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108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3211
To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide for stable, productive, 
and efficient passenger rail service in the United States, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 30, 2003
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself and Mr. OBERSTAR) (both by request) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide for stable, 
productive, and efficient passenger rail service in the 
United States, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Passenger Rail Investment Reform Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Purposes; definitions.
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TITLE I—NATIONAL PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE RESTRUCTURING 
Sec. 101. Board of directors of Amtrak. 
Sec. 102. Passenger rail service restructuring. 
Sec. 103. Northeast Corridor Compact. 
Sec. 104. Assistance to address capital needs. 
Sec. 105. Employee transition assistance; authorization. 
Sec. 106. Limit on operating assistance for long-distance routes. 
Sec. 107. Repeal of obsolete and executed provisions of law; other. 
TITLE II—FINANCIAL REFORMS 
Sec. 201. Limitations on availability of grants. 
Sec. 202. Spending plans for capital backlog reduction. 
Sec. 203. Redemption of common stock. 
Sec. 204. Retirement of preferred stock; transfer of assets. 
Sec. 205. Real estate and asset sales; other. 
Sec. 206. Management and transfer of secured debt. 
Sec. 207. Transition assistance. 
TITLE III—GRANTS AND OTHER ASSISTANCE FOR INTERCITY 
PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE 
Sec. 301. Capital assistance for intercity passenger rail service. 
Sec. 302. Final regulations on applications by States for development grants. 
Sec. 303. Authority for interstate compacts for corridor development.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES; DEFINITIONS. 
(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to—
(1) preserve an intercity passenger rail service 
system in the United States that is driven by sound 
economics; 
(2) provide a transition from the existing struc-
ture for providing such service to a structure that is 
more aligned with existing and emerging transpor-
tation needs; 
(3) develop a system that provides high quality 
passenger rail service at a reasonable cost; 
(4) establish a long-term partnership among the 
states and the Federal Government to support inter-
city passenger rail service; and
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(5) create an effective public-private partner-
ship, after a reasonable transition, to manage the 
capital assets of the Northeast Corridor. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘Year One’’ means the next Fed-
eral fiscal year to begin after the date of enactment 
of this Act, except that the term means the current 
Federal fiscal year if the date of enactment of the 
Act is within 60 days of the first day of the current 
Federal fiscal year; and 
(2) the terms ‘‘Year Two’’, ‘‘Year Three’’, 
‘‘Year Four’’, ‘‘Year Five’’, and ‘‘Year Six’’ mean, 
respectively, the Federal fiscal year that follows Year 
One by one, two, three, four, and five years, respec-
tively. 
TITLE I—NATIONAL PASSENGER 
RAIL SERVICE RESTRUCTURING 
SEC. 101. BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF AMTRAK. 
Section 24302 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 24302. Board of Directors 
‘‘(a) MEMBERSHIP.—(1) The Transition Board of 
Directors of Amtrak shall consist of 11 voting members, 
including—
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‘‘(A) the Secretary of Transportation, or an of-
ficer of the United States within the Department of 
Transportation compensated under the Executive 
Schedule under title 5, United States Code, who is 
designated by the Secretary (hereafter in this section 
the ‘Secretary’s delegate’); and 
‘‘(B) 10 other members appointed by the Presi-
dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen-
ate. 
‘‘(2) The President of Amtrak shall serve as an ex 
officio, nonvoting member of the Board of Directors. 
‘‘(b) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the Board of 
Directors shall not be compensated for service as such 
member, but shall receive with respect to such service 
travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, 
in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5. 
‘‘(c) TERM OF OFFICE.—Members serving unexpired 
terms on the date of enactment of this section may con-
tinue to serve until the earlier of the expiration of their 
terms or the date on which the restructuring mandated 
under section 24310 of this title is implemented. Members 
appointed by the President under subsection (a)(1)(B) 
shall serve for a term that expires on the date the restruc-
turing mandated in section 24310 of this title is imple-
mented. At the expiration of their terms, members of the
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Board shall be eligible to serve as members of the boards 
of successor corporations to Amtrak. 
‘‘(d) QUORUM.—At any time after the date of enact-
ment of this section, a majority of the Board members 
who have been lawfully appointed shall constitute a 
quorum for purposes of conducting Board meetings and 
making all necessary decisions regarding the operations, 
structure, and business affairs of Amtrak. 
‘‘(e) TRANSITION COMMITTEE.—(1) The Board of 
Directors shall form an Asset Transition Committee com-
prised of the Secretary, or the Secretary’s delegate, and 
two other members, or one other member if two other 
members are not lawfully appointed. 
‘‘(2) In addition to other powers and duties assigned 
by the Board, the Asset Transition Committee has the 
duty to ensure that the public interest is served in Board 
decisions and Amtrak management actions that change 
the use of or status of—
‘‘(A) the contractual right of access of Amtrak 
to rail lines of other railroads; 
‘‘(B) Amtrak secured debt;
‘‘(C) Northeast Corridor real property and as-
sets; and 
‘‘(D) rolling stock.
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‘‘(3) The Board may not take an action with regard 
to the assets or secured debt specified in paragraph (2), 
or permit an Amtrak management action with regard to 
those assets, that is not approved by the Asset Transition 
Committee. 
‘‘(f) MODIFICATION
OF BOARD AFTER RESTRUC-
TURING.—(1) Upon the commencement of operations of 
the Passenger Rail Service Provider and the Passenger 
Rail Infrastructure Manager under section 24310 of this 
title, the Board of Directors of Amtrak shall consist of—
‘‘(A) the Secretary of Transportation; 
‘‘(B) the Federal Railroad Administrator or an-
other officer of the United States within the Depart-
ment of Transportation compensated under the Ex-
ecutive Schedule under title 5, United States Code, 
who is designated by the Secretary; and 
‘‘(C) the Federal Transit Administrator or an-
other officer of the United States within the Depart-
ment of Transportation compensated under the Ex-
ecutive Schedule under title 5, United States Code, 
who is designated by the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) Upon the designation of directors by the Sec-
retary under paragraph (1), and with the exception of the 
Secretary of Transportation, the members of the Transi-
tion Board of Directors shall no longer serve as appointees
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of the President to the Amtrak Board of Directors, but 
shall instead become members of the Board of Directors 
of the entities referred to in Federal law as the Passenger 
Rail Service Provider or the Passenger Rail Infrastructure 
Manager.’’. 
SEC. 102. PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE RESTRUCTURING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting the following after section 24309: 
‘‘§ 24310. Amtrak restructuring mandate 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Within 6 months after Year One 
begins, and notwithstanding any other provision of this 
title, the Board of Directors shall prepare a plan to re-
structure Amtrak management, personnel, assets, oper-
ations, and other activities and relationships to conform 
to the requirements of this section. The Board shall trans-
mit the completed plan to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives, and the Committees on Appropriations of 
the House of Representatives and Senate. 
‘‘(b) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—At a minimum, the 
restructuring plan required under this section shall pro-
vide for the following: 
‘‘(1) The filing of appropriate Articles of Incor-
poration under State law for two business corpora-
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tions that are entirely independent of Amtrak, here-
inafter referred to as the ‘Passenger Rail Service 
Provider’ and the ‘Passenger Rail Infrastructure 
Manager’ or collectively the ‘successor corporations’. 
‘‘(2) The division of Amtrak into three func-
tionally independent entities that provide the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(A) A corporation, hereinafter referred to 
as ‘Amtrak’, that shall provide overall super-
vision of Amtrak restructuring and subsequent 
management of residual responsibilities, includ-
ing succeeding to the legal rights of the Na-
tional Railroad Passenger Corporation, and in-
cluding specifically Amtrak’s legal right of ac-
cess to other railroads, following transfer of rail 
operations and infrastructure management to 
the successor corporations established under 
paragraph (1). 
‘‘(B) Passenger rail operating services na-
tionwide, including operation of the reservation 
centers and ownership and management of ex-
isting rolling stock and its maintenance. 
‘‘(C) Passenger rail infrastructure manage-
ment.
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‘‘(3) The assignment of all Amtrak personnel 
by name to one of the entities specified in paragraph 
(2), with no loss of pay or benefits, including senior-
ity rights to employment within any entity, except 
that an employee who elects employment with the 
entity specified by paragraph (2)(A) shall become an 
employee of the corporation, with only such rights 
regarding pay and benefits as the corporation shall 
determine. 
‘‘(4) The division of accounting, finance, budg-
et, assets, and personnel to provide for the operation 
and funding of each entity independently. 
‘‘(5) A transition schedule that provides for 
completion of the restructuring not later than the 
last day of Year One. 
‘‘(c) SUCCESSOR
CORPORATIONS.—(1) Consistent 
with the business corporation law of the State of incorpo-
ration of the successor corporations specified by sub-
section (b)(1) of this section, each of the successor cor-
porations shall be qualified to undertake railroad activities 
of an operational or infrastructure nature on a contractual 
basis with Amtrak or any other entity. 
‘‘(2) The Passenger Rail Service Provider—
‘‘(A) shall have the exclusive right, until the 
last day of Year Three, to continue to provide the
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intercity passenger service that is being provided by 
Amtrak on the date of enactment of the Passenger 
Rail Investment Reform Act, but after the last day 
of Year One, may operate such passenger rail service 
only under a contract; and 
‘‘(B) shall provide interline reservations services 
to any other provider of intercity passenger rail serv-
ices on the same basis and rates as services are pro-
vided to the operational entities that provide service 
within Amtrak on the date of enactment. 
‘‘(3) The Passenger Rail Infrastructure Manager—
‘‘(A) shall have the exclusive right, until the 
last day of Year Six, to continue to provide the dis-
patching, maintenance, and infrastructure services 
that are being provided by Amtrak on the date of 
enactment of the Passenger Rail Investment Reform 
Act, but after the last day of Year One, may provide 
these services only under a contract; and
‘‘(B) shall carry out the multiyear infrastruc-
ture plan prepared by Amtrak, to the extent funds 
are made available. 
‘‘(4)(A) The successor corporations are not a depart-
ment, agency, or instrumentality of the United States 
Government nor are they Government corporations (as de-
fined in section 103 of title 5).
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‘‘(B) Chapter 105 of this title does not apply to the 
successor corporations. However, laws and regulations 
governing safety, employee representation for collective 
bargaining purposes, the handling of disputes between car-
riers and employees, employee retirement, annuity, and 
unemployment systems, and other dealings with employees 
that apply to a rail carrier providing transportation sub-
ject to subchapter I of chapter 105 apply to the successor 
corporations. The employee retirement, annuity, and un-
employment systems that apply to a rail carrier providing 
transportation subject to subchapter I of chapter 105 
apply to the entity specified by subsection (b)(2)(A) of this 
section. 
‘‘(C) Subsections (c) through (l) of section 24301 of 
this title shall apply to the successor corporations. 
‘‘(5) Subject to further action by the Board of Direc-
tors, the President of Amtrak on the date of enactment 
of the Passenger Rail Investment Reform Act shall be of-
fered the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Pas-
senger Rail Service Provider. 
‘‘(6) The contractual rights of successor corporations 
to provide services may not be extended beyond the dates 
set forth in subsections (c)(2) and (c)(3), as applicable, 
without competitive bid.