II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1889 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve railroad safety by reducing 

accidents and to prevent railroad fatalities, injuries, and hazardous materials releases, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 26, 2007 

Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. SMITH, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. KERRY, and 

Mr. SCHUMER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve railroad 

safety by reducing accidents and to prevent railroad fatalities, injuries, and hazardous materials releases, and 

for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; AMEND4 MENT OF TITLE 49. 

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

6 ‘‘Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2007’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; amendment of title 49. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE I—RAILROAD RISK REDUCTION AND STRATEGY 

Sec. 101. Establishment of chief safety officer. 

Sec. 102. Railroad safety strategy. 

Sec. 103. Railroad safety risk reduction pilot program. 

Sec. 104. Railroad safety risk reduction program. 

Sec. 105. Positive train control system implementation.

Sec. 106. Hours of service reform. 

Sec. 107. Protection of railroad safety risk analyses information. 

TITLE II—HIGHWAY-RAIL GRADE CROSSING AND PEDESTRIAN 

SAFETY AND TRESPASSER PREVENTION 

Sec. 201. Pedestrian crossing safety. 

Sec. 202. State action plans. 

Sec. 203. Improvements to sight distance at highway-rail grade crossings. 

Sec. 204. National crossing inventory. 

Sec. 205. Telephone number to report grade crossing problems. 

Sec. 206. Operation Lifesaver. 

Sec. 207. Trespasser prevention and highway-rail crossing safety. 

Sec. 208. Fostering introduction of new technology to improve safety at highway-rail grade crossings. 

TITLE III—FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 

Sec. 301. Human capital increases. 

Sec. 302. Civil penalty increases. 

Sec. 303. Enforcement report. 

Sec. 304. Prohibition of individuals from performing safety-sensitive functions 

for a violation of hazardous materials transportation law. 

Sec. 305. Railroad radio monitoring authority. 

Sec. 306. Emergency waivers. 

Sec. 307. Federal rail security officers’ access to information. 

Sec. 308. Update of Federal Railroad Administration’s website. 

TITLE IV—RAILROAD SAFETY ENHANCEMENTS 

Sec. 401. Employee training. 

Sec. 402. Certification of certain crafts or classes of employees. 

Sec. 403. Track inspection time study. 

Sec. 404. Study of methods to improve or correct station platform gaps. 

Sec. 405. Use of distracting devices in locomotive cabs. 

Sec. 406. Railroad safety technology grants. 

Sec. 407. Railroad safety infrastructure improvement grants. 

Sec. 408. Amendment to the movement-for-repair provision. 

Sec. 409. Development and use of rail safety technology.

Sec. 410. Employee sleeping quarters. 

TITLE V—RAIL PASSENGER DISASTER FAMILY ASSISTANCE 

Sec. 501. Assistance by National Transportation Safety Board to families of 

passengers involved in rail passenger accidents. 


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Sec. 502. Rail passenger carrier plan to assist families of passengers involved 

in rail passenger accidents. 

Sec. 503. Establishment of task force. 

TITLE VI—CLARIFICATION OF FEDERAL JURISDICTION OVER 

SOLID WASTE FACILITIES 

Sec. 601. Clarification of Federal jurisdiction over solid waste facilities. 

1 (c) AMENDMENT OF TITLE 49.—Except as otherwise 

2 expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment 

3 or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or 

4 a repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall 

5 be considered to be made to a section or other provision 

6 of title 49, United States Code. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act: 

9 (1) CROSSING.—The term ‘‘crossing’’ means a 

10 location within a State, other than a location where 

11 one or more railroad tracks cross one or more rail12 road tracks either at grade or grade-separated, 

13 where— 

14 (A) a public highway, road, or street, or a 

15 private roadway, including associated sidewalks 

16 and pathways, crosses one or more railroad 

17 tracks either at grade or grade-separated; or 

18 (B) a pathway explicitly authorized by the 

19 property owner that is dedicated for the use of 

20 nonvehicular traffic, including pedestrians, 

21 bicyclists, and others, that is not associated 

22 with a public highway, road, or street, or a priVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:04 Jul 27, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1889.IS S1889

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1 vate roadway, crosses one or more railroad 

2 tracks either at grade or grade-separated. 

3 (2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

4 means the Department of Transportation. 

5 (3) RAILROAD.—The term ‘‘railroad’’ has the 

6 meaning given that term by section 20102 of title 

7 49, United States Code. 

8 (4) RAILROAD CARRIER.—The term ‘‘railroad 

9 carrier’’ has the meaning given that term by section 

10 20102 of title 49, United States Code. 

11 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of Transportation. 

13 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State 

14 of the United States, the District of Columbia, or 

15 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

16 (b) IN TITLE 49.—Section 20102 is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

18 paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; 

19 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as redes20 ignated, the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) ‘Class I railroad’ means a railroad carrier 

22 that has annual carrier operating revenues that meet 

23 the threshold amount for Class I carriers, as deter24 mined by the Surface Transportation Board under 


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1 section 1201.1–1 of title 49, Code of Federal Regu2 lations.’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(4) ‘safety-related railroad employee’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) a railroad employee who is subject to 

6 chapter 211; 

7 ‘‘(B) another operating railroad employee 

8 who is not subject to chapter 211; 

9 ‘‘(C) an employee who maintains the right 

10 of way of a railroad carrier; 

11 ‘‘(D) an employee of a railroad carrier who 

12 is a hazmat employees as defined in section 

13 5102(3) of this title; 

14 ‘‘(E) an employee who inspects, repairs, or 

15 maintains locomotives, passenger cars or freight 

16 cars; and 

17 ‘‘(F) any other employee of a railroad who 

18 directly affects railroad safety, as determined 

19 by the Secretary.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 Section 20117(a) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) There are authorized to be 

23 appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation to carry 

24 out this part and to carry out responsibilities under chap25 ter 51 as delegated or authorized by the Secretary— 


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1 ‘‘(A) $245,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

2 ‘‘(B) $260,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

3 ‘‘(C) $270,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

4 ‘‘(D) $280,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

5 ‘‘(E) $290,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and 

6 ‘‘(F) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2013. 

7 ‘‘(2) With amounts appropriated pursuant to para8 graph (1), the Secretary shall purchase 6 Gage Restraint 

9 Measurement System vehicles and 5 track geometry vehi10 cles or other comparable technology to enable the deploy11 ment of 1 Gage Restraint Measurement System vehicle 

12 and 1 track geometry vehicle or other comparable tech13 nology in each region. 

14 ‘‘(3) There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

15 Secretary $18,000,000 for the period encompassing fiscal 

16 years 2008 through 2011 to design, develop, and construct 

17 the Facility for Underground Rail Station and Tunnel 

18 Testing and Training at the Transportation Technology 

19 Center, Inc., in Pueblo, Colorado. The facility shall be 

20 used to test and evaluate the safety and security 

21 vulnerabilities of above-ground and underground rail tun22 nels to prevent accidents and incidents in such tunnels, 

23 to mitigate and remediate the consequences of any such 

24 accidents or incidents, and to provide a realistic scenario 

25 for training emergency responders. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Such sums as may be necessary from the 

2 amount appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) for each 

3 of the fiscal years 2008 through 2013 shall be made avail4 able to the Secretary for personnel in regional offices and 

5 in Washington, DC, whose duties primarily involve rail se6 curity.’’. 

7 TITLE I—RAILROAD SAFETY 

8 RISK REDUCTION AND STRAT9 EGY 

10 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF CHIEF SAFETY OFFICER. 

11 Section 103 is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and 

13 (e) as subsections (e), (f), and (g); and 

14 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(c) SAFETY AS HIGHEST PRIORITY.—In carrying 

17 out its duties, the Administration shall consider safety as 

18 the highest priority, recognizing the clear intent, encour19 agement, and dedication of Congress to the furtherance 

20 of the highest degree of safety in railroad transportation. 

21 ‘‘(d) CHIEF SAFETY OFFICER.—The Administration 

22 shall have an Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety 

23 appointed in the career service by the Secretary. The Asso24 ciate Administrator shall be the Chief Safety Officer of 

25 the Administration. The Associate Administrator shall 


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1 carry out the duties and powers prescribed by the Admin2 istrator.’’. 

3 SEC. 102. RAILROAD SAFETY STRATEGY. 

4 (a) SAFETY GOALS.—In conjunction with existing 

5 federally-required and voluntary strategic planning efforts 

6 ongoing at the Department and the Federal Railroad Ad7 ministration on the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec8 retary shall develop a long-term strategy for improving 

9 railroad safety to cover a period of not less than 5 years. 

10 The strategy shall include an annual plan and schedule 

11 for achieving, at a minimum, the following goals: 

12 (1) Reducing the number and rates of acci13 dents, injuries, and fatalities involving railroads in14 cluding train collisions and derailments and human 

15 factors. 

16 (2) Improving the consistency and effectiveness 

17 of enforcement and compliance programs. 

18 (3) Improving the identification of high-risk 

19 highway-rail grade crossings and strengthening en20 forcement and other methods to increase grade 

21 crossing safety. 

22 (4) Improving research efforts to enhance and 

23 promote railroad safety and performance. 

24 (5) Preventing railroad trespasser accidents, in25 juries, and fatalities. 


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1 (b) RESOURCE NEEDS.—The strategy and annual 

2 plan shall include estimates of the funds and staff re3 sources needed to accomplish the goals established by sub4 section (a). Such estimates shall also include the staff 

5 skills and training required for timely and effective accom6 plishment of each such goal. 

7 (c) SUBMISSION WITH THE PRESIDENT’S BUDG8 ET.—The Secretary shall submit the strategy and annual 

9 plan to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

10 Transportation and the House of Representatives Com11 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure at the same 

12 time as the President’s budget submission. 

13 (d) ACHIEVEMENT OF GOALS.— 

14 (1) PROGRESS ASSESSMENT.—No less fre15 quently than annually, the Secretary shall assess the 

16 progress of the Department toward achieving the 

17 strategic goals described in subsection (a). The Sec18 retary shall identify any deficiencies in achieving the 

19 goals within the strategy and develop and institute 

20 measures to remediate such deficiencies. 

21 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

22 November 1st of each year, the Secretary shall 

23 transmit a report to the Senate Committee on Com24 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House 

25 of Representatives Committee on Transportation 


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1 and Infrastructure on the performance of the Fed2 eral Railroad Administration containing the progress 

3 assessment required by paragraph (1) toward 

4 achieving the goals of the railroad safety strategy 

5 and annual plans under subsection (a). 

6 SEC. 103. RAILROAD SAFETY RISK REDUCTION PILOT PRO7 GRAM. 

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

9 amended by adding at the end thereof the following: 

10 ‘‘§ 20156. Railroad safety risk reduction pilot pro11 gram 

12 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor14 tation shall develop a 2-year railroad safety risk re15 duction pilot program to systematically evaluate and 

16 manage railroad safety risks with the goal of reduc17 ing the numbers and rates of railroad accidents, in18 juries, and fatalities. Not later than 9 months after 

19 the date of enactment of the Railroad Safety En20 hancement Act of 2007, the Secretary shall, in co21 ordination with selected railroads, railroad facilities, 

22 and the nonprofit employee labor organizations that 

23 represent safety-related railroad employees employed 

24 at such railroad or railroad facility, at a minimum— 


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1 ‘‘(A) identify the aspects of a selected rail2 road or railroad facility, including operating 

3 practices, infrastructure, equipment, employee 

4 levels and schedules, safety culture, manage5 ment structure, employee training, and other 

6 matters, including those not covered by railroad 

7 safety regulations or other Federal regulations, 

8 that impact railroad safety; 

9 ‘‘(B) evaluate how these aspects of a se10 lected railroad or railroad facility increase or 

11 decrease risks to railroad safety; 

12 ‘‘(C) develop a safety risk reduction pro13 gram to improve the safety of a selected rail14 road or railroad facility by reducing the num15 bers and rates of accidents, injuries, and fatali16 ties through— 

17 ‘‘(i) the mitigation of the aspects of a 

18 selected railroad or railroad facility that 

19 increase risks to railroad safety; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the enhancement of aspects of a 

21 selected railroad or railroad facility that 

22 decrease risks to railroad safety; and 

23 ‘‘(D) incorporate into the program the con24 sideration and use of existing, new, or novel 

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1 ment practices or other behavior-based practices 

2 that could improve railroad safety at the se3 lected railroad or railroad facility. 

4 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION DEADLINE.—Not later 

5 than 12 months after the date of enactment of the 

6 Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2007, the se7 lected railroad or railroad facility shall implement 

8 the safety risk reduction program developed under 

9 paragraph (1)(C) on the selected railroad or railroad 

10 facility and ensure that all employees at the selected 

11 railroad or railroad facility have received and are 

12 complying with training related to the program. 

13 ‘‘(b) SELECTION OF RAILROAD OR RAILROAD FACIL14 ITY FOR PILOT PROGRAM.—Not later than 3 months after 

15 the date of enactment of the Railroad Safety Enhance16 ment Act of 2007, the Secretary shall develop a voluntary 

17 application process to select 1 or more railroad or railroad 

18 facilities where the pilot project will be implemented. The 

19 application process shall include criteria for rating appli20 cants, such as safety performance, accident and incident 

21 history, existence of risk management or behavior-based 

22 practices at the railroad or railroad facility, number of em23 ployees employed at the railroad or railroad facility, and 

24 other relevant criteria determined by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(c) EVALUATION.—Not later than 6 months after 

2 the completion of the safety risk reduction program pilot 

3 program, the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress 

4 evaluating the pilot program, which shall include— 

5 ‘‘(1) a summary of the railroad safety risk re6 duction pilot program and description of the actions 

7 taken by the Secretary and selected railroad or rail8 road facilities during the program; 

9 ‘‘(2) an analysis of the difference in the number 

10 and rates of accidents, injuries, and fatalities at a 

11 selected railroad or railroad facility before and after 

12 the implementation of the risk reduction pilot pro13 gram at a selected railroad or railroad facility; and 

14 ‘‘(3) guidelines on the preparation and imple15 mentation of railroad safety risk reduction program 

16 for the railroad carriers required to develop such 

17 plans under section 20157 that reflect that best 

18 practices developed during the pilot program.’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal20 ysis for chapter 201 is amended by inserting after the item 

21 relating to section 20155 the following: 

‘‘20156. Railroad safety risk reduction pilot program.’’. 

22 SEC. 104. RAILROAD SAFETY RISK REDUCTION PROGRAM. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 201, as 

24 amended by section 103, is amended by adding at end 

25 thereof the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 20157. Railroad safety risk reduction program 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

3 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 

4 2 years after the Secretary of Transportation sub5 mits the report required by section 20156, the Sec6 retary, by regulation, shall require each railroad car7 rier that is a Class I railroad, a railroad carrier that 

8 has inadequate safety performance (as determined 

9 by the Secretary), or a railroad that provides inter10 city passenger or commuter rail passenger transpor11 tation— 

12 ‘‘(A) to develop a railroad safety risk re13 duction program under subsection (d) that sys14 tematically evaluates railroad safety risks and 

15 manages those risks in order to reduce the 

16 numbers and rates of railroad accidents, inju17 ries, and fatalities; 

18 ‘‘(B) to submit its program, including any 

19 required plans, to the Federal Railroad Admin20 istration for its review and approval; and 

21 ‘‘(C) to implement the program and plans 

22 approved by the Federal Railroad Administra23 tion. 

24 ‘‘(2) RELIANCE ON PILOT PROGRAM.—The Sec25 retary shall use the information and experience gathVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:04 Jul 27, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1889.IS S1889

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1 ered through the pilot program under section 20156 

2 in developing regulations under this section. 

3 ‘‘(3) WAIVERS.—The Secretary may grant a 

4 waiver under section 20103(d) to a railroad carrier 

5 from compliance with all or a part of the require6 ments of this section if the Secretary determines 

7 that the safety performance of the railroad carrier is 

8 sufficient to warrant the waiver. 

9 ‘‘(4) VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE.—A railroad 

10 carrier that is not required to submit a railroad 

11 safety risk reduction program under this section 

12 may voluntarily submit a program that meets the re13 quirements of this section to the Federal Railroad 

14 Administration. The Federal Railroad Administra15 tion shall approve or disapprove any program sub16 mitted under this paragraph. 

17 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION.—The chief official responsible 

18 for safety of each railroad carrier required to submit a 

19 railroad safety risk reduction program under subsection 

20 (a) shall certify that the contents of the program are accu21 rate and that the railroad will implement the contents of 

22 the program as approved by the Federal Railroad Admin23 istration. 

24 ‘‘(c) RISK ANALYSIS.—In developing its railroad safe25 ty risk reduction program each railroad required to submit 


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1 such a program under subsection (a) shall identify and 

2 analyze the aspects of its railroad, including operating 

3 practices, infrastructure, equipment, employee levels and 

4 schedules, safety culture, management structure, employee 

5 training, and other matters, including those not covered 

6 by railroad safety regulations or other Federal regulations, 

7 that impact railroad safety. 

8 ‘‘(d) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each railroad required to 

10 submit a railroad safety risk reduction program 

11 under subsection (a) shall develop a comprehensive 

12 safety risk reduction program to improve safety by 

13 reducing the number and rates of accidents, injuries, 

14 and fatalities that is based on the risk analysis re15 quired by subsection (c) through— 

16 ‘‘(A) the mitigation of aspects that in17 crease risks to railroad safety; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the enhancement of aspects that de19 crease risks to railroad safety. 

20 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED COMPONENTS.—Each railroad’s 

21 safety risk reduction program shall include a tech22 nology implementation plan that meets the require23 ments of subsection (e) and a fatigue management 

24 plan that meets the requirements of subsection (f). 

25 ‘‘(e) TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As part of its railroad safe2 ty risk reduction program, a railroad required to 

3 submit a railroad safety risk reduction program 

4 under subsection (a) shall develop a 10-year tech5 nology implementation plan that describes the rail6 road’s plan for development, adoption, implementa7 tion, and use of current, new, or novel technologies 

8 on its system over a 10-year period to reduce safety 

9 risks identified under the railroad safety risk reduc10 tion program. 

11 ‘‘(2) TECHNOLOGY ANALYSIS.—A railroad’s 

12 technology implementation plan shall include an 

13 analysis of the safety impact, feasibility, and cost 

14 and benefits of implementing technologies, including 

15 processor-based technologies, positive train control 

16 systems (as defined in section 20158(b)), electroni17 cally controlled pneumatic brakes, rail integrity in18 spection systems, rail integrity warning systems, 

19 switch position indicators, trespasser prevention 

20 technology, highway rail grade crossing technology, 

21 and other new or novel railroad safety technology, as 

22 appropriate, that may mitigate risks to railroad safe23 ty identified in the risk analysis required by sub24 section (c). 


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1 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE.—A rail2 road’s technology implementation plan shall contain 

3 a prioritized implementation schedule for the devel4 opment, adoption, implementation, and use of cur5 rent, new, or novel technologies on its system to re6 duce safety risks identified under the railroad safety 

7 risk reduction program. 

8 ‘‘(f) FATIGUE MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As part of its railroad safe10 ty risk reduction program, a railroad required to 

11 submit a railroad safety risk reduction program 

12 under subsection (a) for which the analysis under 

13 subsection (c) has shown fatigue to be a significant 

14 source of risk shall develop a fatigue management 

15 plan that is designed to reduce the fatigue experi16 enced by safety-related railroad employees and to re17 duce the likelihood of accidents, injuries, and fatali18 ties caused by fatigue. 

19 ‘‘(2) TARGETED FATIGUE COUNTER20 MEASURES.—A railroad’s fatigue management plan 

21 shall take into account the varying circumstances of 

22 operations by the railroad on different parts of its 

23 system, and shall prescribe appropriate fatigue coun24 termeasures to address those varying circumstances. 


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1 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS.—A railroad shall 

2 consider the need to include in its fatigue manage3 ment plan elements addressing each of the following 

4 items, as applicable: 

5 ‘‘(A) Employee education and training on 

6 the physiological and human factors that affect 

7 fatigue, as well as strategies to reduce or miti8 gate the effects of fatigue, based on the most 

9 current scientific and medical research and lit10 erature. 

11 ‘‘(B) Opportunities for identification, diag12 nosis, and treatment of any medical condition 

13 that may affect alertness or fatigue, including 

14 sleep disorders. 

15 ‘‘(C) Effects on employee fatigue of an em16 ployee’s short-term or sustained response to 

17 emergency situations, such as derailments and 

18 natural disasters, or engagement in other inten19 sive working conditions. 

20 ‘‘(D) Scheduling practices for employees, 

21 including innovative scheduling practices for 

22 employees, including scheduling procedures, on23 duty call practices, work and rest cycles, in24 creases in consecutive days off for employees, 

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1 uling practices for varying types of work, and 

2 other aspects of employee scheduling that would 

3 reduce employee fatigue and cumulative sleep 

4 loss. 

5 ‘‘(E) Methods to minimize accidents and 

6 incidences that occur as a result of working at 

7 times when scientific and medical research have 

8 shown increased fatigue disrupts employees’ cir9 cadian rhythm. 

10 ‘‘(F) Alertness strategies, such as policies 

11 on napping, to address acute sleepiness and fa12 tigue while an employee is on duty. 

13 ‘‘(G) Opportunities to obtain restful sleep 

14 at lodging facilities, including employee sleeping 

15 quarters provided by the railroad carrier. 

16 ‘‘(H) The increase of the number of con17 secutive hours of off-duty rest, during which an 

18 employee receives no communication from the 

19 employing railroad carrier or its managers, su20 pervisors, officers, or agents. 

21 ‘‘(I) Avoidance of abrupt changes in rest 

22 cycles for employees. 

23 ‘‘(J) Additional elements that the Sec24 retary considers appropriate. 

25 ‘‘(g) CONSENSUS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each railroad required to 

2 submit a railroad safety risk reduction program 

3 under subsection (a) shall consult with, employ good 

4 faith and use its best efforts to reach agreement 

5 with, all of its directly affected employees on the 

6 contents of the safety risk reduction program. 

7 ‘‘(2) STATEMENT.—If the railroad carrier and 

8 its directly affected employees, including any non9 profit employee labor organization representing a 

10 class or craft of directly affected employees of the 

11 railroad carrier, cannot reach consensus on the pro12 posed contents of the plan, then directly affected 

13 employees and such organization may file a state14 ment with the Secretary explaining their views on 

15 the plan on which consensus was not reached. The 

16 Secretary shall consider such views during review 

17 and approval of the program. 

18 ‘‘(h) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary shall have the 

19 authority to assess civil penalties pursuant to chapter 213 

20 for a violation of this section, including the failure to sub21 mit, certify, or comply with a safety risk reduction pro22 gram, technology implementation plan, or fatigue manage23 ment plan.’’. 

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal25 ysis for chapter 201, as amended by section 103, is further 


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1 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

2 20156 the following: 

‘‘20157. Railroad safety risk reduction program.’’. 

3 SEC. 105. POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM IMPLEMENTA4 TION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 201, as 

6 amended by section 104, is further amended by adding 

7 at end thereof the following: 

8 ‘‘§ 20158. Positive train control system implementa9 tion 

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

11 shall ensure that each railroad required to submit a rail12 road safety risk reduction program pursuant to section 

13 20157 that includes in its technology implementation plan 

14 a schedule for implementation of a positive train control 

15 system complies with that schedule and implements its 

16 positive train control system by December 31, 2018, un17 less the Secretary determines that a railroad shall imple18 ment its positive train control system by an earlier date. 

19 ‘‘(b) POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM DE20 FINED.—The term ‘positive train control system’ means 

21 a system designed to prevent train-to-train collisions, over22 speed derailments, and incursions into roadway worker 

23 work limits.’’. 

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal25 ysis for chapter 201, as amended by section 104, is further 


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1 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

2 20157 the following: 

‘‘20158. Positive train control system implementation.’’. 

3 SEC. 106. HOURS OF SERVICE REFORM. 

4 (a) CHANGE IN DEFINITION OF SIGNAL EM5 PLOYEE.—Section 21101(4) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘employed by a railroad car7 rier’’; and 

8 (2) by inserting ‘‘railroad’’ after ‘‘maintaining’’. 

9 (b) LIMITATION ON DUTY HOURS OF TRAIN EM10 PLOYEES.—Section 21103 is amended— 

11 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

14 (c) of this section, a railroad carrier and its officers and 

15 agents may not require or allow a train employee to re16 main or go on duty— 

17 ‘‘(1) for a period in excess of 12 consecutive 

18 hours; 

19 ‘‘(2) unless the employee has had at least 10 

20 consecutive hours off duty during the prior 24 

21 hours; or 

22 ‘‘(3) unless the employee has had at least one 

23 period of at least 24 consecutive hours off duty in 

24 the past 7 consecutive days. 


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1 The Secretary may waive paragraph (3) if a collective bar2 gaining agreement provides a different arrangement and 

3 such arrangement provides an equivalent level of safety 

4 and protection against fatigue for affected employees.’’; 

5 (2) by striking subsection (b)(4) and inserting 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(4)(A)(i) Time spent waiting for or in 

8 deadhead transportation to a duty assignment and, 

9 except as provided in clauses (ii) and (iii), time 

10 spent waiting for or in deadhead transportation from 

11 a duty assignment to the place of final release is 

12 time on duty. 

13 ‘‘(ii) Time spent waiting for or in deadhead 

14 transportation from a duty assignment to a place of 

15 final release is neither time on duty nor time off 

16 duty in situations involving delays in the operations 

17 of the railroad carrier, when delays were caused 

18 by— 

19 ‘‘(I) a casualty; 

20 ‘‘(II) an accident; 

21 ‘‘(III) a track obstruction; 

22 ‘‘(IV) an act of God; 

23 ‘‘(V) a severe weather event; 

24 ‘‘(VI) a severe snowstorm; 

25 ‘‘(VII) a landslide; 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 ‘‘(VIII) a track or bridge washout; 

2 ‘‘(IX) a derailment; 

3 ‘‘(X) a major equipment failure which pre4 vents a train from advancing; or 

5 ‘‘(XI) any other delay from a cause un6 known or unforeseeable to a railroad carrier 

7 and its officers and agents in charge of the em8 ployee when the employee left a designated ter9 minal. 

10 ‘‘(iii) In addition to any time qualifying as nei11 ther on duty nor off duty under clause (ii), the rail12 road carrier may elect to treat not more than 4 

13 hours a day and not more than 30 hours a month 

14 per employee of time spent waiting for or in 

15 deadhead transportation to the place of final release 

16 as neither time on duty nor time off duty for 3 years 

17 after the date of enactment of the Railroad Safety 

18 Enhancement Act of 2007. 

19 ‘‘(B) Each railroad shall report to the Sec20 retary, in accordance with the procedures contained 

21 in section 228.19 of title 49, Code of Federal Regu22 lations, each instance in which an employee subject 

23 to this section spends time waiting for of in 

24 deadhead transportation from a duty assignment to 

25 the place of final release that is not time on duty. 


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1 ‘‘(C) If— 

2 ‘‘(i) the time spent waiting for or in 

3 deadhead transportation from a duty assign4 ment to the place of final release, that is not 

5 time on duty, plus 

6 ‘‘(ii) the time on duty, 

7 exceeds 12 consecutive hours, the railroad carrier 

8 and its officers and agents shall provide, at the elec9 tion of the employees subject to this section, employ10 ees with additional time off duty equal to the num11 ber of hours that such sum exceeds 12 hours.’’; and 

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

13 ‘‘(d) COMMUNICATION DURING TIME OFF DUTY.— 

14 During a train employee’s minimum off-duty period of 10 

15 consecutive hours, as provided under subsection (a), or 

16 during an interim period of at least 4 consecutive hours 

17 available for rest under subsection (b)(7), a railroad car18 rier, and its managers, supervisors, officers, and agents, 

19 shall not communicate with the train employee by tele20 phone, by pager, or in any other manner that could dis21 rupt the employee’s rest. Nothing in this subsection shall 

22 prohibit communication necessary to notify an employee 

23 of an emergency situation (as defined by the Secretary). 

24 The Secretary may waive the requirements of this para25 graph, subject to section 20103, for a railroad that proVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:04 Jul 27, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1889.IS S1889

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1 vides commuter or intercity passenger transportation if 

2 the Secretary determines that it is necessary to maintain 

3 that railroad’s efficient operations and on-time perform4 ance of its trains.’’. 

5 (c) LIMITATION ON DUTY HOURS OF SIGNAL EM6 PLOYEES.—Section 21104 is amended— 

7 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

10 (c) of this section, a railroad carrier, its officers and 

11 agents, and a contractor or subcontractor to a railroad 

12 may not require or allow a signal employee to remain or 

13 go on duty— 

14 ‘‘(1) for a period in excess of 12 consecutive 

15 hours; or 

16 ‘‘(2) unless the employee has had at least 10 

17 consecutive hours off duty during the prior 24 

18 hours.’’; 

19 (2) by striking ‘‘duty, except that up to one 

20 hour of that time spent returning from the final 

21 trouble call of a period of continuous or broken serv22 ice is time off duty.’’ in subsection (b)(3) and insert23 ing ‘‘duty.’’; 

24 (3) by adding ‘‘A signal employee may not be 

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1 gency authority provided under this subsection to 

2 conduct routine repairs, maintenance, or inspection 

3 of signal systems.’’ at the end of subsection (c); and 

4 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(d) COMMUNICATION DURING TIME OFF DUTY.— 

6 During a signal employee’s minimum off-duty period of 

7 10 consecutive hours, as provided under subsection (a), 

8 a railroad carrier, and its managers, supervisors, officers, 

9 and agents, shall not communicate with the signal em10 ployee by telephone, by pager, or in any other manner that 

11 could disrupt the employee’s rest. Nothing in this sub12 section shall prohibit communication necessary to notify 

13 an employee of an emergency situation (as defined by the 

14 Secretary). 

15 ‘‘(e) EXCLUSIVITY.—The hours of service, duty 

16 hours, and rest periods of signal employees shall be gov17 erned exclusively by this chapter. Signal employees oper18 ating motor vehicles shall not be subject to any hours of 

19 service rules, duty hours, or rest period rules promulgated 

20 by any Federal authority, including the Federal Motor 

21 Carrier Safety Administration, other than the Federal 

22 Railroad Administration.’’. 

23 (d) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 211 is amended by 

25 adding at the end thereof the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 21109. Regulatory authority 

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

3 may issue regulations— 

4 ‘‘(1) to reduce the maximum hours an employee 

5 or class of employees may be required or allowed to 

6 go or remain on duty to a level less than the level 

7 established under this chapter; 

8 ‘‘(2) to increase the minimum hours an em9 ployee or class of employees may be required to rest 

10 to a level greater than the level established under 

11 this chapter; or 

12 ‘‘(3) to make other changes to the maximum 

13 hours or minimum hours an employee or class of 

14 employees may be allowed to go or remain on duty, 

15 or may be required to rest, that will significantly in16 crease safety. 

17 ‘‘(b) REDUCTION OF LIMBO TIME.—Not later than 

18 2 years after the date of enactment of the Railroad Safety 

19 Enhancement Act of 2007, the Secretary shall issue regu20 lations that limit the time an employee spends waiting for 

21 or in deadhead transportation to the place of final release 

22 to be considered neither on duty nor off duty under section 

23 21103(b)(4)(A)(iii) to a number of hours per day and per 

24 month per employee that is necessary to maintain an ade25 quate level of safety, not to exceed 20 hours per month. 


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1 ‘‘(c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In issuing regulations pur2 suant to subsection (a) and (b), the Secretary shall con3 sider the variations in freight and passenger railroad 

4 scheduling practices, the variations in duties performed by 

5 employees subject to this chapter, the railroad’s required 

6 or voluntary use of fatigue management plans covering 

7 employees subject to this chapter, scientific or medical re8 search or knowledge related to fatigue, the railroad’s use 

9 of new or novel technology intended to eliminate human 

10 error, and any other relevant factors. 

11 ‘‘(d) TIME LIMITS.—If the Secretary requests that 

12 the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee accept the task 

13 of developing regulations under subsection (a) and (b) and 

14 the Committee accepts the task, the Committee shall reach 

15 consensus on the rulemaking within 24 months after ac16 cepting the task. If the Committee does not reach con17 sensus within 24 months after the Secretary makes the 

18 request, the Secretary shall prescribe appropriate regula19 tions within 1 year. If the Secretary does not request that 

20 the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee accept the task 

21 of developing regulations under subsections (a) and (b), 

22 the Secretary shall issue regulations within 3 years. 

23 ‘‘(e) PILOT PROJECTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

25 after the date of enactment of the Railroad Safety 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 Enhancement Act of 2007, the Secretary shall con2 duct 2 pilot projects to analyze specific practices 

3 which may be used to reduce fatigue for railroad em4 ployees as follows: 

5 ‘‘(A) A pilot project at a railroad or rail6 road facility to evaluate the efficacy of commu7 nicating to employees notice of their assigned 

8 shift time 10 hours prior to the beginning of 

9 their assigned shift as a method for reducing 

10 employee fatigue. 

11 ‘‘(B) A pilot project at a railroad or rail12 road facility to evaluate the efficacy of requiring 

13 railroads who use employee scheduling practices 

14 that subject employees to periods of unsched15 uled duty calls to assign employees to defined 

16 or specific unscheduled call shifts that are fol17 lowed by shifts not subject to call, as a method 

18 for reducing employee fatigue. 

19 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may temporarily 

20 waive the requirements of this section, if necessary, 

21 to complete a pilot project under this subsection. 

22 ‘‘(f) DUTY CALL DEFINED.—In this section the term 

23 ‘duty call’ means a telephone call that a railroad places 

24 to an employee to notify the employee of his or her as25 signed shift time.’’. 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter 

2 analysis for chapter 211 is amended by adding at 

3 the end thereof the following: 

‘‘21109. Regulatory authority.’’. 

4 SEC. 107. PROTECTION OF RAILROAD SAFETY RISK ANAL5 YSES INFORMATION. 

6 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter I of chapter 201 is 

7 amended by adding at the end thereof the following: 

8 ‘‘§ 20118. Prohibition on public disclosure of required 

9 railroad safety analyses records 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 552 of 

11 title 5 or any other provision of law, except as necessary 

12 for enforcement of any provision of Federal law by the 

13 Secretary of Transportation or by another Federal agency, 

14 the Secretary shall not disclose publicly any part of any 

15 record (including, but not limited to, a railroad carrier’s 

16 analysis of its safety risks and its statement of the mitiga17 tion measures it has identified with which to address those 

18 risks) that the Secretary has obtained pursuant to a provi19 sion of, or regulation or order under, this chapter related 

20 to the establishment, implementation, or modification of 

21 a railroad safety risk reduction program if the record is— 

22 ‘‘(1) supplied to the Secretary pursuant to that 

23 safety risk reduction program; or 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 ‘‘(2) made available for inspection and copying 

2 by an officer, employee, or agent of the Secretary 

3 pursuant to that safety risk reduction program. 

4 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), 

5 the Secretary may disclose any part of any record com6 prised of facts otherwise available to the public if, in the 

7 Secretary’s sole discretion, the Secretary determines that 

8 disclosure would be consistent with the confidentiality 

9 needed for that safety risk reduction program. 

10 ‘‘(c) DISCRETIONARY PROHIBITION OF DISCLO11 SURE.—The Secretary may prohibit the public disclosure 

12 of risk or risk mitigation analyses that the Secretary has 

13 obtained under other provisions of, or regulations or or14 ders under, this chapter if the Secretary determines that 

15 the prohibition of public disclosure is necessary to promote 

16 railroad safety. 

17 ‘‘§ 20119. Discovery and admission into evidence of 

18 certain reports and surveys 

19 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no part 

20 of any report, survey, schedule, list, or data compiled or 

21 collected for the purpose of evaluating, planning, or imple22 menting a railroad safety risk reduction program or other 

23 risk or risk mitigation analysis designated by the Sec24 retary of Transportation under section 20118(c) pursuant 

25 to a provision of, or regulation or order under, this chapter 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 (including a railroad carrier’s analysis of its safety risks 

2 and its statement of the mitigation measures with which 

3 it will address those risks) shall be subject to discovery 

4 or admitted into evidence in a Federal or State court pro5 ceeding, or considered for another purpose, in any action 

6 by a private party or parties for damages against the car7 rier, or its officers, employees, or contractors. The pre8 ceding sentence does not apply to any report, survey, list, 

9 or data otherwise available to the public.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal11 ysis for chapter 201 is amended by inserting after the item 

12 relating to section 20117 the following: 

‘‘20118. Prohibition on public disclosure of required railroad safety risk analyses. 

‘‘20119. Discovery and admission into evidence of certain reports and surveys.’’. 

13 TITLE II—HIGHWAY-RAIL GRADE 

14 CROSSING AND PEDESTRIAN 

15 SAFETY AND TRESPASSER 

16 PREVENTION 

17 SEC. 201. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING SAFETY. 

18 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

19 of this Act, the Secretary shall provide guidance to rail20 roads on strategies and methods to prevent pedestrian ac21 cidents, injuries, and fatalities at or near passenger sta22 tions, including— 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 (1) providing audible warning of approaching 

2 trains to the pedestrians at railroad passenger sta3 tions; 

4 (2) using signs, signals, or other visual devices 

5 to warn pedestrians of approaching trains; 

6 (3) installing infrastructure at pedestrian cross7 ings to improve the safety of pedestrians crossing 

8 railroad tracks; 

9 (4) installing fences to prohibit access to rail10 road tracks; and 

11 (5) other strategies or methods as determined 

12 by the Secretary. 

13 SEC. 202. STATE ACTION PLANS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 6 

15 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec16 retary shall identify on an annual basis the 10 States that 

17 receive Federal funds for highway-rail grade crossing safe18 ty projects that have had the most highway-rail grade 

19 crossing collisions in the preceding fiscal year. The Sec20 retary shall require as a condition of receiving such funds 

21 in the future (in addition to any requirements imposed 

22 under any other provision of law) that each of these States 

23 develop a State Grade Crossing Action Plan that identifies 

24 specific solutions for improving safety at crossings, includ25 ing highway-rail grade crossing closures or grade separaVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:04 Jul 27, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1889.IS S1889

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•S 1889 IS 

1 tions, particularly at crossings that have experienced mul2 tiple accidents, and shall provide assistance to the States 

3 in developing the plan. 

4 (b) REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—Not later than 60 days 

5 after the Secretary receives a plan under subsection (a), 

6 the Secretary shall review and approve or disapprove it. 

7 If the proposed plan is not approved, the Secretary shall 

8 notify the affected State as to the specific points in which 

9 the proposed plan is deficient, and the State shall correct 

10 all deficiencies within 30 days following receipt of written 

11 notice from the Secretary. 

12 SEC. 203. IMPROVEMENTS TO SIGHT DISTANCE AT HIGH13 WAY-RAIL GRADE CROSSINGS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 201, as 

15 amended by section 105 of this Act, is further amended 

16 by inserting after section 20158 the following: 

17 ‘‘§ 20159. Roadway user sight distance at highway18 rail grade crossings 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

20 the date of enactment of the Railroad Safety Enhance21 ment Act of 2007, the Secretary of Transportation shall 

22 prescribe regulations that require each railroad carrier to 

23 remove from its rights-of-way at all public highway-rail 

24 grade crossings, and at all private highway-rail grade 

25 crossings open to unrestricted public access (as declared 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 in writing by the holder of the crossing right), grass, 

2 brush, shrubbery, trees, and other vegetation which may 

3 obstruct the view of a pedestrian or a vehicle operator for 

4 a reasonable distance in either direction of the train’s ap5 proach, and to maintain its rights-of-way at all such cross6 ings free of such vegetation. In prescribing the regula7 tions, the Secretary shall take into consideration to the 

8 extent practicable— 

9 ‘‘(1) the type of warning device or warning de10 vices installed at such crossings; 

11 ‘‘(2) factors affecting the timeliness and effec12 tiveness of roadway user decisionmaking, including 

13 the maximum allowable roadway speed, maximum 

14 authorized train speed, angle of intersection, and to15 pography; 

16 ‘‘(3) the presence or absence of other sight dis17 tance obstructions off the railroad right-of-way; and 

18 ‘‘(4) any other factors affecting safety at such 

19 crossings. 

20 ‘‘(b) PROTECTED VEGETATION.—In promulgating 

21 regulations pursuant to this section, the Secretary may 

22 make allowance for preservation of trees and other orna23 mental or protective growth where State or local law or 

24 policy would otherwise protect the vegetation from removal 

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1 er is notified of the sight distance obstruction and, within 

2 a reasonable period specified by the regulation, takes ap3 propriate action to abate the hazard to roadway users 

4 (such as by closing the crossing, posting supplementary 

5 signage, installing active warning devices, lowering road6 way speed, or installing traffic calming devices). 

7 ‘‘(c) MODEL LEGISLATION.—Not later than 18 

8 months after the date of enactment of the Railroad Safety 

9 Enhancement Act of 2007, the Secretary, after consulta10 tion with the Federal Railroad Administration, the Fed11 eral Highway Administration, and States, shall develop 

12 and make available to States model legislation providing 

13 for improving safety by addressing sight obstructions, at 

14 highway-rail grade crossings that are equipped solely with 

15 passive warnings, as recommended by the Inspector Gen16 eral of the Department of Transportation in Report No. 

17 MH–2007–044.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal19 ysis for chapter 201, as amended by section 105 of this 

20 Act, is amended by inserting after the item relating to sec21 tion 20158 the following new item: 

‘‘20159. Roadway user sight distance at highway-rail grade crossings.’’. 

22 SEC. 204. NATIONAL CROSSING INVENTORY. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 201, as 

24 amended by section 203 of this Act, is further amended 

25 by adding at the end the following new section: 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 ‘‘§ 20160. National crossing inventory 

2 ‘‘(a) INITIAL REPORTING OF INFORMATION ABOUT

3 PREVIOUSLY UNREPORTED CROSSINGS.—Not later than 

4 1 year after the date of enactment of the Railroad Safety 

5 Enhancement Act of 2007 or 6 months after a new cross6 ing becomes operational, whichever occurs later, each rail7 road carrier shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) report to the Secretary of Transportation 

9 current information, including information about 

10 warning devices and signage, as specified by the Sec11 retary, concerning each previously unreported cross12 ing through which it operates; or 

13 ‘‘(2) ensure that the information has been re14 ported to the Secretary by another railroad carrier 

15 that operates through the crossing. 

16 ‘‘(b) UPDATING OF CROSSING INFORMATION.— 

17 ‘‘(1) On a periodic basis beginning not later 

18 than 2 years after the date of enactment of the Rail19 road Safety Enhancement Act of 2007 and on or be20 fore September 30 of every year thereafter, or as 

21 otherwise specified by the Secretary, each railroad 

22 carrier shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) report to the Secretary current infor24 mation, including information about warning 

25 devices and signage, as specified by the SecVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:04 Jul 27, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1889.IS S1889

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1 retary, concerning each crossing through which 

2 it operates; or 

3 ‘‘(B) ensure that the information has been 

4 reported to the Secretary by another railroad 

5 carrier that operates through the crossing. 

6 ‘‘(2) A railroad carrier that sells a crossing or 

7 any part of a crossing on or after the date of enact8 ment of the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 

9 2007 shall, not later than the date that is 18 

10 months after the date of enactment of that Act or 

11 3 months after the sale, whichever occurs later, or 

12 as otherwise specified by the Secretary, report to the 

13 Secretary current information, as specified by the 

14 Secretary, concerning the change in ownership of the 

15 crossing or part of the crossing. 

16 ‘‘(c) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall 

17 prescribe the regulations necessary to implement this sec18 tion. The Secretary may enforce each provision of the De19 partment of Transportation’s statement of the national 

20 highway-rail crossing inventory policy, procedures, and in21 struction for States and railroads that is in effect on the 

22 date of enactment of the Railroad Safety Enhancement 

23 Act of 2007, until such provision is superseded by a regu24 lation issued under this section. 

25 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 ‘‘(1) CROSSING.—The term ‘crossing’ means a 

2 location within a State, other than a location where 

3 one or more railroad tracks cross one or more rail4 road tracks either at grade or grade-separated, 

5 where— 

6 ‘‘(A) a public highway, road, or street, or 

7 a private roadway, including associated side8 walks and pathways, crosses one or more rail9 road tracks either at grade or grade-separated; 

10 or 

11 ‘‘(B) a pathway explicitly authorized by the 

12 property owner that is dedicated for the use of 

13 nonvehicular traffic, including pedestrians, 

14 bicyclists, and others, that is not associated 

15 with a public highway, road, or street, or a pri16 vate roadway, crosses one or more railroad 

17 tracks either at grade or grade-separated. 

18 ‘‘(2) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means a State 

19 of the United States, the District of Columbia, or 

20 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal22 ysis for chapter 201, as amended by section 203 of this 

23 Act, is amended by inserting after the item relating to sec24 tion 20159 the following: 

‘‘20160. National crossing inventory.’’. 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 (c) REPORTING AND UPDATING.—Section 130 of title 

2 23, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

3 the following: 

4 ‘‘(l) NATIONAL CROSSING INVENTORY.— 

5 ‘‘(1) INITIAL REPORTING OF CROSSING INFOR6 MATION.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

7 enactment of the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act 

8 of 2007 or within 6 months of a new crossing be9 coming operational, whichever occurs later, each 

10 State shall report to the Secretary of Transportation 

11 current information, including information about 

12 warning devices and signage, as specified by the Sec13 retary, concerning each previously unreported cross14 ing located within its borders. 

15 ‘‘(2) PERIODIC UPDATING OF CROSSING INFOR16 MATION.—On a periodic basis beginning not later 

17 than 2 years after the date of enactment of the Rail18 road Safety Enhancement Act of 2007 and on or be19 fore September 30 of every year thereafter, or as 

20 otherwise specified by the Secretary, each State shall 

21 report to the Secretary current information, includ22 ing information about warning devices and signage, 

23 as specified by the Secretary, concerning each cross24 ing located within its borders. 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 ‘‘(3) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 

2 shall prescribe the regulations necessary to imple3 ment this subsection. The Secretary may enforce 

4 each provision of the Department of Transpor5 tation’s statement of the national highway-rail cross6 ing inventory policy, procedures, and instructions for 

7 States and railroads that is in effect on the date of 

8 enactment of the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act 

9 of 2007, until such provision is superseded by a reg10 ulation issued under this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 

12 terms ‘crossing’ and ‘State’ have the meaning given 

13 those terms by section 20160(d)(1) and (2), respec14 tively, of title 49.’’. 

15 (d) CIVIL PENALTIES.—(1) Section 21301(a)(1) is 

16 amended— 

17 (A) by inserting ‘‘with section 20160 or’’ after 

18 ‘‘comply’’ in the first sentence; and 

19 (B) by inserting ‘‘section 20157 of this title or’’ 

20 after ‘‘violating’’ in the second sentence. 

21 (2) Section 21301(a)(2) is amended by inserting 

22 ‘‘The Secretary shall impose a civil penalty for a violation 

23 of section 20160 of this title.’’ after the first sentence. 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 SEC. 205. TELEPHONE NUMBER TO REPORT GRADE CROSS2 ING PROBLEMS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 20152 is amended to read 

4 as follows: 

5 ‘‘§ 20152. Notification of grade crossing problems 

6 ‘‘Not later than 18 months after the date of enact7 ment of the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2007, 

8 the Secretary of Transportation shall require each railroad 

9 carrier to— 

10 ‘‘(1) establish and maintain a telephone service, 

11 which may be required to be a toll-free telephone for 

12 specific railroad carriers as determined by the Sec13 retary to be appropriate, for rights-of-way over 

14 which it dispatches trains, to directly receive calls 

15 reporting— 

16 ‘‘(A) malfunctions of signals, crossing 

17 gates, and other devices to promote safety at 

18 the grade crossing of railroad tracks on those 

19 rights-of-way and public or private roads; 

20 ‘‘(B) disabled vehicles blocking railroad 

21 tracks at such grade crossings; 

22 ‘‘(C) obstructions to the view of a pedes23 trian or a vehicle operator for a reasonable dis24 tance in either direction of a train’s approach; 

25 or 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 ‘‘(D) other safety information involving 

2 such grade crossings; 

3 ‘‘(2) upon receiving a report pursuant to para4 graph (1)(A) or (B), immediately contact trains op5 erating near the grade crossing to warn them of the 

6 malfunction or disabled vehicle; 

7 ‘‘(3) upon receiving a report pursuant to para8 graph (1)(A) or (B), and after contacting trains 

9 pursuant to paragraph (2), contact, as necessary, 

10 appropriate public safety officials having jurisdiction 

11 over the grade crossing to provide them with the in12 formation necessary for them to direct traffic, assist 

13 in the removal of the disabled vehicle, or carry out 

14 other activities as appropriate; 

15 ‘‘(4) upon receiving a report pursuant to para16 graph (1)(C) or (D), timely investigate the report, 

17 remove the obstruction if possible, or correct the un18 safe circumstance; and 

19 ‘‘(5) ensure the placement at each grade cross20 ing on rights-of-way that it owns of appropriately lo21 cated signs, on which shall appear, at a minimum— 

22 ‘‘(A) a telephone number to be used for 

23 placing calls described in paragraph (1) to the 

24 railroad carrier dispatching trains on that 

25 right-of-way; 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 ‘‘(B) an explanation of the purpose of that 

2 telephone number; and 

3 ‘‘(C) the grade crossing number assigned 

4 for that crossing by the National Highway-Rail 

5 Crossing Inventory established by the Depart6 ment of Transportation.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal8 ysis for chapter 201 is amended by striking the item relat9 ing to section 20152 and inserting the following: 

‘‘20152. Notification of grade crossing problems.’’. 

10 SEC. 206. OPERATION LIFESAVER. 

11 (a) GRANT.—The Federal Railroad Administration 

12 shall make a grant or grants to Operation Lifesaver to 

13 carry out a public information and education program to 

14 help prevent and reduce pedestrian, motor vehicle, and 

15 other incidents, injuries, and fatalities, and to improve 

16 awareness along railroad rights-of-way and at highway-rail 

17 grade crossings. This includes development, placement, 

18 and dissemination of Public Service Announcements in 

19 newspaper, radio, television, and other media. It will also 

20 include school presentations, brochures and materials, 

21 support for public awareness campaigns, and related sup22 port for the activities of Operation Lifesaver’s member or23 ganizations. As part of an educational program funded by 

24 grants awarded under this section, Operation Lifesaver 

25 shall provide information to the public on how to identify 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 and report to the appropriate authorities unsafe or mal2 functioning highway-rail grade crossings. 

3 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Secretary may allow 

4 funds provided under subsection (a) also to be used by 

5 Operation Lifesaver to implement a pilot program, to be 

6 known as the Railroad Safety Public Awareness Program, 

7 that addresses the need for targeted and sustained com8 munity outreach on the subjects described in subsection 

9 (a). Such a pilot program shall be established in 1 or more 

10 States identified under section 202 of this Act. In carrying 

11 out such a pilot program Operation Lifesaver shall work 

12 with the State, community leaders, school districts, and 

13 public and private partners to identify the communities 

14 at greatest risk, to develop appropriate measures to reduce 

15 such risks, and shall coordinate the pilot program with 

16 the State grade crossing action plan. 

17 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated to the Federal Railroad 

19 Administration for carrying out this section— 

20 (1) $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008, 

21 2009, and 2010; and 

22 (2) $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 20011, 

23 2012, and 2013. 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 SEC. 207. TRESPASSER PREVENTION AND HIGHWAY-RAIL 

2 CROSSING SAFETY. 

3 (a) TRESPASSER PREVENTION AND HIGHWAY-RAIL

4 GRADE CROSSING WARNING SIGN VIOLATIONS.—Section 

5 20151 is amended— 

6 (1) by striking the section heading and insert7 ing the following: 

8 ‘‘§ 20151. Railroad trespassing, vandalism, and high9 way-rail grade crossing warning sign vio10 lation prevention strategy’’; 

11 (2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(a) EVALUATION OF EXISTING LAWS.—In consulta14 tion with affected parties, the Secretary of Transportation 

15 shall evaluate and review current local, State, and Federal 

16 laws regarding trespassing on railroad property, van17 dalism affecting railroad safety, and violations of highway18 rail grade crossing warning signs and develop model pre19 vention strategies and enforcement laws to be used for the 

20 consideration of State and local legislatures and govern21 mental entities. The first such evaluation and review con22 cerning violations of grade crossing signals shall be com23 pleted within 1 year after the date of enactment of the 

24 Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2007. The Secretary 

25 shall revise the model prevention strategies and enforce26 ment codes periodically.’’; 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 (3) by inserting ‘‘FOR TRESPASSING AND VAN2 DALISM PREVENTION’’ in the subsection heading of 

3 subsection (b) after ‘‘OUTREACH PROGRAM’’; 

4 (4) in subsection (c)— 

5 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 

6 (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; 

7 (B) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘MODEL LEG8 ISLATION.—’’; and 

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

10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(2) Within 18 months after the date of enactment 

12 of the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2007, the Sec13 retary, after consultation with State and local govern14 ments and railroad carriers, shall develop and make avail15 able to State and local governments model State legisla16 tion providing for civil or criminal penalties, or both, for 

17 violations of highway-rail grade crossing warning signs.’’; 

18 and 

19 (5) by adding at the end the following new sub20 section: 

21 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘viola22 tion of highway-rail grade crossing warning signs’ includes 

23 any action by a motorist, unless directed by an authorized 

24 safety officer— 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 ‘‘(1) to drive around a grade crossing gate in 

2 a position intended to block passage over railroad 

3 tracks; 

4 ‘‘(2) to drive through a flashing grade crossing 

5 signal; 

6 ‘‘(3) to drive through a grade crossing with pas7 sive warning signs without ensuring that the grade 

8 crossing could be safely crossed before any train ar9 rived; and 

10 ‘‘(4) in the vicinity of a grade crossing, who 

11 creates a hazard of an accident involving injury or 

12 property damage at the grade crossing.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal14 ysis for chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, is 

15 amended by striking the item relating to section 20151 

16 and inserting the following: 

‘‘20151. Railroad trespassing, vandalism, and highway-rail grade crossing warning sign violation prevention strategy.’’. 

17 (c) EDUCATIONAL OR AWARENESS PROGRAM ITEMS

18 FOR DISTRIBUTION.—Section 20134(a) is amended by 

19 adding at the end of the subsection the following: ‘‘The 

20 Secretary may purchase items of nominal value and dis21 tribute them to the public without charge as part of an 

22 educational or awareness program to accomplish the pur23 poses of this section and of any other sections of this title 

24 related to improving the safety of highway-rail crossings 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 and to preventing trespass on railroad rights of way, and 

2 the Secretary shall prescribe guidelines for the administra3 tion of this authority.’’. 

4 SEC. 208. FOSTERING INTRODUCTION OF NEW TECH5 NOLOGY TO IMPROVE SAFETY AT HIGHWAY6 RAIL GRADE CROSSINGS. 

7 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter II of chapter 201, as 

8 amended by section 204 of this Act, is further amended 

9 by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘§ 20161. Fostering introduction of new technology to 

11 improve safety at highway-rail grade 

12 crossings 

13 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) Collisions between highway users and 

15 trains at highway-rail grade crossings continue to 

16 cause loss of life and serious personal injury and 

17 also threaten the safety of rail transportation. 

18 ‘‘(2) While elimination of at-grade crossings 

19 through consolidation of crossings and grade separa20 tions offers the greatest long-term promise for opti21 mizing the safety and efficiency of the two modes of 

22 transportation, over 140,000 public grade crossings 

23 remain on the general rail system—approximately 

24 one for each route mile on the general rail system. 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 ‘‘(3) Conventional highway traffic control de2 vices such as flashing lights and gates are effective 

3 in warning motorists of a train’s approach to an 

4 equipped crossing. 

5 ‘‘(4) Since enactment of the Highway Safety 

6 Act of 1973, over $4,200,000,000 of Federal fund7 ing has been invested in safety improvements at 

8 highway-rail grade crossings, yet a majority of pub9 lic highway-rail grade crossings are not yet equipped 

10 with active warning systems. 

11 ‘‘(5) The emergence of new technologies sup12 porting Intelligent Transportation Systems presents 

13 opportunities for more effective and affordable warn14 ings and safer passage of highway users and trains 

15 at remaining highway-rail grade crossings. 

16 ‘‘(6) Implementation of new crossing safety 

17 technology will require extensive cooperation between 

18 highway authorities and railroad carriers. 

19 ‘‘(7) Federal Railroad Administration regula20 tions establishing performance standards for proc21 essor-based signal and train control systems provide 

22 a suitable framework for qualification of new or 

23 novel technology at highway-rail grade crossings, 

24 and the Federal Highway Administration’s Manual 

25 on Uniform Traffic Control Devices provides an apVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:04 Jul 27, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1889.IS S1889

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1 propriate means of determining highway user inter2 face with such new technology. 

3 ‘‘(b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the Department of 

4 Transportation to encourage the development of new tech5 nology that can prevent loss of life and injuries at high6 way-rail grade crossings. The Secretary of Transportation 

7 shall carry out this policy in consultation with States and 

8 necessary public and private entities. 

9 ‘‘(c) EFFECT OF SECRETARIAL APPROVAL.—If the 

10 Secretary approves new technology to provide warning to 

11 highway users at a highway-rail grade crossing and such 

12 technology is installed at a highway-rail grade crossing in 

13 accordance with the conditions of the approval, this deter14 mination preempts any State law concerning the adequacy 

15 of the technology in providing warning at the crossing. 

16 Under no circumstances may a person (including a State, 

17 other public authority, railroad carrier, system designer, 

18 or supplier of the technology) be held liable for damages 

19 for any harm to persons or property because of an acci20 dent or incident at the crossing protected by such tech21 nology based upon the carrier’s failure to properly inspect 

22 and maintain such technology, if the carrier has inspected 

23 and maintained the technology in accordance with the 

24 terms of the Secretary’s approval.’’. 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal2 ysis for chapter 201, as amended by section 204 of this 

3 Act, is further amended by inserting after the item relat4 ing to section 20160, the following: 

‘‘20161. Fostering introduction of new technology to improve safety at highwayrail grade crossings.’’. 

5 TITLE III—FEDERAL RAILROAD 

6 ADMINISTRATION 

7 SEC. 301. HUMAN CAPITAL INCREASES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall increase the 

9 number of Federal Railroad Administration employees 

10 by— 

11 (1) 25 employees in fiscal year 2008; 

12 (2) 50 employees in fiscal year 2009; 

13 (3) 50 employees in fiscal year 2010; 

14 (4) 25 employees in fiscal year 2011; 

15 (5) 25 employees in fiscal year 2012; and 

16 (6) 25 employees in fiscal year 2013. 

17 (b) FUNCTIONS.—In increasing the number of em18 ployees pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary shall 

19 focus on hiring employees— 

20 (1) specifically trained to conduct on-site rail21 road and highway-rail grade crossing accident inves22 tigations; 

23 (2) to implement the Railroad Safety Strategy; 


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1 (3) to administer and implement the Railroad 

2 Safety Risk Reduction Pilot Program and the Rail3 road Safety Risk Reduction Program; 

4 (4) to implement section 20166 of title 49, 

5 United States Code, and to focus on encouragement 

6 and oversight of the use of new or novel rail safety 

7 technology; 

8 (5) to conduct routine inspections and audits of 

9 railroad and hazardous materials facilities and 

10 records for compliance with railroad safety laws and 

11 regulations; and 

12 (6) to support the Federal Railroad Administra13 tion’s safety mission. 

14 SEC. 302. CIVIL PENALTY INCREASES. 

15 (a) GENERAL VIOLATIONS OF CHAPTER 201.—Sec16 tion 21301(a)(2) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘$25,000’’; and 

19 (2) by striking ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘$100,000’’. 

21 (b) ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT VIOLATIONS OF CHAP22 TER 201; VIOLATIONS OF CHAPTERS 203 THROUGH

23 209.—Section 21302(a)(2) is amended— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘$25,000’’; and 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 (2) by striking ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘$100,000’’. 

3 (c) VIOLATIONS OF CHAPTER 211.—Section 

4 21303(a)(2) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘$25,000’’; and 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘$100,000’’. 

9 SEC. 303. ENFORCEMENT REPORT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 201, as 

11 amended by section 107 of this Act, is amended by adding 

12 at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘§ 20120. Enforcement Report. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31, 

15 2008, the Secretary of Transportation shall make avail16 able to the public and publish on its public website an an17 nual report that— 

18 ‘‘(1) provides a summary of railroad safety and 

19 hazardous materials compliance inspections and au20 dits that Federal or state inspectors conducted in 

21 the prior fiscal year organized by type of alleged vio22 lation, including track, motive power and equipment, 

23 signal, grade crossing, operating practices, accident 

24 and incidence reporting, and hazardous materials; 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 ‘‘(2) provides a summary of all enforcement ac2 tions taken by the Secretary or the Federal Railroad 

3 Administration during the prior fiscal year, includ4 ing— 

5 ‘‘(A) the number of civil penalties assessed 

6 against railroad carriers, hazardous material 

7 shippers, and individuals; 

8 ‘‘(B) the initial amount of civil penalties 

9 assessed against railroad carriers, hazardous 

10 materials shippers, and individuals; 

11 ‘‘(C) the number of civil penalty cases set12 tled against railroad carriers, hazardous mate13 rial shippers, and individuals; 

14 ‘‘(D) the final amount of civil penalties as15 sessed against railroad carriers, hazardous ma16 terials shippers, and individuals; 

17 ‘‘(E) the difference between the initial and 

18 final amounts of civil penalties assessed against 

19 railroad carriers, hazardous materials shippers, 

20 and individuals; 

21 ‘‘(F) the number of administrative hear22 ings requested and completed related to haz23 ardous materials transportation law violations 

24 or enforcement actions against individuals; 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 ‘‘(G) the number of cases referred to the 

2 Attorney General for civil or criminal prosecu3 tion; 

4 ‘‘(H) the number and subject matter of all 

5 compliance orders, emergency orders or pre6 cursor agreements; 

7 ‘‘(3) analyzes the effect of the number of in8 spections conducted and enforcement actions taken 

9 on the number and rate of reported accidents and 

10 incidents and railroad safety; 

11 ‘‘(4) identifies the number of locomotive engi12 neer certification denial or revocation cases appealed 

13 to and the average length of time it took to be de14 cided by— 

15 ‘‘(A) the Locomotive Engineer Review 

16 Board; 

17 ‘‘(B) an Administrative Hearing Officer or 

18 Administrative Law Judge; or 

19 ‘‘(C) the Administrator of the Federal 

20 Railroad Administration; 

21 ‘‘(5) provides any explanation regarding 

22 changes in the Secretary’s or the Federal Railroad 

23 Administration’s enforcement programs or policies 

24 that may substantially affect the information re25 ported; and 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 ‘‘(6) includes any additional information that 

2 the Secretary determines is useful to improve the 

3 transparency of its enforcement program.’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal5 ysis for chapter 201, as amended by section 107 of this 

6 Act, is amended by inserting after the item relating to sec7 tion 20119 the following: 

‘‘20120. Enforcement report.’’. 

8 SEC. 304. PROHIBITION OF INDIVIDUALS FROM PER9 FORMING SAFETY-SENSITIVE FUNCTIONS 

10 FOR A VIOLATION OF HAZARDOUS MATE11 RIALS TRANSPORTATION LAW. 

12 Section 20111(c) is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(c) ORDERS PROHIBITING INDIVIDUALS FROM PER14 FORMING SAFETY-SENSITIVE FUNCTIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) If an individual’s violation of this part, 

16 chapter 51 of this title, or a regulation prescribed, 

17 or an order issued, by the Secretary under this part 

18 or chapter 51 of this title is shown to make that in19 dividual unfit for the performance of safety-sensitive 

20 functions, the Secretary, after providing notice and 

21 an opportunity for a hearing, may issue an order 

22 prohibiting the individual from performing safety23 sensitive functions in the railroad industry for a 

24 specified period of time or until specified conditions 

25 are met. 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 ‘‘(2) This subsection does not affect the Sec2 retary’s authority under section 20104 of this title 

3 to act on an emergency basis.’’. 

4 SEC. 305. RAILROAD RADIO MONITORING AUTHORITY. 

5 Section 20107 is amended by inserting at the end the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(c) RAILROAD RADIO COMMUNICATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the Sec9 retary’s responsibilities under this part and under 

10 chapter 51, the Secretary may authorize officers, 

11 employees, or agents of the Secretary to conduct the 

12 following activities in circumstances the Secretary 

13 finds to be reasonable: 

14 ‘‘(A) Intercepting a radio communication, 

15 with or without the consent of the sender or 

16 other receivers of the communication, but only 

17 where such communication is broadcast or 

18 transmitted over a radio frequency which is— 

19 ‘‘(i) authorized for use by one or more 

20 railroad carriers by the Federal Commu21 nications Commission; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) primarily used by such railroad 

23 carriers for communications in connection 

24 with railroad operations. 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 ‘‘(B) Communicating the existence, con2 tents, substance, purport, effect, or meaning of 

3 the communication, subject to the restrictions 

4 in paragraph (3). 

5 ‘‘(C) Receiving or assisting in receiving the 

6 communication (or any information therein con7 tained). 

8 ‘‘(D) Disclosing the contents, substance, 

9 purport, effect, or meaning of the communica10 tion (or any part thereof of such communica11 tion) or using the communication (or any infor12 mation contained therein), subject to the re13 strictions in paragraph (3), after having re14 ceived the communication or acquired knowl15 edge of the contents, substance, purport, effect, 

16 or meaning of the communication (or any part 

17 thereof). 

18 ‘‘(E) Recording the communication by any 

19 means, including writing and tape recording. 

20 ‘‘(2) ACCIDENT PREVENTION AND ACCIDENT

21 INVESTIGATION.—The Secretary, and officers, em22 ployees, and agents of the Department of Transpor23 tation authorized by the Secretary, may engage in 

24 the activities authorized by paragraph (1) for the 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 purpose of accident prevention and accident inves2 tigation. 

3 ‘‘(3) USE OF INFORMATION.—(A) Information 

4 obtained through activities authorized by paragraphs 

5 (1) and (2) shall not be admitted into evidence in 

6 any administrative or judicial proceeding except— 

7 ‘‘(i) in a prosecution of a felony under 

8 Federal or State criminal law; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) to impeach evidence offered by a 

10 party other than the Federal Government re11 garding the existence, electronic characteristics, 

12 content, substance, purport, effect, meaning, or 

13 timing of, or identity of parties to, a commu14 nication intercepted pursuant to paragraphs (1) 

15 and (2) in proceedings pursuant to section 

16 5122, 5123, 20702(b), 20111, 20112, 20113, 

17 or 20114 of this title. 

18 ‘‘(B) If information obtained through activities 

19 set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) is admitted into 

20 evidence for impeachment purposes in accordance 

21 with subparagraph (A), the court, administrative law 

22 judge, or other officer before whom the proceeding 

23 is conducted may make such protective orders re24 garding the confidentiality or use of the information 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 as may be appropriate in the circumstances to pro2 tect privacy and administer justice. 

3 ‘‘(C) No evidence shall be excluded in an ad4 ministrative or judicial proceeding solely because the 

5 government would not have learned of the existence 

6 of or obtained such evidence but for the interception 

7 of information that is not admissible in such pro8 ceeding under subparagraph (A). 

9 ‘‘(D) Information obtained through activities 

10 set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not be sub11 ject to publication or disclosure, or search or review 

12 in connection therewith, under section 552 of title 5. 

13 ‘‘(E) Nothing in this subsection shall be con14 strued to impair or otherwise affect the authority of 

15 the United States to intercept a communication, and 

16 collect, retain, analyze, use, and disseminate the in17 formation obtained thereby, under a provision of law 

18 other than this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION WITH OTHER LAW.—Section 

20 705 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

21 605) and chapter 119 of title 18 shall not apply to 

22 conduct authorized by and pursuant to this sub23 section.’’. 

24 SEC. 306. EMERGENCY WAIVERS. 

25 Section 20103 is amended— 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 (1) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(e) HEARINGS.—Except as provided in subsection 

4 (g) of this section, the Secretary shall conduct a hearing 

5 as provided by section 553 of title 5 when prescribing a 

6 regulation or issuing an order under this chapter, includ7 ing a regulation or order establishing, amending, or 

8 waiving compliance with a railroad safety regulation pre9 scribed or order issued under this chapter. An opportunity 

10 for an oral presentation shall be provided.’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end thereof the following: 

12 ‘‘(g) EMERGENCY WAIVERS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pre14 scribe procedures concerning the handling of re15 quests for waivers of regulations prescribed or or16 ders issued under this chapter in emergency situa17 tions and may prescribe temporary emergency waiv18 er procedures without first providing an opportunity 

19 for public comment. The Secretary may grant a 

20 waiver request if the waiver is directly related to the 

21 emergency event or necessary to aid in any recovery 

22 efforts and is in the public interest and consistent 

23 with railroad safety. The relief shall not extend for 

24 a period of more than 9 months, including the pe25 riod of the relief granted under any renewal of the 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 waiver pursuant to the emergency waiver procedures. 

2 For matters that may impact the missions of the 

3 Department of Homeland Security, the Secretary of 

4 Transportation shall consult and coordinate with the 

5 Secretary of Homeland Security as soon as prac6 ticable. 

7 ‘‘(2) WAIVER BEFORE HEARING.—If, under the 

8 emergency waiver procedures established under 

9 paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Secretary de10 termines the public interest would be better served 

11 by addressing a request for waiver prior to providing 

12 an opportunity for a hearing under section 553 of 

13 title 5 and an oral presentation, the Secretary may 

14 act on the waiver request and, if the request is 

15 granted, the Secretary shall subsequently provide no16 tice and an opportunity for a hearing and oral pres17 entation pursuant to procedures prescribed under 

18 paragraph (1) of this subsection. Should the Sec19 retary receive comment or a request for oral presen20 tation on a waiver request after granting the waiver, 

21 the Secretary may take any necessary action with re22 gard to that waiver (including rescission or modifica23 tion) based on the newly acquired information. 

24 ‘‘(3) EMERGENCY SITUATION; EMERGENCY

25 EVENT.—In this subsection, the terms ‘emergency 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 situation’ and ‘emergency event’ mean a natural or 

2 manmade disaster, such as a hurricane, flood, earth3 quake, mudslide, forest fire, snowstorm, terrorist 

4 act, biological outbreak, release of a dangerous radi5 ological, chemical, explosive, or biological material, 

6 or a war-related activity, that poses a risk of death, 

7 serious illness, severe injury, or substantial property 

8 damage. The disaster may be local, regional, or na9 tional in scope.’’. 

10 SEC. 307. FEDERAL RAIL SECURITY OFFICERS’ ACCESS TO 

11 INFORMATION. 

12 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 281 is amended by add13 ing at the end thereof the following: 

14 ‘‘§ 28104. Federal rail security officers’ access to in15 formation 

16 ‘‘(a) ACCESS TO RECORDS OR DATABASE SYSTEMS

17 BY THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE FEDERAL RAILROAD

18 ADMINISTRATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

20 Federal Railroad Administration is authorized to 

21 have access to a system of documented criminal jus22 tice information maintained by the Department of 

23 Justice or by a State for the purpose of carrying out 

24 the civil and administrative responsibilities of the 

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1 rity, of railroad operations and for other purposes 

2 authorized by law, including the National Crime 

3 Prevention and Privacy Compact (42 U.S.C. 14611– 

4 14616). The Administrator shall be subject to the 

5 same conditions or procedures established by the De6 partment of Justice or State for access to such an 

7 information system by other governmental agencies 

8 with access to the system. 

9 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The Administrator may not 

10 use the access authorized under paragraph (1) to 

11 conduct criminal investigations. 

12 ‘‘(b) DESIGNATED EMPLOYEES OF THE FEDERAL

13 RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION.—The Administrator shall, 

14 by order, designate each employee of the Administration 

15 whose primary responsibility is rail security who shall 

16 carry out the authority described in subsection (a). The 

17 Administrator shall strictly limit access to a system of doc18 umented criminal justice information to persons with secu19 rity responsibilities and with appropriate security clear20 ances. Such a designated employee may, insofar as author21 ized or permitted by the National Crime Prevention and 

22 Privacy Compact or other law or agreement governing an 

23 affected State with respect to such a State— 

24 ‘‘(1) have access to and receive criminal history, 

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1 tion contained in the law enforcement databases of 

2 the Department of Justice, or of any jurisdiction in 

3 a State in the same manner as a police officer em4 ployed by a State or local authority of that State 

5 who is certified or commissioned under the laws of 

6 that State; 

7 ‘‘(2) use any radio, data link, or warning sys8 tem of the Federal Government and of any jurisdic9 tion in a State that provides information about 

10 wanted persons, be-on-the-lookout notices, or war11 rant status or other officer safety information to 

12 which a police officer employed by a State or local 

13 authority in that State who is certified or commis14 sioned under the laws of that State has access and 

15 in the same manner as such police officer; or 

16 ‘‘(3) receive Federal, State, or local government 

17 communications with a police officer employed by a 

18 State or local authority in that State in the same 

19 manner as a police officer employed by a State or 

20 local authority in that State who is commissioned 

21 under the laws of that State. 

22 ‘‘(c) SYSTEM OF DOCUMENTED CRIMINAL JUSTICE

23 INFORMATION DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘sys24 tem of documented criminal justice information’ means 

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1 tions containing information concerning identification, 

2 criminal history, arrests, convictions, arrest warrants, or 

3 wanted or missing persons, including the National Crime 

4 Information Center and its incorporated criminal history 

5 databases and the National Law Enforcement Tele6 communications System.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal8 ysis for chapter 281 is amended by adding at the end the 

9 following: 

‘‘28104. Federal rail security officers’ access to criminal history and other law 

enforcement records, systems, and communications.’’. 

10 SEC. 308. UPDATE OF FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRA11 TION’S WEBSITE. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall update the 

13 Federal Railroad Administration’s public website to better 

14 facilitate the ability of the public, including those individ15 uals who are not regular users of the public website, to 

16 find current information regarding the Federal Railroad 

17 Administration’s activities. 

18 (b) PUBLIC REPORTING OF VIOLATIONS.—On the 

19 Federal Railroad Administration’s public website’s home 

20 page, the Secretary shall provide a mechanism for the pub21 lic to submit written reports of potential violations of Fed22 eral railroad safety and hazardous materials transpor23 tation laws, regulations and orders to the Federal Railroad 

24 Administration. 


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1 TITLE IV—RAILROAD SAFETY 

2 ENHANCEMENTS 

3 SEC. 401. EMPLOYEE TRAINING. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 201, as 

5 amended by section 208 of this Act, is further amended 

6 by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘§ 20162. Employee training 

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

9 date of enactment of the Railroad Safety Enhancement 

10 Act of 2007, the Secretary of Transportation shall issue 

11 regulations requiring railroad carriers and railroad carrier 

12 contractors and subcontractors to develop training plans 

13 for crafts and classes of employees, as the Secretary deter14 mines appropriate. 

15 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The Secretary shall require that 

16 each training plan— 

17 ‘‘(1) clearly identify the class of craft of em18 ployees to which the plan applies; 

19 ‘‘(2) require that employees be trained on the 

20 requirements of relevant Federal railroad safety 

21 laws, regulations, and orders; 

22 ‘‘(3) require employees to be tested or otherwise 

23 demonstrate their proficiency in the subject matter 

24 of the training; and 


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•S 1889 IS 

1 ‘‘(4) contain any other relevant information 

2 that the Secretary deems appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(c) SUBMISSION FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary 

4 shall require each railroad carrier, railroad carrier con5 tractor, and railroad carrier subcontractor to submit its 

6 training plan to the Federal Railroad Administration for 

7 review and approval. 

8 ‘‘(d) EXEMPTION.—The Secretary may exempt rail9 road carriers and railroad carrier contractors and sub10 contractors from submitting training plans covering em11 ployees for which the Secretary has issued training regula12 tions before the date of enactment of the Railroad Safety 

13 Enhancement Act of 2007.’’. 

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal15 ysis for chapter 201, as amended by section 208 of this 

16 Act, is further amended by adding at the end thereof the 

17 following: 

‘‘20162. Employee training.’’. 

18 SEC. 402. CERTIFICATION OF CERTAIN CRAFTS OR CLASS19 ES OF EMPLOYEES. 

20 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue a report 

22 to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

23 Transportation and the House of Representatives Com24 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure about wheth25 er the certification of certain crafts or classes of railroad 


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1 carrier or railroad carrier contractor or subcontractor em2 ployees is necessary to reduce the number and rate of acci3 dents and incidents or to improve railroad safety. 

4 (b) CRAFTS AND CLASSES TO BE CONSIDERED.—As 

5 part of the report, the Secretary shall consider— 

6 (1) conductors; 

7 (2) carmen; 

8 (3) onboard service workers; 

9 (4) rail welders; and 

10 (5) any other craft or class of employees that 

11 the Secretary determines appropriate. 

12 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may issue regula13 tions requiring the certification of certain crafts or classes 

14 of employees that the Secretary determines pursuant to 

15 the report required by subsection (a) are necessary to re16 duce the number and rate of accidents and incidents or 

17 to improve railroad safety 

18 SEC. 403. TRACK INSPECTION TIME STUDY. 

19 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

20 (1) Rail revenue ton miles have increased by 

21 approximately 25 percent in the past 10 years. 

22 (2) Federal track safety regulations require 

23 track inspectors to complete inspections by walking 

24 or in a hi-rail vehicle and are often time intensive. 


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1 (3) Track inspectors are required to receive per2 mission to occupy track to complete inspections, 

3 which often delays trains from operating through the 

4 segment of track being inspected, especially on high5 density lines. 

6 (4) Obtaining track time to complete required 

7 track repairs of defects identified during track in8 spections can further delay train operations. 

9 (5) The competition for track time between 

10 track inspectors and trains potentially can leave seri11 ous rail defects undetected and unrepaired, increas12 ing the risk of derailments, accidents and injuries. 

13 (6) Results of rail and track defect detection 

14 technology studies have shown promise that such 

15 technologies can better identify or predict the most 

16 serious track problems, which could reduce inspec17 tion time or decrease the need for as frequent track 

18 inspections. 

19 (7) Being able to better detect track defects or 

20 predict when track defects will occur by using new 

21 or novel inspection technology could assist railroads 

22 in maximizing track inspection time and more effi23 ciently using track repair time. 

24 (b) STUDY.—Not later that 2 years after the date 

25 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— 


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1 (1) complete a study to determine whether— 

2 (A) the required intervals of track inspec3 tions for each class of track should be amended; 

4 (B) track remedial action requirements 

5 should be amended; 

6 (C) different track inspection and repair 

7 priorities or methods should be required; and 

8 (2) issue recommendations for changes to the 

9 Federal track safety standards in part 213 of title 

10 49, Code of Federal Regulations, based on the re11 sults of the study. 

12 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the study the 

13 Secretary shall consider— 

14 (1) the most current rail flaw, rail defect 

15 growth, rail fatigue, and other relevant track- or 

16 rail-related research and studies; 

17 (2) the availability and feasibility of developing 

18 and implementing new or novel rail inspection tech19 nology for routine track inspections; 

20 (3) information from National Transportation 

21 Safety Board or Federal Railroad Administration 

22 accident investigations where track defects were the 

23 cause or a contributing cause; and 

24 (4) other relevant information, as determined 

25 by the Secretary. 


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1 (d) UPDATE OF REGULATIONS.—Not later than 2 

2 years after the completion of the study required by sub3 section (b), the Secretary shall issue regulations imple4 menting the recommendations of the study. 

5 SEC. 404. STUDY OF METHODS TO IMPROVE OR CORRECT 

6 STATION PLATFORM GAPS. 

7 Not later than 2 years after the enactment of this 

8 Act, the Secretary shall complete a study to determine the 

9 most safe, efficient, and cost-effective way to improve the 

10 safety of rail passenger station platforms gaps in order 

11 to increase compliance with the requirements under the 

12 Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), 

13 including regulations issued pursuant to section 504 of 

14 such Act (42 U.S.C. 12204) and to minimize the safety 

15 risks associated with such gaps for railroad passengers 

16 and employees. 

17 SEC. 405. USE OF DISTRACTING DEVICES IN LOCOMOTIVE 

18 CABS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

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

21 a study on the prevalence of the use of personal electronic 

22 devices, including cell phones, video games, and other dis23 tracting devices, by safety-related railroad employees (as 

24 defined in section 20102(4) of title 49, United States 

25 Code, during the performance of such employees’ duties. 


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1 The study shall consider the safety impact of the use of 

2 such devices. 

3 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the 

4 completion of the study, the Secretary shall issue a report 

5 on the study to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

6 Science, and Transportation and the House of Represent7 atives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. 

8 (c) PROHIBITORY AUTHORITY.—Based on the con9 clusions of the study required under (a), the Secretary of 

10 Transportation may prohibit the use of personal electronic 

11 devices, such as cell phones, video games, or other elec12 tronic devices that may distract employees from safely per13 forming their duties, unless those devices are being used 

14 according to railroad operating rules or for other work 

15 purposes. 

16 SEC. 406. RAILROAD SAFETY TECHNOLOGY GRANTS. 

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

18 amended by section 401 of this Act, is further amended 

19 by adding at the end thereof the following: 

20 ‘‘§ 20163. Railroad safety technology grants 

21 ‘‘(a) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Transpor22 tation shall establish a grant program for the deployment 

23 of train control technologies, train control component tech24 nologies, processor-based technologies, electronically con25 trolled pneumatic brakes, rail integrity inspection systems, 


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1 rail integrity warning systems, switch position indicators, 

2 remote control power switch technologies, track integrity 

3 circuit technologies, and other new or novel railroad safety 

4 technology. 

5 ‘‘(b) GRANT CRITERIA.— 

6 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—Grants shall be made under 

7 this section to eligible passenger and freight railroad 

8 carriers, railroad suppliers, and State and local gov9 ernments for projects described in subsection (a) 

10 that have a public benefit of improved safety and 

11 network efficiency. 

12 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—Priority shall be given 

13 to projects that— 

14 ‘‘(A) focus on making technologies inter15 operable between railroad systems, such as 

16 train control technologies; 

17 ‘‘(B) provide incentives for train control 

18 technology deployment on high-risk corridors, 

19 such as those that have high volumes of haz20 ardous materials shipments or over which com21 muter or passenger trains operate; or 

22 ‘‘(C) benefit both passenger and freight 

23 safety and efficiency. 

24 ‘‘(3) TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— 

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1 tities that fail to develop and submit to the Sec2 retary a technology implementation plan as required 

3 by section 20157(d)(2). 

4 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

6 Transportation $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 

7 through 2013 to carry out this section. Amounts appro8 priated pursuant to this section shall remain available 

9 until expended.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal11 ysis for chapter 201, as amended by section 401 of this 

12 Act, is further amended by inserting after the item relat13 ing to section 20163 the following: 

‘‘20163. Railroad safety technology grants.’’. 

14 SEC. 407. RAILROAD SAFETY INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVE15 MENT GRANTS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 201, as 

17 amended by section 406 of this Act, is further amended 

18 by adding at the end thereof the following: 

19 ‘‘§ 20164. Railroad safety infrastructure improvement 

20 grants 

21 ‘‘(a) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Transpor22 tation shall establish a grant program for safety improve23 ments to railroad infrastructure, including the acquisition, 

24 improvement, or rehabilitation of intermodal or rail equip25 ment or facilities, including track, bridges, tunnels, yards, 


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1 buildings, passenger stations, facilities, and maintenance 

2 and repair shops. 

3 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—Grants shall be made under this 

4 section to eligible passenger and freight railroad carriers, 

5 and State and local governments for projects described in 

6 subsection (a). 

7 ‘‘(c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding grants the Sec8 retary shall consider, at a minimum— 

9 ‘‘(1) the age and condition of the rail infra10 structure of the applicant; 

11 ‘‘(2) the railroad’s safety record, including acci12 dent and incident numbers and rates; 

13 ‘‘(3) the volume of hazardous materials trans14 ported by the railroad; 

15 ‘‘(4) the operation of passenger trains over the 

16 railroad; and 

17 ‘‘(5) whether the railroad has submitted a rail18 road safety risk reduction program, as required by 

19 section 20157. 

20 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

22 Transportation $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 

23 through 2013 to carry out this section. Amounts appro24 priated pursuant to this subsection shall remain available 

25 until expended.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal2 ysis for chapter 201, as amended by section 406 of this 

3 Act, is amended by inserting after the item relating to sec4 tion 20163 the following: 

‘‘20164. Railroad safety infrastructure improvement grants.’’. 

5 SEC. 408. AMENDMENT TO THE MOVEMENT-FOR-REPAIR 

6 PROVISION. 

7 Section 20303 is amended by adding at the end the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS FOR MOVEMENT TO

10 MAKE REPAIRS TO DEFECTIVE OR INSECURE VEHI11 CLES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor13 tation may impose conditions for the movement of a 

14 defective or insecure vehicle to make repairs in addi15 tion to those conditions set forth in subsection (a) 

16 by prescribing regulations or issuing orders as nec17 essary. 

18 ‘‘(2) NECESSITY OF MOVEMENT.—The move19 ment of a defective or insecure vehicle from a loca20 tion may be necessary to make repairs of the vehicle 

21 even though a mobile repair truck capable of making 

22 the repairs has gone to the location on an irregular 

23 basis (as specified in regulations prescribed by the 

24 Secretary). 

25 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) NEAREST.—the term ‘nearest’ means the 

2 closest in the forward direction of travel for the de3 fective or insecure vehicle. 

4 ‘‘(2) PLACE AT WHICH THE REPAIRS CAN BE

5 MADE.—The term ‘place at which the repairs can be 

6 made’ means— 

7 ‘‘(A) a location with a fixed facility for 

8 conducting the repairs that are necessary to 

9 bring the defective or insecure vehicle into com10 pliance with this chapter; or 

11 ‘‘(B) a location where a mobile repair 

12 truck capable of making the repairs that are 

13 necessary to bring the defective or insecure ve14 hicle into compliance with this chapter makes 

15 the same kind of repair at the location regularly 

16 (as specified in regulations prescribed by the 

17 Secretary).’’. 

18 SEC. 409. DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF RAIL SAFETY TECH19 NOLOGY. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 201, as 

21 amended by section 407 of this Act, is further amended 

22 by adding at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 20165. Development and use of rail safety tech2 nology 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after en4 actment of the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2007, 

5 the Secretary of Transportation shall issue standards, 

6 guidance, regulations, or orders to encourage the develop7 ment, use, and implementation of rail safety technology 

8 in dark territory, in arrangements not defined in section 

9 20501 or otherwise not covered by Federal standards, 

10 guidance, regulations, or orders that ensures its safe oper11 ation, such as— 

12 ‘‘(1) switch position monitoring devices; 

13 ‘‘(2) radio, remote control or other power-as14 sisted switches; 

15 ‘‘(3) hot box, high water or earthquake detec16 tors; 

17 ‘‘(4) remote control locomotive zone limiting de18 vices; 

19 ‘‘(5) slide fences; 

20 ‘‘(6) grade crossing video monitors; 

21 ‘‘(7) track integrity warning systems; or 

22 ‘‘(8) other similar rail safety technologies, as 

23 determined by the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(b) DARK TERRITORY DEFINED.—In this section, 

25 the term ‘dark territory’ means any territory in a railroad 


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1 system that does not have a signal or train control system 

2 installed or operational.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal4 ysis for chapter 201, as amended by section 407 of this 

5 Act, is amended by inserting after the item relating to sec6 tion 20164 the following: 

‘‘20165. Development and use of rail safety technology.’’. 

7 SEC. 410. EMPLOYEE SLEEPING QUARTERS. 

8 Section 21106 is amended— 

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before 

10 ‘‘A railroad carrier’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub12 section: 

13 ‘‘(b) CAMP CARS.—Effective 12 months after the 

14 date of enactment of the Railroad Safety Enhancement 

15 Act of 2007, a railroad carrier and its officers and agents 

16 may not provide sleeping quarters through the use of camp 

17 cars, as defined in Appendix C to part 228 of title 49, 

18 Code of Federal Regulations, for employees and any indi19 viduals employed to maintain the right of way of a railroad 

20 carrier.’’. 


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1 TITLE V—RAIL PASSENGER 

2 DISASTER FAMILY ASSISTANCE 

3 SEC. 501. ASSISTANCE BY NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION 

4 SAFETY BOARD TO FAMILIES OF PAS5 SENGERS INVOLVED IN RAIL PASSENGER AC6 CIDENTS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 is amended by adding 

8 at the end of subchapter III the following: 

9 ‘‘§ 1139. Assistance to families of passengers involved 

10 in rail passenger accidents 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

12 being notified of a rail passenger accident within the 

13 United States involving a rail passenger carrier and result14 ing in a major loss of life, the Chairman of the National 

15 Transportation Safety Board shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) designate and publicize the name and 

17 phone number of a director of family support serv18 ices who shall be an employee of the Board and shall 

19 be responsible for acting as a point of contact within 

20 the Federal Government for the families of pas21 sengers involved in the accident and a liaison be22 tween the rail passenger carrier and the families; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(2) designate an independent nonprofit organi25 zation, with experience in disasters and posttrauma 


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1 communication with families, which shall have pri2 mary responsibility for coordinating the emotional 

3 care and support of the families of passengers in4 volved in the accident. 

5 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD.—The Board 

6 shall have primary Federal responsibility for— 

7 ‘‘(1) facilitating the recovery and identification 

8 of fatally injured passengers involved in an accident 

9 described in subsection (a); and 

10 ‘‘(2) communicating with the families of pas11 sengers involved in the accident as to the roles of— 

12 ‘‘(A) the organization designated for an ac13 cident under subsection (a)(2); 

14 ‘‘(B) Government agencies; and 

15 ‘‘(C) the rail passenger carrier involved, 

16 with respect to the accident and the post-accident 

17 activities. 

18 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF DESIGNATED ORGANIZA19 TION.—The organization designated for an accident under 

20 subsection (a)(2) shall have the following responsibilities 

21 with respect to the families of passengers involved in the 

22 accident: 

23 ‘‘(1) To provide mental health and counseling 

24 services, in coordination with the disaster response 

25 team of the rail passenger carrier involved. 


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1 ‘‘(2) To take such actions as may be necessary 

2 to provide an environment in which the families may 

3 grieve in private. 

4 ‘‘(3) To meet with the families who have trav5 eled to the location of the accident, to contact the 

6 families unable to travel to such location, and to 

7 contact all affected families periodically thereafter 

8 until such time as the organization, in consultation 

9 with the director of family support services des10 ignated for the accident under subsection (a)(1), de11 termines that further assistance is no longer needed. 

12 ‘‘(4) To arrange a suitable memorial service, in 

13 consultation with the families. 

14 ‘‘(d) PASSENGER LISTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) REQUESTS FOR PASSENGER LISTS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) REQUESTS BY DIRECTOR OF FAMILY

17 SUPPORT SERVICES.—It shall be the responsi18 bility of the director of family support services 

19 designated for an accident under subsection 

20 (a)(1) to request, as soon as practicable, from 

21 the rail passenger carrier involved in the acci22 dent a list, which is based on the best available 

23 information at the time of the request, of the 

24 names of the passengers that were aboard the 

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1 cident. A rail passenger carrier shall use rea2 sonable efforts, with respect to its unreserved 

3 trains, and passengers not holding reservations 

4 on its other trains, to ascertain the names of 

5 passengers aboard a train involved in an acci6 dent. 

7 ‘‘(B) REQUESTS BY DESIGNATED ORGANI8 ZATION.—The organization designated for an 

9 accident under subsection (a)(2) may request 

10 from the rail passenger carrier involved in the 

11 accident a list described in subparagraph (A). 

12 ‘‘(2) USE OF INFORMATION.—The director of 

13 family support services and the organization may 

14 not release to any person information on a list ob15 tained under paragraph (1) but may provide infor16 mation on the list about a passenger to the family 

17 of the passenger to the extent that the director of 

18 family support services or the organization considers 

19 appropriate. 

20 ‘‘(e) CONTINUING RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE

21 BOARD.—In the course of its investigation of an accident 

22 described in subsection (a), the Board shall, to the max23 imum extent practicable, ensure that the families of pas24 sengers involved in the accident— 


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1 ‘‘(1) are briefed, prior to any public briefing, 

2 about the accident and any other findings from the 

3 investigation; and 

4 ‘‘(2) are individually informed of and allowed to 

5 attend any public hearings and meetings of the 

6 Board about the accident. 

7 ‘‘(f) USE OF RAIL PASSENGER CARRIER RE8 SOURCES.—To the extent practicable, the organization 

9 designated for an accident under subsection (a)(2) shall 

10 coordinate its activities with the rail passenger carrier in11 volved in the accident to facilitate the reasonable use of 

12 the resources of the carrier. 

13 ‘‘(g) PROHIBITED ACTIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) ACTIONS TO IMPEDE THE BOARD.—No 

15 person (including a State or political subdivision) 

16 may impede the ability of the Board (including the 

17 director of family support services designated for an 

18 accident under subsection (a)(1)), or an organization 

19 designated for an accident under subsection (a)(2), 

20 to carry out its responsibilities under this section or 

21 the ability of the families of passengers involved in 

22 the accident to have contact with one another. 

23 ‘‘(2) UNSOLICITED COMMUNICATIONS.—No un24 solicited communication concerning a potential ac25 tion for personal injury or wrongful death may be 


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1 made by an attorney (including any associate, agent, 

2 employee, or other representative of an attorney) or 

3 any potential party to the litigation to an individual 

4 (other than an employee of the rail passenger car5 rier) injured in the accident, or to a relative of an 

6 individual involved in the accident, before the 45th 

7 day following the date of the accident. 

8 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION ON ACTIONS TO PREVENT

9 MENTAL HEALTH AND COUNSELING SERVICES.—No 

10 State or political subdivision may prevent the em11 ployees, agents, or volunteers of an organization des12 ignated for an accident under subsection (a)(2) from 

13 providing mental health and counseling services 

14 under subsection (c)(1) in the 30-day period begin15 ning on the date of the accident. The director of 

16 family support services designated for the accident 

17 under subsection (a)(1) may extend such period for 

18 not to exceed an additional 30 days if the director 

19 determines that the extension is necessary to meet 

20 the needs of the families and if State and local au21 thorities are notified of the determination. 

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

23 ‘‘(1) RAIL PASSENGER ACCIDENT.—The term 

24 ‘rail passenger accident’ means any rail passenger 

25 disaster occurring in the provision of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) interstate intercity rail passenger 

2 transportation (as such term is defined in sec3 tion 24102); or 

4 ‘‘(B) interstate or intrastate high-speed 

5 rail (as such term is defined in section 26105) 

6 transportation, 

7 regardless of its cause or suspected cause. 

8 ‘‘(2) RAIL PASSENGER CARRIER.—The term 

9 ‘rail passenger carrier’ means a rail carrier pro10 viding— 

11 ‘‘(A) interstate intercity rail passenger 

12 transportation (as such term is defined in sec13 tion 24102); or 

14 ‘‘(B) interstate or intrastate high-speed 

15 rail (as such term is defined in section 26105) 

16 transportation, 

17 except that such term does not include a tourist, his18 toric, scenic, or excursion rail carrier. 

19 ‘‘(3) PASSENGER.—The term ‘passenger’ in20 cludes— 

21 ‘‘(A) an employee of a rail passenger car22 rier aboard a train; 

23 ‘‘(B) any other person aboard the train 

24 without regard to whether the person paid for 


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1 the transportation, occupied a seat, or held a 

2 reservation for the rail transportation; and 

3 ‘‘(C) any other person injured or killed in 

4 the accident. 

5 ‘‘(i) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 

6 Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the 

7 actions that a rail passenger carrier may take, or the obli8 gations that a rail passenger carrier may have, in pro9 viding assistance to the families of passengers involved in 

10 a rail passenger accident. 

11 ‘‘(j) RELINQUISHMENT OF INVESTIGATIVE PRI12 ORITY.— 

13 ‘‘(1) GENERAL RULE.—This section (other than 

14 subsection (g)) shall not apply to a railroad accident 

15 if the Board has relinquished investigative priority 

16 under section 1131(a)(2)(B) and the Federal agency 

17 to which the Board relinquished investigative pri18 ority is willing and able to provide assistance to the 

19 victims and families of the passengers involved in 

20 the accident. 

21 ‘‘(2) BOARD ASSISTANCE.—If this section does 

22 not apply to a railroad accident because the Board 

23 has relinquished investigative priority with respect to 

24 the accident, the Board shall assist, to the maximum 

25 extent possible, the agency to which the Board has 


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1 relinquished investigative priority in assisting fami2 lies with respect to the accident.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec4 tions for such chapter is amended by inserting after the 

5 item relating to section 1138 the following: 

‘‘1139. Assistance to families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents.’’. 

6 SEC. 502. RAIL PASSENGER CARRIER PLAN TO ASSIST FAM7 ILIES OF PASSENGERS INVOLVED IN RAIL 

8 PASSENGER ACCIDENTS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 243 is amended by add10 ing at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘§ 24316. Plans to address needs of families of pas12 sengers involved in rail passenger acci13 dents 

14 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—Not later than 6 

15 months after the date of the enactment of the Railroad 

16 Safety Enhancement Act of 2007, a rail passenger carrier 

17 shall submit to the Chairman of the National Transpor18 tation Safety Board, the Secretary of Transportation, and 

19 the Secretary of Homeland Security a plan for addressing 

20 the needs of the families of passengers involved in any rail 

21 passenger accident involving a rail passenger carrier inter22 city train and resulting in a loss of life. 


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1 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—The plan to be sub2 mitted by a rail passenger carrier under subsection (a) 

3 shall include, at a minimum, the following: 

4 ‘‘(1) A process by which a rail passenger carrier 

5 will maintain and provide to the National Transpor6 tation Safety Board, the Secretary of Transpor7 tation, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, im8 mediately upon request, a list (which is based on the 

9 best available information at the time of the request) 

10 of the names of the passengers aboard the train 

11 (whether or not such names have been verified), and 

12 will periodically update the list. The plan shall in13 clude a procedure, with respect to unreserved trains 

14 and passengers not holding reservations on other 

15 trains, for a rail passenger carrier to use reasonable 

16 efforts to ascertain the number and names of pas17 sengers aboard a train involved in an accident. 

18 ‘‘(2) A plan for creating and publicizing a reli19 able, toll-free telephone number within 4 hours after 

20 such an accident occurs, and for providing staff, to 

21 handle calls from the families of the passengers. 

22 ‘‘(3) A process for notifying the families of the 

23 passengers, before providing any public notice of the 

24 names of the passengers, by suitably trained individ25 uals. 


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1 ‘‘(4) A process for providing the notice de2 scribed in paragraph (2) to the family of a pas3 senger as soon as a rail passenger carrier has 

4 verified that the passenger was aboard the train 

5 (whether or not the names of all of the passengers 

6 have been verified). 

7 ‘‘(5) A process by which the family of each pas8 senger will be consulted about the disposition of all 

9 remains and personal effects of the passenger within 

10 a rail passenger carrier’s control; that any posses11 sion of the passenger within a rail passenger car12 rier’s control will be returned to the family unless 

13 the possession is needed for the accident investiga14 tion or any criminal investigation; and that any un15 claimed possession of a passenger within a rail pas16 senger carrier’s control will be retained by the rail 

17 passenger carrier for at least 18 months. 

18 ‘‘(6) A process by which the treatment of the 

19 families of nonrevenue passengers will be the same 

20 as the treatment of the families of revenue pas21 sengers. 

22 ‘‘(7) An assurance that a rail passenger carrier 

23 will provide adequate training to its employees and 

24 agents to meet the needs of survivors and family 

25 members following an accident. 


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1 ‘‘(c) USE OF INFORMATION.—Neither the National 

2 Transportation Safety Board, the Secretary of Transpor3 tation, the Secretary of Homeland Security, nor a rail pas4 senger carrier may release any personal information on 

5 a list obtained under subsection (b)(1) but may provide 

6 information on the list about a passenger to the family 

7 of the passenger to the extent that the Board or a rail 

8 passenger carrier considers appropriate. 

9 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—A rail passenger 

10 carrier shall not be liable for damages in any action 

11 brought in a Federal or State court arising out of the per12 formance of a rail passenger carrier under this section in 

13 preparing or providing a passenger list, or in providing 

14 information concerning a train reservation, pursuant to a 

15 plan submitted by a rail passenger carrier under sub16 section (b), unless such liability was caused by a rail pas17 senger carrier’s conduct. 

18 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 

19 Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the 

20 actions that a rail passenger carrier may take, or the obli21 gations that a rail passenger carrier may have, in pro22 viding assistance to the families of passengers involved in 

23 a rail passenger accident. 

24 ‘‘(f) FUNDING.—Out of funds appropriated pursuant 

25 to section 20117(a)(1)(A), there shall be made available 


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1 to the Secretary of Transportation $500,000 for fiscal 

2 year 2008 to carry out this section. Amounts made avail3 able pursuant to this subsection shall remain available 

4 until expended.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal6 ysis for chapter 243 is amended by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

‘‘24316. Plan to assist families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents.’’. 

8 SEC. 503. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in cooperation 

10 with the National Transportation Safety Board, organiza11 tions potentially designated under section 1139(a)(2) of 

12 title 49, United States Code, rail passenger carriers, and 

13 families which have been involved in rail accidents, shall 

14 establish a task force consisting of representatives of such 

15 entities and families, representatives of passenger rail car16 rier employees, and representatives of such other entities 

17 as the Secretary considers appropriate. 

18 (b) MODEL PLAN AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The 

19 task force established pursuant to subsection (a) shall de20 velop— 

21 (1) a model plan to assist passenger rail car22 riers in responding to passenger rail accidents; 

23 (2) recommendations on methods to improve 

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1 senger rail carriers to the families of passengers in2 volved in a passenger rail accident; 

3 (3) recommendations on methods to ensure that 

4 the families of passengers involved in a passenger 

5 rail accident who are not citizens of the United 

6 States receive appropriate assistance; and 

7 (4) recommendations on methods to ensure that 

8 emergency services personnel have as immediate and 

9 accurate a count of the number of passengers on10 board the train as possible. 

11 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

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

13 to Congress a report containing the model plan and rec14 ommendations developed by the task force under sub15 section (b). 

16 TITLE VI—CLARIFICATION OF 

17 FEDERAL JURISDICTION 

18 OVER SOLID WASTE FACILI19 TIES 

20 SEC. 601. CLARIFICATION OF FEDERAL JURISDICTION 

21 OVER SOLID WASTE FACILITIES. 

22 Section 10501 is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘facilities,’’ in subsection (b)(2) 

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1 ment facilities (as defined in section 1004 of the 

2 Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6903))),’’; and 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘over mass transportation pro4 vided by a local governmental authority.’’ in sub5 section (c)(2) and inserting ‘‘over— 

6 ‘‘(A) mass transportation provided by a 

7 local governmental authority; or 

8 ‘‘(B) the processing or sorting of solid 

9 waste.’’. 

Æ 


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