II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1961

To provide for the revitalization and enhancement of the American passenger 

and freight rail transportation system. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 24, 2003

Mr. HOLLINGS (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. CARPER, Mr. SPECTER, Mr. 

JEFFORDS, Mr. LAUTENBERG, and Mr. BIDEN) introduced the following 

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

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL

To provide for the revitalization and enhancement of the 

American passenger and freight rail transportation system.

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 ‘‘American Railroad Revitalization, Investment, and En6 hancement Act of the 21st Century’’ or the ‘‘Arrive 21 

7 Act’’. 

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

9 this Act is as follows:
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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Amendment of title 49, United States Code. 

Sec. 3. Purposes. 

TITLE I—RAIL TRANSPORTATION SECURITY 

Sec. 101. Rail transportation security risk assessment. 

Sec. 102. Certain personnel limitations not to apply. 

TITLE II—FEDERAL RAIL POLICY 

Sec. 201. Federal rail policy enhancement. 

Sec. 202. Rail cooperative research program. 

Sec. 203. State rail plans. 

Sec. 204. Interstate railroad passenger high-speed transportation policy. 

Sec. 205. High-speed rail corridor planning. 

Sec. 206. Designated high-speed rail corridors. 

Sec. 207. Rehabilitation, improvement, and security financing. 

Sec. 208. Repayment of loan to National Railroad Passenger Corporation. 

TITLE III—INTERMODAL POLICY 

Sec. 301. 50-year intermodal blueprint. 

Sec. 302. Intermodal transportation policy. 

TITLE IV—AMTRAK AUTHORIZATIONS 

Sec. 401. National Railroad Passenger Transportation system defined. 

Sec. 402. Restructuring of long-term debt and capital leases. 

Sec. 403. General Amtrak authorizations. 

Sec. 404. Excess railroad retirement. 

Sec. 405. Authorizations for environmental compliance and station improvements. 

Sec. 406. Tunnel life safety. 

Sec. 407. Authorization for capital and operating expenses. 

Sec. 408. Establishment of grant process. 

Sec. 409. State-supported routes. 

Sec. 410. Re-establishment of Northeast Corridor Safety Committee. 

Sec. 411. Amtrak board of directors. 

Sec. 412. Establishment of financial accounting system for Amtrak operations 

by independent auditor. 

Sec. 413. Development of 5-year financial plan. 

Sec. 414. Independent auditor to establish methodologies for Amtrak route and 

service planning decisions. 

Sec. 415. Metrics and standards. 

Sec. 416. On-time performance. 

TITLE V—RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE CORPORATION 

Sec. 501. Establishment of corporation. 

Sec. 502. Board of directors. 

Sec. 503. Officers and employees. 

Sec. 504. Nonprofit and nonpolitical nature of the corporation. 

Sec. 505. Purpose and activities of corporation. 

Sec. 506. Report to Congress. 

Sec. 507. Administrative matters. 

Sec. 508. Rail Infrastructure Finance Trust. 
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TITLE VI—RAIL DEVELOPMENT GRANT PROGRAMS 

Sec. 601. Intercity passenger rail development grant program. 

Sec. 602. Freight rail infrastructure development grant program. 

Sec. 603. High priority projects grant program. 

Sec. 604. Grant program requirements and limitations. 

Sec. 605. Standards and conditions. 

Sec. 606. Grant program funding. 

TITLE VII—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 

Sec. 701. Authorization of Appropriations.

1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE. 

2 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

3 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

4 of an amendment to, or a repeal of, a section or other 

5 provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to 

6 a section or other provision of title 49, United States 

7 Code. 

8 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

9 The purposes of this Act are—

10 (1) to ensure more adequate financing of infra11 structure projects for the national rail transpor12 tation system through—

13 (A) the establishment of the nonprofit Rail 

14 Infrastructure Finance Corporation to provide 

15 financial support for rail infrastructure im16 provement projects by issuing qualified rail 

17 transportation bonds; and 

18 (B) the provision of appropriate tax treat19 ment of qualified rail transportation bonds so 

20 issued; 
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1 (2) to create a partnership between public and 

2 private entities to promote freight and passenger rail 

3 infrastructure development that benefits the public; 

4 (3) to provide resources to States and groups of 

5 States for rail capital projects that result in a safe, 

6 secure, and efficient rail transportation system; 

7 (4) to enhance Federal and State rail transpor8 tation policy and planning; 

9 (5) to promote intermodal transportation in10 vestment, planning, and coordination; and 

11 (6) to reauthorize the National Railroad Pas12 senger Corporation and reaffirm the Federal com13 mitment to a national system of intercity passenger 

14 rail transportation. 

15 TITLE I—RAIL 

16 TRANSPORTATION SECURITY 

17 SEC. 101. RAIL TRANSPORTATION SECURITY RISK ASSESS18 MENT. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—

20 (1) ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary of Homeland 

21 Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 

22 Transportation, shall assess the security risks asso23 ciated with freight and intercity passenger rail 

24 transportation and develop prioritized recommenda25 tions for—
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1 (A) improving the security of rail infra2 structure and facilities, terminals, tunnels, rail 

3 bridges, rail switching areas, and other areas 

4 identified by the Secretary as posing significant 

5 rail-related risks to public safety and the move6 ment of interstate commerce, taking into ac7 count the impact that any proposed security 

8 measure might have on the provision of rail 

9 service; 

10 (B) deploying chemical and biological 

11 weapon detection equipment; 

12 (C) training employees in terrorism re13 sponse activities; and 

14 (D) identifying the immediate and long15 term economic impact of measures that may be 

16 required to address those risks. 

17 (2) EXISTING PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR

18 EFFORTS.—The assessment shall include a review of 

19 any actions already taken or prospective actions nec20 essary to address identified security issues by both 

21 public and private entities. 

22 (b) CONSULTATION; USE OF EXISTING RE23 SOURCES.—In carrying out the assessment required by 

24 subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with rail man25 agement, rail labor, facility owners and operators, and 
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1 public safety officials (including officials responsible for 

2 responding to emergencies). 

3 (c) REPORT.—

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

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

6 transmit to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

7 Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep8 resentatives Committee on Transportation and In9 frastructure a report, without compromising national 

10 security, containing the assessment and prioritized 

11 recommendations required by subsection (a). 

12 (2) FORMAT.—The Secretary may submit the 

13 report in both classified and redacted formats if the 

14 Secretary determines that such action is appropriate 

15 or necessary. 

16 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

18 $515,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 to carry out this sec19 tion, implement the measures contained in the Secretary’s 

20 prioritized recommendations, and award grants for pur21 poses identified in the assessment in subsection (a), such 

22 sums to remain available until expended. 
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1 SEC. 102. CERTAIN PERSONNEL LIMITATIONS NOT TO 

2 APPLY. 

3 Any statutory limitation on the number of employees 

4 in the Transportation Security Administration of the De5 partment of Transportation, before or after its transfer 

6 to the Department of Homeland Security, does not apply 

7 to the extent that any such employees are responsible for 

8 implementing the provisions of this Act. 

9 TITLE II—FEDERAL RAIL POLICY 

10 SEC. 201. FEDERAL RAIL POLICY ENHANCEMENT. 

11 Section 103 is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘§ 103. Federal Railroad Administration 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Railroad Adminis14 tration is an administration in the Department of Trans15 portation. 

16 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATOR.—The head of the Administra17 tion is the Administrator who is appointed by the Presi18 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

19 The Administrator reports directly to the Secretary of 

20 Transportation. 

21 ‘‘(c) SAFETY.—To carry out all railroad safety laws 

22 of the United States, the Administration is divided on a 

23 geographical basis into at least 8 safety offices. The Sec24 retary of Transportation is responsible for all acts taken 

25 under those laws and for ensuring that the laws are uni-
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1 formly administered and enforced among the safety of2 fices. 

3 ‘‘(d) POWERS AND DUTIES.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

5 carry out—

6 ‘‘(A) the duties and powers related to rail7 road safety vested in the Secretary by section 

8 20134(c) and chapters 203 through 211 of this 

9 title, and chapter 213 of this title in carrying 

10 out chapters 203 through 211; 

11 ‘‘(B) the duties and powers related to rail12 road policy and development under subsection 

13 (e); and 

14 ‘‘(C) any additional duties and powers pre15 scribed by the Secretary. 

16 ‘‘(2) TRANSFERS.—A duty or power specified 

17 by paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection may be 

18 transferred to another part of the Department only 

19 when specifically provided by law or a reorganization 

20 plan submitted under chapter 9 of title 5. A decision 

21 of the Administrator in carrying out those duties or 

22 powers and involving notice and hearing required by 

23 law is administratively final. 

24 ‘‘(3) CONTRACTS, GRANTS, LEASES, COOPERA25 TIVE AGREEMENTS, AND SIMILAR TRANSACTIONS.—
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1 Subject to the provisions of subtitle I of title 40 and 

2 title III of the Federal Property and Administrative 

3 Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 251 et seq.), the 

4 Secretary of Transportation may make, enter into, 

5 and perform such contracts, grants, leases, coopera6 tive agreements, and other similar transactions with 

7 Federal or other public agencies (including State 

8 and local governments) and private organizations 

9 and persons, and make such payments, by way of 

10 advance or reimbursement, as the Secretary may de11 termine to be necessary or appropriate to carry out 

12 functions of the Federal Railroad Administration. 

13 The authority of the Secretary granted by this para14 graph shall be carried out by the Administrator. 

15 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL DUTIES OF THE ADMINIS16 TRATOR.—The Administrator shall—

17 ‘‘(1) provide assistance to States in developing 

18 State rail plans prepared under section 22501 and 

19 review all State rail plans submitted under such sec20 tion 22501;

21 ‘‘(2) develop a long range national rail plan 

22 that is consistent with approved State rail plans, the 

23 50-year Intermodal Blueprint developed under sec24 tion 5503(e), and the rail needs of the Nation, as 

25 determined by the Secretary in order to promote an 
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1 integrated, cohesive, efficient, and optimized national 

2 rail system for the movement of goods and people; 

3 ‘‘(3) develop a preliminary national rail plan 

4 within a year after the date of enactment of the Ar5 rive 21 Act; 

6 ‘‘(4) develop and enhance partnerships with the 

7 freight and passenger railroad industry, States, and 

8 the public concerning rail development; 

9 ‘‘(5) support rail intermodal development and 

10 high-speed rail development, including high speed 

11 rail planning under section 205; 

12 ‘‘(6) ensure that programs and initiatives devel13 oped under this section benefit the public and work 

14 toward achieving regional and national transpor15 tation goals; and 

16 ‘‘(7) facilitate and coordinate efforts to assist 

17 freight and passenger rail carriers, transit agencies 

18 and authorities, municipalities, and States in pas19 senger-freight service integration on shared rights of 

20 way by providing neutral assistance at the joint re21 quest of affected rail service providers and infra22 structure owners relating to operations and capacity 

23 analysis, capital requirements, operating costs, and 

24 other research and planning related to corridors 
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1 shared by passenger or commuter rail service and 

2 freight rail operations. 

3 ‘‘(f) PERFORMANCE GOALS AND REPORTS.—

4 ‘‘(1) PERFORMANCE GOALS.—In conjunction 

5 with the objectives established and activities under6 taken under section 103(e) of this title, the Adminis7 trator shall develop a schedule for achieving specific, 

8 measurable performance goals. 

9 ‘‘(2) RESOURCE NEEDS.—The strategy and an10 nual plans shall include estimates of the funds and 

11 staff resources needed to accomplish each goal and 

12 the additional duties required under section 103(e). 

13 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION WITH PRESIDENT’S BUDG14 ET.—Beginning with fiscal year 2005 and each fis15 cal year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to 

16 Congress, at the same time as the President’s budg17 et submission, the Administration’s performance 

18 goals and schedule developed under paragraph (1), 

19 including an assessment of the progress of the Ad20 ministration toward achieving its performance 

21 goals.’’. 

22 SEC. 202. RAIL COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

23 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR PROGRAM.—

24 (1) ESTABLISHMENT AND CONTENT.—Chapter 

25 249 is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘§ 24910. Rail cooperative research program 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

3 and carry out a rail cooperative research program. The 

4 program shall—

5 ‘‘(1) address, among other matters, intercity 

6 rail passenger and freight rail services, including ex7 isting rail passenger and freight technologies and 

8 speeds, incrementally enhanced rail systems and in9 frastructure, and new high-speed wheel-on-rail sys10 tems and rail security; 

11 ‘‘(2) address ways to expand the transportation 

12 of international trade traffic by rail, enhance the ef13 ficiency of intermodal interchange at ports and other 

14 intermodal terminals, and increase capacity and 

15 availability of rail service for seasonal freight needs; 

16 ‘‘(3) consider research on the interconnected17 ness of commuter rail, passenger rail, freight rail, 

18 and other rail networks; and 

19 ‘‘(4) give consideration to regional concerns re20 garding rail passenger and freight transportation, 

21 including meeting research needs common to des22 ignated high-speed corridors, long-distance rail serv23 ices, and regional intercity rail corridors, projects, 

24 and entities. 

25 ‘‘(b) CONTENT.—The program to be carried out 

26 under this section shall include research designed—
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1 ‘‘(1) to identify the unique aspects and at2 tributes of rail passenger and freight service; 

3 ‘‘(2) to develop more accurate models for evalu4 ating the impact of rail passenger and freight serv5 ice, including the effects on highway and airport and 

6 airway congestion, environmental quality, and energy 

7 consumption; 

8 ‘‘(3) to develop a better understanding of modal 

9 choice as it affects rail passenger and freight trans10 portation, including development of better models to 

11 predict utilization; 

12 ‘‘(4) to recommend priorities for technology 

13 demonstration and development; 

14 ‘‘(5) to meet additional priorities as determined 

15 by the advisory board established under subsection 

16 (c), including any recommendations made by the Na17 tional Research Council; 

18 ‘‘(6) to explore improvements in management, 

19 financing, and institutional structures; 

20 ‘‘(7) to address rail capacity constraints that 

21 affect passenger and freight rail service through a 

22 wide variety of options, ranging from operating im23 provements to dedicated new infrastructure, taking 

24 into account the impact of such options on oper25 ations; 
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1 ‘‘(8) to improve maintenance, operations, cus2 tomer service, or other aspects of intercity rail pas3 senger and freight service; 

4 ‘‘(9) to recommend objective methodologies for 

5 determining intercity passenger rail routes and serv6 ices, including the establishment of new routes, the 

7 elimination of existing routes, and the contraction or 

8 expansion of services or frequencies over such 

9 routes; 

10 ‘‘(10) to review the impact of equipment and 

11 operational safety standards on the further develop12 ment of high speed passenger rail operations con13 nected to or integrated with non-high speed freight 

14 or passenger rail operations; and 

15 ‘‘(11) to recommend any legislative or regu16 latory changes necessary to foster further develop17 ment and implementation of high speed passenger 

18 rail operations while ensuring the safety of such op19 erations that are connected to or integrated with 

20 non-high speed freight or passenger rail operations. 

21 ‘‘(c) ADVISORY BOARD.—

22 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—In consultation with 

23 the heads of appropriate Federal departments and 

24 agencies, the Secretary shall establish an advisory 

25 board to recommend research, technology, and tech-
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1 nology transfer activities related to rail passenger 

2 and freight transportation. 

3 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The advisory board shall 

4 include—

5 ‘‘(A) representatives of State transpor6 tation agencies; 

7 ‘‘(B) transportation and environmental 

8 economists, scientists, and engineers; and 

9 ‘‘(C) representatives of Amtrak, the Alaska 

10 Railroad, freight railroads, transit operating 

11 agencies, intercity rail passenger agencies, rail12 way labor organizations, and environmental or13 ganizations. 

14 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.— The Sec15 retary may make grants to, and enter into cooperative 

16 agreements with, the National Academy of Sciences to 

17 carry out such activities relating to the research, tech18 nology, and technology transfer activities described in sub19 section (b) as the Secretary deems appropriate.’’. 

20 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal21 ysis for chapter 249 is amended by adding at the 

22 end the following:

‘‘24910. Rail cooperative research program’’.

23 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

25 Transportation $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 
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1 through 2009 to carry out the rail cooperative research 

2 program under section 24910 of title 49, United States 

3 Code. 

4 SEC. 203. STATE RAIL PLANS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of subtitle V is amended 

6 by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘CHAPTER 225—STATE RAIL PLANS AND HIGH 

8 PRIORITY PROJECTS

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘22501. Authority 

‘‘22502. Purposes 

‘‘22503. Transparency; coordination; review 

‘‘22504. Content 

‘‘22505. Approval 

‘‘22506. High priority projects 

‘‘22507. Definitions

9 ‘‘§ 22501. Authority 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State may prepare and 

11 maintain a State rail plan in accordance with the provi12 sions of this chapter. 

13 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—For the preparation and peri14 odic revision of a State rail plan, a State shall—

15 ‘‘(1) establish or designate a State rail trans16 portation authority to prepare, maintain, coordinate, 

17 and administer the plan; 

18 ‘‘(2) establish or designate a State rail plan ap19 proval authority to approve the plan; 

20 ‘‘(3) submit the State’s approved plan to the 

21 Secretary of Transportation for approval; and 
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1 ‘‘(4) revise and resubmit a State-approved plan 

2 no less frequently than once every 5 years for re3 approval by the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘§ 22502. Purposes 

5 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of a State rail plan 

6 are as follows: 

7 ‘‘(1) To set forth State policy involving freight 

8 and passenger rail transportation, including com9 muter rail operations, in the State. 

10 ‘‘(2) To establish the period covered by the 

11 State rail plan. 

12 ‘‘(3) To present priorities and strategies to pre13 serve, enhance, or expand rail service in the State 

14 that benefits the public. 

15 ‘‘(4) To serve as the basis for Federal and 

16 State rail investments within the State. 

17 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION.—A State rail plan shall be co18 ordinated with other State transportation planning goals 

19 and programs and set forth rail transportation’s role with20 in the State transportation system. 

21 ‘‘§ 22503. Transparency; coordination; review 

22 ‘‘(a) PREPARATION.—A State shall provide adequate 

23 and reasonable notice and opportunity for comment and 

24 other input to the public, rail carriers, commuter and tran25 sit authorities operating in, or affected by rail operations 
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1 within the State, units of local government, and other in2 terested parties in the preparation and review of its State 

3 rail plan. 

4 ‘‘(b) INTERGOVERNMENTAL COORDINATION.—A 

5 State shall review the freight and passenger rail service 

6 activities and initiatives by regional planning agencies, re7 gional transportation authorities, and municipalities with8 in the State, or in the region in which the State is located, 

9 while preparing the plan, and shall include any rec10 ommendations made by such agencies, authorities, and 

11 municipalities as deemed appropriate by the State. 

12 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REVIEWS.—Each State shall transmit 

13 an annual report on its plan to the Secretary of Transpor14 tation. The report shall include, for the year preceding the 

15 year in which submitted, the following matters: 

16 ‘‘(1) A review of progress made, and actions 

17 taken, under the plan during the year, including an 

18 update on the budget, schedule, and financing for 

19 each project on the freight or passenger rail capital 

20 project list compiled under section 22504(a) of this 

21 title. 

22 ‘‘(2) Any modifications made in the plan after 

23 approval of the plan by the Secretary or after the 

24 submission of the most recent annual report on the 

25 plan to the Secretary, including any modifications 
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1 made to the priority freight or passenger rail capital 

2 list required by section 22504(b). 

3 ‘‘(d) APPROVAL OF MODIFIED PLANS.—Modifica4 tions of a State rail plan that are determined substantive 

5 by the Secretary, including any modification to a priority 

6 freight or passenger rail capital project list required by 

7 section 22504(b), is subject to approval (for the purposes 

8 of this chapter) by the Secretary. 

9 ‘‘§ 22504. Content 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State rail plan shall con11 tain the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) An evaluation of the existing overall rail 

13 transportation system and rail services and facilities 

14 within the State, a prioritization of such services 

15 and facilities in terms of their contributions to the 

16 State’s rail and transportation system. 

17 ‘‘(2) A comprehensive review of all rail lines 

18 within the State, including proposed high speed rail

19 corridors and significant rail line segments not cur20 rently in service, containing an overview of the 

21 transportation services provided by those lines, their 

22 ownership, operating characteristics, and the general 

23 state of their infrastructure. 

24 ‘‘(3) A statement of the State’s freight and pas25 senger rail service objectives, including minimum 
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1 service levels, for rail transportation routes in the 

2 State. 

3 ‘‘(4) A general analysis of rail’s transportation, 

4 economic, and environmental impacts in the State, 

5 including congestion mitigation, trade and economic 

6 development, air quality, land-use, energy-use, and 

7 community impacts. 

8 ‘‘(5) A long-range rail service and investment 

9 program for current and future freight and pas10 senger services in the State that meets the require11 ments of subsection (b). 

12 ‘‘(6) A statement of public financing issues for 

13 rail projects and service in the State, including a list 

14 of current and prospective capital and operating 

15 funding resources, public subsidies, State taxation, 

16 and other financial policies relating to rail service 

17 and rail infrastructure development. 

18 ‘‘(7) A statement of rail service issues within 

19 the State, such as congestion and capacity, and cur20 rent system deficiencies on a regional, intrastate, 

21 and interstate basis, that reflects consultation with 

22 neighboring States and describes any coordination of 

23 regional rail service. 

24 ‘‘(8) A review of major passenger and freight 

25 intermodal rail connections and facilities within the 
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1 State, including seaports, and prioritized options to 

2 maximize service integration and efficiency between 

3 rail and other modes of transportation within the 

4 State. 

5 ‘‘(9) A description of new technology that re6 lates to rail transportation within the State, includ7 ing logistics and process improvements. 

8 ‘‘(10) A review of publicly funded projects with9 in the State to improve rail transportation safety 

10 and security, including all major projects funded 

11 under section 130 of title 23. 

12 ‘‘(11) A performance evaluation of passenger 

13 rail services operating in the State, including pos14 sible improvements in those services, and a descrip15 tion of strategies to achieve those improvements. 

16 ‘‘(12) A compilation of studies and reports on 

17 high-speed rail corridor development within the 

18 State not included in a previous plan under this 

19 chapter, and a plan for funding any recommended 

20 development of such corridors in the State. 

21 ‘‘(13) A statement that the State is in compli22 ance with the requirements of section 22102. 

23 ‘‘(b) LONG-RANGE SERVICE AND INVESTMENT PRO24 GRAM.—
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1 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM CONTENT.—A long-range rail 

2 service and investment program included in a State 

3 rail plan under subsection (a)(5) shall include the 

4 following matters: 

5 ‘‘(A) Two ranked lists for rail capital 

6 projects, 1 for freight rail capital projects and 

7 1 for intercity passenger rail capital projects. 

8 ‘‘(B) A detailed funding plan for the 

9 projects. 

10 ‘‘(2) PROJECT LIST CONTENT.—The ranked list 

11 of freight and intercity passenger rail capital 

12 projects shall contain—

13 ‘‘(A) a description of the anticipated public 

14 and private benefits of each such project; and 

15 ‘‘(B) a statement of the correlation be16 tween—

17 ‘‘(i) public funding contributions for 

18 the projects; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) the public benefits. 

20 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROJECT LIST.—In 

21 preparing the ranked list of freight and intercity 

22 passenger rail capital projects, a State rail transpor23 tation authority shall take into consideration the fol24 lowing matters: 
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1 ‘‘(A) Contributions made by non-Federal 

2 and non-State sources through user fees, 

3 matching funds, or other private capital involve4 ment. 

5 ‘‘(B) Rail capacity and congestion effects. 

6 ‘‘(C) Effects to highway, aviation, and 

7 maritime capacity, congestion, or safety. 

8 ‘‘(D) Regional balance. 

9 ‘‘(E) Environmental impact. 

10 ‘‘(F) Competitive and service impacts for 

11 rail carriers and shippers. 

12 ‘‘(G) Preservation of rail service. 

13 ‘‘(H) Economic and employment impacts. 

14 ‘‘(I) Projected ridership and other service 

15 measures for passenger rail projects. 

16 ‘‘(c) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive any re17 quirement of subsection (a) upon application under cir18 cumstances that the Secretary determines appropriate. 

19 ‘‘§ 22505. Approval 

20 ‘‘(a) CRITERIA.—The Secretary may approve a State 

21 rail plan for the purposes of this chapter if—

22 ‘‘(1) the plan meets all of the requirements ap23 plicable to State plans under this chapter; 
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1 ‘‘(2) for each ready-to-commence project listed 

2 on the ranked list of freight and intercity passenger 

3 rail capital projects under the plan—

4 ‘‘(A) the project meets all safety and envi5 ronmental requirements including those pre6 scribed under the National Environmental Pol7 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.) that 

8 are applicable to the project under law; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the State has entered into an agree10 ment with any owner of rail infrastructure or 

11 right of way directly affected by the project 

12 that provides for the State to proceed with the 

13 project; and 

14 ‘‘(3) the content of the plan is coordinated 

15 with—

16 ‘‘(A) State transportation plans developed 

17 pursuant to the requirements of section 135 of 

18 title 23; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the national rail plan, the 50-year 

20 intermodal blueprint develped under section 

21 5503(e) of this title, (if either is available) and 

22 any other transportation plan of the Federal 

23 Government that is required by law deemed rel24 evant by the Secretary. 
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1 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURES FOR STATE RAIL PLAN SUBMIS2 SION AND APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall prescribe pro3 cedures for States to submit State rail plans for review 

4 under this title, including standardized format and data 

5 requirements and procedures for resubmittal if a State rail 

6 plan is disapproved. The procedures shall provide for the 

7 Secretary to review a State rail plan and issue a record 

8 of decision of approval or disapproval, with comment, on 

9 such plan within 180 days after the plan is submitted. 

10 ‘‘§ 22506. High priority projects 

11 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION OF PROJECTS.—In reviewing 

12 State rail plans, the Secretary of Transportation may des13 ignate as a high priority project any project submitted by 

14 a State or group of States that meets both of the following 

15 criteria: 

16 ‘‘(1) The project focuses on key rail congestion 

17 points that are—

18 ‘‘(A) selected by the Secretary on the basis 

19 of national benefits to the rail transportation 

20 system; and 

21 ‘‘(B) coordinated with the national rail 

22 plan, if that plan is available. 

23 ‘‘(2) The project is on a ranked list of priority 

24 freight and passenger rail capital projects that is in25 cluded in a State rail plan under section 
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1 22504(a)(5) of title 49, United States Code, unless 

2 this criterion is waived by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(b) PREFERRED PROJECTS.—The Secretary, in des4 ignating high priority projects, shall give preference to—

5 ‘‘(1) projects that have national significance 

6 for—

7 ‘‘(A) improving the national rail network 

8 and the Nation’s transportation system; 

9 ‘‘(B) ensuring particularly high levels of 

10 safety; 

11 ‘‘(C) increasing intermodal connectivity by 

12 providing or improving direct connections be13 tween rail facilities and other modes of trans14 portation; 

15 ‘‘(D) significantly improving highway, avia16 tion, or maritime capacity, congestion, or safe17 ty; 

18 ‘‘(E) improving intercity passenger rail 

19 service by increasing ridership, reducing trip 

20 time, or other significant enhancements; 

21 ‘‘(F) improving both intercity passenger 

22 rail and freight rail services simultaneously; 

23 ‘‘(G) enhancing freight rail service for 

24 shippers; 
27

•S 1961 IS 

1 ‘‘(H) causing positive economic and em2 ployment results; 

3 ‘‘(I) producing significant environmental or 

4 community benefits; 

5 ‘‘(J) having received financial commit6 ments and other support from non-Federal enti7 ties such as States, local governments, or pri8 vate entities; 

9 ‘‘(K) enhancing international trade; 

10 ‘‘(L) enhancing national security; or 

11 ‘‘(M) employing positive train control tech12 nologies; and 

13 ‘‘(2) projects that are at the stage of prepara14 tion that all pre-commencement compliance with en15 vironmental protection requirements has been com16 pleted and the projects are ready to commence. 

17 ‘‘(c) REGIONAL BALANCE AND COMPATIBILITY.—

18 The Secretary, in designating high priority projects, shall 

19 ensure that—

20 ‘‘(1) the geographic distribution of the des21 ignated high priority projects is balanced among the 

22 geographic regions of the United States and a dis23 proportionate number of such projects is not con24 centrated in a single State; and 

25 ‘‘(2) all projects are—
28

•S 1961 IS 

1 ‘‘(A) compatible with State transportation 

2 plans developed pursuant to the requirements of 

3 section 135 of title 23; and 

4 ‘‘(B) carried out in conformance with the 

5 national rail plan. 

6 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL PROJECTS.—The Secretary may 

7 designate projects submitted to the Office by the National 

8 Railroad Passenger Corporation, either independently or 

9 in conjunction with a State or group of States, as a high 

10 priority project. Any such projects shall be subject to the 

11 same designation and selection criteria as apply under this 

12 section, except the criteria set forth in subsections (a)(2) 

13 and (c)(2) of this section. 

14 ‘‘§ 22507. Definitions 

15 ‘‘In this chapter: 

16 ‘‘(1) PRIVATE BENEFIT.—The term ‘private 

17 benefit’ means a benefit accrued to a person or pri18 vate entity, other than the National Railroad Pas19 senger Corporation, that directly improves the eco20 nomic and competitive condition of that person or 

21 entity through improved assets, cost reductions, 

22 service improvements, or any other means as defined 

23 by the Secretary. The Secretary may seek the advice 

24 of the states and rail carriers in further defining this 

25 term. 
29

•S 1961 IS 

1 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC BENEFIT.—The term ‘public ben2 efit’ means a benefit accrued to the public in the 

3 form of enhanced mobility of people or goods, envi4 ronmental protection or enhancement, congestion 

5 mitigation, enhanced trade and economic develop6 ment, improved air quality or land use, more effi7 cient energy use, enhanced public safety or security, 

8 reduction of public expenditures due to improved 

9 transportation efficiency or infrastructure preserva10 tion, and any other positive community effects as de11 fined by the Secretary. The Secretary make seek the 

12 advice of the States and rail carriers in further de13 fining this term. 

14 ‘‘(3) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any of 

15 the 50 States and the District of Columbia. 

16 ‘‘(4) STATE RAIL TRANSPORTATION AUTHOR17 ITY.—The term ‘State rail transportation authority’ 

18 means the State agency or official responsible under 

19 the direction of the Governor of the State or a State 

20 law for preparation, maintenance, coordination, and 

21 administration of the State rail plan.’’.

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters 

23 for subtitle V is amended by inserting after the item relat24 ing to chapter 223 the following:

‘‘225. STATE RAIL PLANS AND HIGH PRIORITY PROJECTS .....22501.’’.
30

•S 1961 IS 

1 SEC. 204. INTERSTATE RAILROAD PASSENGER HIGH-SPEED 

2 TRANSPORTATION POLICY. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 261 is amended by in4 serting before section 26101 the following: 

5 ‘‘§ 26100. Policy. 

6 ‘‘The Congress declares that it is the policy of the 

7 United States that designated high-speed railroad pas8 senger transportation corridors are the building blocks of 

9 an interconnected National railroad passenger system.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal11 ysis for chapter 261 is amended by inserting before the 

12 item relating to section 26101 the following:

‘‘26100. Policy’’.

13 SEC. 205. HIGH-SPEED RAIL CORRIDOR PLANNING. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 26101(a) is amended to 

15 read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(a) PLANNING.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor18 tation shall provide planning assistance to States or 

19 group of States and other public agencies promoting 

20 the development of high-speed rail corridors des21 ignated by the Secretary under section 104(d) of 

22 title 23. The Secretary shall establish an application 

23 and qualification process for applicants eligible for 

24 assistance under this section. 
31

•S 1961 IS 

1 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY MAY PROVIDE DIRECT OR FI2 NANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may provide 

3 planning assistance under paragraph (1) directly or 

4 by providing financial assistance to a public agency 

5 or group of public agencies to undertake planning 

6 activities approved by the Secretary. Twenty percent 

7 of the publicly financed planning costs associated 

8 with projects assisted under this chapter shall come 

9 from non-Federal sources. State matching contribu10 tions may not be derived, directly or indirectly, from 

11 Federal funds. 

12 ‘‘(b) RECORD OF DECISION.—Upon completion of 

13 planning activities funded under this section, the Sec14 retary shall make a recommendation on the record of 

15 whether to proceed with the implementation of the cor16 ridor.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AND OTHER AMENDMENTS TO

18 SECTION 26101.—Section 26101 is further amended—

19 (1) by striking subsection (c)(2) and inserting 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(2) the extent to which the proposed planning 

22 focuses on high-speed rail systems, giving a priority 

23 to systems which will achieve sustained speeds of 

24 125 miles per hour or greater and projects involving 

25 dedicated rail passenger rights-of-way;’’; 
32

•S 1961 IS 

1 (2) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in 

2 subsection (c)(12); 

3 (3) by striking ‘‘completed; and’’ in subsection 

4 (c)(13) and inserting ‘‘completed.’’; and 

5 (4) by striking subsection (c)(14). 

6 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

7 26105(2)(A) is amended by striking ‘‘more than 125 miles 

8 per hour;’’ and inserting ‘‘90 miles per hour or more;’’. 

9 (d) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO INCLUDE LOANS

10 AND LOAN GUARANTEES.—Section 26105(1) is amended 

11 by inserting ‘‘loans, loan guarantees,’’ after ‘‘contracts,’’. 

12 (e) SPECIAL TRANSPORTATION CIRCUMSTANCES.—

13 Section 26101 is amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL TRANSPORTATION CIRCUMSTANCES.—

16 In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall allocate 

17 an appropriate portion of the amounts available for plan18 ning assistance to providing appropriate transportation-re19 lated assistance in any State in which the rail transpor20 tation system—

21 ‘‘(1) is not physically connected to rail systems 

22 in the continental United States; and 

23 ‘‘(2) may not otherwise qualify for high speed 

24 rail implementation assistance due to the constraints 

25 imposed on the railway infrastructure in that State 
33

•S 1961 IS 

1 due to the unique characteristics of the geography of 

2 that State or other relevant considerations, as deter3 mined by the Secretary.’’. 

4 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

6 Transportation $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 

7 through 2009 to provide planning assistance under section 

8 26101(a) of title 49, United States Code. 

9 SEC. 206. DESIGNATED HIGH-SPEED RAIL CORRIDORS. 

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

11 shall give priority in allocating funds authorized by section 

12 26104 of title 49, United States Code, to designated high13 speed rail corridors. 

14 (b) DESIGNATED HIGH-SPEED RAIL CORRIDORS.—

15 For purposes of subsection (a), the following shall be con16 sidered to be designated high-speed rail corridors: 

17 (1) California Corridor connecting the San 

18 Francisco Bay area and Sacramento to Los Angeles 

19 and San Diego. 

20 (2) Chicago Hub Corridor Network with the fol21 lowing spokes: 

22 (A) Chicago to Detroit. 

23 (B) Chicago to Minneapolis/St. Paul, Min24 nesota, via Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 
34

•S 1961 IS 

1 (C) Chicago to Kansas City, Missouri, via 

2 Springfield, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri. 

3 (D) Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky, via 

4 Indianapolis, Indiana, and Cincinnati, Ohio. 

5 (E) Chicago to Cleveland, Ohio, via Toledo, 

6 Ohio. 

7 (F) Cleveland, Ohio, to Cincinnati, Ohio, 

8 via Columbus, Ohio. 

9 (3) Empire State Corridor from New York City, 

10 New York, through Albany, New York, to Buffalo, 

11 New York. 

12 (4) Florida High-Speed Rail Corridor from 

13 Tampa through Orlando to Miami. 

14 (5) Gulf Coast Corridor from Houston Texas, 

15 through New Orleans, Louisiana, to Mobile, Ala16 bama, with a branch from New Orleans, through 

17 Meridian, Mississippi, and Birmingham, Alabama, to 

18 Atlanta, Georgia. 

19 (6) Keystone Corridor from Philadelphia, Penn20 sylvania, through Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to 

21 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

22 (7) Northeast Corridor from Washington, Dis23 trict of Columbia, through New York City, New

24 York, New Haven, Connecticut, and Providence, 

25 Rhode Island, to Boston, Massachusetts, with a 
35

•S 1961 IS 

1 branch from New Haven, Connecticut, to Spring2 field, Massachusetts. 

3 (8) New England Corridor from Boston, Massa4 chusetts, to Portland and Auburn, Maine, and from 

5 Boston, Massachusetts, through Concord, New 

6 Hampshire, and Montpelier, Vermont, to Montreal, 

7 Quebec. 

8 (9) Pacific Northwest Corridor from Eugene, 

9 Oregon, through Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, 

10 Washington, to Vancouver, British Columbia. 

11 (10) South Central Corridor from San Antonio, 

12 Texas, through Dallas/Fort Worth to Little Rock, 

13 Arkansas, with a branch from Dallas/Fort Worth 

14 through Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to Tulsa, Okla15 homa. 

16 (11) Southeast Corridor from Washington, Dis17 trict of Columbia, through Richmond, Virginia, Ra18 leigh, North Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, 

19 Savannah, Georgia, and Jessup, Georgia, to Jack20 sonville, Florida, with—

21 (A) a branch from Raleigh, North Caro22 lina, through Charlotte, North Carolina, and 

23 Greenville, South Carolina, to Atlanta, Georgia; 

24 a branch from Richmond, to Hampton Roads/

25 Norfolk, Virginia; 
36

•S 1961 IS 

1 (B) a branch from Charlotte, North Caro2 lina, to Columbia, South Carolina, to Charles3 ton, South Carolina; 

4 (C) a connecting route from Atlanta, Geor5 gia, to Jessup, Georgia; 

6 (D) a connecting route from Atlanta, Geor7 gia, to Charleston, South Carolina; and 

8 (E) a branch from Raleigh, North Caro9 lina, through Florence, South Carolina, to 

10 Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, 

11 Georgia, with a connecting route from Florence, 

12 South Carolina, to Myrtle Beach, South Caro13 lina. 

14 (12) Southwest Corridor from Los Angeles, 

15 California, to Las Vegas, Nevada. 

16 (c) OTHER HIGH-SPEED RAIL CORRIDORS.—For 

17 purposes of this section, subsection (b)—

18 (1) does not limit the term ‘‘designated high19 speed rail corridor’’ to those corridors described in 

20 subsection (b); and 

21 (2) does not limit the Secretary of Transpor22 tation’s authority—

23 (A) to designate additional high-speed rail 

24 corridors; or 
37

•S 1961 IS 

1 (B) to terminate the designation of any 

2 high-speed rail corridor. 

3 SEC. 207. REHABILITATION, IMPROVEMENT, AND SECURITY 

4 FINANCING. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 102(7) of the Railroad 

6 Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 

7 U.S.C. 802(7)) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(7) ‘railroad’ has the meaning given that term 

9 in section 20102 of title 49, United States Code; 

10 and’’. 

11 (b) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Section 502 of the Rail12 road Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 

13 (45 U.S.C. 822) is amended—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘Secretary may provide direct 

15 loans and loan guarantees to State and local govern16 ments,’’ in subsection (a) and inserting ‘‘Secretary 

17 shall provide direct loans and loan guarantees to 

18 State and local governments, interstate compacts en19 tered into under section 410 of the Amtrak Reform 

20 and Accountability Act of 1997 (49 U.S.C 24101 

21 note),’’; 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘or’’ in subsection (b)(1)(B); 

23 (3) by redesignating subparagraph (C) of sub24 section (b)(1) as subparagraph (D); and 
38

•S 1961 IS 

1 (4) by inserting after subparagraph (B) of sub2 section (b)(1) the following: 

3 ‘‘(C) to acquire, improve, or rehabilitate 

4 rail safety and security equipment and facilities; 

5 or’’. 

6 (c) EXTENT OF AUTHORITY.—Section 502(d) of the 

7 Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 

8 1976 (45 U.S.C. 822(d)) is amended by adding at the end 

9 ‘‘The Secretary shall not establish any limit on the propor10 tion of the unused amount authorized under this sub11 section that may be used for a single loan or loan guar12 antee.’’. 

13 (d) COHORTS OF LOANS.—Section 502(f) of the Rail14 road Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 

15 (45 U.S.C. 822(f)) is amended—

16 (1) in paragraph (2)—

17 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub18 paragraph (D); 

19 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as 

20 subparagraph (F); and 

21 (C) by adding after subparagraph (D) the 

22 following new subparagraph: 

23 ‘‘(E) the size and characteristics of the co24 hort of which the loan or loan guarantee is a 

25 member; and’’; and 
39

•S 1961 IS 

1 (2) by adding at the end of paragraph (4) the 

2 following: ‘‘A cohort may include loans and loan 

3 guarantees. The Secretary shall not establish any 

4 limit on the proportion of a cohort that may be used 

5 for a single loan or loan guarantee.’’. 

6 (e) CONDITIONS OF ASSISTANCE.—Section 502 of the 

7 Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 

8 1976 (45 U.S.C. 822) is amended—

9 (1) by striking ‘‘offered;’’ in subsection 

10 (f)(2)(A) and inserting ‘‘offered, if any;’’; 

11 (2) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The Secretary’’ 

12 in subsection (h) and redesignating paragraphs (1), 

13 (2), and (3) of that subsection as subparagraphs 

14 (A), (B), and (C); and 

15 (3) by adding at the end of subsection (h) the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may not require an appli18 cant for a direct loan or loan guarantee under this 

19 section to provide collateral. 

20 ‘‘(3) The Secretary may not require that an ap21 plicant for a direct loan or loan guarantee under this

22 section have previously sought the financial assist23 ance requested from another source. 

24 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall require recipients of 

25 direct loans or loan guarantees under this section to 
40

•S 1961 IS 

1 apply the standards of subsections (b) and (c) of 

2 section 22301 of title 49, United States Code, to 

3 their projects. 

4 ‘‘(5) The Secretary shall require recipients of 

5 direct loans or loan guarantees under this section to 

6 comply with—

7 ‘‘(A) the standards of section 24312, as in 

8 effect on September 1, 2003, with respect to 

9 the project in the same manner that the Na10 tional Railroad Passenger Corporation is re11 quired to comply with such standards for con12 struction work financed under an agreement 

13 made under section 24308(a); and 

14 ‘‘(B) the protective arrangements estab15 lished under section 504 of the Railroad Revi16 talization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 

17 (45 U.S.C. 836) with respect to employees af18 fected by actions taken in connection with the 

19 project to be financed by direct loans or loan 

20 guarantees.’’. 

21 (f) TIME LIMIT FOR APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL.—

22 Section 502 of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory 

23 Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 822) is amended by add24 ing at the end the following: 
41

•S 1961 IS 

1 ‘‘(i) TIME LIMIT FOR APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL.—

2 Not later than 180 days after receiving a complete appli3 cation for a direct loan or loan guarantee under this sec4 tion, the Secretary shall approve or disapprove the applica5 tion.’’. 

6 (g) FEES AND CHARGES.—Section 503 of the Rail7 road Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 

8 (45 U.S.C. 823) is amended—

9 (1) by adding at the end of subsection (k) the 

10 following: ‘‘Funds received by the Secretary under 

11 the preceding sentence shall be credited to the ap12 propriation from which the expenses of making such 

13 appraisals, determinations, and findings were in14 curred.’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub16 section: 

17 ‘‘(m) FEES AND CHARGES.—Except as provided in 

18 this title, the Secretary may not assess any fees, including 

19 user fees, or charges in connection with a direct loan or 

20 loan guarantee provided under section 502.’’. 

21 (h) SUBSTANTIVE CRITERIA AND STANDARDS.—Not 

22 later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this 

23 Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall publish in the 

24 Federal Register and post on the Department of Trans25 portation website the substantive criteria and standards 
42

•S 1961 IS 

1 used by the Secretary to determine whether to approve 

2 or disapprove applications submitted under section 502 of 

3 the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 

4 1976 (45 U.S.C. 822). 

5 (i) OPERATORS DEEMED RAIL CARRIERS; LOANS

6 AND LOAN GUARANTEES FOR NON-RAILROAD ENTI7 TIES.—Section 502 of the Railroad Revitalization and 

8 Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 822), as 

9 amended by subsection (f), is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following: 

11 ‘‘(j) OPERATORS DEEMED RAIL CARRIERS.—Any en12 tity providing railroad transportation (within the meaning 

13 of section 20102) that begins operations after the date 

14 of enactment of the Arrive 21 Act and that uses property 

15 acquired pursuant to this section shall be considered an 

16 employer for purposes of the Railroad Retirement Act of 

17 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231 et seq.) and considered a carrier for 

18 purposes of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et 

19 seq.). 

20 ‘‘(k) LOAN AND LOAN GUARANTEES FOR NON-RAIL21 ROAD ENTITIES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

22 law, entities other than rail companies shall be eligible for 

23 loans and loan guarantees under this section.’’. 
43

•S 1961 IS 

1 SEC. 208. REPAYMENT OF LOAN TO NATIONAL RAILROAD 

2 PASSENGER CORPORATION. 

3 The Secretary of Transportation may not collect any 

4 payments of principal or interest for the direct loan made 

5 to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation under 

6 section 502 of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory 

7 Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 822). There are author8 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary for fiscal year 

9 2004 $100,000,000 for the purpose of repaying that loan 

10 to the Secretary of the Treasury. 

11 TITLE III—INTERMODAL POLICY 

12 SEC. 301. 50-YEAR INTERMODAL BLUEPRINT. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5503 is amended—

14 (1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as 

15 subsections (g) and (h), respectively; and 

16 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(e) 50-YEAR INTERMODAL BLUEPRINT.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta20 tion with the advisory board established under sec21 tion 24910(c) of this title, and other Federal, State, 

22 local, and private concerns, shall create a document 

23 to be known as the ‘50-year Intermodal Blueprint’, 

24 which shall—
44

•S 1961 IS 

1 ‘‘(A) set forth a plan to develop a national 

2 intermodal transportation system, including all 

3 major modes of transportation; 

4 ‘‘(B) describe emerging trends and oppor5 tunities to fulfill the future passenger and 

6 freight transportation needs of the United 

7 States; 

8 ‘‘(C) illustrate and estimate the potential 

9 results of current policies, possible policy im10 provements, and directives for achieving the 

11 goals set forth in the document; 

12 ‘‘(D) forecast the impact of current and 

13 future transportation policies on mobility, safe14 ty, energy consumption, the environment, tech15 nology, international trade, economic activity, 

16 and the quality of life in the United States; and 

17 ‘‘(E) identify sources of funding to imple18 ment the plan described in subparagraph (A). 

19 ‘‘(2) BIENNIAL PROGRESS REPORTS.—The Di20 rector, working with the Department of Transpor21 tation Inspector General, shall issue a 50-year Inter22 modal Blueprint progress report every 2 years and

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

25 of Representatives Committee on Transportation 
45

•S 1961 IS 

1 and Infrastructure. In the report, the Director 

2 shall—

3 ‘‘(A) disclose the results of an audit of the 

4 progress made toward achieving the goals set 

5 forth in the 50-year Intermodal Blueprint; 

6 ‘‘(B) describe successes, challenges, and 

7 obstacles with respect to the 50-year Intermodal 

8 Blueprint; 

9 ‘‘(C) suggest any changes to the 50-year 

10 Intermodal Blueprint that the Director deems 

11 necessary or appropriate to reflect changed cir12 cumstances or new developments; 

13 ‘‘(D) make recommendations on ways to 

14 increase intermodal planning and cooperation 

15 throughout the national transportation system 

16 and within the Department of Transportation; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(E) identify successful funding mecha19 nisms and make recommendations for new ap20 proaches to funding intermodal transportation 

21 facilities and services. 

22 ‘‘(3) SEXENNIAL REVISIONS.—The Secretary, 

23 in consultation with Federal, State, local, and pri24 vate concerns, shall revise and republish the 50-year 

25 Intermodal Blueprint every 6 years. 
46

•S 1961 IS 

1 ‘‘(f) IMPACT MEASUREMENT METHODOLOGY; IM2 PACT REVIEW.—The Secretary, working with the Bureau 

3 of Transportation Statistics, and taking into account the 

4 work of the rail cooperative research program established 

5 under section 24910(a) of this title, shall—

6 ‘‘(1) formulate a methodology for measuring 

7 the impact of intermodal transportation on—

8 ‘‘(A) the environment; 

9 ‘‘(B) public health and welfare; 

10 ‘‘(C) energy consumption; 

11 ‘‘(D) the operation and efficiency of the 

12 transportation system; 

13 ‘‘(E) congestion; and 

14 ‘‘(F) the economy and employment; and 

15 ‘‘(2) undertake a comprehensive review of the 

16 impact of international trade on intermodal trans17 portation and existing intermodal transportation in18 frastructure.’’. 

19 (b) RETAINED FUNDS.—Section 5568 is amended—

20 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub21 section (c); and 

22 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(b) 50-YEAR INTERMODAL BLUEPRINT.—There are 

25 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $1,000,000 
47

•S 1961 IS 

1 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2009 to carry out 

2 section 5503(e).’’. 

3 SEC. 302. INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION POLICY. 

4 (a) POLICY STANDARDS.—Section 302(e) is amended 

5 by striking ‘‘system’’ and inserting ‘‘system, including 

6 freight and passenger rail service and maritime transpor7 tation, including such transportation via inland water8 ways,’’. 

9 (b) STATE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PRO10 GRAMS.—Section 135(f)(4) of title 23, United States 

11 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘a State rail plan developed 

12 under chapter 225 of title 49,’’ after ‘‘134,’’. 

13 TITLE IV—AMTRAK 

14 AUTHORIZATIONS 

15 SEC. 401. NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER TRANSPOR16 TATION SYSTEM DEFINED. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 24102 is amended—

18 (1) by striking paragraph (2); 

19 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), and 

20 (5) as paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), respectively; and 

21 (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) as so re22 designated the following: 

23 ‘‘(5) ‘national rail passenger transportation sys24 tem’ means—
48

•S 1961 IS 

1 ‘‘(A) the segment of the Northeast Cor2 ridor between Boston, Massachusetts and 

3 Washington, D.C.; 

4 ‘‘(B) rail corridors that have been des5 ignated by the Secretary of Transportation as 

6 high-speed corridors, but only after they have 

7 been improved to permit operation of high8 speed service; 

9 ‘‘(C) long-distance routes of more than 

10 750 miles between endpoints operated by Am11 trak as of the date of enactment of the Arrive 

12 21 Act; and 

13 ‘‘(D) short-distance corridors or routes op14 erated by Amtrak.’’. 

15 (b) AMTRAK ROUTES WITH STATE FUNDING.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 247 is amended by 

17 inserting after section 24701 the following: 

18 ‘‘§ 24702. Transportation requested by States, au19 thorities, and other persons 

20 ‘‘(a) CONTRACTS FOR TRANSPORTATION.—Amtrak 

21 and a State, a regional or local authority, or another per22 son may enter into a contract for Amtrak to operate an 

23 intercity rail service or route not included in the national 

24 rail passenger transportation system upon such terms as 

25 the parties thereto may agree. 
49

•S 1961 IS 

1 ‘‘(b) DISCONTINUANCE.—Upon termination of a con2 tract entered into under this section, or the cessation of 

3 financial support under such a contract by either party, 

4 Amtrak may discontinue such service or route, notwith5 standing any other provision of law.’’. 

6 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter 

7 analysis for chapter 247 is amended by inserting 

8 after the item relating to section 24701 the fol9 lowing:

‘‘24702. Transportation requested by States, authorities, and other persons’’.

10 (c) AMTRAK TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE NON-HIGH11 SPEED SERVICES.—Nothing in this Act is intended to pre12 clude Amtrak from restoring, improving, or developing 

13 non-high-speed intercity passenger rail service. 

14 SEC. 402. RESTRUCTURING OF LONG-TERM DEBT AND CAP15 ITAL LEASES. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury 

17 shall work with the Secretary of Transportation and Am18 trak to restructure Amtrak’s indebtedness as of the date 

19 of enactment of this Act. 

20 (b) NEW DEBT PROHIBITION.—Except as approved 

21 by the Secretary of Transportation, Amtrak may not enter

22 into any obligation secured by assets of the Corporation 

23 after the date of enactment of this Act. This section does 

24 not prohibit unsecured lines of credit used by Amtrak or 

25 any subsidiary for working capital purposes. 
50

•S 1961 IS 

1 (c) DEBT REDEMPTION.—The Secretary of Trans2 portation, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treas3 ury, shall enter into negotiations with the holders of Am4 trak debt, including leases, that is outstanding on the date 

5 of enactment of this Act for the purpose of redeeming or 

6 restructuring that debt. The Secretary, in consultation 

7 with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall secure agree8 ments for repayment on such terms as the Secretary 

9 deems favorable to the interests of the Government. Pay10 ments for such redemption may be made after October 1, 

11 2004, in either a single payment or a series of payments, 

12 but in no case shall the repayment period extend beyond 

13 September 30, 2008. 

14 (d) CRITERIA.—In redeeming or restructuring Am15 trak’s indebtedness, the Secretaries and Amtrak—

16 (1) shall ensure that the restructuring imposes 

17 the least practicable burden on taxpayers; and 

18 (2) take into consideration repayment costs, the 

19 term of any loan or loans, and market conditions. 

20 (e) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap21 propriated to the Secretary such sums as may be nec22 essary for fiscal years 2005 through 2008 to restructure 

23 or redeem Amtrak’s secured debt. 

24 (f) AMTRAK PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAY25 MENTS.— 
51

•S 1961 IS 

1 (1) PRINCIPAL ON DEBT SERVICE.—Unless the 

2 Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of the 

3 Treasury restructure or redeem the debt, there are 

4 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

5 Transportation for the use of Amtrak for retirement 

6 of principal on loans for capital equipment, or cap7 ital leases, not more than the following amounts: 

8 (A) For fiscal year 2004, $116,900,000. 

9 (B) For fiscal year 2005, $109,500,000. 

10 (C) For fiscal year 2006, $114,700,000. 

11 (D) For fiscal year 2007, $202,900,000. 

12 (E) For fiscal year 2008, $164,300,000. 

13 (F) For fiscal year 2009, $155,800,000. 

14 (2) INTEREST ON DEBT.—Unless the Secretary 

15 of Transportation and the Secretary of the Treasury 

16 restructure or redeem the debt, there are authorized 

17 to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transpor18 tation for the use of Amtrak for the payment of in19 terest on loans for capital equipment, or capital 

20 leases, the following amounts: 

21 (A) For fiscal year 2004, $162,600,000. 

22 (B) For fiscal year 2005, $151,300,000. 

23 (C) For fiscal year 2006, $146,300,000. 

24 (D) For fiscal year 2007, $137,500,000. 

25 (E) For fiscal year 2008, $125,300,000. 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 (F) For fiscal year 2009, $117,100,000. 

2 (3) REDUCTIONS IN AUTHORIZATION LEVELS.—

3 Whenever action taken by the Secretary of the 

4 Treasury under subsection (c) results in reductions 

5 in amounts of principle and interest that Amtrak 

6 must service on existing debt, Amtrak shall submit 

7 revised recommendations to the Senate Committee 

8 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the 

9 House of Representatives Committee on Transpor10 tation and Infrastructure, the Senate Committee on 

11 Appropriations, and House of Representatives Com12 mittee on Appropriations revised requests for 

13 amounts authorized by paragraphs (1) and (2) that 

14 reflect the such reductions. 

15 SEC. 403. GENERAL AMTRAK AUTHORIZATIONS. 

16 (a) REPEAL OF SELF-SUFFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS. 

17 (1) TITLE 49 AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 241 is 

18 amended—

19 (A) by striking the last sentence of section 

20 24101(d); and 

21 (B) by striking the last sentence of section 

22 24104(a). 

23 (2) AMTRAK REFORM AND ACCOUNTABILITY

24 ACT AMENDMENTS.—Title II of the Amtrak Reform 
53

•S 1961 IS 

1 and Accountability Act of 1997 (49 U.S.C. 24101 

2 nt) is amended by striking sections 204 and 205. 

3 (3) COMMON STOCK REDEMPTION DATE.—Sec4 tion 415 of the Amtrak Reform and Accountability 

5 Act of 1997 (49 U.S.C. 24304 nt) is amended by 

6 striking subsection (b). 

7 (b) LEASE ARRANGEMENTS.—Amtrak may obtain 

8 services from the Administrator of General Services, and 

9 the Administrator may provide services to Amtrak, under 

10 section 201(b) and 211(b) of the Federal Property and 

11 Administrative Service Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 481(b) and 

12 491(b)) for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008. 

13 (c) FINANCIAL POWERS.—Section 415(d) of the Am14 trak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997 by adding 

15 at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(3) This section does not affect the applica17 bility of section 3729 of title 31, United States 

18 Code, to claims made against Amtrak.’’. 

19 SEC. 404. EXCESS RAILROAD RETIREMENT. 

20 Beginning in fiscal year 2004, the Secretary of the 

21 Treasury each year shall pay to the Railroad Retirement 

22 Account an amount equal to the amount Amtrak must pay 

23 under section 3221 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

24 in fiscal years that is more than the amount needed for 

25 benefits for individuals who retire from Amtrak and for 
54

•S 1961 IS 

1 their beneficiaries. There are authorized to be appro2 priated such sums as may be necessary in each fiscal year 

3 beginning after fiscal year 2004 for these payments. 

4 SEC. 405. AUTHORIZATIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL COM5 PLIANCE AND STATION IMPROVEMENTS. 

6 (a) ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.—There are au7 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transpor8 tation for the use of Amtrak in order to comply with envi9 ronmental regulations the following amounts: 

10 (1) For fiscal year 2004, $18,800,000. 

11 (2) For fiscal year 2005, $21,700,000. 

12 (3) For fiscal year 2006, $22,300,000. 

13 (4) For fiscal year 2007, $15,100,000. 

14 (5) For fiscal year 2008, $15,900,000. 

15 (6) For fiscal year 2009, $16,000,000. 

16 (b) CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS TO STATIONS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

18 appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation for 

19 the use of Amtrak for capital improvements to sta20 tions, including an initial assessment of the full set 

21 of accessibility needs across the national rail pas22 senger transportation system and improved accessi23 bility for the elderly and people with disabilities and 

24 in Amtrak facilities and stations, the following 

25 amounts: 
55

•S 1961 IS 

1 (A) For fiscal year 2004, $17,100,000. 

2 (B) For fiscal year 2005, $19,800,000. 

3 (C) For fiscal year 2006, $19,800,000. 

4 (D) For fiscal year 2007, $19,000,000. 

5 (E) For fiscal year 2008, $19,000,000. 

6 (F) For fiscal year 2009, $19,000,000. 

7 (2) STUDY OF COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS AT

8 EXISTING INTERCITY RAIL STATIONS.—Amtrak shall 

9 evaluate the improvements necessary to make all ex10 isting stations it serves readily accessible to and usa11 ble by individuals with disabilities, as required by 

12 section 242(e)(2) of the Americans with Disabilities 

13 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12162(e)(2)). The evalua14 tion shall include the estimated cost of the improve15 ments necessary, the identification of the responsible 

16 person (as defined in section 241(5) of that Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 12161(5))), and the earliest practicable date 

18 when such improvements can be made. Amtrak shall 

19 submit the survey to the Senate Committee on Com20 merce, Science, and Transportation, the House of 

21 Representatives Committee on Transportation and

22 Infrastructure, and the National Council on Dis23 ability by September 30, 2005, along with rec24 ommendations for funding the necessary improve25 ments. 
56

•S 1961 IS 

1 SEC. 406. TUNNEL LIFE SAFETY. 

2 (a) LIFE SAFETY NEEDS.—There are authorized to 

3 be appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation for the 

4 use of Amtrak for fiscal year 2004: 

5 (1) $677,000,000 for the 6 New York tunnels 

6 built in 1910 to provide ventilation, electrical, and 

7 fire safety technology upgrades, emergency commu8 nication and lighting systems, and emergency access 

9 and egress for passengers. 

10 (2) $57,000,000 for the Baltimore & Potomac 

11 tunnel built in 1872 to provide adequate drainage, 

12 ventilation, communication, lighting, and passenger 

13 egress upgrades. 

14 (3) $40,000,000 for the Washington, D.C., 

15 Union Station tunnels built in 1904 under the Su16 preme Court and House and Senate Office Buildings 

17 to improve ventilation, communication, lighting, and 

18 passenger egress upgrades. 

19 (b) INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES.—There are au20 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transpor21 tation for the use of Amtrak $3,000,000 for fiscal year 

22 2004 for the preliminary design of options for a new tun23 nel on a different alignment to augment the capacity of 

24 the existing Baltimore tunnels. 

25 (c) FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION FROM OTHER TUN26 NEL USERS.—The Secretary shall, taking into account the 
57

•S 1961 IS 

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) obtain financial contributions or commit9 ments from such other rail carriers if feasible. 

10 (d) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro11 priated pursuant to this section shall remain available 

12 until expended. 

13 SEC. 407. AUTHORIZATION FOR CAPITAL AND OPERATING 

14 EXPENSES. 

15 (a) OPERATING EXPENSES.—There are authorized to 

16 be appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation for the 

17 use of Amtrak for operating costs the following amounts: 

18 (1) For fiscal year 2004, $581,000,000. 

19 (2) For fiscal year 2005, $567,000,000. 

20 (3) For fiscal year 2006, $558,000,000. 

21 (4) For fiscal year 2007, $529,000,000. 

22 (5) For fiscal year 2008, $522,000,000. 

23 (6) For fiscal year 2009, $522,000,000. 

24 (b) CAPITAL BACKLOG AND UPGRADES.—There are 

25 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Trans-
58

•S 1961 IS 

1 portation for the use of Amtrak for capital expenses, the 

2 following amounts: 

3 (1) For fiscal year 2004, $674,000,000. 

4 (2) For fiscal year 2005, $765,000,000. 

5 (3) For fiscal year 2006, $733,000,000. 

6 (4) For fiscal year 2007, $604,000,000. 

7 (5) For fiscal year 2008, $560,000,000. 

8 (6) For fiscal year 2009, $565,000,000. 

9 (c) REDUCTIONS.—Amounts authorized under sub10 section (b) shall be reduced by amounts equal to grants 

11 provided by the Rail Infrastructure Finance Corporation 

12 under title VI of this Act upon receipt to Amtrak for cap13 ital requirements and expenditures listed in the annual 

14 budget and 5 Year Financial Plan required under section 

15 413. 

16 SEC. 408. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROCESS. 

17 (a) GRANT REQUESTS.—Amtrak shall submit grant 

18 requests to the Secretary of Transportation for funds au19 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for the use 

20 of Amtrak under sections 405, 406, and 407. 

21 (b) PROCEDURES FOR GRANT REQUESTS.—The Sec22 retary shall establish substantive and procedural require23 ments, including schedules, for grant requests under this 

24 section not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act and shall transmit copies to the Senate Com-
59

•S 1961 IS 

1 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

2 House of Representatives Committee on Transportation 

3 and Infrastructure. 

4 (c) REVIEW AND APPROVAL.— 

5 (1) 30-DAY PROCESS.—The Secretary shall 

6 complete the review of a grant request and approve 

7 or disapprove the request within 30 days after the 

8 date on which Amtrak submits the grant request. 

9 (2) INCOMPLETE OR DEFICIENT REQUESTS.—If 

10 the Secretary disapproves the request or determines 

11 that the request is incomplete or deficient, the Sec12 retary shall immediately notify Amtrak of the reason 

13 for disapproval or the incomplete items or defi14 ciencies. Within 15 days after receiving notification 

15 from the Secretary under the preceding sentence, 

16 Amtrak shall submit a modified request for the Sec17 retary’s review. 

18 (3) REVISED REQUESTS.—Within 15 days after 

19 receiving a modified request from Amtrak, the Sec20 retary shall either approve the modified request, or,

21 if the Secretary finds that the request is still incom22 plete or deficient, the Secretary shall identify in 

23 writing to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

24 Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep25 resentatives Committee on Transportation and In-
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•S 1961 IS 

1 frastructure the remaining deficiencies and rec2 ommend a process for resolving the outstanding por3 tions of the request. 

4 SEC. 409. STATE-SUPPORTED ROUTES. 

5 The Board of Directors of Amtrak, in consultation 

6 with the Secretary of Transportation and the chief execu7 tive officer of each State and the District of Columbia, 

8 shall develop a formula for funding the operating costs 

9 of trains operating on routes not in excess of 750 miles 

10 in length that—

11 (1) is equitable and fair; and 

12 (2) ensures, within 5 years after the date of en13 actment of this Act, equal treatment of all States 

14 (and the District of Columbia) and groups of States 

15 (including the District of Columbia). 

16 SEC. 410. RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF NORTHEAST CORRIDOR 

17 SAFETY COMMITTEE. 

18 (a) RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF NORTHEAST CORRIDOR

19 SAFETY COMMITTEE.—The Secretary of Transportation 

20 shall re-establish the Northeast Corridor Safety Com21 mittee authorized by section 24905(b) of title 49, United 

22 States Code. 

23 (b) TERMINATION DATE.—Section 24905(b)(4) is 

24 amended by striking ‘‘January 1, 1999,’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘January 1, 2009,’’. 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 SEC. 411. AMTRAK BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 24302 is amended to read 

3 as follows: 

4 ‘‘§ 24302. Board of directors 

5 ‘‘(a) COMPOSITION AND TERMS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) The board of directors of Amtrak is com7 posed of the following 9 directors, each of whom 

8 must be a citizen of the United States: 

9 ‘‘(A) The President of Amtrak. 

10 ‘‘(B) The Secretary of Transportation. 

11 ‘‘(C) 7 individuals appointed by the Presi12 dent of the United States, by and with the ad13 vice and consent of the Senate, with experience 

14 and qualifications in or directly related to rail 

15 transportation, including representatives of 

16 freight and passenger rail transportation, trav17 el, hospitality, cruise line, and passenger air 

18 transportation businesses, consumers of pas19 senger rail transportation, and State govern20 ment. 

21 ‘‘(2) In selecting individuals described in para22 graph (1) for nominations for appointments to the 

23 Board, the President shall consult with the Speaker 

24 of the House of Representatives, the Minority Lead25 er of the House of Representatives, the Majority 

26 Leader of the Senate, and the Minority Leader of 
62

•S 1961 IS 

1 the Senate and should ensure adequate and balanced 

2 representation of the major geographic regions of 

3 the United States. 

4 ‘‘(3) An individual appointed under paragraph 

5 (1)(C) of this subsection serves for 5 years or until 

6 the individual’s successor is appointed and qualified. 

7 Not more than 4 individuals appointed under para8 graph (1)(C) may be members of the same political 

9 party. 

10 ‘‘(4) The board shall elect a chairman and a 

11 vice chairman from among its membership. The vice 

12 chairman shall serve as chairman in the absence of 

13 the chairman. 

14 ‘‘(5) The Secretary may be represented at 

15 board meetings by the Secretary’s designee. 

16 ‘‘(b) PAY AND EXPENSES.—Each director not em17 ployed by the United States Government is entitled to 

18 $300 a day when performing board duties and powers. 

19 Each director is entitled to reimbursement for necessary 

20 travel, reasonable secretarial and professional staff sup21 port, and subsistence expenses incurred in attending board 

22 meetings. 

23 ‘‘(c) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the board is filled 

24 in the same way as the original selection, except that an 

25 individual appointed by the President of the United States 
63

•S 1961 IS 

1 under subsection (a)(1)(C) of this section to fill a vacancy 

2 occurring before the end of the term for which the prede3 cessor of that individual was appointed is appointed for 

4 the remainder of that term. A vacancy required to be filled 

5 by appointment under subsection (a)(1)(C) must be filled 

6 not later than 120 days after the vacancy occurs. 

7 ‘‘(d) BYLAWS.—The board may adopt and amend by8 laws governing the operation of Amtrak. The bylaws shall 

9 be consistent with this part and the articles of incorpora10 tion.’’. 

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE FOR DIRECTORS’ PROVI12 SION.—The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take 

13 effect on October 1, 2003. The members of the Amtrak 

14 Reform Board may continue to serve until 3 directors ap15 pointed by the President under section 24302(a) of title 

16 49, United States Code, as amended by subsection (a), 

17 have qualified for office.

18 SEC. 412. ESTABLISHMENT OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING 

19 SYSTEM FOR AMTRAK OPERATIONS BY INDE20 PENDENT AUDITOR. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of the De22 partment of Transportation shall employ an independent 

23 financial consultant with experience in railroad account24 ing—
64

•S 1961 IS 

1 (1) to assess Amtrak’s financial accounting and 

2 reporting system and practices; 

3 (2) to design and assist Amtrak in imple4 menting a modern financial accounting and report5 ing system, on the basis of the assessment, that will 

6 produce accurate and timely financial information in 

7 sufficient detail—

8 (A) to enable Amtrak to assign revenues 

9 and expenses appropriately to each of its lines 

10 of business and to each major activity within 

11 each line of business activity, including train 

12 operations, equipment maintenance, ticketing, 

13 and reservations; 

14 (B) to aggregate expenses and revenues re15 lated to infrastructure and distinguish them 

16 from expenses and revenues related to rail oper17 ations; and 

18 (C) to provide ticketing and reservation in19 formation on a real-time basis.

20 (b) VERIFICATION OF SYSTEM; REPORT.—The In21 spector General of the Department of Transportation shall 

22 review the accounting system designed and implemented 

23 under subsection (a) to ensure that it accomplishes the 

24 purposes for which it is intended. The Inspector General 

25 shall report his findings and conclusions, together with 
65

•S 1961 IS 

1 any recommendations, to the Senate Committee on Com2 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep3 resentatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc4 ture. 

5 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

7 Transportation $2,500,000 for fiscal year 2004 to carry 

8 out subsection (a), such sums to remain available until 

9 expended. 

10 SEC. 413. DEVELOPMENT OF 5-YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN. 

11 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF 5-YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN.—

12 The Amtrak board of directors shall submit an annual 

13 budget for Amtrak, and a 5-year financial plan for the 

14 fiscal year to which that budget relates and the subsequent 

15 4 years, prepared in accordance with this section, to the 

16 Secretary of Transportation and the Inspector General of 

17 the Department of Transportation no later than—

18 (1) the first day of each fiscal year beginning 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act; or 

20 (2) the date that is 60 days after the date of 

21 enactment of an appropriation Act for the fiscal 

22 year, if later. 

23 (b) CONTENTS OF 5-YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN.—The 

24 5-year financial plan for Amtrak shall include, at a min25 imum—
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•S 1961 IS 

1 (1) all projected revenues and expenditures for 

2 Amtrak, including governmental funding sources; 

3 (2) projected ridership levels for all Amtrak 

4 passenger operations; 

5 (3) revenue and expenditure forecasts for non6 passenger operations; 

7 (4) capital funding requirements and expendi8 tures necessary to maintain passenger service which 

9 will accommodate predicted ridership levels and pre10 dicted sources of capital funding; 

11 (5) operational funding needs, if any, to main12 tain current and projected levels of passenger serv13 ice, including state-supported routes and predicted 

14 funding sources; 

15 (6) projected capital and operating require16 ments, ridership, and revenue for any new passenger 

17 service operations or service expansions; 

18 (7) an assessment of the continuing financial 

19 stability of Amtrak, as indicated by factors such as: 

20 the ability of the federal government to adequately 

21 meet capital and operating requirements, Amtrak’s 

22 access to long-term and short-term capital markets, 

23 Amtrak’s ability to efficiently manage its workforce, 

24 and Amtrak’s ability to effectively provide passenger 

25 train service. 
67

•S 1961 IS 

1 (8) lump sum expenditures of $10,000,000 or 

2 more and sources of funding. 

3 (9) estimates of long-term and short-term debt 

4 and associated principle and interest payments (both 

5 current and anticipated); 

6 (10) annual cash flow forecasts; and 

7 (11) a statement describing methods of esti8 mation and significant assumptions. 

9 (c) STANDARDS TO PROMOTE FINANCIAL STA10 BILITY.—In meeting the requirements of subsection (b) 

11 with respect to a 5-year financial plan, Amtrak shall—

12 (1) apply sound budgetary practices, including 

13 reducing costs and other expenditures, improving 

14 productivity, increasing revenues, or combinations of 

15 such practices; and 

16 (2) use the categories specified in the financial 

17 accounting and reporting system developed under 

18 section 412 when preparing its 5-year financial plan. 

19 (d) ASSESSMENT BY DOT INSPECTOR GENERAL.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of 

21 the Department of Transportation shall assess the 

22 5-year financial plans prepared by Amtrak under 

23 this section to determine whether they meet the re24 quirements of subsection (b), and may suggest revi-
68

•S 1961 IS 

1 sions to any components thereof that do not meet 

2 those requirements. 

3 (2) ASSESSMENT TO BE FURNISHED TO THE

4 CONGRESS.—The Inspector General shall furnish to 

5 the House of Representatives Committee on Appro6 priations, the Senate Committee on Appropriations, 

7 the House of Representatives Committee on Trans8 portation and Infrastructure, and the Senate Com9 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation—

10 (A) an assessment of the annual budget 

11 within 90 days after receiving it from Amtrak; 

12 and 

13 (B) an assessment of the remaining 4 

14 years of the 5-year financial plan within 180 

15 days after receiving it from Amtrak. 

16 SEC. 414. INDEPENDENT AUDITOR TO ESTABLISH METH17 ODOLOGIES FOR AMTRAK ROUTE AND SERV18 ICE PLANNING DECISIONS. 

19 (a) REVIEW.—The Secretary of Transportation shall, 

20 in consultation with the Federal Railroad Administration, 

21 execute a contract to obtain the services of an independent 

22 auditor or consultant to research and define Amtrak’s past 

23 and current methodologies for determining intercity pas24 senger rail routes and services. 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The independent auditor 

2 or consultant shall recommend objective methodologies for 

3 determining such routes and services, including the estab4 lishment of new routes, the elimination of existing routes, 

5 and the contraction or expansion of services or frequencies 

6 over such routes. 

7 (c) SUBMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall 

8 submit recommendations received under subsection (b) to 

9 Amtrak, the House of Representatives Committee on 

10 Transportation and Infrastructure, and the Senate Com11 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

12 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be made available to the Secretary of 

14 Transportation, out of any amounts authorized by this Act 

15 to be appropriated for the benefit of Amtrak and not oth16 erwise obligated or expended, such sums as may be nec17 essary to carry out this section. 

18 SEC. 415. METRICS AND STANDARDS. 

19 The Administrator of the Federal Railroad Adminis20 tration shall, in consultation with Amtrak and host rail21 roads, develop new or improve existing metrics and min22 imum standards for measuring the service quality of inter23 city train operations, including on-time performance, on24 board services, stations, facilities, equipment, and other 

25 services. 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 SEC. 416. ON-TIME PERFORMANCE. 

2 Section 24308 is amended by adding at the end the 

3 following: 

4 ‘‘(f) ON-TIME PERFORMANCE AND OTHER STAND5 ARDS.—If the on-time performance of any intercity pas6 senger train averages less than 80 percent for any con7 secutive 6-month period, or the service quality of intercity 

8 train operations for which minimum standards are estab9 lished under section 415 of the Arrive 21 Act fails to meet 

10 those standards, Amtrak may petition the Surface Trans11 portation Board to investigate whether, and to what ex12 tent, delays or failure to achieve minimum standards are 

13 due to causes that could reasonably be addressed by a rail 

14 carrier over the tracks of which the intercity passenger 

15 train operates, or by a regional authority providing com16 muter service, if any. In carrying out such an investiga17 tion, the Surface Transportation Board shall obtain infor18 mation from all parties involved and make recommenda19 tions regarding reasonable measures to improve the serv20 ice, quality, and on-time performance of the train.’’.

21 TITLE V—RAIL INFRASTRUC22 TURE FINANCE CORPORA23 TION 

24 SEC. 501. ESTABLISHMENT OF CORPORATION. 

25 There is established a nonprofit corporation, to be 

26 known as the ‘‘Rail Infrastructure Finance Corporation’’. 
71

•S 1961 IS 

1 The Rail Infrastructure Finance Corporation is not an 

2 agency or establishment of the United States Government. 

3 The Corporation shall be subject to the provisions of this 

4 title and title VI, and, to the extent consistent with this 

5 section, to the laws of the State of Delaware applicable 

6 to corporations not for profit. 

7 SEC. 502. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

8 (a) APPOINTMENT.—The Rail Infrastructure Fi9 nance Corporation shall have a Board of Directors con10 sisting of 9 members appointed by the President, by and 

11 with the advice and consent of the Senate. The President 

12 shall submit all nominations for the initial Board not less 

13 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

14 Not more than 5 members of the Board may be members 

15 of the same political party. 

16 (b) MEMBERSHIP QUALIFICATIONS.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The 9 members of the 

18 Board shall be appointed from among citizens of the 

19 United States (not regular full-time employees of the 

20 United States) who are eminent in the fields of rail 

21 transportation, rail financing, and intermodal trans22 portation planning, and the financing and manage23 ment of large-scale, long-term public-private cooper24 ative projects. 
72

•S 1961 IS 

1 (2) REPRESENTATION OF SPECIFIC INTER2 ESTS.—Of the 9 members of the Board, 8 of the 

3 members shall be selected as follows: 

4 (A) 1 member from among individuals who 

5 represent the interests of freight rail transpor6 tation. 

7 (B) 1 member from among individuals who 

8 represent the interests of intermodal transpor9 tation. 

10 (C) 1 member from among individuals who 

11 represent the interests of passenger rail trans12 portation. 

13 (D) 1 member from among individuals who 

14 represent the interests of the States. 

15 (E) 1 member from among individuals who 

16 represent the interests of intercity passenger 

17 rail users. 

18 (F) 1 member from among individuals who 

19 represent the interests of organized rail labor. 

20 (G) 2 members from among persons who 

21 are involved in finance. 

22 (c) INCORPORATION.—The members initially ap23 pointed to the Board of Directors shall serve as 

24 incorporators and, upon the establishment of a quorum, 
73

•S 1961 IS 

1 shall take whatever actions are necessary to establish the 

2 Corporation under the laws of Delaware. 

3 (d) TERMS OF OFFICE.—Members of the Board shall 

4 be appointed for terms of 6 years. No member of the 

5 Board shall be eligible to serve in excess of 2 consecutive 

6 full terms. 

7 (e) VACANCIES.—A member of the Board appointed 

8 to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the 

9 term for which the member’s predecessor was appointed 

10 shall be appointed for the remainder of such term. Upon 

11 the expiration of a member’s term, the member shall con12 tinue to serve until a successor is appointed. 

13 (f) ATTENDANCE REQUIRED.—Members of the 

14 Board shall attend not less than 50 percent of all duly 

15 convened meetings of the Board in any calendar year. A 

16 member who fails to meet the requirement of the pre17 ceding sentence shall forfeit membership and the Presi18 dent shall appoint a new member to fill the resulting va19 cancy not later than 90 days after such vacancy is deter20 mined by the Chairman of the Board. 

21 (g) ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIR22 MAN.—Members of the Board shall annually elect 1 of 

23 their members to be Chairman and elect 1 or more of their 

24 members as a Vice Chairman or Vice Chairmen. 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 (h) COMPENSATION.—The members of the Board 

2 shall not, by reason of such membership, be considered 

3 to be officers or employees of the United States. They 

4 shall, while attending meetings of the Board or while en5 gaged in duties related to such meetings or other activities 

6 of the Board pursuant to this Act, be entitled to receive 

7 compensation at the rate of $300 per day, including trav8 eltime. No Board member shall receive compensation of 

9 more than $10,000 in any fiscal year. While away from 

10 their homes or regular places of business, Board members 

11 shall be allowed travel and actual, reasonable, and nec12 essary expenses. 

13 (i) MEETINGS OPEN TO PUBLIC.—All meetings of 

14 the Board of Directors of the Corporation, including any 

15 committee of the Board, shall be open to the public under 

16 such terms, conditions, and exceptions as the Board may 

17 establish. 

18 (j) QUORUM AND PROCEEDINGS.—Five members of 

19 the Board shall constitute a quorum for the Board to con20 duct business. All decisions of the Board shall be entered 

21 upon the records of the Board. 

22 SEC. 503. OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Rail Infrastructure Finance 

24 Corporation shall have a President, and such other officers 

25 as may be named and appointed by the Board for terms 
75

•S 1961 IS 

1 and at rates of compensation fixed by the Board. No indi2 vidual other than a citizen of the United States may be 

3 an officer of the Corporation. No officer of the Corpora4 tion may receive any salary or other compensation (except 

5 for compensation for services on boards of directors of 

6 other organizations that do not receive funds from the 

7 Corporation, on committees of such boards, and in similar 

8 activities for such organizations) from any sources other 

9 than the Corporation for services rendered during the pe10 riod of his or her employment by the Corporation. Service 

11 by any officer on boards of directors of other organiza12 tions, on committees of such boards, and in similar activi13 ties for such organizations shall be subject to annual ad14 vance approval by the Board and subject to the provisions 

15 of the Corporation’s Statement of Ethical Conduct. All of16 ficers shall serve at the pleasure of the Board. An officer 

17 of the corporation shall not be considered to be an officer 

18 or employee of the United States by virtue of such office. 

19 (b) NONPARTISAN NATURE OF APPOINTMENTS.—No 

20 political test or qualification shall be used in selecting, ap21 pointing, promoting, or taking other personnel actions

22 with respect to officers, agents, or employees of the Cor23 poration. 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 SEC. 504. NONPROFIT AND NONPOLITICAL NATURE OF THE 

2 CORPORATION. 

3 (a) STOCK.—The Rail Infrastructure Finance Cor4 poration shall have no power to issue any shares of stock, 

5 or to declare or pay any dividends. 

6 (b) NO PRIVATE BENEFIT.—No part of the income 

7 or assets of the Corporation shall inure to the benefit of 

8 any director, officer, employee, or any other individual ex9 cept as salary or reasonable compensation for services. 

10 (c) POLITICAL ACTIVITY PROHIBITED.—The Cor11 poration may not contribute to or otherwise support any 

12 political party or candidate for elective public office. 

13 (d) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—No director, officer, 

14 or employee of the Corporation shall in any manner, di15 rectly or indirectly, participate in the deliberation upon or 

16 the determination of any question affecting his or her per17 sonal interests or the interests of any corporation, partner18 ship, or organization in which he or she has a direct or 

19 indirect financial interest. Board members shall recuse 

20 themselves from Board decisions that directly affect either 

21 them or entities they represent regarding grants and other 

22 financial assistance provided to States by the Board. 

23 SEC. 505. PURPOSE AND ACTIVITIES OF CORPORATION. 

24 (a) PURPOSE.—The Rail Infrastructure Finance Cor25 poration shall, through the issuance of qualified rail infra26 structure bonds in accordance with section 54 of the Inter-
77

•S 1961 IS 

1 nal Revenue Code of 1986 and this title, provide financial 

2 support for rail transportation capital projects under title 

3 VI of this Act. 

4 (b) BOND ISSUANCE AUTHORITY.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to carry out its 

6 purposes, the Corporation is authorized to issue 

7 qualified rail infrastructure bonds (as defined in sec8 tion 54(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) 

9 during the 6-year period beginning on the day after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act. 

11 (2) LIMITATION.—The total face amount of the 

12 bonds outstanding under paragraph (1) at any time 

13 may not exceed $30,000,000,000. 

14 (3) NO FEDERAL GUARANTEE.—

15 (A) OBLIGATIONS INSURED BY THE COR16 PORATION.—No obligation that is insured, 

17 guaranteed, or otherwise backed by the Cor18 poration shall be deemed to be an obligation 

19 that is guaranteed by the full faith and credit 

20 of the United States. 

21 (B) SPECIAL RULE.—This paragraph shall 

22 not affect the determination of whether such 

23 obligation is guaranteed for purposes of Federal 

24 income taxes. 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 (C) SECURITIES OFFERED BY THE COR2 PORATION.—No debt or equity securities of the 

3 Corporation shall be deemed to be guaranteed 

4 by the full faith and credit of the United 

5 States. 

6 (4) AUTHORITY.—To carry out the foregoing 

7 purposes and engage in the foregoing activities, the 

8 Corporation shall have the usual powers conferred 

9 upon a nonprofit corporation under the laws of the 

10 State of Delaware. 

11 (c) FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.—The Corporation shall 

12 be eligible to receive discretionary grants, contracts, gifts, 

13 contributions, or technical assistance from any department 

14 or agency of the Federal Government, but only to the ex15 tent permitted by law and to the extent necessary to carry 

16 out the purpose set forth in subsection (a) and the activi17 ties described in subsection (b). 

18 (d) STATUS UNDER FEDERAL SECURITIES LAWS.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the Securi20 ties Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 

21 1934 or the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, the Rail 

22 Infrastructure Finance Corporation shall not be con23 sidered an agency or instrumentality of the United 

24 States or any State or Territory thereof nor an enti25 ty described in section 3(a)(4) of the Securities Act 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 of 1933 and shall not be entitled to rely on any ex2 emption from those laws. Any security offered or 

3 sold or guaranteed by the Rail Infrastructure Fi4 nance Corporation may not be offered or sold in reli5 ance on any exemption from registration under the 

6 Securities Act of 1933, unless exempted by rule or 

7 regulation of the Securities and Exchange Commis8 sion. For so long as the Rail Infrastructure Finance 

9 Corporation has any securities outstanding, it may 

10 not rely on the rules promulgated under the Securi11 ties Exchange Act of 1934 to voluntarily terminate 

12 or suspend the Rail Infrastructure Finance Corpora13 tion’s obligations to comply with the reporting re14 quirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

15 with regard to any of its outstanding securities and 

16 the provisions of section 15(d)(6) of the Securities 

17 Exchange Act of 1934 shall not apply to the Rail In18 frastructure Finance Corporation, unless exempted 

19 by rule, regulation, or order of the Securities and 

20 Exchange Commission. 

21 (2) RELATIONSHIP TO FEDERAL SECURITIES

22 LAWS.—Except as provided in paragraph (1), no 

23 provision of this section or any regulation issued by 

24 any other Federal agency shall supercede or other25 wise affect the application of the Federal securities 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 laws (as such term is defined in section 2(a)(47) of 

2 the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) or the rules, 

3 regulations, or orders of the Securities and Ex4 change Commission promulgated under those laws. 

5 SEC. 506. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—On or before May 15 of each year, 

7 the Rail Infrastructure Finance Corporation shall submit 

8 an annual report for the fiscal year ending on September 

9 30 of the preceding year to the Senate Committee on Com10 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep11 resentatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc12 ture. The report shall include a comprehensive and de13 tailed report of the Corporation’s operations, activities, fi14 nancial condition, and accomplishments under this title 

15 and such recommendations as the Corporation deems ap16 propriate. 

17 (b) AVAILABILITY FOR TESTIMONY.—The officers 

18 and directors of the Corporation shall be available to tes19 tify before those committees with respect to such report 

20 or any other matter which such committees may deter21 mine.

22 SEC. 507. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS. 

23 (a) BUDGET.—The Rail Infrastructure Finance Cor24 poration shall establish an annual budget for the Corpora-
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•S 1961 IS 

1 tion, including the Rail Infrastructure Investment Account 

2 under subsection (c). 

3 (b) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—

4 (1) REQUIREMENT FOR PLAN.—The Corpora5 tion shall conduct a study and prepare a plan on 

6 how the Corporation can best achieve the purposes 

7 and fulfill the requirements of this title. 

8 (2) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the plan, 

9 the Corporation may consult with representatives of 

10 State and local governments, railroads, and other 

11 similar entities. 

12 (3) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The plan, which 

13 shall be based on the conclusions resulting from the 

14 study conducted under paragraph (1), shall be sub15 mitted by the Corporation to the Senate Committee 

16 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

17 House of Representatives Committee on Transpor18 tation and Infrastructure not later than 180 days 

19 after the date on which the Corporation is incor20 porated. Unless directed otherwise by law, the Cor21 poration shall implement the plan during the first 

22 fiscal year beginning after the fiscal year in which 

23 the plan is submitted to Congress. 

24 (c) RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AC25 COUNT.—
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•S 1961 IS 

1 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Board of Directors 

2 for the Corporation shall establish an account to be 

3 known as the Rail Infrastructure Investment Ac4 count. 

5 (2) DEPOSIT OF BOND PROCEEDS.—The Cor6 poration shall deposit the proceeds of sales of any 

7 bonds issued under section 54 of the Internal Rev8 enue Code of 1986 into the Account. 

9 (3) DEPOSIT OF NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBU10 TIONS.—The Board shall deposit all non-Federal 

11 contributions received into the Account. 

12 (4) DISBURSEMENTS.—The Board may make 

13 available and may disburse, during the first fiscal 

14 year beginning after the date of enactment of this 

15 Act and during each succeeding fiscal year there16 after, such funds as may be available for obligation 

17 and expenditure from the Account. 

18 (5) USE OF ACCOUNT FUNDS.—Funds in the 

19 Account— 

20 (A) shall be used by the Corporation for 

21 investment purposes through the trust estab22 lished under section 508 to generate an amount 

23 sufficient—

24 (i) to repay the principal of the bonds 

25 at their maturity; and 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 (ii) to pay the administrative costs of 

2 the Corporation and the Rail Infrastruc3 ture Finance Trust under section 508; and 

4 (B) shall, to the extent of the net spend5 able proceeds in the account, be held in the Rail 

6 Infrastructure Finance Trust established under 

7 section 508 and be available for distribution as 

8 grants of financial assistance under title VI of 

9 this Act. 

10 (6) NET SPENDABLE PROCEEDS DEFINED.—In 

11 this subsection, the term ‘‘net spendable proceeds’’, 

12 with respect to the Rail Infrastructure Investment 

13 Account, means the amount, determined by the 

14 Board of Trustees of the Rail Infrastructure Fi15 nance Trust, equal to the excess of—

16 (A) the total amount in such Account, over 

17 (B) the amount in such Account that is 

18 needed for uses under paragraph (5)(A). 

19 (d) RECORDS AND AUDIT.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The account of the Corpora21 tion shall be audited annually in accordance with 

22 generally accepted auditing standards by inde23 pendent certified public accountants or independent 

24 licensed public accountants certified or licensed by a 

25 regulatory authority of a State or other political sub-
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•S 1961 IS 

1 division of the United States. The audits shall be 

2 conducted at the place or places where the accounts 

3 of the Corporation are normally kept. All books, ac4 counts, financial records, reports, files, and all other 

5 papers, things, or property belonging to or in use by 

6 the Corporation and necessary to facilitate the au7 dits shall be made available to the person or persons 

8 conducting the audits; and full facilities for verifying 

9 transactions with the balances or securities held by 

10 depositories, fiscal agents and custodians shall be af11 forded to such person or persons. 

12 (2) AUDIT REPORT.—The report of each such 

13 independent audit shall be included in the annual re14 port required by section 506. The audit report shall 

15 set forth the scope of the audit and include such 

16 statements as are necessary to present fairly the 

17 Corporation’s assets and liabilities, surplus or def18 icit, with an analysis of the changes therein during 

19 the year, supplemented in reasonable detail by a 

20 statement of the Corporation’s income and expenses 

21 during the year, and a statement of the sources and 

22 application of funds, together with the independent 

23 auditor’s opinion of those statements. 

24 (3) ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES.—Not later than 

25 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 the Corporation shall develop accounting principles 

2 which shall be used uniformly by all entities receiv3 ing funds under this Act, taking into account orga4 nizational differences among various categories of 

5 such entities. Such principles shall be designed to 

6 account fully for all funds received and expended for 

7 purposes of this Act by such entities. 

8 (4) REQUIREMENTS FOR RECIPIENTS.—Each 

9 entity receiving funds under this Act shall—

10 (A) keep its books, records, and accounts 

11 in such form as may be required by the Cor12 poration; 

13 (B) either—

14 (i) undergo an annual audit by inde15 pendent certified public accountants or 

16 independent licensed public accountants 

17 certified or licensed by a regulatory au18 thority of a State, which audit shall be in 

19 accordance with auditing standards devel20 oped by the Corporation; or 

21 (ii) submit a financial statement in 

22 lieu of the audit required by subparagraph 

23 (A) if the Corporation determines that the

24 cost burden of such audit on such entity 
86

•S 1961 IS 

1 is excessive in light of the financial condi2 tion of such entity; and 

3 (C) furnish biennially to the Corporation a 

4 copy of the audit report required pursuant to 

5 the subparagraph (B), as well as such other in6 formation regarding finances (including an an7 nual financial report) as the Corporation may 

8 require. 

9 (5) ADDITIONAL RECORDKEEPING.—Any recipi10 ent of assistance by grant or contract under this sec11 tion, other than a fixed price contract awarded pur12 suant to competitive bidding procedures, shall keep 

13 such records as may be reasonably necessary to dis14 close fully the amount and the disposition by such 

15 recipient of such assistance, that total cost of the 

16 project or undertaking in connection with which 

17 such assistance is given or used, and the amount 

18 and nature of that portion of the cost of the projects 

19 or undertaking supplied by other sources, and such 

20 other records as will facilitate an effective audit. 

21 (6) ACCESS TO RECORDS.—The Corporation or 

22 any of its duly authorized representatives shall have 

23 access to any books, documents, papers, and records 

24 of any recipient of assistance for the purpose of au-
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•S 1961 IS 

1 diting and examining all funds received from the 

2 Corporation. 

3 (7) PUBLIC INSPECTION.—The Corporation 

4 shall maintain the information described in para5 graphs (4), (5), and (6) at its offices for public in6 spection and copying for at least 3 years, according 

7 to such reasonable guidelines as the Corporation 

8 may issue. This public file shall be updated regu9 larly.

10 SEC. 508. RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE TRUST. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Board of Directors of the 

12 Rail Infrastructure Finance Corporation shall establish 

13 the Rail Infrastructure Finance Trust (hereafter in this 

14 section referred to as the ‘‘Trust’’) as a trust domiciled 

15 in the State of Delaware before the issuance of bonds 

16 under section 505(b). The Trust shall, to the extent not 

17 inconsistent with this Act, be subject to the laws of the 

18 State of Delaware that are applicable to trusts. The Trust 

19 shall manage and invest the assets of the Rail Infrastruc20 ture Account described in section 507(c) that are trans21 ferred to it by the Board in the manner set forth in this 

22 section. 

23 (b) NOT A FEDERAL AGENCY OR INSTRUMEN24 TALITY.—The Trust is not a department, agency, or other 
88

•S 1961 IS 

1 instrumentality of the Government of the United States 

2 and shall not be subject to title 31, United States Code. 

3 (c) BOARD OF TRUSTEES.—

4 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Trust shall have a 

5 Board of Trustees. 

6 (2) COMPOSITION.—

7 (A) APPOINTMENT.—The Board of Trust8 ees shall consist of 5 members (hereafter in this 

9 title referred to as ‘‘Trustees’’) 3 of whom shall 

10 be appointed by a unanimous vote of the Board 

11 of Directors of the Rail Infrastructure Finance 

12 Corporation. 

13 (B) REPRESENTATION OF PARTICULAR IN14 TERESTS.—The 3 members of the Board of 

15 Trustees shall be selected as follows: 

16 (i) 1 from among persons who rep17 resent the interests of the States. 

18 (ii) 1 from among persons who rep19 resent the interests of freight and pas20 senger railroads. 

21 (iii) 1 from among persons who rep22 resent the interests of holders of qualified 

23 rail infrastructure bonds issued by the Rail 

24 Infrastructure Corporation. 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 (C) The 2 Trustees not appointed under 

2 subparagraph (A) shall be elected directly by 

3 holders of qualified rail infrastructure bonds 

4 issued by the Rail Infrastructure Corporation 

5 through procedures established by the Board of 

6 Trustees to represent the interests of such bond 

7 holders. The election shall be held, and both 

8 members elected under this subparagraph shall 

9 take office as Trustees, within 1 year after the 

10 initial issuance of bonds under section 505(b). 

11 (3) MEMBERS NOT UNITED STATES OFFI12 CIALS.—The members of the Board of Trustees may 

13 not be considered officers or employees of the Gov14 ernment of the United States. 

15 (4) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Trustees shall be 

16 appointed only from among persons who have experi17 ence and expertise in the management of financial 

18 investments. No member of the Board of Directors 

19 of the Rail Infrastructure Finance Corporation is el20 igible to be a Trustee. 

21 (5) TERMS.—Each member of the Board of 

22 Trustees shall be appointed for a 3-year term. Any 

23 member whose term has expired may serve until 

24 such member’s successor has taken office, or until 

25 the end of the calendar year in which such member’s 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 term has expired, whichever is earlier. A vacancy in 

2 the Board of Trustees shall not affect the powers of 

3 the Board of Trustees and shall be filled in the same 

4 manner as the member whose departure caused the 

5 vacancy. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy oc6 curring prior to the expiration of the term for which 

7 the member’s predecessor was appointed shall be ap8 pointed for the remainder of such term. 

9 (d) POWERS.—The Board of Trustees shall—

10 (1) establish investment policies, including 

11 guidelines, and retain independent advisers to assist 

12 in the formulation and adoption of the investment 

13 guidelines; 

14 (2) retain independent investment managers to 

15 invest the assets of the Trust in a manner consistent 

16 with such investment guidelines; 

17 (3) invest assets in the Trust, pursuant to the 

18 policies adopted in paragraph (1); 

19 (4) pay administrative expenses of the Trust 

20 from the assets in the Trust; 

21 (5) transfer money to the Rail Infrastructure 

22 Investment Account, upon request of the Board of 

23 Directors of the Rail Infrastructure Finance Cor24 poration, for bond repayment and administrative ex25 penses;
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•S 1961 IS 

1 (6) develop a formula, subject to approval by 

2 the Board of Directors before the issuance of bonds 

3 under section 505(b), for determining when there is 

4 a sufficient trust income stream for purposes of 

5 paragraph (7); and 

6 (7) transfer net spendable proceeds to the 

7 Board of Directors to be used for grants under title 

8 VI of this Act after determining that adequate trust 

9 funds are available, or that there is a trust income 

10 stream sufficient, to allow the Board of Trustees to 

11 meet its obligations under paragraphs (4) and (5). 

12 (e) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS AND FIDUCIARY

13 STANDARDS.—The following reporting requirements and 

14 fiduciary standards shall apply with respect to the Trust: 

15 (1) DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.—

16 The Trust and each member of the Board of Trust17 ees shall discharge the duties of the Trust and the 

18 duties of the Trustee, respectively (including the vot19 ing of proxies), with respect to the assets of the 

20 Trust solely in the interests of the Rail Infrastruc21 ture Finance Corporation and the programs funded 

22 under this title—

23 (A) for the exclusive purposes of—

24 (i) providing sufficient funds to repay 

25 qualified rail infrastructure bonds issued 
92

•S 1961 IS 

1 by the Rail Infrastructure Finance Cor2 poration, 

3 (ii) funding the administrative costs of 

4 the Rail Infrastructure Finance Corpora5 tion; 

6 (iii) defraying reasonable expenses of 

7 administering the Trust; and 

8 (iv) providing grants for rail capital 

9 projects under title VI of this Act; and 

10 (B) with the care, skill, prudence, and dili11 gence under the circumstances then prevailing 

12 that a prudent person acting in a like capacity 

13 and familiar with such matters would use in the 

14 conduct of an enterprise of a like character and 

15 with like aims; 

16 (C) by diversifying investments so as to 

17 minimize the risk of large losses and to avoid 

18 disproportionate influence over a particular in19 dustry or firm, unless under the circumstances 

20 it is clearly prudent not to do so; and 

21 (D) in accordance with Trust governing 

22 documents and instruments insofar as such doc23 uments and instruments are consistent with 

24 this title. 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 (2) PROHIBITIONS WITH RESPECT TO MEMBERS

2 OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.—A member of the 

3 Board of Trustees may not—

4 (A) deal with the assets of the Trust in the 

5 Trustee’s own interest or for the Trustee’s own 

6 account; 

7 (B) act in an individual or in any other ca8 pacity, in any transaction involving the assets 

9 of the Trust on behalf of a party (or represent 

10 a party) whose interests are adverse to the in11 terests of the Trust and the Rail Infrastructure 

12 Finance Corporation; or 

13 (C) receive any consideration for the 

14 Trustee’s own personal account from any party 

15 dealing with the assets of the Trust. 

16 (3) EXCULPATORY PROVISIONS AND INSUR17 ANCE.—Any provision in an agreement or instru18 ment that purports to relieve a Trustee from respon19 sibility or liability for any responsibility, obligation, 

20 or duty under this Act shall be void. Nothing in this 

21 paragraph shall be construed to preclude—

22 (A) the Trust from purchasing insurance 

23 for its Trustees or for itself to cover liability or 

24 losses occurring by reason of the act or omis25 sion of a Trustee, if such insurance permits re-
94

•S 1961 IS 

1 course by the insurer against the Trustee in the 

2 case of a breach of a fiduciary obligation by 

3 such Trustee; 

4 (B) a Trustee from purchasing insurance 

5 to cover liability under this section from and for 

6 his own account; or 

7 (C) an employer or an employee organiza8 tion from purchasing insurance to cover poten9 tial liability of 1 or more Trustees with respect 

10 to their fiduciary responsibilities, obligations, 

11 and duties under this section. 

12 (4) TRUSTEES, BONDS.—

13 (A) REQUIREMENT.—Each Trustee and 

14 every person who handles funds or other prop15 erty of the Trust (hereafter in this section re16 ferred to as ‘‘Trust official’’) shall be bonded. 

17 The bond shall provide protection to the Trust 

18 against loss by reason of acts of fraud or dis19 honesty on the part of any Trust official, di20 rectly or through the connivance of others. 

21 (B) AMOUNT.—The amount of a bond for 

22 a Trustee under this paragraph shall be fixed 

23 at the beginning of each fiscal year of the Trust 

24 by the Board of Directors of the Rail Infra25 structure Finance Corporation. The amount
95

•S 1961 IS 

1 may not be less than 10 percent of the amount 

2 of the funds administered by the Trust. 

3 (C) UNLAWFUL CONDUCT.—It shall be un4 lawful for—

5 (i) any Trust official to receive, han6 dle, disburse, or otherwise exercise custody 

7 or control of any of the funds or other 

8 property of the Trust without being bond9 ed as required by this subsection; 

10 (ii) any Trust official, or any other 

11 person having authority to direct the per12 formance of such functions, to permit such 

13 functions, or any of them, to be performed 

14 by any Trust official, with respect to whom 

15 the requirements of this subsection have 

16 not been met; and 

17 (iii) any person to procure any bond 

18 required by this subsection from any sur19 ety or other company or through any agent 

20 or broker in whose business operations 

21 such person has any control or significant 

22 financial interest, direct or indirect. 

23 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.—

24 (1) AUTHORITY.—The Board of Trustees shall 

25 have the authority to make rules to govern its oper-
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•S 1961 IS 

1 ations, employ professional staff, and contract with 

2 outside advisors (including the Rail Infrastructure 

3 Finance Corporation) to provide legal, accounting, 

4 investment advisory, or other services necessary for 

5 the proper administration of this section. In the case 

6 of a contract for investment advisory services, com7 pensation for such services may be provided on a 

8 fixed fee basis or on such other terms and conditions 

9 as are customary for such services. 

10 (2) QUORUM AND PROCEEDINGS.—Three mem11 bers of the Board of Trustees shall constitute a 

12 quorum for the Board to conduct business. Invest13 ment guidelines shall be adopted by a unanimous 

14 vote of the entire Board of Trustees. All other deci15 sions of the Board of Trustees shall be decided by 

16 a majority vote of the quorum present. All decisions 

17 of the Board of Trustees shall be entered upon the 

18 records of the Board of Trustees. 

19 (3) COMPENSATION OF TRUSTEES AND EM20 PLOYEES.—The salaries of the Trustees are subject 

21 to the limitations in section 502(h). 

22 (4) COMPENSATION ARRANGEMENTS.—The 

23 Board of Trustees may compensate investment advi24 sory service providers and employees of the Trust on 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 a fixed contract fee basis or on such other terms and 

2 conditions as are customary for such services. 

3 (5) FUNDING.—The expenses of the Trust and 

4 the Board of Trustees that are incurred under this 

5 section shall be paid from the Trust. 

6 (g) AUDIT AND REPORT.—

7 (1) REQUIREMENT FOR ANNUAL AUDIT.—The 

8 Trust shall annually engage an independent qualified 

9 public accountant to audit the financial statements 

10 of the Trust. 

11 (2) ANNUAL MANAGEMENT REPORT.—The 

12 Trust shall submit an annual management report to 

13 be included in the annual report of the Corporation 

14 required under section 506. The management report 

15 under this paragraph shall include the following 

16 matters: 

17 (A) A statement of financial position. 

18 (B) A statement of operations. 

19 (C) A statement of cash flows. 

20 (D) A statement on internal accounting 

21 and administrative control systems. 

22 (E) The report resulting from an audit of 

23 the financial statements of the Trust conducted 

24 under paragraph (1). 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 (F) Any other comments and information 

2 necessary to inform Congress about the oper3 ations and financial condition of the Trust. 

4 (h) ENFORCEMENT.—The Rail Infrastructure Fi5 nance Corporation may commence a civil action—

6 (1) to enjoin any act or practice by the Trust, 

7 its Board of Trustees, or its employees or agents 

8 that violates any provision of this title; or 

9 (2) to obtain other appropriate relief to redress 

10 such violations, or to enforce any provisions of this 

11 title. 

12 (i) EXEMPTION FROM TAX FOR RAIL INFRASTRUC13 TURE FINANCE TRUST.—Subsection (c) of section 501 of 

14 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding 

15 at the end the following new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(29) The Rail Infrastructure Finance Trust 

17 established under section 408 of the Arrive 21 Act.’’. 

18 TITLE VI—RAIL DEVELOPMENT 

19 GRANT PROGRAMS 

20 SEC. 601. INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL DEVELOPMENT 

21 GRANT PROGRAM. 

22 (a) GRANTS TO STATES.—The Board of Directors of 

23 the Rail Infrastructure Finance Corporation may, by 

24 grant, provide financial assistance to a State, a group of 

25 States, or the National Railroad Passenger Corporation 
99

•S 1961 IS 

1 for, or in connection with, 1 or more intercity passenger 

2 rail capital projects that—

3 (1) in accordance with section 22504(a)(5) of 

4 title 49, United States Code, are listed in a State 

5 rail plan approved for such State under chapter 225 

6 of such title; and 

7 (2) as determined by the Board, would pri8 marily benefit intercity passenger rail infrastructure 

9 or services or the development of passenger rail cor10 ridors (including high-speed rail corridors designated 

11 by the Secretary under section 104(d) of title 23, 

12 United States Code) and provide significant public 

13 benefits. 

14 (b) PURPOSES ELIGIBLE FOR GRANT FUNDING.—

15 The purposes for which grants may be made under sub16 section (a) for, or in connection with, an intercity pas17 senger rail capital project described in that subsection are 

18 as follows: 

19 (1) Planning, including activities described in 

20 section 26101(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, 

21 and environmental impact studies. 

22 (2) New rail line development, including right 

23 of way and infrastructure acquisition and construc24 tion of track and facilities.

25 (3) Track upgrades and restoration. 
100

•S 1961 IS 

1 (4) Highway-rail grade crossing improvement or 

2 elimination. 

3 (5) Track, infrastructure, and facility reloca4 tion. 

5 (6) Acquisition, financing, or refinancing of lo6 comotives and rolling stock. 

7 (7) Intermodal and station facilities. 

8 (8) Tunnel and bridge repair or replacement. 

9 (9) Communications and signaling improve10 ments. 

11 (10) Environmental impact mitigation. 

12 (11) Security improvements. 

13 (12) Supplemental funding for direct loans or 

14 loan guarantees made under title V of the Railroad 

15 Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 

16 (45 U.S.C. 821 et seq.). 

17 (13) Payment of credit risk premiums, to lower 

18 rates of interest, or to provide for a holiday on prin19 cipal payments on loan or financing directly associ20 ated with rail capital projects described in para21 graphs (1) through (11). 

22 (c) PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Board, in 

23 selecting the recipients of financial assistance to be pro24 vided under subsection (a), shall—
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•S 1961 IS 

1 (1) require that each proposed project meet all 

2 safety requirements that are applicable to the 

3 project under law, and give a preference to any 

4 project determined by the Board as having provided 

5 for particularly high levels of safety; 

6 (2) give preference to projects with high levels 

7 of estimated ridership, increased ontime perform8 ance, reduced trip time, additional service frequency, 

9 or other significant service enhancements as meas10 ured against minimum standards developed under 

11 section 415 of this Act; 

12 (3) encourage intermodal connectivity through 

13 projects that provide direct connections between 

14 train stations, airports, bus terminals, subway sta15 tions, ferry ports, and other modes of transpor16 tation; 

17 (4) ensure a general balance across geographic 

18 regions of the United States in providing such as19 sistance and avoid a concentration of a dispropor20 tionate amount of such financial assistance in a sin21 gle project, State, or region of the country; 

22 (5) encourage projects that also improve freight 

23 or commuter rail operations; 

24 (6) ensure that each project is compatible with, 

25 and is operated in conformance with—
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•S 1961 IS 

1 (A) plans developed pursuant to the re2 quirements of section 135 of title 23, United 

3 States Code; 

4 (B) State rail plans under chapter 225 of 

5 title 49, United States Code; and 

6 (C) the national rail plan (if it is avail7 able); and 

8 (7) favor the following kinds of projects: 

9 (A) Projects that are expected to have a 

10 significant favorable impact on air or highway 

11 traffic congestion, capacity, or safety. 

12 (B) Projects that have significant environ13 mental benefits. 

14 (C) Projects that are—

15 (i) at a stage of preparation that all 

16 pre-commencement compliance with envi17 ronmental protection requirements has al18 ready been completed; and 

19 (ii) ready to be commenced. 

20 (D) Projects with positive economic and 

21 employment impacts. 

22 (E) Projects that encourage the use of 

23 positive train control technologies. 

24 (F) Projects that have commitments of 

25 funding from non-Federal Government sources 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 in a total amount that exceeds the minimum 

2 amount of the non-Federal contribution re3 quired for the project. 

4 (G) Projects that involve donated property 

5 interests or services. 

6 (H) Projects that enhance national secu7 rity. 

8 (d) AMTRAK ELIGIBILITY.—To receive a grant under 

9 this section, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation 

10 may enter into a cooperative agreement with 1 or more 

11 States to carry out 1 or more projects on an approved 

12 State rail plan’s ranked list of priority freight and pas13 senger rail capital projects developed under section 

14 22504(a)(5) of title 49, United States Code, or may sub15 mit an independent application for a grant for any eligible 

16 project under this section. Any such independent grant re17 quest shall be subject to the same selection criteria as 

18 apply under subsection (b) to projects of States, except 

19 the criteria set forth in subsection (a)(1) and subpara20 graphs (A) and (B) of subsection (b)(12). 

21 (e) LIMITATIONS.—

22 (1) 2-YEAR AVAILABILITY.—If any amount pro23 vided as a grant to a State or the National Railroad 

24 Passenger Corporation under this section is not obli25 gated or expended for the purposes described in sub-
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1 section (a) or (b) within 2 years after the date on 

2 which the State or Corporation received the grant, 

3 such sums shall be returned to the Board for other 

4 intercity passenger rail development projects under 

5 this section at the discretion of the Board. 

6 (2) SINGLE PROJECT AMOUNT.—In awarding 

7 grants to States or the National Railroad Passenger 

8 Corporation for eligible projects under this section, 

9 the Board shall limit the amount of any grant made 

10 for a particular project in a fiscal year to not more 

11 than 30 percent of the total amount of the funds 

12 available for grants under this section for that fiscal 

13 year. 

14 (3) AMTRAK.—The total amount of grants 

15 made under this section solely to the National Rail16 road Passenger Corporation in a fiscal year may not 

17 exceed 50 percent of the total amount available 

18 under this section for all grants in that fiscal year. 

19 (f) FUNDING.—Amounts reserved for grants for a fis20 cal year under section 606(b)(1) shall be available for 

21 grants under this section. 

22 (g) PUBLIC BENEFIT.—The term ‘‘public benefit’’ 

23 means a benefit accrued to the public in the form of en24 hanced mobility of people or goods, environmental protec25 tion or enhancement, congestion mitigation, enhanced
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1 trade and economic development, improved air quality or 

2 land use, more efficient energy use, enhanced public safety 

3 or security, reduction of public expenditures due to im4 proved transportation efficiency or infrastructure preser5 vation, and any other positive community effects as de6 fined by the Secretary. 

7 SEC. 602. FREIGHT RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT 

8 GRANT PROGRAM. 

9 (a) GRANTS TO STATES.—The Board of Directors of 

10 the Rail Infrastructure Finance Corporation shall, by 

11 grant, provide financial assistance to a State or group of 

12 States—

13 (1) for, or in connection with, 1 or more freight 

14 rail capital projects that—

15 (A) in accordance with section 22504(a)(5) 

16 of title 49, United States Code, are listed in a 

17 State rail plan approved for such State under 

18 chapter 225 of such title; and 

19 (B) as determined by the Board, would 

20 primarily benefit freight rail transportation in21 frastructure or services, but also would provide 

22 significant public benefits; or 

23 (2) for the payment of staff expenses associated 

24 with the management of State rail programs and the 
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1 development and updating of State rail plans under 

2 chapter 225 of title 49, United States Code. 

3 (b) PURPOSES ELIGIBLE FOR GRANT FUNDING.—

4 The purposes for which grants may be made under sub5 section (a)(1) for, or in connection with, a freight rail cap6 ital project are as follows: 

7 (1) Planning, including activities described in 

8 section 26101(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, 

9 and environmental impact studies. 

10 (2) New rail line development, including infra11 structure acquisition and construction of track and 

12 facilities. 

13 (3) Track upgrades and restoration. 

14 (4) Highway-rail grade crossing improvement or 

15 elimination. 

16 (5) Track, infrastructure, and facility reloca17 tion. 

18 (6) Intermodal facilities. 

19 (7) Tunnel and bridge repair or replacement. 

20 (8) Communications and signaling improve21 ments. 

22 (9) Environmental impact mitigation. 

23 (10) Security improvements. 

24 (11) Supplemental funding for direct loans or 

25 loan guarantees made under title V of the Railroad 
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1 Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 

2 (45 U.S.C. 821 et seq.) for projects described in the 

3 last sentence of section 502(d) of that Act (45 

4 U.S.C. 822(d)). 

5 (12) Payment of credit risk premiums, to lower 

6 rates of interest, or to provide for a holiday on prin7 cipal payments on loan or financing directly associ8 ated with capital projects described in paragraphs 

9 (1) through (9). 

10 (c) STATE GRANT FUNDING FORMULA.—Of the total 

11 amount reserved for a grant program under section 

12 606(b)(2) for a fiscal year, there shall be reserved for each 

13 State (to fund grants made to such State under this sec14 tion) the amount determined for such State in accordance 

15 with a formula prescribed by the Board to weigh equally 

16 for each State—

17 (1) the number of rail miles in active use in the 

18 State; 

19 (2) the number of rail cars loaded in the State; 

20 (3) the number of rail cars unloaded in the 

21 State; and 

22 (4) the number of railroad and public road 

23 grade crossings in the State. 

24 (d) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY FOR GRANTS.—
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1 (1) THREE-YEAR RESERVATION.—The amount 

2 reserved for grant to a State under section (c) in a 

3 fiscal year shall be available for grant to such State 

4 in such fiscal year and the 2 successive fiscal years. 

5 (2) CANCELLATION AT END OF PERIOD.—At 

6 the end of the third of the 3 successive fiscal years, 

7 the reservation of any part of the amount for a 

8 State that has not been awarded in a grant to such 

9 State shall be canceled, and the amount of the can10 celed reservation—

11 (A) shall be merged with the funds re12 served for the grant program under section 

13 606(b)(2) for the next fiscal year; and 

14 (B) shall be reserved for each State in ac15 cordance with the formula provided under this 

16 section. 

17 (e) TWO-YEAR AVAILABILITY.—If any amount pro18 vided as a grant to a State under this section is not obli19 gated or expended for the purposes described in subsection 

20 (a) or (b) within 2 years after the date on which the State 

21 received the grant, such sums shall be returned to the 

22 Board for other freight rail capital projects under this sec23 tion at the discretion of the Board. 
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1 SEC. 603. HIGH PRIORITY PROJECTS GRANT PROGRAM. 

2 (a) GRANTS TO STATES.—The Board of Directors of 

3 the Rail Infrastructure Finance Corporation may, by 

4 grant, provide financial assistance to a State, a group of 

5 States, or the National Railroad Passenger Corporation 

6 for intercity passenger rail and freight rail infrastructure 

7 development projects that are designated as high priority 

8 projects under section 22505 of title 49, United States 

9 Code. 

10 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes for which a grant may 

11 be made under this section are—

12 (1) in the case of an intercity passenger rail 

13 corridor development project, the same purposes as 

14 are provided under section 601; and 

15 (2) in the case of a freight rail infrastructure 

16 development project, the same purposes as are pro17 vided under section 602. 

18 (c) PREFERRED PROJECTS.—In selecting the 

19 projects to receive financial assistance under this section, 

20 the Board shall give preference to a project that—

21 (1) provides for use of positive train control 

22 technologies; 

23 (2) provides for particularly high levels of safe24 ty;
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1 (3) increases intermodal connectivity by pro2 viding or improving direct connections between rail 

3 facilities and other modes of transportation; 

4 (4) assists the Board—

5 (A) to achieve a general balance across ge6 ographic regions of the United States in the 

7 awarding of grants under this section; and 

8 (B) to avoid a concentration of a dis9 proportionate amount of such financial assist10 ance in a single project, State, or region of the 

11 country; 

12 (5) has a significant favorable impact on high13 way, aviation, or maritime capacity, congestion, or 

14 safety; 

15 (6) improves the national intercity passenger 

16 rail system through higher levels of estimated rider17 ship, reduced trip time, increased ontime perform18 ance, additional service frequency, or other signifi19 cant service enhancements as measured against min20 imum standards developed under section 415 of this 

21 Act; 

22 (7) has positive economic and employment im23 pacts; 

24 (8) has significant environmental benefits; 

25 (9) is—
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1 (A) at the stage of preparation that all 

2 pre-commencement compliance with environ3 mental protection requirements has been com4 pleted; and 

5 (B) ready to be commenced; 

6 (10) has received financial commitments and 

7 other support from non-Federal entities such as 

8 States, local governments, and private entities; 

9 (11) has commitments of funding from non10 Federal Government sources in a total amount that 

11 exceeds the minimum amount of the non-Federal 

12 contribution required; and 

13 (12) involves donated property interests or serv14 ices. 

15 (d) AMTRAK ELIGIBILITY.—To receive a grant under 

16 this section, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation 

17 may submit an independent application or may enter into 

18 a cooperative agreement with 1 or more States to carry 

19 out 1 or more high priority projects designated under sec20 tion 22506 of title 49, United States Code. Any such inde21 pendent grant request shall be subject to the same condi22 tions as apply under this section to projects of States. 

23 (e) LIMITATIONS.—

24 (1) TWO-YEAR AVAILABILITY.—If any amount 

25 provided as a grant to a State or the National Rail-
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1 road Passenger Corporation under this section is not 

2 obligated or expended for the purposes for which the 

3 grant is made within 2 years after the date on which 

4 the State or the National Railroad Passenger Cor5 poration received the grant, such sums shall be re6 turned to the Board for other high priority projects 

7 under this section at the discretion of the Board. 

8 (2) SINGLE PROJECT AMOUNT.—In awarding 

9 grants to States for eligible projects under this sec10 tion, the Board shall limit the amount of any grant 

11 made for a particular project in a fiscal year to not 

12 more than 30 percent of the total amount of the 

13 funds available for grants under this section for that 

14 fiscal year. 

15 (f) FUNDING.—Amounts reserved for grants for a fis16 cal year under section 606(b)(3) shall be available for 

17 grants under this section. 

18 SEC. 604. GRANT PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITA19 TIONS. 

20 (a) AUTHORIZED USES.—The proceeds of a grant 

21 made for a project under this title may be used to defray 

22 the costs of the project or to reimburse the recipient for 

23 costs of the project paid by the recipient. 

24 (b) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION.—The proceeds of 

25 a grant under this title may be released upon receipt by 
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1 the Board of Directors of the Rail Infrastructure Finance 

2 Corporation of cash payment by a non-Federal Govern3 ment source, or 1 or more such sources jointly, in an 

4 amount not less than the amount equal to 20 percent of 

5 the amount of the grant disbursed. The cash payment may 

6 not be derived, directly or indirectly, from Federal funds. 

7 Amounts received under this subsection shall be credited 

8 to the Rail Infrastructure Investment Account established 

9 under section 507(c). 

10 (c) PREFERENCE INVOLVING DONATED PROPERTY

11 INTERESTS AND SERVICES.—In selecting projects for 

12 grant funding under this title, the Board may give pref13 erence to projects that involve donated right-of-way, prop14 erty, or in-kind services by a public sector or private sector 

15 entity. The value of a donation under this subsection may 

16 not be counted toward satisfaction of the requirement in 

17 subsection (b). 

18 (d) FLEXIBILITY.—Notwithstanding any other provi19 sion of this title, amounts made available under section 

20 506 may be combined and used for projects that signifi21 cantly benefit either freight rail service, intercity pas22 senger rail service, or both. 

23 (e) SUBALLOCATION; PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNER24 SHIPS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A metropolitan planning or2 ganization, State transportation department, or 

3 other project sponsor may enter into an agreement 

4 with any public, private, or nonprofit entity to coop5 eratively implement any project funded with a grant 

6 under this title. 

7 (2) FORMS OF PARTICIPATION.—Participation 

8 by an entity under paragraph (1) may consist of—

9 (A) ownership or operation of any land, fa10 cility, locomotive, rail car, vehicle, or other 

11 physical asset associated with the project; 

12 (B) cost-sharing of any project expense; 

13 (C) carrying out administration, construc14 tion management, project management, project 

15 operation, or any other management or oper16 ational duty associated with the project; and 

17 (D) any other form of participation ap18 proved by the Board. 

19 (3) SUB-ALLOCATION.—A State may allocate 

20 funds under this section to any entity described in 

21 paragraph (1). 

22 (f) SPECIAL TRANSPORTATION CIRCUMSTANCES.—In 

23 carrying out this section, the Board shall allocate an ap24 propriate portion of the amounts available under section 

25 601 or 602 to provide appropriate transportation-related
115

•S 1961 IS 

1 assistance in any State in which the rail transportation 

2 system—

3 ‘‘(1) is not physically connected to rail systems 

4 in the continental United States; and 

5 ‘‘(2) may not otherwise qualify for assistance 

6 under section 601 or 602 due to the constraints im7 posed on the railway infrastructure in that State due 

8 to the unique characteristics of the geography of 

9 that State or other relevant considerations, as deter10 mined by the Board. 

11 (g) APPLICATIONS.—To seek a grant under this title, 

12 a State or, in the case of a grant under section 601 or 

13 603, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation shall 

14 submit an application for the grant to the Board. The ap15 plication shall be submitted at such time and contain such 

16 information as the Board requires. 

17 (h) PROCEDURES FOR GRANT AWARD.—The Board 

18 shall prescribe procedures and schedules for the awarding 

19 of grants under this title, including application and quali20 fication procedures and a record of decision on applicant 

21 eligibility. The procedures shall include the execution of 

22 a grant agreement between the applicant and the Board. 

23 The Board shall issue a final rule establishing the proce24 dures not later than 90 days after the date on which a 
116

•S 1961 IS 

1 sufficient number of the members of Board to constitute 

2 a quorum has taken office. 

3 (i) DOMESTIC BUYING PREFERENCE.—

4 (1) REQUIREMENT.—

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out a 

6 project funded in whole or in part with a grant 

7 under this title, the grant recipient shall pur8 chase only— 

9 (i) unmanufactured articles, material, 

10 and supplies mined or produced in the 

11 United States; or 

12 (ii) manufactured articles, material, 

13 and supplies manufactured in the United 

14 States substantially from articles, material, 

15 and supplies mined, produced, or manufac16 tured in the United States. 

17 (B) DE MINIMIS AMOUNT.—Subparagraph 

18 (1) applies only to a purchase in an total 

19 amount that is not less than $1,000,000. 

20 (2) EXEMPTIONS.—On application of a recipi21 ent, the Board may exempt a recipient from the re22 quirements of this subsection if the Board decides 

23 that, for particular articles, material, or supplies— 

24 (A) such requirements are inconsistent 

25 with the public interest; 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 (B) the cost of imposing the requirements 

2 is unreasonable; or 

3 (C) the articles, material, or supplies, or 

4 the articles, material, or supplies from which 

5 they are manufactured, are not mined, pro6 duced, or manufactured in the United States in 

7 sufficient and reasonably available commercial 

8 quantities and are not of a satisfactory quality. 

9 (3) UNITED STATES DEFINED.—In this sub10 section, the term ‘‘the United States’’ means the 

11 States, territories, and possessions of the United 

12 States and the District of Columbia. 

13 SEC. 605. STANDARDS AND CONDITIONS. 

14 (a) OPERATORS DEEMED RAIL CARRIERS AND EM15 PLOYERS FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.—A person that con16 ducts rail operations over rail infrastructure constructed 

17 or improved with funding provided in whole or in part in 

18 a grant made under this title—

19 (1) shall be considered an employer for pur20 poses of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 

21 U.S.C. 231 et seq.); and 

22 (2) shall be considered a carrier for purposes of 

23 the Railway Labor Act (43 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). 

24 (b) GRANT CONDITIONS.—The Board of Directors of 

25 the Rail Infrastructure Finance Corporation shall require 
118

•S 1961 IS 

1 as a condition of making any grant under this title that 

2 includes the improvement or use of rights-of-way owned 

3 by a railroad that—

4 (1) a written agreement exist between the appli5 cant and the railroad regarding such use and owner6 ship, including—

7 (A) any compensation for such use; 

8 (B) assurances regarding the adequacy of 

9 infrastructure capacity to accommodate both 

10 existing and future freight and passenger oper11 ations; and 

12 (C) an assurance by the railroad that col13 lective bargaining agreements with the rail14 road’s employees (including terms regulating 

15 the contracting of work) will remain in full 

16 force and effect according to their terms for 

17 work performed by the railroad on the railroad 

18 transportation corridor; and 

19 (2) the applicant agrees to comply with—

20 (A) the standards of section 24312 of title 

21 49, United States Code, as such section was in 

22 effect on September 1, 2003, with respect to 

23 the project in the same manner that the Na24 tional Railroad Passenger Corporation is re25 quired to comply with those standards for con-
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•S 1961 IS 

1 struction work financed under an agreement 

2 made under section 24308(a) of that title; and 

3 (B) the protective arrangements estab4 lished under section 504 of the Railroad Revi5 talization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 

6 (45 U.S.C. 836) with respect to employees af7 fected by actions taken in connection with the 

8 project to be financed in whole or in part by the 

9 Rail Infrastructure Finance Corporation. 

10 (c) REPLACEMENT OF EXISTING INTERCITY PAS11 SENGER RAIL SERVICE.—

12 (1) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT FOR

13 INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL PROJECTS.—Any entity 

14 providing intercity passenger railroad transportation 

15 that begins operations after the date of enactment of 

16 this Act on a project funded in whole or in part by 

17 grants made under this title and replaces intercity 

18 rail passenger service that was provided by another 

19 entity as of such date shall enter into an agreement 

20 with the authorized bargaining agent or agents for 

21 employees of the predecessor provider that—

22 (A) gives each qualified employee of the 

23 predecessor provider priority in hiring according 

24 to the employee’s seniority on the predecessor 

25 provider for each position with the replacing en-
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•S 1961 IS 

1 tity that is in the employee’s craft or class and 

2 is available within 3 years after the termination 

3 of the service being replaced; 

4 (B) establishes a procedure for notifying 

5 such an employee of such positions; 

6 (C) establishes a procedure for such an 

7 employee to apply for such positions; and 

8 (D) establishes rates of pay, rules, and 

9 working conditions. 

10 (2) IMMEDIATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE.—

11 (A) NEGOTIATIONS.—If the replacement of 

12 preexisting intercity rail passenger service oc13 curs concurrent with or within a reasonable 

14 time before the commencement of the replacing 

15 entity’s rail passenger service, the replacing en16 tity shall give written notice of its plan to re17 place existing rail passenger service to the au18 thorized collective bargaining agent or agents 

19 for the employees of the predecessor provider at 

20 least 90 days before the date on which it plans 

21 to commence service. Within 5 days after the 

22 date of receipt of such written notice, negotia23 tions between the replacing entity and the col24 lective bargaining agent or agents for the em25 ployees of the predecessor provider shall com-
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•S 1961 IS 

1 mence for the purpose of reaching agreement 

2 with respect to all matters set forth in subpara3 graphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1). The 

4 negotiations shall continue for 30 days or until 

5 an agreement is reached, whichever is sooner. If 

6 at the end of 30 days the parties have not en7 tered into an agreement with respect to all such 

8 matters, the unresolved issues shall be sub9 mitted for arbitration in accordance with the 

10 procedure set forth in subparagraph (B). 

11 (B) ARBITRATION.—If an agreement has 

12 not been entered into with respect to all mat13 ters set forth in subparagraphs (A) through (D) 

14 of paragraph (1) as described in subparagraph 

15 (A) of this paragraph, the parties shall select 

16 an arbitrator. If the parties are unable to agree 

17 upon the selection of such arbitrator within 5 

18 days, either or both parties shall notify the Na19 tional Mediation Board, which shall provide a 

20 list of seven arbitrators with experience in arbi21 trating rail labor protection disputes. Within 5 

22 days after such notification, the parties shall al23 ternately strike names from the list until only 

24 1 name remains, and that person shall serve as 

25 the neutral arbitrator. Within 45 days after se-
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•S 1961 IS 

1 lection of the arbitrator, the arbitrator shall 

2 conduct a hearing on the dispute and shall 

3 render a decision with respect to the unresolved 

4 issues among the matters set forth in subpara5 graphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1). This 

6 decision shall be final, binding, and conclusive 

7 upon the parties. The salary and expenses of 

8 the arbitrator shall be borne equally by the par9 ties; all other expenses shall be paid by the 

10 party incurring them. 

11 (3) SERVICE COMMENCEMENT.—A replacing 

12 entity under this subsection shall commence service 

13 only after an agreement is entered into with respect 

14 to the matters set forth in subparagraphs (A) 

15 through (D) of paragraph (1) or the decision of the 

16 arbitrator has been rendered. 

17 (4) SUBSEQUENT REPLACEMENT OF SERV18 ICE.—If the replacement of existing rail passenger 

19 service takes place within 3 years after the replacing 

20 entity commences intercity passenger rail service, 

21 the replacing entity and the collective bargaining 

22 agent or agents for the employees of the predecessor 

23 provider shall enter into an agreement with respect 

24 to the matters set forth in subparagraphs (A) 

25 through (D) of paragraph (1). If the parties have 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 not entered into an agreement with respect to all 

2 such matters within 60 days after the date on which 

3 the replacing entity replaces the predecessor pro4 vider, the parties shall select an arbitrator using the 

5 procedures set forth in paragraph (2)(B), who shall, 

6 within 20 days after the commencement of the arbi7 tration, conduct a hearing and decide all unresolved 

8 issues. This decision shall be final, binding, and con9 clusive upon the parties. 

10 (d) INAPPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN RAIL OPER11 ATIONS.—Nothing in this section applies to—

12 (1) commuter rail passenger transportation (as 

13 defined in section 24102(4) of title 49, United 

14 States Code) operations of a State or local govern15 ment authority (as those terms are defined in sec16 tion 5302(11) and (6), respectively, of that title) eli17 gible to receive financial assistance under section 

18 5307 of that title, or to its contractor performing 

19 services in connection with commuter rail passenger 

20 operations (as so defined); or 

21 (2) the Alaska Railroad or its contractors. 

22 (3) The National Railroad Passenger Corpora23 tion’s access rights to railroad rights of way and fa24 cilities under current law for projects funded under 
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•S 1961 IS 

1 this title where train operating speeds do not exceed 

2 79 miles per hour. 

3 SEC. 606. GRANT PROGRAM FUNDING. 

4 (a) ANNUAL RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—Each fiscal 

5 year, the Board of directors of the Rail Infrastructure Fi6 nance Corporation Board shall reserve for grants under 

7 each of the grant programs authorized under sections 501, 

8 502, and 503 the amount determined by multiplying the 

9 percent applicable to the program under subsection (b) 

10 times the amount of the net spendable proceeds (as de11 fined under section 507(c)(7)) that is available for such 

12 fiscal year. 

13 (b) APPLICABLE PERCENT.—The percent applicable 

14 to a grant program under subsection (a) is as follows: 

15 (1) INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL DEVELOPMENT

16 GRANT PROGRAM.—For the intercity passenger rail 

17 development grant program under section 601, 40 

18 percent. 

19 (2) FREIGHT INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

20 GRANT PROGRAM.—For the freight infrastructure 

21 development grant program under section 602, 40 

22 percent. 

23 (4) HIGH PRIORITY PROJECTS GRANT PRO24 GRAM.—For the high priority projects grant pro25 gram under section 603, 20 percent. 
125

•S 1961 IS 

1 TITLE VII—AUTHORIZATION OF 

2 APPROPRIATIONS 

3 SEC. 701. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 

5 for fiscal year 2004 for the establishment and payment 

6 of initial administrative costs of the Rail Infrastructure 

7 Finance Corporation, including the Rail Infrastructure Fi8 nance Trust.

Æ