II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2478 

To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to partner with industry to 

strengthen the safety culture and safety practices of short line and 

regional freight railroads. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 17, 2014 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mrs. MURRAY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to partner with 

industry to strengthen the safety culture and safety practices of short line and regional freight railroads. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Short Line Railroad 

5 Safety Enhancement Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The use of new oil recovery techniques, par9 ticularly in regions without a sufficient number of 


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1 developed pipeline networks, has led to rapid growth 

2 in the transportation of crude oil by rail. 

3 (2) Recent accidents in North America involv4 ing trains carrying crude oil, such as the July 2013 

5 tragedy in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, have brought the 

6 need for enhanced safety into focus. 

7 (3) Short line and regional railroads have 

8 workforces and resources that are much smaller 

9 than large Class I railroads, but these railroads are 

10 expected to handle the same commodities safely. 

11 (4) Cooperative safety reviews, assessments, 

12 and training approaches can enhance safety by fos13 tering an enhanced safety culture. Cooperation be14 tween industry and the Federal Railroad Adminis15 tration’s Research and Development Program would 

16 enhance rail safety with respect to the transpor17 tation of crude oil by rail and in all other areas of 

18 rail transportation. 

19 SEC. 3. SHORT LINE AND REGIONAL RAILROAD SAFETY 

20 GRANTS. 

21 Section 20108 of title 49, United States Code, is 

22 amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(d) SHORT LINE AND REGIONAL RAILROAD SAFETY

24 TRAINING INITIATIVE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary 

2 may award grants to private or nonprofit organiza3 tions involved in, or affiliated with, transportation by 

4 Class II and Class III railroads. 

5 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Grant funds awarded 

6 under this subsection shall be used for research, de7 velopment, evaluation, and training efforts that are 

8 designed to enhance rail safety practices and safety 

9 culture. 

10 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) FISCAL YEAR 2015.—There is author12 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

13 $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2015 for grants 

14 under this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(B) FISCAL YEARS 2016 THROUGH 2019.— 

16 There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

17 Secretary such sums as may be necessary for 

18 each of the fiscal years 2016 through 2019 for 

19 grants under this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appro21 priated pursuant to this paragraph shall remain 

22 available until expended.’’. 

Æ 


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