passenger carrier will be retained by the rail pas-
senger carrier for at least 18 months. 
‘‘(8) An assurance that the family of each pas-
senger or other person killed in the accident will be 
consulted about construction by the rail passenger 
carrier of any monument to the passengers, includ-
ing any inscription on the monument. 
‘‘(9) An assurance that the treatment of the 
families of nonrevenue passengers will be the same 
as the treatment of the families of revenue pas-
sengers. 
‘‘(10) An assurance that the rail passenger car-
rier will work with any organization designated 
under section 1138(a)(2) of this title on an ongoing 
basis to ensure that families of passengers receive an 
appropriate level of services and assistance following 
each accident. 
‘‘(11) An assurance that the rail passenger car-
rier will provide reasonable compensation to any or-
ganization designated under section 1138(a)(2) of 
this title for services provided by the organization. 
‘‘(12) An assurance that the rail passenger car-
rier will assist the family of a passenger in traveling 
to the location of the accident and provide for the
physical care of the family while the family is stay-
ing at such location. 
‘‘(13) An assurance that the rail passenger car-
rier will commit sufficient resources to carry out the 
plan. 
‘‘(14) An assurance that the rail passenger car-
rier will provide adequate training to the employees 
and agents of the carrier to meet the needs of sur-
vivors and family members following an accident. 
‘‘(15) An assurance that, upon request of the 
family of a passenger, the rail passenger carrier will 
inform the family of whether the passenger’s name 
appeared on any preliminary passenger manifest for 
the train involved in the accident. 
‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—A rail passenger 
carrier shall not be liable for damages in any action 
brought in a Federal or State court arising out of the per-
formance of the rail passenger carrier in preparing or pro-
viding a passenger list, or in providing information con-
cerning a train reservation, pursuant to a plan submitted 
by the rail passenger carrier under subsection (b), unless 
such liability was caused by conduct of the rail passenger 
carrier which was grossly negligent or which constituted 
intentional misconduct. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—
‘‘(1) the terms ‘rail passenger accident’ and 
‘rail passenger carrier’ have the meanings such 
terms have in section 1138 of this title; and 
‘‘(2) the term ‘passenger’ means a person 
aboard a rail passenger carrier’s train that is in-
volved in a rail passenger accident. 
‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—
Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the 
actions that a rail passenger carrier may take, or the obli-
gations that a rail passenger carrier may have, in pro-
viding assistance to the families of passengers involved in 
a rail passenger accident.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of chap-
ters for subtitle V of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding after the item relating to chapter 249 
the following new item:
‘‘251. FAMILY ASSISTANCE ..........................................................
25101’’.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor-
tation, in cooperation with the National Transportation 
Safety Board, organizations potentially designated under 
section 1138(a)(2) of title 49, United States Code, rail 
passenger carriers, and families which have been involved 
in rail accidents, shall establish a task force consisting of 
representatives of such entities and families, representa-
tives of passenger rail carrier employees, and representa-
tives of such other entities as the Secretary considers ap-
propriate. 
(b) MODEL PLAN AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The 
task force established pursuant to subsection (a) shall de-
velop—
(1) a model plan to assist passenger rail car-
riers in responding to passenger rail accidents; 
(2) recommendations on methods to improve 
the timeliness of the notification provided by pas-
senger rail carriers to the families of passengers in-
volved in a passenger rail accident; 
(3) recommendations on methods to ensure that 
the families of passengers involved in a passenger 
rail accident who are not citizens of the United 
States receive appropriate assistance; and 
(4) recommendations on methods to ensure that 
emergency services personnel have as immediate and 
accurate a count of the number of passengers on-
board the train as possible. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit 
to Congress a report containing the model plan and rec-
ommendations developed by the task force under sub-
section (b).
Union Calendar No. 26
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 874
[Report No. 108–39] 
A BILL 
To establish a program, coordinated by the Na-
tional Transportation Safety Board, of assistance 
to families of passengers involved in rail pas-
senger accidents. 
MARCH 18, 2003
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
State of the Union and ordered to be printed