H. R. 4818—412
GRANTS TO THE NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER CORPORATION
To enable the Secretary of Transportation to make quarterly
grants 
to 
the 
National 
Railroad 
Passenger 
Corporation,
$1,217,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2005: Pro-
vided, That not less than $500,000,000 shall be provided in quar-
terly grants for capital expenses: Provided further, That the Sec-
retary of Transportation shall approve funding to cover operating
losses and capital expenditures, including advance purchase orders,
for the National Railroad Passenger Corporation only after receiving
and reviewing a grant request for each specific train route: Provided
further, That each such grant request shall be accompanied by
a detailed financial analysis, revenue projection, and capital
expenditure projection justifying the Federal support to the Sec-
retary’s satisfaction: Provided further, That the Secretary of
Transportation shall reserve $60,000,000 of the funds provided
under this heading and is authorized to transfer such sums to
the Surface Transportation Board, upon request from said Board,
to carry out directed service orders issued pursuant to section
11123 of title 49, United States Code, to respond to the cessation
of commuter rail operations by the National Railroad Passenger
Corporation: Provided further, That the Secretary of Transportation
shall make the reserved funds available to the National Railroad
Passenger Corporation through an appropriate grant instrument
during the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2005 to the
extent that no directed service orders have been issued by the
Surface Transportation Board as of the date of transfer or there
is a balance of reserved funds not needed by the Board to pay
for any directed service order issued through September 30, 2005:
Provided further, That not later than 60 days after enactment
of this Act, Amtrak shall transmit, in electronic format, to the
Secretary of Transportation, the House and Senate Committees
on Appropriations, the House Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation a comprehensive business plan approved by
the Board of Directors for fiscal year 2005 under section 24104(a)
of title 49, United States Code: Provided further, That the business
plan shall include, as applicable, targets for ridership, revenues,
and capital and operating expenses: Provided further, That the
plan shall also include a separate accounting of such targets for
the Northeast Corridor; commuter service; long-distance Amtrak
service; State-supported service; each intercity train route; including
Autotrain; and commercial activities including contract operations
and mail and express: Provided further, That the business plan
shall include a description of the work to be funded, along with
cost estimates and an estimated timetable for completion of the
projects covered by this business plan: Provided further, That not
later than December 1, 2004 and no later than 30 days following
the last business day of the previous month thereafter, Amtrak
shall submit to the Secretary of Transportation and the House
and Senate Committees on Appropriations a supplemental report,
in electronic format, regarding the pending business plan, which
shall describe the work completed to date, any changes to the
business plan, and the reasons for such changes: Provided further,
That none of the funds in this Act may be used for operating
expenses, including advance purchase orders, and capital projects
not approved by the Secretary of Transportation nor on the National
H. R. 4818—413
Railroad Passenger Corporation’s fiscal year 2005 business plan:
Provided further, That Amtrak shall display the business plan
and all subsequent supplemental plans on the Corporation’s website
within a reasonable timeframe following their submission to the
appropriate entities: Provided further, That none of the funds under
this heading may be obligated or expended until the National
Railroad Passenger Corporation agrees to continue abiding by the
provisions of paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, and 11 of the summary
of conditions for the direct loan agreement of June 28, 2002, in
the same manner as in effect on the date of enactment of this
Act: Provided further, That the Secretary of Transportation is
authorized to retain up to $4,000,000 of the funds provided to
be used to retain a consultant or consultants to assist the Secretary
in preparing a comprehensive valuation of Amtrak’s assets to be
completed not later than September 30, 2005: Provided further,
That these funds shall be available to the Secretary of Transpor-
tation until expended: Provided further, That this valuation shall
to be used to retain a consultant or consultants to develop to
the Secretary’s satisfaction a methodology for determining the
avoidable and fully allocated costs of each Amtrak route: Provided
further, That once the Secretary has approved the methodology
for determining the avoidable and fully allocated costs of each
Amtrak route, Amtrak shall apply that methodology in compiling
an annual report to Congress on the avoidable and fully allocated
costs of each of its routes, with the initial report for fiscal year
2005 to be submitted to the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations, the House Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure, and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation before December 31, 2005, and each subsequent
report to be submitted within 90 days after the end of the fiscal
year to which the report pertains.
GENERAL PROVISIONS—FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION
SEC. 150. For the purpose of assisting State-supported intercity
rail service, in order to demonstrate whether competition will pro-
vide higher quality rail passenger service at reasonable prices,
the Secretary of Transportation, working with affected States, shall
develop and implement a procedure for fair competitive bidding
by Amtrak and non-Amtrak operators for State-supported routes:
Provided, That in the event a State desires to select or selects
a non-Amtrak operator for the route, the State may make an
agreement with Amtrak to use facilities and equipment of, or have
services provided by, Amtrak under terms agreed to by the State
and Amtrak to enable the non-Amtrak operator to provide the
State-supported service: Provided further, That if the parties cannot
agree on terms, the Secretary shall, as a condition of receipt of
Federal grant funds, order that the facilities and equipment be
made available and the services be provided by Amtrak under
reasonable terms and compensation: Provided further, That when
prescribing reasonable compensation to Amtrak, the Secretary shall
consider quality of service as a major factor when determining
whether, and the extent to which, the amount of compensation
shall be greater than the incremental costs of using the facilities
and providing the services: Provided further, That the Secretary
may reprogram up to $2,500,000 from the Amtrak operating grant
funds for costs associated with the implementation of the fair bid
procedure and demonstration of competition under this section.