I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1919

To establish a program to facilitate development of high-speed rail

transportation in the United States, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 29, 1993

Mr. DINGELL (for himself, Mr. SWIFT, Ms. SCHENK, Mr. MOORHEAD, Mr.

UPTON, Mrs. COLLINS of Illinois, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. ROWLAND, Mr. MANTON, Mr. CARR, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. FOGLIETTA, Mrs. UNSOELD, and Ms.

CANTWELL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

A BILL

To establish a program to facilitate development of highspeed rail transportation in the United States, and for

other purposes.

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

3 That this Act may be cited as the ‘‘High-Speed Rail Devel4 opment Act of 1993’’.

5 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

6 The Congress finds that—

7 (1) high-speed rail passenger transportation

8 (high-speed rail) may offer a safe and efficient alter-
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1 native to aviation and motor vehicle travel for inter2 city transportation in certain corridors linking major

3 metropolitan areas in the United States;

4 (2) high-speed rail may have environmental ad5 vantages over certain other forms of intercity trans6 portation;

7 (3) Amtrak’s Metroliner service between Wash8 ington, District of Columbia, and New York, New

9 York, the United States’ premier high-speed rail

10 service, has shown that Americans will use high11 speed rail when that transportation option is avail12 able;

13 (4) high-speed rail may help relieve congestion

14 experienced in densely travelled corridors;

15 (5) high-speed rail should be developed in those

16 intercity corridors where such service is appropriate;

17 (6) new high-speed rail service should not re18 ceive Federal subsidies for operating and mainte19 nance expenses;

20 (7) the States and localities should take the

21 prime responsibility for the implementation of high22 speed rail service;

23 (8) the private sector should participate in

24 funding the development of meritorious high-speed

25 rail systems;
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1 (9) in some intercity corridors, Federal finan2 cial capital assistance is required to supplement the

3 financial commitments of State and local govern4 ments and the private sector to ensure the develop5 ment of the infrastructure required by meritorious

6 high-speed rail systems;

7 (10) new technologies can facilitate the develop8 ment of high-speed rail in the United States;

9 (11) the development of these technologies can

10 expand the competitiveness of United States indus11 try in the development of high-speed rail systems in

12 this country and overseas; and

13 (12) Federal assistance is required for research,

14 development and demonstration of these tech15 nologies.

16 SEC. 2. NATIONAL HIGH-SPEED RAIL ASSISTANCE PRO17 GRAM.

18 The Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform

19 Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) is amended by adding

20 at the end thereof the following:

21 ‘‘TITLE X HIGH-SPEED RAIL ASSISTANCE

22 ‘‘DESIGNATION OF CORRIDORS

23 ‘‘SEC. 1001. (a) The Secretary is authorized to des24 ignate as a high-speed rail corridor (HSR Corridor) any

25 corridor that serves two or more major metropolitan areas
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1 in the United States where the Secretary determines that

2 high-speed rail offers the potential for cost-effective inter3 city public transportation as part of the Nation’s transpor4 tation system.

5 ‘‘(b) Designations made by the Secretary under sub6 section (a) of this section shall be in response to a petition

7 from the governor(s) of a State or States that substan8 tially encompass the proposed corridor.

9 ‘‘(c) Any petition submitted pursuant to subsection

10 (b) of this section shall include such information as the

11 Secretary determines to be necessary to evaluate the mer12 its of that corridor, including designation of a public agen13 cy to be responsible for coordination of activities under

14 this title and legally able to enter into financial assistance

15 agreements under sections 1002(c) and 1003(a) of this

16 title.

17 ‘‘(d) A decision by the Secretary to designate a HSR

18 Corridor under subsection (a) of this section shall be based

19 on such criteria as the Secretary deems appropriate, in20 cluding—

21 ‘‘(1) the integration of the HSR Corridor into

22 Statewide and metropolitan area transportation

23 planning undertaken pursuant to sections 134 and

24 135 of title 23, United States Code;
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1 ‘‘(2) the interconnection of the proposed high2 speed rail service with other parts of the Nation’s

3 transportation system, including the relationship of

4 the proposed service to multimodal terminals;

5 ‘‘(3) the support and participation in the pro6 posed development of the HSR Corridor of the cities

7 which it would serve;

8 ‘‘(4) the effect of the proposed high-speed rail

9 service on the congestion of other modes of transpor10 tation;

11 ‘‘(5) the financial commitments of the State

12 and local governments and the private sector to de13 velopment of high-speed rail service;

14 ‘‘(6) the effect of the proposed service on State

15 and local governments’ efforts to attain compliance

16 with the Clean Air Act;

17 ‘‘(7) the anticipated level of ridership;

18 ‘‘(8) the estimated capital cost of the proposed

19 system;

20 ‘‘(9) the ability of the projected revenues of the

21 proposed service, including any financial commit22 ments of the State or local governments, to cover

23 capital costs and operating and maintenance ex24 penses;
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1 ‘‘(10) the support of any owners and operators

2 of existing rail facilities proposed for improvement in

3 developing high-speed rail service;

4 ‘‘(11) if a State proposes to develop the HSR

5 Corridor through the award of a franchise to con6 struct and operate a proposed high-speed rail sys7 tem, the award and active implementation of such a

8 franchise and the involvement and support of the

9 holders of that franchise; and

10 ‘‘(12) the effect of the proposed high-speed rail

11 service on other transportation services in operation

12 or under development.

13 ‘‘(e) The Secretary shall, upon application of the

14 governor(s) of a State or States, designate as a HSR Cor15 ridor any intercity rail corridor designated as a high-speed

16 rail corridor by the Secretary under section 1010 of the

17 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991

18 (23 U.S.C. 104(d)(2)).

19 ‘‘(f) The Secretary shall designate as a HSR Corridor

20 any intercity rail corridor, other than the mainline of the

21 corridor improved under title VII of this Act, that includes

22 a significant segment where regularly scheduled rail pas23 senger service operates at speeds in excess of one hundred

24 miles per hour on the date of enactment of the High-Speed

25 Rail Development Act of 1993, upon application of the
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1 governor(s) of the State or States in which such corridor

2 is located.

3 ‘‘CORRIDOR MASTER PLANS

4 ‘‘SEC. 1002. (a) A public agency designated under

5 subsection 1001(c) of this title and seeking financial as6 sistance for development of a HSR Corridor designated

7 by the Secretary and eligible for funding under section

8 1003 of this title shall prepare and submit to the Sec9 retary a corridor master plan for that corridor.

10 ‘‘(b) The corridor master plan prepared under sub11 section (a) of this section shall identify a coordinated pro12 gram of improvements to permit the establishment of

13 high-speed rail service in the corridor, including those im14 provements necessary to achieve high-speed service and

15 not eligible for financial assistance under section 1003(c)

16 of this title. Such plan shall include—

17 ‘‘(1) identification of how the proposed high18 speed rail service relates to the statewide and metro19 politan area transportation plans for the affected

20 State(s) and metropolitan areas;

21 ‘‘(2) identification of the specific elements that

22 comprise the program to achieve the high-speed

23 service, including their estimated costs, schedules,

24 timing and relationship with other projects and how

25 these elements fit into a plan to achieve high-speed

26 service;
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1 ‘‘(3) identification of the transportation benefits

2 that would be derived from each element including

3 reductions in trip times and increases in average

4 speeds and top speeds;

5 ‘‘(4) identification of specific improvements that

6 comprise each element, the eligibility of such im7 provements for financial assistance under section

8 1003(c) of this title, and a proposed allocation of fi9 nancial responsibility for specific improvements, in10 cluding proposed sources of funding;

11 ‘‘(5) identification of anticipated levels of rider12 ship and projections of revenues and expenses asso13 ciated with the proposed high-speed rail service when

14 completed and for each major increment undertaken

15 to achieve high-speed service including estimates of

16 any operating subsidies that would be required and

17 the sources of such subsidies;

18 ‘‘(6) an operating plan for the project, as de19 signed, identifying the proposed schedule and fre20 quency of the proposed high-speed service and show21 ing the coordination of the service with any other

22 rail operations on the corridor; and

23 ‘‘(7) such other information as may be required

24 by the Secretary.
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1 ‘‘(c) The Secretary is authorized to enter into an

2 agreement with the public agency preparing a corridor

3 master plan to fund up to 80 percent of the eligible costs

4 associated with preparation of such plan; Provided, how5 ever, That at least 20 per centum of such eligible costs

6 shall be funded with State or local funds. Eligible costs

7 associated with preparation of a corridor master plan shall

8 include design, environmental and route selection analysis,

9 preliminary engineering necessary to support such analy10 ses, and any other analyses that the Secretary determines

11 are required to prepare such a plan.

12 ‘‘(e) An action by the Secretary under this section

13 shall not constitute a commitment to fund any element

14 or improvement contained in such corridor master plan.

15 ‘‘FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR HIGH-SPEED RAIL

16 CORRIDORS

17 ‘‘SEC. 1003. (a) The Secretary may enter into a fi18 nancial assistance agreement with a public agency des19 ignated under subsection 1001(c) of this title to fund eligi20 ble improvements to the infrastructure of a HSR Corridor

21 designated under section 1001(a) of this title for the pur22 pose of facilitating the development of high-speed rail serv23 ice; Provided however, That no financial assistance shall

24 be provided under this title for improvements to the main

25 line of a corridor improved under title VII of this Act,

26 or for improvements to a corridor in a State where the
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1 State by law, regulation, or order prohibits the use of

2 State and/or local funds for the construction and/or oper3 ation of such improvements.

4 ‘‘(b) The Secretary shall establish appropriate terms,

5 conditions, and procedures for the provision of financial

6 assistance under this section.

7 ‘‘(c) Improvements eligible for financial assistance

8 under subsection (a) of this section shall be those improve9 ments to the infrastructure of an HSR Corridor, other

10 than the acquisition of rolling stock, that are necessary

11 to facilitate the development of high-speed service and that

12 are not eligible for funding under other Federal transpor13 tation programs, and which include—

14 ‘‘(1) final engineering and design;

15 ‘‘(2) site specific environmental analyses;

16 ‘‘(3) acquisition of right-of-way and related

17 property;

18 ‘‘(4) acquisition, construction, rehabilitation or

19 replacement of roadbed, structure, track, guideway,

20 signal and communications systems, electric traction

21 systems, propulsion or guidance systems incor22 porated as part of a guideway, maintenance-of-way

23 facilities, maintenance-of-equipment facilities, pri24 vate highway-rail grade crossings (including pay25 ments to property owners to close crossings where
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1 appropriate) not eligible for funding under sections

2 130 and 133(b)(4) of title 23, United States Code,

3 those portions of terminals and stations directly re4 lated to the operation of the high-speed rail intercity

5 service, and environmental mitigation associated

6 with development of high-speed rail service.

7 ‘‘(d) An agreement may not be entered into under

8 subsection (a) of this section unless it provides for the

9 completion of at least an element of a program to achieve

10 high-speed rail service, including portions thereof not eligi11 ble for financial assistance under subsection (c) of this

12 section.

13 ‘‘(e) In entering into any agreement to provide finan14 cial assistance under subsection (a) of this section, the

15 Secretary shall ensure that such agreement includes the

16 maximum practicable private funding for any element of

17 a program to achieve high-rail service that is the subject

18 of such agreement.

19 ‘‘(f) In entering into any agreement to provide finan20 cial assistance under subsection (a) of this section, the

21 Secretary may provide financial assistance for up to 80

22 per centum of the cost of specific eligible improvements

23 to be funded under the agreement; Provided however, That

24 no less than 20 per centum of the cost of such improve25 ments shall be provided by State and/or local funds and
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1 that the overall financial assistance provided by the Sec2 retary under the agreement shall not exceed 50 per cen3 tum of the public share of the element funding. The public

4 share of an element’s funding consists of its total cost

5 minus the maximum practicable private funding for such

6 element.

7 ‘‘(g) In determining whether to enter into a financial

8 assistance agreement to fund an element of a program to

9 improve a HSR Corridor, the Secretary shall consider how

10 the element to be funded under such agreement meets the

11 criteria identified in subsection 1001(d) of this title, the

12 information contained in the corridor master plan, the

13 transportation benefits to be derived from the element, the

14 level of financial commitments by the State and/or local

15 governments and/or private entities to fund the subject

16 element, commitments by the State and/or local govern17 ments and/or private entities to ensure completion of the

18 element, commitments by State and/or local governments

19 to fund any increases in the operating deficit of the Na20 tional Railroad Passenger Corporation that result from

21 operation over the HSR Corridor after the element is com22 pleted, and such other information that the Secretary

23 deems appropriate.

24 ‘‘(h) The Secretary may provide financial assistance

25 under subsection (a) of this section for a element not con-
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1 tained on an approved corridor master plan prepared

2 under section 1002 of this title only if a financial assist3 ance agreement for such improvement is entered into prior

4 to thirty months from the date of enactment of the High5 Speed Rail Development Act of 1993.

6 ‘‘HIGH-SPEED RAIL TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

7 ‘‘SEC. 1004. (a) The Secretary is authorized to un8 dertake research and development of steel-wheel-on-rail

9 technologies for commercial application in high-speed rail

10 service in the United States.

11 ‘‘(b) In carrying out activities authorized in sub12 section (a) of this section, the Secretary may enter into

13 financial assistance agreements with any United States

14 private business, educational institution, State or local

15 government, public authority or agency of the Federal

16 Government.

17 ‘‘DEFINITIONS

18 ‘‘SEC. 1005. (a) The term ‘high-speed rail’ means rail

19 passenger transportation capable of operating at sustained

20 speeds of one hundred and twenty-five miles per hour or

21 greater.

22 ‘‘(b) The term ‘element’ as used in sections 1002 and

23 1003 of this title means a discrete portion of a program

24 to develop a HSR Corridor that has a demonstrable inter25 city ground transportation benefit independent of other

26 improvements to such corridor.
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1 ‘‘(c) The term ‘State or local funds’ as used in this

2 title means funds generally available to State or local gov3 ernments to fund transportation projects excluding any

4 payments or contributions to State and/or local govern5 ments or authorities from holders of a franchise or other

6 private parties with an interest in the development or op7 eration of the high-speed rail system.

8 ‘‘(d) The term ‘financial assistance agreement’ means

9 various forms of arrangements to provide financial assist10 ance, including grants, contracts or cooperative agree11 ments.’’.

12 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

13 (a) There are authorized to be appropriated to the

14 Secretary of Transportation for the National High-Speed

15 Rail Assistance Program authorized under sections 1002

16 and 1003 of title X of the Railroad Revitalization and

17 Regulatory Reform Act of 1976, such sums as may be nec18 essary for each of fiscal years 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997,

19 and 1998.

20 (b) There are authorized to be appropriated to the

21 Secretary for high-speed rail technology development au22 thorized under section 1004 of title X of the Railroad Re23 vitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976, such

24 sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 1994,

25 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998.
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1 (c) Section 601 of the Rail Passenger Service Act (45

2 U.S.C. 601) is amended by deleting paragraph (a)(1) and

3 inserting in lieu thereof, the following—

4 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec5 retary for the benefit of the Corporation for making cap6 ital expenditures under title VII of the Railroad Revital7 ization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C.

8 851 et seq.), such sums as may be necessary for each of

9 fiscal years 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998.’’.

10 (d) Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated

11 under subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the Secretary

12 of Transportation may reserve the funds necessary for

13 payment of the administrative expenses incurred by the

14 Secretary in carrying out the Secretary’s responsibilities

15 under this title.

16 (e) Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated

17 under subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of

18 Transportation may reserve up to 1 per centum for the

19 purpose of providing financial assistance to the public

20 agencies designated under section 1001(c) and responsible

21 for coordination of activities under this title on those cor22 ridors designated by the Secretary under section 1001(a).

23 This financial assistance may provide for up to 80 per cen24 tum of costs deemed eligible by the Secretary that are in25 curred by the public agencies in carrying out their respon-
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1 sibilities under such sections 1002 and 1003 of this title,

2 such sums to be apportioned among the eligible public

3 agencies through a formula established by the Secretary.

4 (f) Financial assistance provided under subsection (e)

5 of this section shall be provided only pursuant an agree6 ment between the Secretary and a public agency whose

7 responsibility encompasses in whole or in part a HSR Cor8 ridor designated as such by the Secretary and eligible for

9 financial assistance under sections 1002 and 1003 of this

10 title.

11 (g) Funds made available under this section shall re12 main available until expended.

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