; 

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1 ‘‘(2) the number of applications received and 

2 determined complete under subsection (i)(2), includ3 ing the requested loan amounts; 

4 ‘‘(3) the dates of receipt of applications; 

5 ‘‘(4) the dates applications were determined 

6 complete under subsection (i)(2); 

7 ‘‘(5) the number of applications determined in8 complete under subsection (i)(2); 

9 ‘‘(6) the final decision dates for both approvals 

10 and disapprovals of applications; 

11 ‘‘(7) the number of applications withdrawn 

12 from consideration; and 

13 ‘‘(8) the annual loan portfolio asset quality.’’. 

14 SEC. 303. NEC FAST FORWARD. 

15 (a) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR AUTHORITY.—Section 

16 502(d) of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Re17 form Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 822(d)) is amended by in18 serting ‘‘40 percent shall be available solely for projects 

19 described in subsection (l)(1), and’’ after ‘‘Of this 

20 amount,’’. 

21 (b) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR FAST FORWARD PRO22 GRAM.—Section 502 of such Act is further amended by 

23 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

24 ‘‘(l) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR FAST FORWARD.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The Secretary, as part of the 

2 Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing 

3 program, shall provide direct loans and loan guaran4 tees to eligible entities described in subsection (a) 

5 for capital projects to improve the Northeast Cor6 ridor (as used in section 24911 of title 49, United 

7 States Code). 

8 ‘‘(2) COLLATERAL.—Loans made or guaranteed 

9 under this subsection shall require collateral equal to 

10 the loan amount requested. 

11 ‘‘(3) INVESTMENT GRADE RATING.—A direct 

12 loan or loan guarantee shall be made under this sub13 section only if a rating agency has assigned an in14 vestment grade rating of BBB minus, Baa3, bbb 

15 minus, BBB (low), (or equivalent) or higher to the 

16 project obligation. For purposes of this paragraph, 

17 the term ‘rating agency’ means a credit rating agen18 cy registered with the Securities and Exchange Com19 mission as a nationally recognized statistical rating 

20 organization (as that term is defined in section 3(a) 

21 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 

22 78c(a))). 

23 ‘‘(4) INCLUSION IN NEC PLANNING.—Loans 

24 and loan guarantees made under this subsection 

25 shall be for projects that are included in the most 

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1 recent 5-year budget and business plan prepared 

2 pursuant to section 24911(a) of title 49, United 

3 States Code. 

4 ‘‘(5) REFINANCING.—Loans made or guaran5 teed under this subsection shall not be used for the 

6 refinancing of outstanding debt incurred. 

7 ‘‘(6) COHORT OF LOANS.—Subsection (f)(4) 

8 shall not apply to loans made or guaranteed under 

9 this subsection.’’. 

10 (c) REPORT ON LEVERAGING RRIF.—Not later than 

11 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

12 Comptroller General shall transmit to the Committee on 

13 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep14 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

15 and Transportation of the Senate a report identifying po16 tential revenue sources, projects, and service improve17 ments that could be achieved by the amendments made 

18 by subsections (a) and (b). 

19 (d) CONDITIONS OF FUNDING.— 

20 (1) GRANTS.—Section 24405 of title 49, United 

21 States Code, is amended— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘15 days’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘30 days’’ in subsection (a)(4)(B); and 

24 (B) in subsection (a), by adding at the end 

25 the following: 

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1 ‘‘(12) Not later than 1 year after the date of enact2 ment of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act 

3 of 2015, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall 

4 transmit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

5 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

6 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep7 resentatives a report listing any waiver issued under this 

8 section during the preceding year.’’. 

9 (2) RRIF.—Section 502(h)(3) of the Railroad 

10 Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 

11 (45 U.S.C. 822(h)(3)) is amended— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub13 paragraph (A); 

14 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

15 subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(C) the requirements of section 24405(a) of 

18 title 49, United States Code.’’. 

19 SEC. 304. LARGE CAPITAL PROJECT REQUIREMENTS. 

20 Section 24402 of title 49, United States Code, is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following subsection: 

22 ‘‘(m) LARGE CAPITAL PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For a grant awarded under 

24 this chapter for an amount in excess of 

25 $1,000,000,000, the following conditions shall apply: 

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1 ‘‘(A) The Secretary of Transportation shall 

2 not obligate any funding unless the applicant 

3 demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Sec4 retary that it has committed and will be able to 

5 fulfill the non-Federal share required for the 

6 grant within the applicant’s proposed project 

7 completion timetable. 

8 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall not obligate any 

9 funding for work activities that occur after the 

10 completion of final design unless— 

11 ‘‘(i) the applicant transmits to the 

12 Secretary a financial plan that generally 

13 identifies the sources of the non-Federal 

14 funding required for any subsequent seg15 ments or phases of the corridor service de16 velopment program covering the project for 

17 which the grant is made; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the grant will result in a useable 

19 segment, a transportation facility, or 

20 equipment, that has operational independ21 ence; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) the intercity passenger rail bene23 fits anticipated to result from the grant, 

24 such as increased speed, improved on-time 

25 performance, reduced trip time, increased 

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1 frequencies, new service, safety improve2 ments, improved accessibility, or other sig3 nificant enhancements are detailed by the 

4 grantee and approved by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall ensure that the 

6 project is maintained to the level of utility that 

7 is necessary to support the benefits approved 

8 under subparagraph (B)(iii) for a period of 20 

9 years from the date the useable segment, trans10 portation facility, or equipment described in 

11 subparagraph (B)(ii) is placed in service. If the 

12 project property is not maintained as required 

13 by this subparagraph for a period of time in ex14 cess of 12 months, then a pro-rata share of the 

15 Federal contribution, based upon the percent16 age remaining of the 20-year period that com17 menced when the project property was placed in 

18 service, shall be refunded. 

19 ‘‘(2) EARLY WORK.—The Secretary may allow a 

20 grantee subject to this subsection to engage in at21 risk work activities subsequent to the conclusion of 

22 final design where the Secretary determines that 

23 such work activities are reasonable and necessary.’’. 

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1 SEC. 305. SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION STUDY. 

2 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Transportation shall 

3 conduct a nationwide disparity and availability study on 

4 the availability and use of small business concerns owned 

5 and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged 

6 individuals in publically funded intercity rail passenger 

7 transportation (as defined in section 24102 of title 49, 

8 United States Code) projects administered by the Federal 

9 Railroad Administration. 

10 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to 

12 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

13 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com14 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

15 containing the results of the study conducted under sub16 section (a). 

17 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 (1) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘small busi20 ness concern’’ means a small business concern 

21 as the term is used in section 3 of the Small 

22 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 

23 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘small busi24 ness concern’’ does not include any concern or 

25 group of concerns controlled by the same so26 cially and economically disadvantaged individual 

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1 or individuals that have average annual gross 

2 receipts during the preceding 3 fiscal years in 

3 excess of $22,410,000, as adjusted annually by 

4 the Secretary for inflation. 

5 (2) SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVAN6 TAGED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘socially and eco7 nomically disadvantaged individual’’ has the mean8 ing given the term in section 8(d) of the Small Busi9 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)) and relevant subcon10 tracting regulations issued pursuant to that Act, ex11 cept that women shall be presumed to be socially 

12 and economically disadvantaged individuals for pur13 poses of this section. 

14 (d) FUNDING.—Of the total amount made available 

15 to the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Trans16 portation and the Federal Railroad Administration, for 

17 each of fiscal years 2016 and 2017, $3,000,000 shall be 

18 used to implement the requirements of this section. 

19 SEC. 306. GULF COAST RAIL SERVICE WORKING GROUP. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Railroad Ad22 ministration shall convene a working group to evaluate the 

23 restoration of intercity rail passenger service in the Gulf 

24 Coast region between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Or25 lando, Florida. 

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1 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The working group shall consist 

2 of representatives of— 

3 (1) Amtrak; 

4 (2) the States along the proposed route or 

5 routes; 

6 (3) regional transportation planning organiza7 tions and metropolitan planning organizations, mu8 nicipalities, and communities along the proposed 

9 route or routes, selected by the Administrator of the 

10 Federal Railroad Administration; 

11 (4) the Southern Rail Commission; 

12 (5) freight railroad carriers whose tracks may 

13 be used for such service; and 

14 (6) other entities determined appropriate by the 

15 Administrator. 

16 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The working group shall— 

17 (1) evaluate all options for restoring intercity 

18 rail passenger service in the Gulf Coast region, in19 cluding options outlined in the report transmitted to 

20 Congress pursuant to section 226 of the Passenger 

21 Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 

22 (Public Law 110–432); 

23 (2) select a preferred option for restoring such 

24 service; 

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1 (3) develop a prioritized inventory of capital 

2 projects and other actions required to restore such 

3 service and cost estimates for such projects or ac4 tions; and 

5 (4) identify Federal and non-Federal funding 

6 sources required to restore such service, including 

7 options for entering into public-private partnerships 

8 to restore such service. 

9 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 9 months after the date 

10 of enactment of this Act, the working group shall transmit 

11 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

12 in the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

13 Commerce, Science, and Transportation in the Senate a 

14 report that includes— 

15 (1) the preferred option selected under sub16 section (c)(2) and the reasons for selecting such op17 tion; 

18 (2) the information described in subsection 

19 (c)(3); 

20 (3) the funding sources identified under sub21 section (c)(4); 

22 (4) the costs and benefits of restoring intercity 

23 rail passenger transportation in the region; and 

24 (5) any other information the working group 

25 determines appropriate. 

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1 SEC. 307. MISCELLANEOUS. 

2 (a) TITLE 49 AMENDMENTS.—Title 49, United 

3 States Code, is amended— 

4 (1) in section 22106(b), by striking ‘‘interest 

5 thereof’’ and inserting ‘‘interest thereon’’; 

6 (2) in section 24101(b), by striking ‘‘subsection 

7 (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (c)’’; and 

8 (3) in section 24706— 

9 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘a dis10 continuance under section 24704 or or’’; 

11 (B) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘sec12 tion 24704 or’’; and 

13 (C) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘section 

14 24704 or’’. 

15 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The item 

16 relating to section 24316 in the table of sections for chap17 ter 243 of such title is amended by striking ‘‘Plan to as18 sist’’ and inserting ‘‘Plans to address needs of’’. 

19 (c) PASSENGER RAIL INVESTMENT AND IMPROVE20 MENT ACT AMENDMENTS.—Section 305 of the Passenger 

21 Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (49 U.S.C. 

22 24101 note) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting after ‘‘equip24 ment manufacturers,’’ the following: ‘‘nonprofit or25 ganizations representing employees who perform 

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1 overhaul and maintenance of passenger railroad 

2 equipment,’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘, and may es4 tablish a corporation, which may be owned or joint5 ly-owned by Amtrak, participating States, or other 

6 entities, to perform these functions’’; and 

7 (3) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘and estab8 lishing a jointly-owned corporation to manage that 

9 equipment’’. 

10 TITLE IV—PROJECT DELIVERY 

11 SEC. 401. PROJECT DELIVERY RULEMAKING. 

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

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall begin 

14 a rulemaking to govern the Federal review, permitting, 

15 and approval or disapproval of— 

16 (1) freight railroad and intercity rail passenger 

17 transportation infrastructure projects, including 

18 those that are carried out or planned to be carried 

19 out with the use of Federal funds administered by 

20 the Department of Transportation through a grant, 

21 contract, loan, or other financing instrument; and 

22 (2) commuter rail passenger transportation (as 

23 defined in section 24102(3) of title 49, United 

24 States Code) infrastructure projects that are funded 

25 in whole or in part through a direct loan or loan 

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1 guarantee under title V of the Railroad Revitaliza2 tion and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 

3 801 et seq.). 

4 (b) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall complete the 

5 rulemaking required under subsection (a) not later than 

6 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

7 (c) REQUIREMENTS AND CONSIDERATIONS.—The 

8 rulemaking under subsection (a) shall include procedures 

9 that— 

10 (1) reduce the aggregate time for review and 

11 permitting of infrastructure projects described under 

12 subsection (a) while preserving existing statutory re13 quirements for public comment or assessing the im14 pact of a proposed project; 

15 (2) institutionalize or expand best practices or 

16 process improvements that agencies are already im17 plementing to improve the efficiency of reviews; 

18 (3) identify high-performance attributes of in19 frastructure projects described under subsection (a) 

20 that demonstrate how projects seek to advance exist21 ing statutory and policy objectives, thereby facili22 tating a more efficient review and permitting proc23 ess; 

24 (4) create a process to invite Federal agencies 

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1 pate in the review process, expand coordination with 

2 such agencies and governments, and require the 

3 identification as early as practicable in the process 

4 of any— 

5 (A) Federal agency or State, local, or trib6 al government with jurisdiction over the project 

7 or required by law to conduct or issue a review 

8 or make a determination with regard to the 

9 project; and 

10 (B) review, analysis, opinion, and permit, 

11 license, or approval required for the project; 

12 (5) create process efficiencies, including— 

13 (A) designating Federal agencies and 

14 State, local, and tribal governments as cooper15 ating and participating agencies; 

16 (B) conducting concurrent and integrated 

17 reviews, analyses, opinions, and permits, li18 censes, or approvals to the maximum extent 

19 practicable; 

20 (C) establishing timelines, in coordination 

21 with affected Federal agencies, for completion 

22 of those reviews, analyses, opinions, and per23 mits, licenses, or approvals; 

24 (D) developing a coordination plan and 

25 schedule, in coordination with affected Federal 

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1 agencies, for participation in the review by Fed2 eral agencies, State, local, and tribal govern3 ments, and the public; and 

4 (E) implementing a process to effectively 

5 identify and resolve issues that may affect com6 pletion of reviews in a timely manner; 

7 (6) effectively engage the public and interested 

8 stakeholders as early in the review process as pos9 sible; 

10 (7) include opportunities to use existing share11 in-cost authorities and other nonappropriated fund12 ing sources to support early coordination and project 

13 review; 

14 (8) expand the use of information technology 

15 tools and identify priority areas for information 

16 technology investment to replace paperwork proc17 esses, enhance effective project siting decisions, en18 hance interagency collaboration, and improve the 

19 monitoring of project impacts and mitigation com20 mitments; 

21 (9) ensure that documents developed under the 

22 procedures are adopted and used by other Federal 

23 agencies, and State, local, and tribal governments, to 

24 the maximum extent practicable, to eliminate redun25 dancy and duplicative reviews; 

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1 (10) include improvements to mitigation policies 

2 to provide added predictability, facilitate landscape3 scale mitigation based on conservation plans and re4 gional environmental assessments, facilitate inter5 agency mitigation plans where appropriate, ensure 

6 accountability and long-term effectiveness of mitiga7 tion activities, and utilize innovative mechanisms 

8 where appropriate; and 

9 (11) develop a process for periodically consid10 ering expansion of categorical exclusions for infra11 structure projects described under subsection (a) 

12 that conform to those of other modal administra13 tions. 

14 SEC. 402. HISTORIC PRESERVATION OF RAILROADS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in con17 sultation with appropriate Federal agencies, including the 

18 Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National 

19 Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, the 

20 National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Offi21 cers, and nongovernmental stakeholders representing the 

22 railroad industry and historic preservation concerns, 

23 shall— 

24 (1) administratively pursue program alter25 natives (as that term is used in 36 C.F.R. 800.14) 

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1 to promote a consistent approach in the treatment 

2 of railroad and rail-related properties for historic 

3 preservation review under section 106 of the Na4 tional Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f); 

5 and 

6 (2) develop mechanisms for streamlining com7 pliance with the requirements of section 303 of title 

8 49, United States Code, for railroad and rail-related 

9 properties. 

10 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out subsection 

11 (a), the Secretary shall— 

12 (1) consider, among other options, the develop13 ment of— 

14 (A) programmatic agreements, program 

15 comments, exempted categories of under16 takings, and guidance for historic reviews under 

17 section 106 of the National Historic Preserva18 tion Act (as those terms are used in 36 C.F.R. 

19 800.14); and 

20 (B) programmatic evaluations, de minimis 

21 impact determinations, and regulatory guidance 

22 for reviews under section 303 of title 49, 

23 United States Code (as those terms are used in 

24 23 C.F.R. 774); and 

25 (2) take into account, at a minimum— 

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1 (A) maintenance and repair of railroad and 

2 rail-related property; 

3 (B) repair and replacement of bridges, 

4 structures, or facilities in a like-for-like manner, 

5 or when the bridge, structure, or facility is not 

6 a contributing element of a historic district; 

7 (C) safety-related projects, including in8 stallation, maintenance, and repair of positive 

9 train control systems; 

10 (D) management of railroad and rail-re11 lated properties that include both historic and 

12 non-historic components; 

13 (E) integration of reviews under section 

14 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, 

15 reviews under section 303 of title 49, United 

16 States Code, and environmental reviews; and 

17 (F) consistency in treatment of railroads 

18 nationwide for historic preservation purposes. 

19 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

20 SEC. 501. DEFINITION. 

21 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

22 means the Secretary of Transportation. 

23 SEC. 502. TITLE 49 DEFINITIONS. 

24 (a) TITLE 49 AMENDMENTS.—Section 24102 of title 

25 49, United States Code, is amended— 

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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through 

2 (9) as paragraphs (7) through (11), respectively; 

3 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol4 lowing new paragraphs: 

5 ‘‘(5) ‘long-distance route’ means a route de6 scribed in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (7). 

7 ‘‘(6) ‘National Network’ includes long-distance 

8 routes and State-supported routes.’’; and 

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

10 paragraphs: 

11 ‘‘(12) ‘state-of-good-repair’ means a condition 

12 in which physical assets, both individually and as a 

13 system, are— 

14 ‘‘(A) performing at a level at least equal to 

15 that called for in their as-built or as-modified 

16 design specification during any period when the 

17 life cycle cost of maintaining the assets is lower 

18 than the cost of replacing them; and 

19 ‘‘(B) sustained through regular mainte20 nance and replacement programs. 

21 ‘‘(13) ‘State-supported route’ means a route de22 scribed in subparagraph (B) or (D) of paragraph 

23 (7), or in section 24702, that is operated by Amtrak, 

24 excluding those trains operated by Amtrak on the 

25 routes described in paragraph (7)(A).’’. 

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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 217 of the 

2 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 

3 (49 U.S.C. 24702 note) is amended by striking 

4 ‘‘24102(5)(D)’’ and inserting ‘‘24102(7)(D)’’. 

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Union Calendar No. 20 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 749 

[Report No. 114–30] 

A BILL 

To reauthorize Federal support for passenger rail 

programs, and for other purposes. 

FEBRUARY 26, 2015 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

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