IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 749 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 9, 2015 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize Federal support for passenger rail programs, 

and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

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

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

5 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. Five-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. 

Sec. 308. Northeast Corridor express service. 

TITLE IV—PROJECT DELIVERY 

Sec. 401. Project delivery rulemaking. 

Sec. 402. Historic preservation of railroads. 

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 501. Definition. 

Sec. 502. Title 49 definitions. 

Sec. 503. State action plans. 

Sec. 504. Quiet zone report. 


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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. 

24 (c) PROJECT MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT.—The Sec25 retary may withhold up to $2,000,000 of the amount apVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Mar 09, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H749.RFS H749

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1 propriated pursuant to subsection (a), and up to 

2 $2,000,000 of the amount appropriated pursuant to sub3 section (b), for the costs of management oversight of Am4 trak. 

5 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZATION FOR AMTRAK OFFICE OF THE 

6 INSPECTOR GENERAL. 

7 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec8 retary for the Office of the Inspector General of Amtrak 

9 the following amounts: 

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

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

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

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

14 SEC. 103. NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro16 priated to the Secretary for capital grants under chapter 

17 244 of title 49, United States Code, and section 20154 

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

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

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

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

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

23 (b) FEDERAL-STATE PARTNERSHIP FOR NORTHEAST

24 CORRIDOR DEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVEMENT.—Of the 

25 amounts authorized to be appropriated under subsection 


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

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

3 as added by section 301 of this Act. 

4 (c) PROJECT MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT.—The Secretary may withhold up to 1 5 ⁄2 of 1 percent of amounts 

6 appropriated pursuant to chapter 244 of title 49, United 

7 States Code, for the costs of project management over8 sight of capital projects carried out pursuant to such chap9 ter. 

10 SEC. 104. NORTHEAST CORRIDOR. 

11 For purposes of this title, the term ‘‘Northeast Cor12 ridor’’ means the Northeast Corridor main line between 

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

14 facilities and services used to operate and maintain that 

15 line. 

16 TITLE II—AMTRAK REFORM 

17 SEC. 201. AMTRAK PLANNING AND GRANT PROCESS. 

18 (a) REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES.— 

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

20 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

21 end the following new sections: 

22 ‘‘§ 24317. Costs and revenues 

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

24 date of enactment of the Passenger Rail Reform and In25 vestment Act of 2015, Amtrak shall establish and mainVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Mar 09, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H749.RFS H749

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1 tain internal controls to ensure Amtrak’s costs and reve2 nues are allocated to either the Northeast Corridor or the 

3 National Network, including proportional shares of com4 mon and fixed costs. 

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

6 term ‘Northeast Corridor’ means the Northeast Corridor 

7 main line between Boston, Massachusetts, and the District 

8 of Columbia, and facilities and services used to operate 

9 and maintain that line. 

10 ‘‘§ 24318. Grant process 

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

12 later than 30 days after the date of enactment of the Pas13 senger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015, the Sec14 retary of Transportation shall establish and transmit to 

15 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and 

16 the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep17 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

18 and Transportation and the Committee on Appropriations 

19 of the Senate substantive and procedural requirements, in20 cluding schedules, for grant requests under this section. 

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

22 grant requests for Federal funds to be appropriated to the 

23 Secretary for the use of Amtrak to— 

24 ‘‘(1) the Secretary; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) the Committee on Transportation and In2 frastructure and the Committee on Appropriations 

3 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

4 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

5 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. 

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

7 (b) shall— 

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

9 upcoming fiscal year for the Northeast Corridor, 

10 State-supported routes, and long-distance routes, in11 cluding projections for the items listed in 

12 24320(c)(1), as applicable, in comparison to prior 

13 fiscal year projections; 

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

15 funded, along with cost estimates and an estimated 

16 timetable for completion of the projects covered by 

17 the request; 

18 ‘‘(3) include an assessment of the continuing fi19 nancial stability of Amtrak; 

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

21 reasonable timeframe following its submission to the 

22 entities described in subsection (b); and 

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

24 those submitted by executive agencies of the Federal 

25 Government. 


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1 ‘‘(d) REVIEW AND APPROVAL.— 

2 ‘‘(1) THIRTY-DAY APPROVAL PROCESS.—The 

3 Secretary shall complete the review of a grant re4 quest and approve or disapprove the request not 

5 later than 30 days after the date on which Amtrak 

6 submits the grant request. If the Secretary dis7 approves the request or determines that the request 

8 is incomplete or deficient, the Secretary shall include 

9 the reason for disapproval or the incomplete items or 

10 deficiencies in a notice to Amtrak. 

11 ‘‘(2) FIFTEEN-DAY MODIFICATION PERIOD.— 

12 Not later than 15 days after receiving notification 

13 from the Secretary under paragraph (1), Amtrak 

14 shall submit a modified request for the Secretary’s 

15 review. 

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

17 days after receiving a modified request from Am18 trak, the Secretary shall either approve the modified 

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

20 is still incomplete or deficient, the Secretary shall 

21 identify in writing to the Committee on Transpor22 tation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Ap23 propriations of the House of Representatives and the 

24 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor25 tation and the Committee on Appropriations of the 


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1 Senate the remaining deficiencies and recommend a 

2 process for resolving the outstanding portions of the 

3 request. 

4 ‘‘(e) PAYMENT TO AMTRAK.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), in each fiscal year for which amounts are 

7 authorized to be appropriated, amounts appropriated 

8 shall be paid to Amtrak as follows: 

9 ‘‘(A) 50 percent on October 1. 

10 ‘‘(B) 25 percent on January 1. 

11 ‘‘(C) 25 percent on April 1. 

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

13 payment to Amtrak of appropriated funds more fre14 quently than once every 90 days if Amtrak, for good 

15 cause, requests more frequent payment before a 90- 

16 day period ends. 

17 ‘‘(f) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS AND EARLY APPRO18 PRIATIONS.—Amounts appropriated to the Secretary for 

19 the use of Amtrak shall remain available until expended. 

20 Amounts for capital acquisitions and improvements may 

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

22 which the amounts will be obligated. 

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

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


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1 to subsidize operating losses of commuter rail passenger 

2 or rail freight transportation. 

3 ‘‘§ 24319. Accounts 

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

5 establish— 

6 ‘‘(1) a Northeast Corridor Improvement Fund 

7 account; and 

8 ‘‘(2) a National Network account. 

9 ‘‘(b) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT FUND

10 ACCOUNT.— 

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

12 Northeast Corridor Improvement Fund account es13 tablished under subsection (a)(1)— 

14 ‘‘(A) grant funds appropriated for the 

15 Northeast Corridor Improvement Fund pursu16 ant to section 101(a) of the Passenger Rail Re17 form and Investment Act of 2015 or any subse18 quent Act; 

19 ‘‘(B) compensation received from com20 muter rail passenger transportation on the 

21 Northeast Corridor provided to Amtrak pursu22 ant to section 24905(c); and 

23 ‘‘(C) any operating surplus of the North24 east Corridor, as allocated pursuant to section 

25 24317. 


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1 ‘‘(2) USE OF NORTHEAST CORRIDOR IMPROVE2 MENT FUND ACCOUNT.—Except as provided in sub3 section (d), amounts deposited in the Northeast Cor4 ridor Improvement Fund account shall be made 

5 available for the use of Amtrak for— 

6 ‘‘(A) capital projects described in section 

7 24401(2) (A) or (B) to bring the Northeast 

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

9 projects described in section 

10 24911(a)(2)(E)(i)(I); 

11 ‘‘(B) capital projects intended to increase 

12 corridor capacity, improve service reliability, 

13 and reduce travel time for rail users on the 

14 Northeast Corridor, including projects described 

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

16 24911(a)(2)(E)(i), consistent with the planning 

17 process established under section 24911; and 

18 ‘‘(C) retirement of principal and payment 

19 of interest on loans for capital equipment, or 

20 capital leases, attributable to the Northeast 

21 Corridor. 

22 ‘‘(c) NATIONAL NETWORK ACCOUNT.— 

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

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


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1 ‘‘(A) grant funds appropriated for the Na2 tional Network pursuant to section 101(b) of 

3 the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act 

4 of 2015, or any subsequent Act; 

5 ‘‘(B) compensation received from States 

6 provided to Amtrak pursuant to section 209 of 

7 the Passenger Rail Investment and Improve8 ment Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 24101 note); and 

9 ‘‘(C) any operating surplus from the Na10 tional Network, as allocated pursuant to section 

11 24317. 

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

13 Except as provided in subsection (d), amounts de14 posited in the National Network account shall be 

15 made available for the use of Amtrak for capital ex16 penses and operating costs of the National Network 

17 and retirement of principal and payment of interest 

18 on loans for capital equipment, or capital leases, at19 tributable to the National Network. 

20 ‘‘(d) TRANSFER AUTHORITY.— 

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

22 funds appropriated pursuant to the Passenger Rail 

23 Reform and Investment Act of 2015 or any other 

24 Act, or any surplus generated by operations, between 

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1 tional Network accounts upon the expiration of 60 

2 days after Amtrak has notified the Amtrak Board of 

3 Directors of such transfer. 

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

5 the Amtrak Board of Directors receives notification 

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

7 transmit a report to the Secretary, the Committee 

8 on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Com9 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Represent10 atives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

11 and Transportation and the Committee on Appro12 priations of the Senate, that includes— 

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

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

15 for the transfer, including effects on Amtrak 

16 services if no transfer were made. 

17 ‘‘(e) LETTERS OF INTENT.— 

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

19 a letter of intent to Amtrak announcing an intention 

20 to obligate, for a major capital project described in 

21 subclauses (II) and (III) of section 

22 24911(a)(2)(E)(i), an amount from future available 

23 budget authority specified in law that is not more 

24 than the amount stipulated as the financial partici25 pation of the Secretary in the project. 


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

2 before issuing a letter under paragraph (1), the Sec3 retary shall notify in writing the Committee on 

4 Transportation and Infrastructure and the Com5 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Represent6 atives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

7 and Transportation and the Committee on Appro8 priations of the Senate, of the proposed letter. The 

9 Secretary shall include with the notification a copy 

10 of the proposed letter, the criteria used for selecting 

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

12 how the project meets criteria of this section. 

13 ‘‘(3) CONTINGENT NATURE OF OBLIGATION OR

14 COMMITMENT.—An obligation or administrative 

15 commitment may be made only when amounts are 

16 appropriated. The letter of intent shall state that the 

17 contingent commitment is not an obligation of the 

18 Federal Government, and is subject to the avail19 ability of appropriations under Federal law and to 

20 Federal laws in force or enacted after the date of 

21 the contingent commitment. 

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

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

24 procurements, Amtrak shall submit a business case anal25 ysis to the Secretary, the Committee on Transportation 


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1 and Infrastructure and the Committee on Appropriations 

2 of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

3 Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Com4 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate, on the utility of 

5 such purchase. This analysis shall— 

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

7 describes the total lifecycle costs and the anticipated 

8 benefits related to revenue, operational efficiency, re9 liability, and other factors; 

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

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

12 funding for each payment, including Federal funds, 

13 State funds, Amtrak profits, Federal, State, or pri14 vate loans or loan guarantees, and other funding; 

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

16 contract will increase Amtrak’s grant request, as re17 quired under section 24318, in that particular fiscal 

18 year; and 

19 ‘‘(5) describe how Amtrak will adjust the pro20 curement if future funding is not available.’’. 

21 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The 

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

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

24 following new items: 

‘‘24317. Costs and revenues. 

‘‘24318. Grant process. 

‘‘24319. Accounts.’’. 


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1 (b) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR PLANNING.— 

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

3 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

4 end the following new section: 

5 ‘‘§ 24911. Northeast Corridor planning 

6 ‘‘(a) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR CAPITAL INVESTMENT

7 PLAN.— 

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

9 months after the date of enactment of the Passenger 

10 Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015, and annu11 ally thereafter, the Northeast Corridor Infrastruc12 ture and Operations Advisory Commission estab13 lished under section 24905 (referred to in this sec14 tion as the ‘Commission’) shall develop a capital in15 vestment plan for the Northeast Corridor main line 

16 between Boston, Massachusetts, and the District of 

17 Columbia, and the Northeast Corridor branch lines 

18 connecting to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Springfield, 

19 Massachusetts, and Spuyten Duyvil, New York, and 

20 facilities and services used to operate and maintain 

21 those lines. 

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

23 ‘‘(A) be developed to establish a coordi24 nated approach to capital spending on the 

25 Northeast Corridor; 


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1 ‘‘(B) cover a period of 5 fiscal years, be2 ginning with the first fiscal year after the date 

3 of the plan; 

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

5 prioritize projects and investments along the 

6 Northeast Corridor based on— 

7 ‘‘(i) the anticipated benefits and costs 

8 of projects; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the anticipated Federal and non10 Federal funding available; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) the information contained in the 

12 Northeast Corridor asset management 

13 plans required under subsection (b), once 

14 available; 

15 ‘‘(D) ensure coordination and optimization 

16 across the entire Northeast Corridor and among 

17 the various owners and users; 

18 ‘‘(E) include a financial plan for the in19 vestment period that— 

20 ‘‘(i) categorizes each capital project as 

21 being primarily associated with— 

22 ‘‘(I) normalized capital replace23 ment; 

24 ‘‘(II) replacement, rehabilitation, 

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1 structure assets, including tunnels, 

2 bridges, stations, and other assets; or 

3 ‘‘(III) improvement of train per4 formance on the Northeast Corridor, 

5 including reduced trip times, in6 creased train frequencies, higher oper7 ating speeds, and other improvements; 

8 ‘‘(ii) identifies the anticipated funding 

9 source and financing method for each cap10 ital project described in subclauses (II) 

11 and (III) of clause (i); 

12 ‘‘(iii) describes the anticipated out13 comes of each project, including— 

14 ‘‘(I) an assessment of the poten15 tial effect on passenger accessibility, 

16 operations, safety, reliability, and re17 siliency, and on the ability of infra18 structure owners and operators to 

19 meet regulatory requirements should 

20 the project not be funded; and 

21 ‘‘(II) an assessment of the bene22 fits and costs; 

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

24 capital assets are or will be jointly used by 

25 intercity passenger rail service and other 


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1 users, and the proportionate share of that 

2 joint usage; and 

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

4 be fully or partially funded through Fed5 eral financial assistance, identifies the 

6 most appropriate public agency or entity to 

7 receive those funds and implement each 

8 capital project. 

9 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL CONTENTS.—Any plan devel10 oped under paragraph (1) after the publication by 

11 the Secretary of Transportation of the Northeast 

12 Corridor service development plan shall also— 

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

14 and phase the implementation of projects nec15 essary to achieve the goals and findings con16 tained in such Northeast Corridor service devel17 opment plan; 

18 ‘‘(B) allow for flexibility to change 

19 prioritization and programs based upon the 

20 availability of Federal and non-Federal funding; 

21 ‘‘(C) inform the Secretary in developing 

22 recommendations for Congress on Federal fund23 ing needs for the Northeast Corridor and any 

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1 spective capital programs for Northeast Cor2 ridor infrastructure owners and users; and 

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

4 outcomes associated with plan implementation, 

5 including the anticipated effect on passenger 

6 accessibility, operations, safety, reliability, and 

7 resiliency. 

8 ‘‘(b) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR ASSET MANAGEMENT

9 PLANS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) CONTENTS.—Amtrak, and States and pub11 lic transportation entities that own infrastructure 

12 that supports or provides for intercity rail passenger 

13 transportation on the Northeast Corridor, shall de14 velop and update as necessary Northeast Corridor 

15 asset management plans for the Northeast Corridor 

16 main line between Boston, Massachusetts, and the 

17 District of Columbia, and the Northeast Corridor 

18 branch lines connecting to Harrisburg, Pennsyl19 vania, Springfield, Massachusetts, and Spuyten 

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

21 operate and maintain those lines, that— 

22 ‘‘(A) are consistent with the Federal Tran23 sit Administration process, as authorized under 

24 section 5326, when implemented; and 

25 ‘‘(B) include, at a minimum— 


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

2 owned by the developer of the plan; 

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

4 each of those assets; 

5 ‘‘(iii) a description of how the condi6 tion of each asset has changed since the 

7 previous iteration of the plan; and 

8 ‘‘(iv) a description of the necessary re9 sources and processes for bringing or 

10 maintaining those assets in a state-of-good 

11 repair, including decision support tools and 

12 investment prioritization methodologies. 

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

14 than 12 months after the date of enactment of the 

15 Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015, 

16 each entity described in paragraph (1) shall transmit 

17 to the Commission a plan developed under para18 graph (1). Any updates to such plan shall also be 

19 transmitted to the Commission. 

20 ‘‘(c) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR SERVICE DEVELOP21 MENT PLAN UPDATES.—The Commission shall, at least 

22 once every 10 years, update the Northeast Corridor service 

23 development plan.’’. 

24 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The 

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


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

2 following new item: 

‘‘24911. Northeast Corridor planning.’’. 

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

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

5 Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, and the 

6 items relating thereto in the table of contents of 

7 such Act. 

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

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

10 sections for chapter 241 of such title. 

11 SEC. 202. FIVE-YEAR CAPITAL AND OPERATING PLAN. 

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

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

14 following new section: 

15 ‘‘§ 24320. Five-year capital and operating plan 

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

17 of enactment of an Act appropriating funds pursuant to 

18 section 101 of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment 

19 Act of 2015, or any subsequent authorization of appro20 priations for the same purposes, the Amtrak Board of Di21 rectors shall prepare and transmit to the Committee on 

22 Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on 

23 Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 

24 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

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


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1 year capital and operating plan for the Northeast Corridor 

2 and National Network. 

3 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—Each such plan shall be pre4 pared in consultation with— 

5 ‘‘(1) the Federal Railroad Administration; 

6 ‘‘(2) the Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and 

7 Operations Advisory Commission, with respect to the 

8 Northeast Corridor; and 

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

10 National Network. 

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

12 shall— 

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

14 National Network, include— 

15 ‘‘(A) projected revenues and expenditures 

16 for the Northeast Corridor, State-supported 

17 routes, long-distance routes, and corporate de18 velopment, including Federal and non-Federal 

19 funding sources; 

20 ‘‘(B) projected ridership levels for the 

21 Northeast Corridor, State-supported routes, 

22 and long-distance routes; 

23 ‘‘(C) projected capital and operational 

24 funding requirements necessary to maintain 

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1 dicted ridership levels and predicted sources of 

2 Federal and non-Federal funding; 

3 ‘‘(D) projected capital and operating re4 quirements, ridership, revenue, and expendi5 tures for new passenger service operations or 

6 service expansions; 

7 ‘‘(E) an assessment of the continuing fi8 nancial stability of Amtrak, as indicated by fac9 tors including anticipated Federal funding of 

10 capital and operating costs, Amtrak’s ability to 

11 efficiently recruit, retain, and manage its work12 force, and Amtrak’s ability to effectively provide 

13 passenger rail service; 

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

15 debt and associated principal and interest pay16 ments (both current and anticipated); 

17 ‘‘(G) annual cash flow forecasts; 

18 ‘‘(H) a statement describing methods of 

19 estimation and significant assumptions; 

20 ‘‘(I) specific measures that demonstrate 

21 measurable improvement year over year in the 

22 financial results of Amtrak’s operations; 

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

24 ‘‘(i) operating ratio, cash operating 

25 loss, and cash operating loss per passenger 


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1 on a route, business line, and corporate 

2 basis; 

3 ‘‘(ii) specific costs and savings esti4 mates resulting from reform initiatives; 

5 ‘‘(iii) productivity statistics on a 

6 route, business line, and corporate basis; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(iv) equipment reliability statistics; 

9 ‘‘(K) capital and operating expenditures 

10 for anticipated security needs; and 

11 ‘‘(L) a prioritization of capital expendi12 tures by business line; and 

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

14 applicable, and grant processes established under 

15 sections 24911 and 24318. 

16 ‘‘(d) CONFORMANCE TO AUTHORIZED FUNDING LEV17 ELS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (2), any financial projection for a fiscal year 

20 that is included in a plan prepared under this sec21 tion shall be based on the amount of dedicated fund22 ing for such fiscal year. 

23 ‘‘(2) ABSENCE OF APPROPRIATION.—In the ab24 sence of an appropriation of funds for such fiscal 

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


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1 funds authorized by law to be appropriated for that 

2 fiscal year, plus other dedicated funding. 

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

4 subsection, the term ‘dedicated funding’ means any 

5 amounts appropriated for a fiscal year and any 

6 other funding sources, including revenues and other 

7 ancillary funding streams, for the Northeast Cor8 ridor or the National Network. 

9 ‘‘(e) STANDARDS TO PROMOTE FINANCIAL STA10 BILITY.—In preparing a plan under this section, the 

11 Board shall apply sound budgetary practices, including re12 ducing costs and other expenditures, improving produc13 tivity, increasing revenues, or combinations of such prac14 tices. 

15 ‘‘(f) UPDATES.—Amtrak shall provide monthly re16 ports for the current fiscal year in electronic format to 

17 the Secretary and the Committee on Transportation and 

18 Infrastructure and the Committee on Appropriations of 

19 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com20 merce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on 

21 Appropriations of the Senate regarding the items de22 scribed in subsection (c)(1), which shall include a descrip23 tion of the work completed to date, any differences from 

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


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

2 sections for such chapter 243 is amended by adding at 

3 the end the following new item: 

‘‘24320. Five-year capital and operating plan.’’. 

4 (c) REPEAL.—Section 204 of the Passenger Rail In5 vestment and Improvement Act of 2008 (49 U.S.C. 24101 

6 note), and the item relating thereto in the table of con7 tents of such Act, are repealed. 

8 SEC. 203. STATE-SUPPORTED ROUTES. 

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

10 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing new section: 

12 ‘‘§ 24712. State-supported routes 

13 ‘‘(a) STATE-SUPPORTED ROUTE ADVISORY COM14 MITTEE.— 

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

16 after the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail 

17 Reform and Investment Act of 2015, the Secretary 

18 of Transportation shall establish a State-Supported 

19 Route Advisory Committee to promote mutual co20 operation and planning pertaining to the rail oper21 ations and related activities of trains operated on 

22 State-supported routes and to further implement 

23 section 209 of the Passenger Rail Investment and 

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


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1 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall con2 sist of representatives of— 

3 ‘‘(A) Amtrak; 

4 ‘‘(B) the Department of Transportation, 

5 including the Federal Railroad Administration; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(C) seven States that sponsor State-sup8 ported routes, selected by the Administrator of 

9 the Federal Railroad Administration on the 

10 basis of appropriate expertise and geographic 

11 balance, and in a manner that ensures that all 

12 appropriate States are represented periodically 

13 on the Committee. 

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

15 membership belonging to any of the groups de16 scribed in each individual subparagraph of para17 graph (2) shall not constitute a majority of the 

18 Committee’s memberships. 

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

20 The Committee shall establish a schedule and loca21 tion for convening meetings, but shall meet no less 

22 than 2 times every fiscal year. The Committee shall 

23 develop rules and procedures to govern the Commit24 tee’s proceedings. 

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


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

2 2016, and annually thereafter, Amtrak shall trans3 mit to each State that sponsors a State-supported 

4 route, and to the Committee on Transportation and 

5 Infrastructure and the Committee on Appropriations 

6 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

7 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

8 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate— 

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

10 ridership, and other information determined ap11 propriate by the Committee established under 

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

13 the prior fiscal year; and 

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

15 for each such route for the upcoming fiscal 

16 year, developed pursuant to the methodology es17 tablished under section 209 of the Passenger 

18 Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 

19 (49 U.S.C. 24101 note). 

20 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The Committee may estab21 lish a different deadline than is required under para22 graph (1) for submission of final financial state23 ments and cost, service, and ridership forecasts. 

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

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1 mit to each State that sponsors a State-supported 

2 route quarterly updates of the cost, service, and rid3 ership forecast described in paragraph (1)(B) to en4 able States to pace costs against State budgets, plan 

5 effectively, and address unexpected changes in costs 

6 in a timely manner, on the following dates: 

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

8 January through March of such year. 

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

10 April through June of such year. 

11 ‘‘(C) October 31, for the period encom12 passing July through September of such year. 

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

14 and monthly thereafter, Amtrak shall provide to each 

15 State that sponsors a State-supported route a monthly in16 voice of the cost of operating such route, including fixed 

17 costs and third-party costs. 

18 ‘‘(d) DISPUTE RESOLUTION.— 

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

20 If a dispute arises with respect to a forecast devel21 oped under subsection (b), an invoice developed 

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

23 operation of a State-supported route negotiated be24 tween Amtrak and a State that sponsors the route, 

25 either Amtrak or the State may request that the 


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1 Surface Transportation Board conduct expedited 

2 dispute resolution under this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURES.—The Surface Transpor4 tation Board shall establish procedures for expedited 

5 resolution of disputes brought before it under this 

6 subsection. 

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

8 Surface Transportation Board under this subsection 

9 shall be binding on the parties to the dispute. 

10 ‘‘(e) FRA ASSISTANCE.—The Federal Railroad Ad11 ministration may provide assistance to the parties in the 

12 course of negotiations for a contract for operation of a 

13 State-supported route. 

14 ‘‘(f) PERFORMANCE METRICS.—In negotiating a con15 tract for operation of a State-supported route, Amtrak 

16 and the State or States that sponsor the route shall con17 sider including provisions that provide penalties and incen18 tives for performance based on metrics that take into ac19 count only those factors within the control of Amtrak or 

20 the State or States. 

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

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

23 of Columbia.’’. 


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

2 sections for such chapter 247 is amended by adding at 

3 the end the following new item: 

‘‘24712. State-supported routes.’’. 

4 SEC. 204. ROUTE AND SERVICE PLANNING DECISIONS. 

5 Section 208 of the Passenger Rail Investment and 

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

7 amended to read as follows: 

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

9 SERVICE PLANNING DECISIONS. 

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

11 than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Pas12 senger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015, as a con13 dition of receiving a grant under section 101 of such Act, 

14 Amtrak shall obtain the services of an independent entity 

15 to develop and recommend objective methodologies for 

16 Amtrak to use in determining what intercity rail passenger 

17 transportation routes and services it should provide, in18 cluding the establishment of new routes, the elimination 

19 of existing routes, and the contraction or expansion of 

20 services or frequencies over such routes. 

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

22 entity, in developing the methodologies described in sub23 section (a), to consider— 

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

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1 tation operations, including cost recovery, on-time 

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

3 facilities, equipment, and other services; 

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

5 ‘‘(3) the transportation needs of communities 

6 and populations that are not well served by intercity 

7 rail passenger transportation service or by other 

8 forms of intercity transportation; 

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

10 intercity rail passenger transportation service pro11 viders in other countries for determining intercity 

12 passenger rail routes and services; 

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

14 infrastructure over which Amtrak operates, Amtrak 

15 employee representatives, and other interested par16 ties; and 

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

18 under authorization levels that have been enacted 

19 into law. 

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

21 after the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail Reform 

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

23 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

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1 ommendations developed by the entity pursuant to sub2 section (a). 

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

4 later than 90 days after transmitting the recommenda5 tions pursuant to subsection (c), the Amtrak Board of Di6 rectors shall consider the adoption of the recommenda7 tions and transmit to the Committee on Transportation 

8 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 

9 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

10 of the Senate a report containing an explanation of any 

11 reasons for adopting or not adopting the recommenda12 tions.’’. 

13 SEC. 205. COMPETITION. 

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

15 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘§ 24711. Alternate passenger rail service pilot pro17 gram 

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

19 date of enactment of the Passenger Rail Reform and In20 vestment Act of 2015, the Federal Railroad Administra21 tion shall complete a rulemaking proceeding to develop a 

22 pilot program that— 

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

24 own infrastructure over which Amtrak operates a 

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1 graph (B), (C), or (D) of section 24102(7) or in sec2 tion 24702(a) to petition the Federal Railroad Ad3 ministration to be considered as a passenger rail 

4 service provider over that route in lieu of Amtrak for 

5 an operations period of 5 years; 

6 ‘‘(2) requires the Federal Railroad Administra7 tion to notify Amtrak within 30 days after receiving 

8 a petition under paragraph (1) and establish a dead9 line by which both the petitioner and Amtrak would 

10 be required to submit a bid to provide passenger rail 

11 service over the route to which the petition relates; 

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

13 bidder would operate the route, what Amtrak pas14 senger equipment would be needed, if any, and what 

15 sources of non-Federal funding the bidder would 

16 use, including any State subsidy, among other 

17 things; 

18 ‘‘(4) requires the Federal Railroad Administra19 tion to execute a contract within a specified, limited 

20 time after the deadline established under paragraph 

21 (2) and award to the winning bidder— 

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

23 passenger rail service over that route subject to 

24 such performance standards as the Federal 

25 Railroad Administration may require; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) an operating subsidy— 

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

3 excess of 90 percent of the level in effect 

4 for that specific route during the fiscal 

5 year preceding the fiscal year in which the 

6 petition was received, adjusted for infla7 tion; and 

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

9 level calculated under clause (i), adjusted 

10 for inflation; and 

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

12 plan describing the number of employees needed to 

13 operate the service, the job assignments and require14 ments, and the terms of work for prospective and 

15 current employees of the bidder for the service out16 lined in the bid, and that such staffing plan be made 

17 available by the winning bidder to the public after 

18 the bid award. 

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

20 Administration may not make the program available with 

21 respect to more than two Amtrak intercity passenger rail 

22 routes. 

23 ‘‘(c) PERFORMANCE STANDARDS; ACCESS TO FACILI24 TIES; EMPLOYEES.—If the Federal Railroad Administra25 tion awards the right and obligation to provide passenger 


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

2 or rail carriers— 

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

4 carrier or rail carriers for rail passenger operations 

5 on that route that conditions the operating and sub6 sidy rights on— 

7 ‘‘(A) the service provider continuing to 

8 provide passenger rail service on the route that 

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

10 than Amtrak provided on that route before the 

11 award; and 

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

13 the standards established under subsection 

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

15 standards as the Administration may establish; 

16 ‘‘(2) it shall, if the award is made to a rail car17 rier other than Amtrak, require Amtrak to provide 

18 access to its reservation system, stations, and facili19 ties directly related to operations to any rail carrier 

20 or rail carriers awarded a contract under this sec21 tion, in accordance with subsection (d), necessary to 

22 carry out the purposes of this section; 

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

24 rail carrier or rail carriers in the operation of a 

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1 ployee of that carrier or carriers and subject to the 

2 applicable Federal laws and regulations governing 

3 similar crafts or classes of employees of Amtrak, in4 cluding provisions under section 121 of the Amtrak 

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

6 4312 note) relating to employees that provide food 

7 and beverage service; and 

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

9 preference to qualified Amtrak employees displaced 

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

11 plan submitted by the bidder, and shall be subject 

12 to the grant conditions under section 24405 of this 

13 title. 

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

15 rail carriers awarded a route under this section cannot 

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

17 Surface Transportation Board finds that access to Am18 trak’s facilities or equipment, or the provision of services 

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

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

21 impaired thereby, the Surface Transportation Board shall, 

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

23 order that the facilities and equipment be made available, 

24 and that services be provided, by Amtrak, and shall deter25 mine reasonable compensation, liability, and other terms 


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1 for use of the facilities and equipment and provision of 

2 the services. 

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

4 carriers awarded a route under this section cease to oper5 ate the service or fail to fulfill their obligations under the 

6 contract required under subsection (c), the Federal Rail7 road Administration, in collaboration with the Surface 

8 Transportation Board, shall take any necessary action 

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

12 contract to operate the service. The entity providing serv13 ice shall either be Amtrak or a rail carrier defined in sub14 section (a)(1). 

15 ‘‘(f) ADEQUATE RESOURCES.—Before taking any ac16 tion allowed under this section, the Secretary shall certify 

17 that the Federal Railroad Administration has sufficient 

18 resources appropriated under section 101(b) of Passenger 

19 Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015, or any subse20 quent appropriation, for that purpose that are adequate 

21 to undertake the program established under this section. 

22 ‘‘(g) BUDGET AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Trans23 portation may provide to a winning bidder selected under 

24 this section appropriations authorized under sections 

25 101(b) of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act 


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1 of 2015, or any subsequent appropriation for the same 

2 purposes, necessary to cover the operating subsidy de3 scribed in subsection (a)(4)(B).’’. 

4 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the conclu5 sion of the pilot program established under the amend6 ment made by subsection (a), the Federal Railroad Ad7 ministration shall submit to the Committee on Transpor8 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

9 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor10 tation of the Senate a report on the results on the pilot 

11 program established under section 24711 of title 49 

12 United States Code, and any recommendations for further 

13 action. 

14 SEC. 206. FOOD AND BEVERAGE REFORM. 

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

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

17 following new section: 

18 ‘‘§ 24321. Food and beverage reform 

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

20 of enactment of the Passenger Rail Reform and Invest21 ment Act of 2015, Amtrak shall develop and begin imple22 menting a plan to eliminate, within 5 years of such date 

23 of enactment, the operating loss associated with providing 

24 food and beverage service on board Amtrak trains. 


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1 ‘‘(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing and imple2 menting the plan, Amtrak shall consider a combination of 

3 cost management and revenue generation initiatives, in4 cluding— 

5 ‘‘(1) scheduling optimization; 

6 ‘‘(2) on-board logistics; 

7 ‘‘(3) product development and supply chain effi8 ciency; 

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

10 ‘‘(5) technology enhancements and process im11 provements; and 

12 ‘‘(6) ticket revenue allocation. 

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

14 Amtrak employee holding a position as of the date of en15 actment of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act 

16 of 2015 is involuntarily separated because of— 

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

18 plan required under subsection (a); or 

19 ‘‘(2) any other action taken by Amtrak to im20 plement this section. 

21 ‘‘(d) NO FEDERAL FUNDING FOR OPERATING

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

23 date of enactment of the Passenger Rail Reform and In24 vestment Act of 2015, no Federal funds may be used to 

25 cover any operating loss associated with providing food 


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1 and beverage service on a route operated by Amtrak or 

2 an alternative passenger rail service provider that operates 

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

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

5 date of enactment of the Passenger Rail Reform and In6 vestment Act of 2015, and annually thereafter for 5 years, 

7 Amtrak shall transmit to the Committee on Transpor8 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

9 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor10 tation of the Senate a report containing the plan developed 

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

12 in the implementation of the plan.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec14 tions for chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is 

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

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

16 SEC. 207. RIGHT-OF-WAY LEVERAGING. 

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

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

19 issue a Request for Proposals seeking private sector per20 sons or entities to utilize Amtrak-owned right-of-way for 

21 telecommunications systems, energy distribution systems, 

22 and other activities considered appropriate by Amtrak. 

23 The Request for Proposals shall provide sufficient infor24 mation on Amtrak’s right-of-way real estate assets to en25 able respondents to propose an arrangement that will 


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1 monetize such assets through revenue sharing agreements 

2 with Amtrak. 

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

4 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Amtrak 

5 Board of Directors shall review and consider each proposal 

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

7 into such agreements as are necessary to implement any 

8 such proposal or proposals. 

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

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

11 shall transmit to the Committee on Transportation and 

12 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the 

13 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

14 the Senate a report on the Request for Proposals required 

15 by this section, including summary information of any pro16 posals submitted to Amtrak and any proposals accepted 

17 by the Amtrak Board of Directors. 

18 SEC. 208. STATION DEVELOPMENT. 

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

20 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, Am21 trak shall transmit to the Committee on Transportation 

22 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 

23 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

24 of the Senate a report on options to enhance development 

25 around Amtrak stations, including— 


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1 (1) strengthening multimodal connections, in2 cluding intercity buses; 

3 (2) options for capturing development-related 

4 revenue streams; and 

5 (3) other opportunities to better leverage sta6 tion assets. 

7 (b) PROPOSALS.— 

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

9 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 

10 Amtrak shall issue a Request for Proposals seeking 

11 persons or entities, including small business con12 cerns owned and controlled by socially and economi13 cally disadvantaged individuals, to carry out the op14 tions identified under subsection (a). 

15 (2) CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSALS.—Not later 

16 than 24 months after the date of enactment of this 

17 Act, the Amtrak Board of Directors shall review and 

18 consider each proposal submitted pursuant to para19 graph (1). Amtrak may enter into such agreements 

20 as are necessary to implement any such proposal or 

21 proposals. 

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

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 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘small 

7 business concern’’ and ‘‘socially and economically dis8 advantaged individual’’ have the meanings given such 

9 terms in section 305(c). 

10 SEC. 209. AMTRAK DEBT. 

11 Section 205 of the Passenger Rail Investment and 

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

13 amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, to the ex15 tent provided in advance in appropriations Acts’’ 

16 after ‘‘Amtrak’s indebtedness’’; 

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

18 this Act’’ each place it appears; 

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

20 sentence; 

21 (4) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘The Sec22 retary of the Treasury, in consultation’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘To the extent amounts are provided in advance 

24 in appropriations Acts, the Secretary of the Treas25 ury, in consultation’’; 


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1 (5) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘, to the ex2 tent provided in advance in appropriations Acts’’ 

3 after ‘‘as appropriate’’; 

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

5 102 of this division’’; and 

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

7 102’’ and inserting ‘‘for Amtrak’’. 

8 SEC. 210. AMTRAK PILOT PROGRAM FOR PASSENGERS 

9 TRANSPORTING DOMESTICATED CATS AND 

10 DOGS. 

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

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

13 program that allows passengers to transport domesticated 

14 cats or dogs on certain trains operated by Amtrak. 

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

16 required under subsection (a), Amtrak shall— 

17 (1) in the case of a passenger train that is com18 prised of more than one car, designate, where fea19 sible, at least one car in which a ticketed passenger 

20 may transport a domesticated cat or dog in the same 

21 manner as carry-on baggage if— 

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

23 kennel; 


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1 (B) the pet kennel is stowed in accordance 

2 with Amtrak size requirements for carriage of 

3 carry-on baggage; 

4 (C) the passenger is traveling on a train 

5 operating on a route described in subparagraph 

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

7 United States Code; and 

8 (D) the passenger pays a fee described in 

9 paragraph (3); 

10 (2) allow a ticketed passenger to transport a 

11 domesticated cat or dog on a train in the same man12 ner as cargo if— 

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

14 kennel; 

15 (B) the pet kennel is stowed in accordance 

16 with Amtrak requirements for cargo stowage; 

17 (C) the passenger is traveling on a train 

18 operating on a route described in subparagraph 

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

20 United States Code; 

21 (D) the cargo area is temperature con22 trolled in a manner protective of cat and dog 

23 safety and health; and 

24 (E) the passenger pays a fee described in 

25 paragraph (3); and 


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

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

3 aggregate and at a minimum, covers the full costs 

4 of the pilot program. 

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

6 program required under subsection (a) is first imple7 mented, Amtrak shall transmit to the Committee on 

8 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep9 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

10 and Transportation of the Senate a report containing an 

11 evaluation of the pilot program. 

12 (d) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 

13 (1) SERVICE ANIMALS.—The pilot program re14 quired under subsection (a) shall be separate from 

15 and in addition to the policy governing Amtrak pas16 sengers traveling with service animals. Nothing in 

17 this section may be interpreted to limit or waive the 

18 rights of passengers to transport service animals. 

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

20 section may be interpreted to require Amtrak to add 

21 additional train cars or modify existing train cars. 

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

23 be used to implement the pilot program required 

24 under this section. 


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1 SEC. 211. AMTRAK BOARDING PROCEDURES. 

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

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

4 General shall transmit to the Committee on Transpor5 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

6 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor7 tation of the Senate a report that— 

8 (1) evaluates Amtrak’s boarding procedures for 

9 passengers, including passengers using or trans10 porting non-motorized transportation such as wheel11 chairs and bicycles at its 10 stations through which 

12 the most people pass; 

13 (2) compares Amtrak’s boarding procedures 

14 to— 

15 (A) commuter railroad boarding proce16 dures at stations shared with Amtrak; 

17 (B) international intercity passenger rail 

18 boarding procedures; and 

19 (C) fixed guideway transit boarding proce20 dures; and 

21 (3) makes recommendations, as appropriate, to 

22 improve Amtrak’s boarding procedures, including 

23 recommendations regarding the queuing of pas24 sengers and free-flow of all station-users. 

25 (b) CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not 

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1 quired under subsection (a), the Amtrak Board of Direc2 tors shall consider each recommendation provided under 

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

4 system. 

5 TITLE III—INTERCITY 

6 PASSENGER RAIL POLICY 

7 SEC. 301. FEDERAL-STATE PARTNERSHIP FOR NORTHEAST 

8 CORRIDOR DEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVE9 MENT. 

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

11 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing new section: 

13 ‘‘§ 24407. Federal-State partnership for Northeast 

14 Corridor rehabilitation and improvement 

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

16 shall develop and implement a program for issuing grants 

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

18 financing the capital projects included in the Northeast 

19 Corridor Priority Project List developed under subsection 

20 (c). 

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

22 definitions apply: 

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

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

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


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1 established by one or more States and having re2 sponsibility for providing intercity passenger or com3 muter rail service. 

4 ‘‘(2) MAJOR STATE-OF-GOOD-REPAIR

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

6 project’ means a capital project primarily intended 

7 to replace, rehabilitate or repair major Northeast 

8 Corridor infrastructure assets utilized for providing 

9 intercity rail passenger transportation, including 

10 tunnels, bridges, stations, and other assets as deter11 mined by the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(3) IMPROVEMENT PROJECT.—The term ‘im13 provement project’ means a capital project primarily 

14 intended to improve intercity passenger rail perform15 ance on the Northeast Corridor, including reduced 

16 trip times, increased train frequencies, higher oper17 ating speeds, and other improvements as determined 

18 by the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(c) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR PRIORITY PROJECT

20 LIST.—The Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Oper21 ations Advisory Commission, established under section 

22 24905, shall develop and approve a Northeast Corridor 

23 Priority Project List that shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(1) a list of prioritized individual major state2 of-good-repair projects and improvement projects 

3 along the Northeast Corridor that— 

4 ‘‘(A) can be completed based on— 

5 ‘‘(i) the funding authorized under sec6 tion 103(b) of the Passenger Rail Reform 

7 and Investment Act of 2015; 

8 ‘‘(ii) any subsequent applicable au9 thorization in effect; 

10 ‘‘(iii) in the absence of such an au11 thorization, a 5-year funding amount based 

12 on the most recent appropriation; or 

13 ‘‘(iv) the requirements of subsection 

14 (d); and 

15 ‘‘(B) are consistent with the Northeast 

16 Corridor capital investment plan required under 

17 section 24911(a); 

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

19 individual project; 

20 ‘‘(3) an identification of the sources of non21 Federal matching funds for each project; and 

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

23 will bring to intercity rail passenger services. 


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1 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—The Federal grants author2 ized under this section shall be for no more than 50 per3 cent of the net project cost of the project involved. 

4 ‘‘(e) APPLICABILITY OF CAPITAL GRANT REQUIRE5 MENTS.—Except as specifically provided in this section, 

6 the use of any amounts appropriated for grants under this 

7 section shall be subject to the requirements of this chap8 ter. 

9 ‘‘(f) MATCH REQUIREMENTS.—No grants may be ob10 ligated to an applicant under this section unless the appli11 cant has transmitted to the Secretary of Transportation 

12 a binding written commitment to provide all amounts nec13 essary for the purpose of matching Federal contributions 

14 as required by this section. 

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

16 Infrastructure and Operations Advisory Commission shall 

17 revise the NEC Priority Project List as necessary to re18 flect— 

19 ‘‘(1) any differences in the availability of Fed20 eral funding from the levels assumed for purposes of 

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

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

23 and 

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

25 derived from a project. 


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1 ‘‘(h) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated for car2 rying out this section shall remain available until ex3 pended. 

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

5 supplant the requirement of applicants to compensate Am6 trak for the use of Amtrak facilities or services pursuant 

7 to section 24905(c). 

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

9 term ‘Northeast Corridor’ means the Northeast Corridor 

10 main line between Boston, Massachusetts, and the District 

11 of Columbia, and the Northeast Corridor branch lines con12 necting to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Springfield, Massa13 chusetts, and Spuyten Duyvil, New York, and facilities 

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

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec16 tions for chapter 244 of title 49, United States Code, is 

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

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

18 SEC. 302. RRIF IMPROVEMENTS. 

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

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor21 tation shall issue regulations implementing the amend22 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 and veteran-owned small businesses in pub7 lically funded intercity rail passenger transportation (as 

8 defined in section 24102 of title 49, United States Code) 

9 projects administered by the Federal Railroad Administra10 tion. 

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

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

13 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

14 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com15 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

16 containing the results of the study conducted under sub17 section (a). 

18 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘small busi21 ness concern’’ means a small business concern 

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

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

24 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘small busi25 ness concern’’ does not include any concern or 

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1 cially and economically disadvantaged individual 

2 or individuals that have average annual gross 

3 receipts during the preceding 3 fiscal years in 

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

5 the Secretary for inflation. 

6 (2) SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVAN7 TAGED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘socially and eco8 nomically disadvantaged individual’’ has the mean9 ing given the term in section 8(d) of the Small Busi10 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)) and relevant subcon11 tracting regulations issued pursuant to that Act, ex12 cept that women shall be presumed to be socially 

13 and economically disadvantaged individuals for pur14 poses of this section. 

15 (3) VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘veteran17 owned small business’’ has the meaning given 

18 the term ‘‘small business concern owned and 

19 controlled by veterans’’ in section 3(q)(3) of the 

20 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q)(3)). 

21 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘veteran22 owned small business’’ does not include any 

23 concern or group of concerns controlled by the 

24 same veterans that have average annual gross 

25 receipts during the preceding 3 fiscal years in 


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

2 the Secretary for inflation. 

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

4 to the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Trans5 portation and the Federal Railroad Administration, for 

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

7 used to implement the requirements of this section. 

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

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

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Railroad Ad11 ministration shall convene a working group to evaluate the 

12 restoration of intercity rail passenger service in the Gulf 

13 Coast region between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Or14 lando, Florida. 

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

16 of representatives of— 

17 (1) Amtrak; 

18 (2) the States along the proposed route or 

19 routes; 

20 (3) regional transportation planning organiza21 tions and metropolitan planning organizations, mu22 nicipalities, and communities along the proposed 

23 route or routes, selected by the Administrator of the 

24 Federal Railroad Administration; 

25 (4) the Southern Rail Commission; 


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1 (5) freight railroad carriers whose tracks may 

2 be used for such service; and 

3 (6) other entities determined appropriate by the 

4 Administrator. 

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

6 (1) evaluate all options for restoring intercity 

7 rail passenger service in the Gulf Coast region, in8 cluding options outlined in the report transmitted to 

9 Congress pursuant to section 226 of the Passenger 

10 Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 

11 (Public Law 110–432); 

12 (2) select a preferred option for restoring such 

13 service; 

14 (3) develop a prioritized inventory of capital 

15 projects and other actions required to restore such 

16 service and cost estimates for such projects or ac17 tions; and 

18 (4) identify Federal and non-Federal funding 

19 sources required to restore such service, including 

20 options for entering into public-private partnerships 

21 to restore such service. 

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

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

24 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

25 in the House of Representatives and the Committee on 


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1 Commerce, Science, and Transportation in the Senate a 

2 report that includes— 

3 (1) the preferred option selected under sub4 section (c)(2) and the reasons for selecting such op5 tion; 

6 (2) the information described in subsection 

7 (c)(3); 

8 (3) the funding sources identified under sub9 section (c)(4); 

10 (4) the costs and benefits of restoring intercity 

11 rail passenger transportation in the region; and 

12 (5) any other information the working group 

13 determines appropriate. 

14 SEC. 307. MISCELLANEOUS. 

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

16 States Code, is amended— 

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

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

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

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

21 (3) in section 24706— 

22 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘a dis23 continuance under section 24704 or or’’; 

24 (B) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘sec25 tion 24704 or’’; and 


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

2 24704 or’’. 

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

4 relating to section 24316 in the table of sections for chap5 ter 243 of such title is amended by striking ‘‘Plan to as6 sist’’ and inserting ‘‘Plans to address needs of’’. 

7 (c) PASSENGER RAIL INVESTMENT AND IMPROVE8 MENT ACT AMENDMENTS.—Section 305 of the Passenger 

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

10 24101 note) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting after ‘‘equip12 ment manufacturers,’’ the following: ‘‘nonprofit or13 ganizations representing employees who perform 

14 overhaul and maintenance of passenger railroad 

15 equipment,’’; 

16 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘, and may es17 tablish a corporation, which may be owned or joint18 ly-owned by Amtrak, participating States, or other 

19 entities, to perform these functions’’; and 

20 (3) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘and estab21 lishing a jointly-owned corporation to manage that 

22 equipment’’. 

23 SEC. 308. NORTHEAST CORRIDOR EXPRESS SERVICE. 

24 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

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1 structure and Operations Advisory Committee, in con2 sultation with Amtrak, shall transmit to the Committee 

3 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

4 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

5 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report that 

6 analyzes the implementation of nonstop, high-speed ex7 press passenger rail service between Washington, District 

8 of Columbia, and New York, New York, and between New 

9 York, New York, and Boston, Massachusetts. The report 

10 shall consider— 

11 (1) estimated trip time, ridership, revenue, total 

12 cost, capacity, and other metrics for each service; 

13 (2) impacts on existing Amtrak and commuter 

14 rail services; and 

15 (3) impacts on Northeast Corridor infrastruc16 ture. 

17 (b) CONSIDERATION.—Not later than 90 days after 

18 the transmittal of the report required under subsection 

19 (a), the Amtrak Board of Directors shall consider imple20 menting such services. 

21 TITLE IV—PROJECT DELIVERY 

22 SEC. 401. PROJECT DELIVERY RULEMAKING. 

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

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


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1 a rulemaking to govern the Federal review, permitting, 

2 and approval or disapproval of— 

3 (1) freight railroad and intercity rail passenger 

4 transportation infrastructure projects, including 

5 those that are carried out or planned to be carried 

6 out with the use of Federal funds administered by 

7 the Department of Transportation through a grant, 

8 contract, loan, or other financing instrument; and 

9 (2) commuter rail passenger transportation (as 

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

11 States Code) infrastructure projects that are funded 

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

13 guarantee under title V of the Railroad Revitaliza14 tion and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 

15 801 et seq.). 

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

17 rulemaking required under subsection (a) not later than 

18 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

19 (c) REQUIREMENTS AND CONSIDERATIONS.—The 

20 rulemaking under subsection (a) shall include procedures 

21 that— 

22 (1) reduce the aggregate time for review and 

23 permitting of infrastructure projects described under 

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1 quirements for public comment or assessing the im2 pact of a proposed project; 

3 (2) institutionalize or expand best practices or 

4 process improvements that agencies are already im5 plementing to improve the efficiency of reviews; 

6 (3) identify high-performance attributes of in7 frastructure projects described under subsection (a) 

8 that demonstrate how projects seek to advance exist9 ing statutory and policy objectives, thereby facili10 tating a more efficient review and permitting proc11 ess; 

12 (4) create a process to invite Federal agencies 

13 and State, local, and tribal governments to partici14 pate in the review process, expand coordination with 

15 such agencies and governments, and require the 

16 identification as early as practicable in the process 

17 of any— 

18 (A) Federal agency or State, local, or trib19 al government with jurisdiction over the project 

20 or required by law to conduct or issue a review 

21 or make a determination with regard to the 

22 project; and 

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

24 license, or approval required for the project; 

25 (5) create process efficiencies, including— 


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1 (A) designating Federal agencies and 

2 State, local, and tribal governments as cooper3 ating and participating agencies; 

4 (B) conducting concurrent and integrated 

5 reviews, analyses, opinions, and permits, li6 censes, or approvals to the maximum extent 

7 practicable; 

8 (C) establishing timelines, in coordination 

9 with affected Federal agencies, for completion 

10 of those reviews, analyses, opinions, and per11 mits, licenses, or approvals; 

12 (D) developing a coordination plan and 

13 schedule, in coordination with affected Federal 

14 agencies, for participation in the review by Fed15 eral agencies, State, local, and tribal govern16 ments, and the public; and 

17 (E) implementing a process to effectively 

18 identify and resolve issues that may affect com19 pletion of reviews in a timely manner; 

20 (6) effectively engage the public and interested 

21 stakeholders as early in the review process as pos22 sible; 

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1 ing sources to support early coordination and project 

2 review; 

3 (8) expand the use of information technology 

4 tools and identify priority areas for information 

5 technology investment to replace paperwork proc6 esses, enhance effective project siting decisions, en7 hance interagency collaboration, and improve the 

8 monitoring of project impacts and mitigation com9 mitments; 

10 (9) ensure that documents developed under the 

11 procedures are adopted and used by other Federal 

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

13 the maximum extent practicable, to eliminate redun14 dancy and duplicative reviews; 

15 (10) include improvements to mitigation policies 

16 to provide added predictability, facilitate landscape17 scale mitigation based on conservation plans and re18 gional environmental assessments, facilitate inter19 agency mitigation plans where appropriate, ensure 

20 accountability and long-term effectiveness of mitiga21 tion activities, and utilize innovative mechanisms 

22 where appropriate; and 

23 (11) develop a process for periodically consid24 ering expansion of categorical exclusions for infra25 structure projects described under subsection (a) 


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1 that conform to those of other modal administra2 tions. 

3 SEC. 402. HISTORIC PRESERVATION OF RAILROADS. 

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

5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in con6 sultation with appropriate Federal agencies, including the 

7 Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National 

8 Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, the 

9 National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Offi10 cers, and nongovernmental stakeholders representing the 

11 railroad industry and historic preservation concerns, 

12 shall— 

13 (1) administratively pursue program alter14 natives (as that term is used in 36 CFR 800.14) to 

15 promote a consistent approach in the treatment of 

16 railroad and rail-related properties for historic pres17 ervation review under section 106 of the National 

18 Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f); and 

19 (2) develop mechanisms for streamlining com20 pliance with the requirements of section 303 of title 

21 49, United States Code, for railroad and rail-related 

22 properties. 

23 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out subsection 

24 (a), the Secretary shall— 


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1 (1) consider, among other options, the develop2 ment of— 

3 (A) programmatic agreements, program 

4 comments, exempted categories of under5 takings, and guidance for historic reviews under 

6 section 106 of the National Historic Preserva7 tion Act (as those terms are used in 36 CFR 

8 800.14); and 

9 (B) programmatic evaluations, de minimis 

10 impact determinations, and regulatory guidance 

11 for reviews under section 303 of title 49, 

12 United States Code (as those terms are used in 

13 23 CFR 774); and 

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

15 (A) maintenance and repair of railroad and 

16 rail-related property; 

17 (B) repair and replacement of bridges, 

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

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

20 a contributing element of a historic district; 

21 (C) safety-related projects, including in22 stallation, maintenance, and repair of positive 

23 train control systems; 


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1 (D) management of railroad and rail-re2 lated properties that include both historic and 

3 non-historic components; 

4 (E) integration of reviews under section 

5 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, 

6 reviews under section 303 of title 49, United 

7 States Code, and environmental reviews; and 

8 (F) consistency in treatment of railroads 

9 nationwide for historic preservation purposes. 

10 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

11 SEC. 501. DEFINITION. 

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

13 means the Secretary of Transportation. 

14 SEC. 502. TITLE 49 DEFINITIONS. 

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

16 49, United States Code, is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through 

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

19 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol20 lowing new paragraphs: 

21 ‘‘(5) ‘long-distance route’ means a route de22 scribed in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (7). 

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

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


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

2 paragraphs: 

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

4 in which physical assets, both individually and as a 

5 system, are— 

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

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

8 design specification during any period when the 

9 life cycle cost of maintaining the assets is lower 

10 than the cost of replacing them; and 

11 ‘‘(B) sustained through regular mainte12 nance and replacement programs. 

13 ‘‘(13) ‘State-supported route’ means a route de14 scribed in subparagraph (B) or (D) of paragraph 

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

16 excluding those trains operated by Amtrak on the 

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

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

19 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 

20 (49 U.S.C. 24702 note) is amended by striking 

21 ‘‘24102(5)(D)’’ and inserting ‘‘24102(7)(D)’’. 

22 SEC. 503. STATE ACTION PLANS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require— 

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1 provement Act of 2008 (49 U.S.C. 22501 note), to 

2 develop and implement, not later than 18 months 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act, a State 

4 grade crossing action plan; and 

5 (2) each State that was identified pursuant to 

6 section 202 of such Act to update its plan and sub7 mit to the Secretary, not later than 1 year after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, a report describing 

9 what the State did to implement the plan. 

10 (b) CONTENTS.—Each plan required under sub11 section (a) shall— 

12 (1) identify specific solutions for improving 

13 safety at crossings, including highway-rail grade 

14 crossing closures or grade separations; and 

15 (2) focus on crossings that have experienced re16 cent grade crossing accidents or multiple accidents, 

17 or are at high risk for accidents. 

18 (c) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall provide assist19 ance to the States in developing and carrying out, as ap20 propriate, the plan required under subsection (a). 

21 (d) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary may condition the 

22 awarding of any grants under section 103 of this Act to 

23 a State on the development of such State’s grade crossing 

24 action plan. 


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1 (e) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall 

2 make each plan and report publicly available on an official 

3 Internet Web site. 

4 SEC. 504. QUIET ZONE REPORT. 

5 Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall transmit to Con7 gress a report evaluating the rule issued by the Federal 

8 Railroad Administration on the use of locomotive horn at 

9 rail crossings. Such report shall— 

10 (1) evaluate the effectiveness of the rule in re11 ducing accidents and fatalities at rail crossings; 

12 (2) evaluate the effectiveness of the rule in es13 tablishing quiet zones; 

14 (3) identify any barriers to the establishment of 

15 quiet zones; and 

16 (4) estimate the costs associated with their es17 tablishment. 

Passed the House of Representatives March 4, 

2015. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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