I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2074 
To enhance rail safety and provide for the safe transport of hazardous 
materials, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 28, 2015 
Mr. NORCROSS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To enhance rail safety and provide for the safe transport 
of hazardous materials, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Toxics by Rail Ac-
countability and Community Knowledge Act of 2015’’ or 
the ‘‘TRACK Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CHEMICAL EXPOSURE RIGHT-TO-KNOW. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) LONG-LASTING OR IRREVERSIBLE HEALTH 
CONSEQUENCES.—The term ‘‘long-lasting or irre-
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versible health consequences’’ means those health 
consequences occurring at the exposure threshold de-
fined in the Acute Exposure Guideline Level AEGL– 
2 or AEGL–3, as established by the National Advi-
sory Committee for the Development of Acute Expo-
sure Guideline Levels for Hazardous Substances. 
(2) POST-ACCIDENT PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESS-
MENT.—The term ‘‘post-accident public health as-
sessment’’ means a scientific assessment of the im-
pacts of a hazardous material release on public 
health made by a qualified entity. 
(3) QUALIFIED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘qualified 
entity’’ means a Federal, State, or other govern-
mental entity responsible for emergency response, 
public health, chemical safety or transportation, or 
environmental protection. 
(b) RIGHT-TO-KNOW PROTECTIONS.—Beginning 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, railroad 
carriers that are found to be at fault by an administrative, 
judicial, or investigatory process for an accident or inci-
dent during calendar year 2010 or later that led to an 
unintended release of hazardous materials shall— 
(1) periodically review any post-accident public 
health assessments regarding the extent to which in-
dividuals exposed to the hazardous material that was 
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(2) to assist with the development of emergency 
operations and response plans designed to protect 
public health and community safety in the event of 
a railroad accident or incident involving the haz-
ardous material. 
(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In prescribing regulations 
under subsection (a), the Secretary may consider which 
hazardous materials or classes of hazardous materials are 
most relevant to be included within commodity flow infor-
mation based on factors such as— 
(1) the volume of the hazardous material trans-
ported; and 
(2) the threat to public health and community 
safety posed by each hazardous material. 
SEC. 4. MOVEABLE BRIDGE INSPECTION BEFORE TRAIN 
MOVEMENT. 
(a) PROCEDURE REQUIRED.—Not later than 18 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe regulations es-
tablishing a procedure for a railroad carrier to permit a 
train to pass a red signal aspect protecting a moveable 
bridge. 
(b) TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS.— 
(1) TRAINING PROGRAM.—The procedure estab-
lished pursuant to subsection (a) shall require a rail-
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road carrier that operates across a moveable bridge 
to have an active program to train and qualify its 
employees to determine whether a train can safely 
travel across a moveable bridge when a signal pro-
tecting the bridge is displaying a red signal aspect. 
(2) REQUIRED
QUALIFICATIONS.—A railroad 
carrier described in paragraph (1) shall ensure that 
only an individual qualified under the railroad car-
rier’s training program is given responsibility for de-
termining whether a train can safely travel across a 
moveable bridge when a signal protecting the bridge 
is displaying a red signal aspect. 
(c) ENFORCEMENT.—Any railroad carrier violating 
this section, or a regulation prescribed pursuant to this 
section, shall be liable to the Federal Government for a 
civil penalty for each violation or for each day the violation 
continues, as follows: 
(1) A railroad carrier that has annual carrier 
operating revenues that meet the threshold amount 
for Class I carriers, as determined by the Surface 
Transportation Board under section 1201.1–1 of 
title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, shall be liable 
for a civil penalty of not less than $100,000 and not 
more than $1,000,000. 
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(2) A railroad carrier that has annual carrier 
operating revenues that meet the threshold amount 
for Class II carriers, as determined by the Surface 
Transportation Board under section 1201.1–1 of 
title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, shall be liable 
for a civil penalty of not less than $25,000 and not 
more than $250,000. 
(3) A railroad carrier that has annual carrier 
operating revenues that meet the threshold amount 
for Class III carriers, as determined by the Surface 
Transportation Board under section 1201.1–1 of 
title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, shall be liable 
for a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not 
more than $100,000. 
SEC. 5. ROUTE RISK ASSESSMENT. 
(a) ROUTE RISK ASSESSMENT TOOLS.—The Sec-
retary of Transportation, in collaboration with the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security and the American Short Line 
and Regional Railroad Association, shall develop a route 
risk assessment tool for the use of short line and regional 
railroad carriers that— 
(1) addresses any known limitations of the Rail 
Corridor Risk Management Safety software tool for 
short line and regional railroad carriers; and 
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(2) allows for safety and security risk assess-
ments to be performed by short line and regional 
railroad carriers when alternative routes are not 
available. 
(b) ROUTE RISK ASSESSMENT AUDITS.—The Sec-
retary of Transportation, in collaboration with the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security and the American Short Line 
and Regional Railroad Association, shall conduct audits 
of short line and regional railroads to ensure that proper 
route risk assessments that identify safety and security 
vulnerabilities are being performed and are incorporated 
into a safety management system program. 
SEC. 6. RAILROAD SAFETY RISK REDUCTION PROGRAM 
AMENDMENTS. 
(a) 
SAFETY
MANAGEMENT
SYSTEMS.—Section 
20156(d)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(C) the use of safety management sys-
tems and their associated key principles, includ-
ing top-down ownership and policies, analysis of 
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operational incidents and accidents, and contin-
uous evaluation and improvement programs.’’. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that, under the Railroad Safety Risk Reduction Pro-
gram under section 20156 of title 49, United States Code, 
the Secretary of Transportation should include within the 
definition of ‘‘a railroad carrier that has an inadequate 
safety performance’’ any railroad carrier that is at fault 
for an incident, accident, or emergency involving haz-
ardous materials that has led to a fatality or personal in-
jury, an evacuation, or environmental damage within the 
last 5 years. 
SEC. 7. FIRST RESPONDER RIGHT-TO-KNOW. 
(a) REAL-TIME EMERGENCY RESPONSE NOTIFICA-
TION.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall 
prescribe regulations that— 
(1) require a railroad carrier transporting a 
hazardous material— 
(A) to have the capability to generate, 
maintain, retrieve, and promptly deliver accu-
rate and real-time consists that include the 
identity and location of the hazardous material 
on the train; and 
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(B) to provide such information promptly 
to first responders, emergency response offi-
cials, and law enforcement personnel in the 
event of an incident, accident, or emergency, or 
as required by such entities to protect public 
health and community safety; and 
(2) prohibit a railroad carrier, employee, or 
agent from withholding, or a railroad carrier from 
instructing its employees or agents to withhold, a 
train consist or a real-time train consist from first 
responders, emergency response officials, and law 
enforcement personnel in the event of an incident, 
accident, or emergency involving the transportation 
of hazardous materials by railroad that threatens 
public health or safety. 
(b) EMERGENCY RESPONSE STANDARDIZATION.— 
The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with rail-
road carriers, shall ensure that emergency response infor-
mation carried by train crews transporting hazardous ma-
terials is consistent with, and is at least as protective as, 
the emergency response guidance provided in the Emer-
gency Response Guidebook issued by the Department of 
Transportation. 
(c) ENFORCEMENT.—Any railroad carrier violating 
subsection (a)(2) or a regulation prescribed pursuant to 
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SEC. 8. PUBLIC EDUCATION. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe 
regulations requiring railroad carriers transporting haz-
ardous materials to develop, implement, and periodically 
evaluate a public education program for the communities 
along railroad hazardous materials routes, which may in-
clude— 
(1) procedures for reporting the release of a 
hazardous material; 
(2) physical indications of a release of a haz-
ardous material, including a focus on hazardous ma-
terials that are most commonly transported in or 
near a given community; 
(3) methods of communication that will be used 
to alert the community in the event of a railroad in-
cident, accident, or emergency involving a hazardous 
material; 
(4) steps that should be taken by community 
residents to ensure public health and safety in the 
event of a hazardous material release; and 
(5) a discussion of possible public health and 
safety concerns associated with an unintended re-
lease of a hazardous material, including a focus on 
hazardous materials that are most commonly trans-
ported in or near a given community. 
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SEC. 9. INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS. 
The Secretary of Transportation shall issue a state-
ment of agency policy adjusting the penalty schedules for 
violations outlined in this Act as necessary to account for 
inflation, each time the Secretary is required by law to 
review the minimum and maximum civil monetary penalty 
for inflation under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 
Adjustment Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–410; 28 U.S.C. 
2461 note). The Secretary may subject the statement of 
agency policy to notice and comment, as the Secretary 
considers appropriate. 
Æ 
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