(3) CONSIDERATION.—The Secretary shall give 
priority consideration to applications that benefit 
both passenger and freight safety and efficiency, or 
incentivize train control technology deployment on 
high-risk corridors such as those that have signifi-
cant movements of hazardous materials or where 
commuter and intercity passenger railroads operate. 
(c) 
AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—(1) 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 
such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 
2008 through 2011 to carry out this section. 
(2) Amounts made available pursuant to this sub-
section shall remain available until expended. 
SEC. 613. INFRASTRUCTURE SAFETY INVESTMENT RE-
PORTS. 
Not later than February 15th of each year, each 
Class I railroad shall file a report with both the Federal 
Railroad Safety Administration and the Surface Transpor-
tation Board detailing, by State, the infrastructure invest-
ments and maintenance they have performed on their sys-
tem, including but not limited to track, locomotives, rail-
cars, and grade crossings, in the previous calendar year 
to ensure the safe movement of freight, and their plans 
for such investments and maintenance in the current cal-
endar year. Such reports shall be publicly available, and
any interested party may file comments about the reports, 
which also shall be made public. 
SEC. 614. EMERGENCY GRADE CROSSING SAFETY IMPROVE-
MENTS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary 
of Transportation shall establish a grant program to pro-
vide for emergency grade crossing safety improvements, 
including the installation, repair, or improvement of— 
(1) railroad crossing signals, gates, and related 
technologies, including median barriers and four 
quadrant gates; 
(2) highway traffic signalization, including 
highway signals tied to railroad signal systems; 
(3) highway lighting and crossing approach 
signage; 
(4) roadway improvements, including railroad 
crossing panels and surfaces; and 
(5) related work to mitigate dangerous condi-
tions. 
(b) GRANT CRITERIA.— 
(1) ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary may make 
grants to State and local governments under this 
section to provide emergency grade crossing safety 
improvements at a location where there has been a 
railroad grade crossing collision with a school bus, or
collision involving three or more serious bodily inju-
ries or fatalities. 
(2) 
MAXIMUM
AMOUNT.—Grants 
awarded 
under paragraph (1) shall not exceed $250,000 per 
crossing. 
(3) NO
STATE
OR
LOCAL
SHARE.—The Sec-
retary shall not require the contribution of a State 
or local share as a condition of the grant. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such 
sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2008 
through 2011 to carry out this section. Amounts made 
available under this subsection shall remain available until 
expended. 
SEC. 615. LOCOMOTIVE HORN REQUIREMENT WAIVER. 
Section 20153(c) of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(3) The Secretary, in reviewing applications for 
waivers or exemptions, shall consider horn noise and the 
impact of such noise on the local community and the 
unique characteristics of the community.’’. 
SEC. 616. SAFETY INSPECTIONS IN MEXICO. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Mechanical and brake inspections 
of rail cars performed in Mexico shall not be treated as
satisfying United States rail safety laws or regulations un-
less the Secretary of Transportation certifies that— 
(1) such inspections are being performed under 
regulations and standards equivalent to those appli-
cable in the United States, including comparable en-
forcement procedures; 
(2) the Mexican counterparts to the Federal 
Railroad Safety Administration are effectively en-
forcing such standards; 
(3) the inspections are being performed by em-
ployees receiving comparable classroom and on the 
job training as is the norm in the United States; 
(4) inspection records are maintained in both 
English and Spanish, and such records are available 
to the Federal Railroad Safety Administration for 
review; and 
(5) the Federal Railroad Safety Administration 
is permitted to perform onsite inspections for the 
purpose of ensuring compliance with the require-
ments of this subsection. 
(b) HAZARDOUS MATERIAL INSPECTIONS.—Notwith-
standing subsection (a), no hazardous material inspections 
performed in Mexico shall be treated as having satisfied 
the applicable United States rail safety laws and regula-
tions.
SEC. 617. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD JURISDIC-
TION OVER SOLID WASTE FACILITIES. 
Section 10501 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘facilities,’’ in subsection (b)(2) 
and inserting ‘‘facilities (except solid waste rail 
transfer 
facilities 
as 
defined 
in 
subsection 
(c)(3)(C)),’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end of subsection (c)(3) 
the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(C) Nothing in this section preempts a State or local 
governmental authority from regulating solid waste rail 
transfer facilities. For purposes of this subparagraph, the 
term ‘solid waste rail transfer facility’ means the portion 
of any facility owned or operated by or on behalf of a rail 
carrier, at which occurs the— 
‘‘(i) collection, storage, or transfer, outside of 
original shipping containers; 
‘‘(ii) separation; or 
‘‘(iii) processing (including baling, crushing, 
compacting, and shredding), 
of solid waste, as defined in section 1004 of the Solid 
Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6903).’’.
TITLE VII—RAIL PASSENGER 
DISASTER FAMILY ASSISTANCE 
SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Rail Passenger Dis-
aster Family Assistance Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 702. ASSISTANCE BY NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION 
SAFETY 
BOARD 
TO 
FAMILIES 
OF 
PAS-
SENGERS INVOLVED IN RAIL PASSENGER AC-
CIDENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 11 of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘§ 1139. Assistance to families of passengers involved 
in rail passenger accidents 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 
being notified of a rail passenger accident within the 
United States involving a rail passenger carrier and result-
ing in a major loss of life, the Chairman of the National 
Transportation Safety Board shall— 
‘‘(1) designate and publicize the name and 
phone number of a director of family support serv-
ices who shall be an employee of the Board and shall 
be responsible for acting as a point of contact within 
the Federal Government for the families of pas-
sengers involved in the accident and a liaison be-
tween the rail passenger carrier and the families; 
and 
‘‘(2) designate an independent nonprofit organi-
zation, with experience in disasters and posttrauma 
communication with families, which shall have pri-
mary responsibility for coordinating the emotional 
care and support of the families of passengers in-
volved in the accident. 
‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD.—The Board 
shall have primary Federal responsibility for— 
‘‘(1) facilitating the recovery and identification 
of fatally injured passengers involved in an accident 
described in subsection (a); and 
‘‘(2) communicating with the families of pas-
sengers involved in the accident as to the roles of— 
‘‘(A) the organization designated for an ac-
cident under subsection (a)(2); 
‘‘(B) Government agencies; and 
‘‘(C) the rail passenger carrier involved, 
with respect to the accident and the post-accident 
activities. 
‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF DESIGNATED ORGANIZA-
TION.—The organization designated for an accident under 
subsection (a)(2) shall have the following responsibilities
with respect to the families of passengers involved in the 
accident: 
‘‘(1) To provide mental health and counseling 
services, in coordination with the disaster response 
team of the rail passenger carrier involved. 
‘‘(2) To take such actions as may be necessary 
to provide an environment in which the families may 
grieve in private. 
‘‘(3) To meet with the families who have trav-
eled to the location of the accident, to contact the 
families unable to travel to such location, and to 
contact all affected families periodically thereafter 
until such time as the organization, in consultation 
with the director of family support services des-
ignated for the accident under subsection (a)(1), de-
termines that further assistance is no longer needed. 
‘‘(4) To arrange a suitable memorial service, in 
consultation with the families. 
‘‘(d) PASSENGER LISTS.— 
‘‘(1) REQUESTS FOR PASSENGER LISTS.— 
‘‘(A) REQUESTS BY DIRECTOR OF FAMILY 
SUPPORT SERVICES.—It shall be the responsi-
bility of the director of family support services 
designated for an accident under subsection 
(a)(1) to request, as soon as practicable, from
the rail passenger carrier involved in the acci-
dent a list, which is based on the best available 
information at the time of the request, of the 
names of the passengers that were aboard the 
rail passenger carrier’s train involved in the ac-
cident. A rail passenger carrier shall use rea-
sonable efforts, with respect to its unreserved 
trains, and passengers not holding reservations 
on its other trains, to ascertain the names of 
passengers aboard a train involved in an acci-
dent. 
‘‘(B) REQUESTS BY DESIGNATED ORGANI-
ZATION.—The organization designated for an 
accident under subsection (a)(2) may request 
from the rail passenger carrier involved in the 
accident a list described in subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(2) USE OF INFORMATION.—The director of 
family support services and the organization may 
not release to any person information on a list ob-
tained under paragraph (1) but may provide infor-
mation on the list about a passenger to the family 
of the passenger to the extent that the director of 
family support services or the organization considers 
appropriate.
‘‘(e) 
CONTINUING
RESPONSIBILITIES
OF
THE 
BOARD.—In the course of its investigation of an accident 
described in subsection (a), the Board shall, to the max-
imum extent practicable, ensure that the families of pas-
sengers involved in the accident— 
‘‘(1) are briefed, prior to any public briefing, 
about the accident and any other findings from the 
investigation; and 
‘‘(2) are individually informed of and allowed to 
attend any public hearings and meetings of the 
Board about the accident. 
‘‘(f) USE
OF
RAIL
PASSENGER
CARRIER
RE-
SOURCES.—To the extent practicable, the organization 
designated for an accident under subsection (a)(2) shall 
coordinate its activities with the rail passenger carrier in-
volved in the accident to facilitate the reasonable use of 
the resources of the carrier. 
‘‘(g) PROHIBITED ACTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) ACTIONS
TO
IMPEDE
THE
BOARD.—No 
person (including a State or political subdivision) 
may impede the ability of the Board (including the 
director of family support services designated for an 
accident under subsection (a)(1)), or an organization 
designated for an accident under subsection (a)(2), 
to carry out its responsibilities under this section or
the ability of the families of passengers involved in 
the accident to have contact with one another. 
‘‘(2) UNSOLICITED COMMUNICATIONS.—No un-
solicited communication concerning a potential ac-
tion for personal injury or wrongful death may be 
made by an attorney (including any associate, agent, 
employee, or other representative of an attorney) or 
any potential party to the litigation to an individual 
(other than an employee of the rail passenger car-
rier) injured in the accident, or to a relative of an 
individual involved in the accident, before the 45th 
day following the date of the accident. 
‘‘(3) PROHIBITION
ON
ACTIONS
TO
PREVENT 
MENTAL HEALTH AND COUNSELING SERVICES.—No 
State or political subdivision may prevent the em-
ployees, agents, or volunteers of an organization des-
ignated for an accident under subsection (a)(2) from 
providing mental health and counseling services 
under subsection (c)(1) in the 30-day period begin-
ning on the date of the accident. The director of 
family support services designated for the accident 
under subsection (a)(1) may extend such period for 
not to exceed an additional 30 days if the director 
determines that the extension is necessary to meet