II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2273 

To provide increased rail transportation security. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 1, 2004 

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. HOLLINGS, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. KENNEDY, Mrs. 

CLINTON, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. CARPER, and Mr. LAUTENBERG) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To provide increased rail transportation security. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Rail Security Act of 2004’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Rail transportation security risk assessment. 

Sec. 3. Rail security. 

Sec. 4. Study of foreign rail transport security programs. 

Sec. 5. Passenger, baggage, and cargo screening. 

Sec. 6. Certain personnel limitations not to apply. 

Sec. 7. Fire and life safety improvements. 

Sec. 8. Transportation security. 
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Sec. 9. Amtrak plan to assist families of passengers involved in rail passenger 

accidents. 

Sec. 10. System-wide Amtrak security upgrades. 

Sec. 11. Freight and passenger rail security upgrades. 

Sec. 12. Department of Transportation oversight. 

Sec. 13. Rail security research and development. 

Sec. 14. Welded rail and tank car safety improvements. 

Sec. 15. Northern Border rail passenger report. 

1 SEC. 2. RAIL TRANSPORTATION SECURITY RISK ASSESS2 MENT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

4 (1) VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT.—The Under 

5 Secretary of Homeland Security for Border and 

6 Transportation Security, in consultation with the 

7 Secretary of Transportation, shall complete a vulner8 ability assessment of freight and passenger rail 

9 transportation (encompassing rail carriers, as that 

10 term is defined in section 20102(1) of title 49, 

11 United States Code). The assessment shall include— 

12 (A) identification and evaluation of critical 

13 assets and infrastructures; 

14 (B) identification of threats to those assets 

15 and infrastructures; 

16 (C) identification of vulnerabilities that are 

17 specific to the transportation of hazardous ma18 terials via railroad; and 

19 (D) identification of security weaknesses in 

20 passenger and cargo security, transportation in21 frastructure, protection systems, procedural 
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1 policies, communications systems, employee 

2 training, emergency response planning, and any 

3 other area identified by the assessment. 

4 (2) EXISTING PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR

5 EFFORTS.—The assessment shall take into account 

6 actions taken or planned by both public and private 

7 entities to address identified security issues and as8 sess the effective integration of such actions. 

9 (3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Based on the assess10 ment conducted under paragraph (1), the Under 

11 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

12 Transportation, shall develop prioritized rec13 ommendations for improving rail security, including 

14 any recommendations the Under Secretary has for— 

15 (A) improving the security of rail tunnels, 

16 rail bridges, rail switching areas, other rail in17 frastructure and facilities, information systems, 

18 and other areas identified by the Under Sec19 retary as posing significant rail-related risks to 

20 public safety and the movement of interstate 

21 commerce, taking into account the impact that 

22 any proposed security measure might have on 

23 the provision of rail service; 

24 (B) deploying weapon detection equipment; 
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1 (C) training employees in terrorism pre2 vention, passenger evacuation, and response ac3 tivities; 

4 (D) conducting public outreach campaigns 

5 on passenger railroads; 

6 (E) deploying surveillance equipment; and 

7 (F) identifying the immediate and long8 term economic impact of measures that may be 

9 required to address those risks. 

10 (4) PLANS.—The report required by subsection 

11 (c) shall include— 

12 (A) a plan, developed in consultation with 

13 the freight and intercity passenger railroads, 

14 and State and local governments, for the gov15 ernment to provide increased security support 

16 at high or severe threat levels of alert; and 

17 (B) a plan for coordinating rail security 

18 initiatives undertaken by the public and private 

19 sectors. 

20 (b) CONSULTATION; USE OF EXISTING RE21 SOURCES.—In carrying out the assessment required by 

22 subsection (a), the Under Secretary of Homeland Security 

23 for Border and Transportation Security shall consult with 

24 rail management, rail labor, owners or lessors of rail cars 

25 used to transport hazardous materials, shippers of haz-
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1 ardous materials, public safety officials (including those 

2 within other agencies and offices within the Department 

3 of Homeland Security) and other relevant parties. 

4 (c) REPORT.— 

5 (1) CONTENTS.—Within 180 days after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary 

7 shall transmit to the Senate Committee on Com8 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House 

9 of Representatives Committee on Transportation 

10 and Infrastructure a report containing the assess11 ment and prioritized recommendations required by 

12 subsection (a) and an estimate of the cost to imple13 ment such recommendations. 

14 (2) FORMAT.—The Under Secretary may sub15 mit the report in both classified and redacted for16 mats if the Under Secretary determines that such 

17 action is appropriate or necessary. 

18 (d) 2-YEAR UPDATES.—The Under Secretary, in con19 sultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall up20 date the assessment and recommendations every 2 years 

21 and transmit a report, which may be submitted in both 

22 classified and redacted formats, to the Committees named 

23 in subsection (c)(1), containing the updated assessment 

24 and recommendations. 
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1 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Under Secretary 

3 of Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Se4 curity $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2005 for the purpose of 

5 carrying out this section. 

6 SEC. 3. RAIL SECURITY. 

7 (a) RAIL POLICE OFFICERS.—Section 28101 of title 

8 49, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘the rail 

9 carrier’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘any rail car10 rier’’. 

11 (b) REVIEW OF RAIL REGULATIONS.—Within 1 year 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

13 Transportation, in consultation with the Under Secretary 

14 of Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Se15 curity, shall review existing rail regulations of the Depart16 ment of Transportation for the purpose of identifying 

17 areas in which those regulations need to be revised to im18 prove rail security. 

19 SEC. 4. STUDY OF FOREIGN RAIL TRANSPORT SECURITY 

20 PROGRAMS. 

21 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR STUDY.—Within one year 

22 after the date of enactment of the Rail Security Act of 

23 2004, the Comptroller General shall complete a study of 

24 the rail passenger transportation security programs that 

25 are carried out for rail transportation systems in Japan, 
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1 member nations of the European Union, and other foreign 

2 countries. 

3 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the study shall be to 

4 identify effective rail transportation security measures 

5 that are in use in foreign rail transportation systems, in6 cluding innovative measures and screening procedures de7 termined effective. 

8 (c) REPORT.—The Comptroller General shall submit 

9 a report on the results of the study to the Senate Com10 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

11 House of Representatives Committee on Transportation 

12 and Infrastructure. The report shall include the Comp13 troller General’s assessment regarding whether it is fea14 sible to implement within the United States any of the 

15 same or similar security measures that are determined ef16 fective under the study. 

17 SEC. 5. PASSENGER, BAGGAGE, AND CARGO SCREENING. 

18 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR STUDY AND REPORT.—The 

19 Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Border and 

20 Transportation Security, in cooperation with the Secretary 

21 of Transportation, shall— 

22 (1) analyze the cost and feasibility of requiring 

23 security screening for passengers, baggage, and mail 

24 on passenger trains; and 
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1 (2) report the results of the study, together 

2 with any recommendations that the Under Secretary 

3 may have for implementing a rail security screening 

4 program to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

5 Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep6 resentatives Committee on Transportation and In7 frastructure within 1 year after the date of enact8 ment of this Act. 

9 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.—As part of the study under 

10 subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall complete a pilot 

11 program of random security screening of passengers and 

12 baggage at 5 passenger rail stations served by Amtrak se13 lected by the Under Secretary. In conducting the pilot pro14 gram, the Under Secretary shall— 

15 (1) test a wide range of explosives detection 

16 technologies, devices and methods; 

17 (2) require that intercity rail passengers 

18 produce government-issued photographic identifica19 tion which matches the name on the passenger’s 

20 tickets prior to boarding trains; and 

21 (3) attempt to achieve a distribution of partici22 pating train stations in terms of geographic location, 

23 size, passenger volume, and whether the station is 

24 used by commuter rail passengers as well as Amtrak 

25 passengers. 
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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Under Secretary 

3 of Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Se4 curity to carry out this section $5,000,000 for fiscal year 

5 2005. 

6 SEC. 6. CERTAIN PERSONNEL LIMITATIONS NOT TO APPLY. 

7 Any statutory limitation on the number of employees 

8 in the Transportation Security Administration of the De9 partment of Transportation, before or after its transfer 

10 to the Department of Homeland Security, does not apply 

11 to the extent that any such employees are responsible for 

12 implementing the provisions of this Act. 

13 SEC. 7. FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS. 

14 (a) LIFE SAFETY NEEDS.—The Secretary of Trans15 portation is authorized to make grants to Amtrak for the 

16 purpose of making fire and life-safety improvements to 

17 tunnels on the Northeast Corridor in New York, NY, Bal18 timore, MD, and Washington, DC 

19 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

21 Transportation for the purposes of carrying out subsection 

22 (a) the following amounts: 

23 (1) For the 6 New York tunnels to provide ven24 tilation, electrical, and fire safety technology up25 grades, emergency communication and lighting sys-
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1 tems, and emergency access and egress for pas2 sengers— 

3 (A) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

4 (B) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

5 (C) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

6 (D) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

7 and 

8 (E) $170,000,000 for fiscal year 2009. 

9 (2) For the Baltimore & Potomac tunnel and 

10 the Union tunnel, together, to provide adequate 

11 drainage, ventilation, communication, lighting, and 

12 passenger egress upgrades— 

13 (A) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

14 (B) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

15 (C) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

16 (D) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; and 

17 (E) $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2009. 

18 (3) For the Washington, DC Union Station 

19 tunnels to improve ventilation, communication, light20 ing, and passenger egress upgrades— 

21 (A) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

22 (B) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

23 (C) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

24 (D) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; and 

25 (E) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2009. 
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1 (c) INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES.—There are au2 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transpor3 tation for fiscal year 2005 $3,000,000 for the preliminary 

4 design of options for a new tunnel on a different alignment 

5 to augment the capacity of the existing Baltimore tunnels. 

6 (d) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.— 

7 Amounts appropriated pursuant to this section shall re8 main available until expended. 

9 (e) PLAN REQUIRED.—The Secretary may not make 

10 amounts available to Amtrak for obligation or expenditure 

11 under subsection (a)— 

12 (1) until Amtrak has submitted to the Sec13 retary, and the Secretary has approved, an engineer14 ing and financial plan for such projects; and 

15 (2) unless, for each project funded pursuant to 

16 this section, the Secretary has approved a project 

17 management plan prepared by Amtrak addressing 

18 project budget, construction schedule, recipient staff 

19 organization, document control and record keeping, 

20 change order procedure, quality control and assur21 ance, periodic plan updates, periodic status reports, 

22 and such other matter the Secretary deems appro23 priate; 

24 (f) FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION FROM OTHER TUN25 NEL USERS.—The Secretary shall, taking into account the 
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1 need for the timely completion of all life safety portions 

2 of the tunnel projects described in subsection (a)— 

3 (1) consider the extent to which rail carriers 

4 other than Amtrak use the tunnels; 

5 (2) consider the feasibility of seeking a financial 

6 contribution from those other rail carriers toward 

7 the costs of the projects; and 

8 (3) seek financial contributions or commitments 

9 from such other rail carriers at levels reflecting the 

10 extent of their use of the tunnels. 

11 SEC. 8. TRANSPORTATION SECURITY. 

12 (a) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—Within 60 days 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

14 Transportation and the Under Secretary of Homeland Se15 curity for Border and Transportation Security shall exe16 cute a memorandum of agreement governing the roles and 

17 responsibilities of the Department of Transportation and 

18 the Department of Homeland Security, respectively, in ad19 dressing railroad transportation security matters, includ20 ing the processes the departments will follow to promote 

21 communications, efficiency, and nonduplication of effort. 

22 (b) RAIL SAFETY REGULATIONS.—Section 20103(a) 

23 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking 

24 ‘‘safety’’ the first place it appears, and inserting ‘‘safety, 

25 including security,’’. 
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1 SEC. 9. AMTRAK PLAN TO ASSIST FAMILIES OF PAS2 SENGERS INVOLVED IN RAIL PASSENGER AC3 CIDENTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 243 of title 49, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘§ 24316. Plans to address needs of families of pas8 sengers involved in rail passenger acci9 dents 

10 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—Not later than 6 

11 months after the date of the enactment of the Rail Secu12 rity Act of 2004, Amtrak shall submit to the Chairman 

13 of the National Transportation Safety Board a plan for 

14 addressing the needs of the families of passengers involved 

15 in any rail passenger accident involving an Amtrak inter16 city train and resulting in a loss of life. 

17 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—The plan to be sub18 mitted by Amtrak under subsection (a) shall include, at 

19 a minimum, the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) A process by which Amtrak will maintain 

21 and provide to the National Transportation Safety 

22 Board, immediately upon request, a list (which is 

23 based on the best available information at the time 

24 of the request) of the names of the passengers 

25 aboard the train (whether or not such names have 

26 been verified), and will periodically update the list. 
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1 The plan shall include a procedure, with respect to 

2 unreserved trains and passengers not holding res3 ervations on other trains, for Amtrak to use reason4 able efforts to ascertain the number and names of 

5 passengers aboard a train involved in an accident. 

6 ‘‘(2) A plan for creating and publicizing a reli7 able, toll-free telephone number within 4 hours after 

8 such an accident occurs, and for providing staff, to 

9 handle calls from the families of the passengers. 

10 ‘‘(3) A process for notifying the families of the 

11 passengers, before providing any public notice of the 

12 names of the passengers, by suitably trained individ13 uals. 

14 ‘‘(4) A process for providing the notice de15 scribed in paragraph (2) to the family of a pas16 senger as soon as Amtrak has verified that the pas17 senger was aboard the train (whether or not the 

18 names of all of the passengers have been verified). 

19 ‘‘(5) A process by which the family of each pas20 senger will be consulted about the disposition of all 

21 remains and personal effects of the passenger within 

22 Amtrak’s control; that any possession of the pas23 senger within Amtrak’s control will be returned to 

24 the family unless the possession is needed for the ac25 cident investigation or any criminal investigation; 
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1 and that any unclaimed possession of a passenger 

2 within Amtrak’s control will be retained by the rail 

3 passenger carrier for at least 18 months. 

4 ‘‘(6) A process by which the treatment of the 

5 families of nonrevenue passengers will be the same 

6 as the treatment of the families of revenue pas7 sengers. 

8 ‘‘(7) An assurance that Amtrak will provide 

9 adequate training to its employees and agents to 

10 meet the needs of survivors and family members fol11 lowing an accident. 

12 ‘‘(c) USE OF INFORMATION.—The National Trans13 portation Safety Board and Amtrak may not release to 

14 any person information on a list obtained under subsection 

15 (b)(1) but may provide information on the list about a 

16 passenger to the family of the passenger to the extent that 

17 the Board or Amtrak considers appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—Amtrak shall not 

19 be liable for damages in any action brought in a Federal 

20 or State court arising out of the performance of Amtrak 

21 in preparing or providing a passenger list, or in providing 

22 information concerning a train reservation, pursuant to a 

23 plan submitted by Amtrak under subsection (b), unless 

24 such liability was caused by Amtrak’s conduct. 
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1 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 

2 Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the 

3 actions that Amtrak may take, or the obligations that Am4 trak may have, in providing assistance to the families of 

5 passengers involved in a rail passenger accident. 

6 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

8 Transportation for the use of Amtrak $500,000 for fiscal 

9 year 2005 to carry out this section. Amounts appropriated 

10 pursuant to this subsection shall remain available until ex11 pended.’’. 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal13 ysis for chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is 

14 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘24316. Plan to assist families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents’’. 

15 SEC. 10. SYSTEM-WIDE AMTRAK SECURITY UPGRADES. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL—Subject to subsection (c), the 

17 Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Border and 

18 Transportation Security is authorized to make grants, 

19 through the Secretary of Transportation, to Amtrak— 

20 (1) to secure major tunnel access points and en21 sure tunnel integrity in New York, Baltimore, and 

22 Washington, DC; 

23 (2) to secure Amtrak trains; 

24 (3) to secure Amtrak stations; 
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1 (4) to obtain a watch list identification system 

2 approved by the Under Secretary; 

3 (5) to obtain train tracking and communica4 tions systems that are coordinated to the maximum 

5 extent possible; 

6 (6) to hire additional police and security offi7 cers, including canine units; and 

8 (7) to expand emergency preparedness efforts. 

9 (b) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary of Transportation 

10 may not disburse funds to Amtrak under subsection (a) 

11 unless the projects are contained in a systemwide security 

12 plan approved by the Under Secretary, in consultation 

13 with the Secretary of Transportation, and meet the re14 quirements of section 7(e)(2). 

15 (c) EQUITABLE GEOGRAPHIC ALLOCATION.—The 

16 Secretary shall ensure that, subject to meeting the highest 

17 security needs on Amtrak’s entire system, stations and fa18 cilities located outside of the Northeast Corridor receive 

19 an equitable share of the security funds authorized by this 

20 section. 

21 (d) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—There are authorized 

22 to be appropriated to the Under Secretary of Homeland 

23 Security for Border and Transportation Security 

24 $62,500,000 for fiscal year 2005 for the purposes of car-
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1 rying out this section. Amounts appropriated pursuant to 

2 this subsection shall remain available until expended. 

3 SEC. 11. FREIGHT AND PASSENGER RAIL SECURITY UP4 GRADES. 

5 (a) SECURITY IMPROVEMENT GRANTS.—The Under 

6 Secretary of Homeland Security for Border and Transpor7 tation Security is authorized to make grants to freight 

8 railroads, the Alaska Railroad, hazardous materials ship9 pers, owners of rail cars used in the transportation of haz10 ardous materials, and, through the Secretary of Transpor11 tation, to Amtrak, for full or partial reimbursement of 

12 costs incurred in the conduct of activities to prevent or 

13 respond to acts of terrorism, sabotage, or other intercity 

14 passenger rail and freight rail security threats, includ15 ing— 

16 (1) security and redundancy for critical commu17 nications, computer, and train control systems essen18 tial for secure rail operations; 

19 (2) accommodation of cargo or passenger 

20 screening equipment at the United States-Mexico 

21 border or the United States-Canada border; 

22 (3) the security of hazardous material transpor23 tation by rail; 

24 (4) secure intercity passenger rail stations, 

25 trains, and infrastructure; 
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1 (5) structural modification or replacement of 

2 pressurized tank cars to improve their resistance to 

3 acts of terrorism; 

4 (6) employee security awareness, preparedness, 

5 passenger evacuation, and emergency response train6 ing; 

7 (7) public security awareness campaigns for 

8 passenger train operations; and 

9 (8) other improvements recommended by the re10 port required by section 2, including infrastructure, 

11 facilities, and equipment upgrades. 

12 (b) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Under Secretary shall 

13 adopt necessary procedures, including audits, to ensure 

14 that grants made under this section are expended in ac15 cordance with the purposes of this Act and the priorities 

16 and other criteria developed by the Under Secretary. 

17 (c) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary of Transportation 

18 may not disburse funds to Amtrak under subsection (a) 

19 unless Amtrak meets the conditions set forth in section 

20 10(b) of this Act. 

21 (d) TANK CAR REPLACEMENT INCENTIVE.—A grant 

22 under subsection (a)(5) may be for up to 15 percent of 

23 the cost of the modification or replacement of a pressur24 ized tank car. 
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1 (e) ALLOCATION BETWEEN RAILROADS AND OTH2 ERS.—Unless as a result of the assessment required by 

3 section 2 the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for 

4 Border and Transportation Security determines that crit5 ical rail transportation security needs require reimburse6 ment in greater amounts to any eligible entity, no grants 

7 under this section may be made— 

8 (1) in excess of $65,000,000 to Amtrak; or 

9 (2) in excess of $100,000,000 for the purposes 

10 described in paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection 

11 (a). 

12 (f) PROCEDURES FOR GRANT AWARD.—The Under 

13 Secretary shall prescribe procedures and schedules for the 

14 awarding of grants under this title, including application 

15 and qualification procedures (including a requirement that 

16 the applicant have a security plan), and a record of deci17 sion on applicant eligibility. The procedures shall include 

18 the execution of a grant agreement between the grant re19 cipient and the Under Secretary. The Under Secretary 

20 shall issue a final rule establishing the procedures not 

21 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

22 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to the Under Secretary 

24 of Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Se25 curity $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2005 to carry out the 
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1 purposes of this section. Amounts appropriated pursuant 

2 to this subsection shall remain available until expended. 

3 SEC. 12. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION OVERSIGHT. 

4 (a) SECRETARIAL OVERSIGHT.—The Secretary of 

5 Transportation may use up to 0.5 percent of amounts 

6 made available to Amtrak for capital projects under the 

7 Rail Security Act of 2004 to enter into contracts for the 

8 review of proposed capital projects and related program 

9 management plans and to oversee construction of such 

10 projects. 

11 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary may use 

12 amounts available under subsection (a) of this subsection 

13 to make contracts for safety, procurement, management, 

14 and financial compliance reviews and audits of a recipient 

15 of amounts under subsection (a). 

16 SEC. 13. RAIL SECURITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOP18 MENT PROGRAM.—The Under Secretary of Homeland Se19 curity for Border and Transportation Security, in conjunc20 tion with the Secretary of Transportation, shall carry out 

21 a research and development program for the purpose of 

22 improving freight and intercity passenger rail security, in23 cluding research and development projects to— 

24 (1) reduce the vulnerability of passenger trains, 

25 stations, and equipment to explosives; 
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1 (2) test new emergency response techniques and 

2 technologies; 

3 (3) develop improved freight technologies, in4 cluding— 

5 (A) technologies for sealing rail cars; 

6 (B) automatic inspection of rail cars; 

7 (C) communication-based train controls; 

8 and 

9 (D) emergency response training; 

10 (4) test wayside detectors that can detect tam11 pering with railroad equipment; and 

12 (5) support enhanced security for the transpor13 tation of hazardous materials by rail, including— 

14 (A) technologies to detect a breach in a 

15 tank car and transmit information about the in16 tegrity of tank cars to the train crew; 

17 (B) research to improve tank car integrity, 

18 with a focus on tank cars that carry toxic-inha19 lation chemicals; and 

20 (C) techniques to transfer hazardous mate21 rials from rail cars that are damaged or other22 wise represent an unreasonable risk to human 

23 life or public safety. 

24 (b) COORDINATION WITH OTHER RESEARCH INITIA25 TIVES.—The Under Secretary of Homeland Security for 
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1 Border and Transportation Security shall ensure that the 

2 research and development program authorized by this sec3 tion is coordinated with other research and development 

4 initiatives at the Department and the Department of 

5 Transportation. 

6 (c) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Under Secretary of 

7 Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Secu8 rity shall carry out any research and development project 

9 authorized by this section through a reimbursable agree10 ment with the Secretary of Transportation if the Secretary 

11 of Transportation— 

12 (1) is already sponsoring a research and devel13 opment project in a similar area; or 

14 (2) has a unique facility or capability that 

15 would be useful in carrying out the project. 

16 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to appropriated to the Under Secretary of 

18 Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Secu19 rity $50,000,000 in each of fiscal years 2005 and 2006 

20 to carry out the purposes of this section. Amounts appro21 priated pursuant to this subsection shall remain available 

22 until expended. 
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1 SEC. 14. WELDED RAIL AND TANK CAR SAFETY IMPROVE2 MENTS. 

3 (a) TRACK STANDARDS.—Within 90 days after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Railroad Ad5 ministration shall— 

6 (1) require each railroad using continuous weld7 ed rail track to include procedures (in its program 

8 filed with the Administration) that improve the iden9 tification of cracks in rail joint bars; 

10 (2) instruct Administration track inspectors to 

11 obtain copies of the most recent continuous welded 

12 rail programs of each railroad within the inspectors’ 

13 areas of responsibility and require that inspectors 

14 use those programs when conducting track inspec15 tions; and 

16 (3) establish a program to periodically review 

17 continuous welded rail joint bar inspection data from 

18 railroads and Administration track inspectors and, 

19 whenever the Administration determines that it is 

20 necessary or appropriate, require railroads to in21 crease the frequency or improve the methods of in22 spection of joint bars in continuous welded rail. 

23 (b) TANK CAR STANDARDS.—The Federal Railroad 

24 Administration shall— 

25 (1) within 1 year after the date of enactment 

26 of this Act, validate the predictive model it is devel-
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1 oping to quantify the maximum dynamic forces act2 ing on railroad tank cars under accident conditions; 

3 and 

4 (2) within 18 months after the date of enact5 ment of this Act, initiate a rulemaking to develop 

6 and implement appropriate design standards for 

7 pressurized tank cars. 

8 (c) OLDER TANK CAR IMPACT RESISTANCE ANAL9 YSIS AND REPORT.—Within 2 years after the date of en10 actment of this Act, the Federal Railroad Administration, 

11 in coordination with the National Transportation Safety 

12 Board, shall— 

13 (1) conduct a comprehensive analysis to deter14 mine the impact resistance of the steels in the shells 

15 of pressure tank cars constructed before 1989; and 

16 (2) transmit a report to the Senate Committee 

17 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

18 House of Representatives Committee on Transpor19 tation and Infrastructure with recommendations for 

20 measures to eliminate or mitigate the risk of cata21 strophic failure. 

22 SEC. 15. NORTHERN BORDER RAIL PASSENGER REPORT. 

23 Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

24 Act, the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Bor25 der and Transportation Security, in consultation with the 
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1 heads of other appropriate Federal departments and agen2 cies and the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, 

3 shall transmit a report to the Senate Committee on Com4 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep5 resentatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc6 ture that contains— 

7 (1) a description of the current system for 

8 screening passengers and baggage on passenger rail 

9 service between the United States and Canada; 

10 (2) an assessment of the current program to 

11 provide preclearance of airline passengers between 

12 the United States and Canada as outlined in ‘‘The 

13 Agreement on Air Transport Preclearance between 

14 the Government of Canada and the Government of 

15 the United States of America’’, dated January 18, 

16 2001; 

17 (3) an assessment of the current program to 

18 provide preclearance of freight railroad traffic be19 tween the United States and Canada as outlined in 

20 the ‘‘Declaration of Principle for the Improved Secu21 rity of Rail Shipments by Canadian National Rail22 way and Canadian Pacific Railway from Canada to 

23 the United States’’, dated April 2, 2003; 

24 (4) information on progress by the Department 

25 of Homeland Security and other Federal agencies to-
27 

•S 2273 IS 

1 wards finalizing a bilateral protocol with Canada 

2 that would provide for preclearance of passengers on 

3 trains operating between the United States and Can4 ada; 

5 (5) a description of legislative, regulatory, 

6 budgetary, or policy barriers within the United 

7 States Government to providing pre-screened pas8 senger lists for rail passengers travelling between the 

9 United States and Canada to the Department of 

10 Homeland Security; 

11 (6) a description of the position of the Govern12 ment of Canada and relevant Canadian agencies 

13 with respect to preclearance of such passengers; and 

14 (7) a draft of any changes in existing Federal 

15 law necessary to provide for pre-screening of such 

16 passengers and providing pre-screened passenger 

17 lists to the Department of Homeland Security. 

Æ