167 
authorized by section 102 shall be reduced accord-
ingly. 
(f) LEGAL EFFECT OF PAYMENTS UNDER THIS SEC-
TION.—The payment of principal and interest on secured 
debt, other than debt assumed under subsection (d), with 
the proceeds of grants under subsection (e) shall not— 
(1) modify the extent or nature of any indebted-
ness of Amtrak to the United States in existence as 
of the date of enactment of this Act; 
(2) change the private nature of Amtrak’s or its 
successors’ liabilities; or 
(3) imply any Federal guarantee or commitment 
to amortize Amtrak’s outstanding indebtedness. 
(g) SECRETARY APPROVAL.—Amtrak may not incur 
more debt after the date of enactment of this Act without 
the express advance approval of the Secretary. 
(h) REPORT.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
transmit a report to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, the Com-
mittee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
of the Senate, and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
Senate, by June 1, 2010— 
(1) describing in detail any agreements to re-
structure the Amtrak debt; and
168 
(2) providing an estimate of the savings to Am-
trak and the United States Government. 
SEC. 206. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROCESS. 
(a) GRANT REQUESTS.—Amtrak shall submit grant 
requests (including a schedule for the disbursement of 
funds), consistent with the requirements of this division, to 
the Secretary for funds authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary for the use of Amtrak under sections 101(a), (b), 
and (c), 102, 219(b), and 302. 
(b) PROCEDURES FOR GRANT REQUESTS.—The Sec-
retary shall establish substantive and procedural require-
ments, including schedules, for grant requests under this 
section not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act and shall transmit copies of such requirements 
and schedules to the Committee on Transportation and In-
frastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate. As part of those requirements, the Secretary shall 
require, at a minimum, that Amtrak deposit grant funds, 
consistent with the appropriated amounts for each area of 
expenditure in a given fiscal year, in the following 2 ac-
counts: 
(1) The Amtrak Operating account. 
(2) The Amtrak General Capital account.
169 
Amtrak may not transfer such funds to another account or 
expend such funds for any purpose other than the purposes 
covered by the account in which the funds are deposited 
without approval by the Secretary. 
(c) REVIEW AND APPROVAL.— 
(1) 30-DAY APPROVAL PROCESS.—The Secretary 
shall complete the review of a grant request (includ-
ing the disbursement schedule) and approve or dis-
approve the request within 30 days after the date on 
which Amtrak submits the grant request. If the Sec-
retary disapproves the request or determines that the 
request is incomplete or deficient, the Secretary shall 
include the reason for disapproval or the incomplete 
items or deficiencies in a notice to Amtrak. 
(2) 15-DAY MODIFICATION PERIOD.—Within 15 
days after receiving notification from the Secretary 
under the preceding sentence, Amtrak shall submit a 
modified request for the Secretary’s review. 
(3) REVISED REQUESTS.—Within 15 days after 
receiving a modified request from Amtrak, the Sec-
retary shall either approve the modified request, or, if 
the Secretary finds that the request is still incomplete 
or deficient, the Secretary shall identify in writing to 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
170 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 
the remaining deficiencies and recommend a process 
for resolving the outstanding portions of the request. 
SEC. 207. METRICS AND STANDARDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Federal Railroad Administration 
and Amtrak shall jointly, in consultation with the Surface 
Transportation Board, rail carriers over whose rail lines 
Amtrak trains operate, States, Amtrak employees, nonprofit 
employee organizations representing Amtrak employees, 
and groups representing Amtrak passengers, as appro-
priate, develop new or improve existing metrics and min-
imum standards for measuring the performance and service 
quality of intercity passenger train operations, including 
cost recovery, on-time performance and minutes of delay, 
ridership, on-board services, stations, facilities, equipment, 
and other services. Such metrics, at a minimum, shall in-
clude the percentage of avoidable and fully allocated oper-
ating costs covered by passenger revenues on each route, rid-
ership per train mile operated, measures of on-time per-
formance and delays incurred by intercity passenger trains 
on the rail lines of each rail carrier and, for long-distance 
routes, measures of connectivity with other routes in all re-
gions currently receiving Amtrak service and the transpor-
tation needs of communities and populations that are not
171 
well-served by other forms of intercity transportation. Am-
trak shall provide reasonable access to the Federal Railroad 
Administration in order to enable the Administration to 
carry out its duty under this section. 
(b) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—The Administrator of the 
Federal Railroad Administration shall collect the necessary 
data and publish a quarterly report on the performance and 
service quality of intercity passenger train operations, in-
cluding Amtrak’s cost recovery, ridership, on-time perform-
ance and minutes of delay, causes of delay, on-board serv-
ices, stations, facilities, equipment, and other services. 
(c) CONTRACTS WITH HOST RAIL CARRIERS.—To the 
extent practicable, Amtrak and its host rail carriers shall 
incorporate the metrics and standards developed under sub-
section (a) into their access and service agreements. 
(d) ARBITRATION.—If the development of the metrics 
and standards is not completed within the 180-day period 
required by subsection (a), any party involved in the devel-
opment of those standards may petition the Surface Trans-
portation Board to appoint an arbitrator to assist the par-
ties in resolving their disputes through binding arbitration. 
SEC. 208. METHODOLOGIES FOR AMTRAK ROUTE AND SERV-
ICE PLANNING DECISIONS. 
(a) METHODOLOGY DEVELOPMENT.—Within 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Railroad
172 
Administration shall obtain the services of a qualified inde-
pendent entity to develop and recommend objective meth-
odologies for Amtrak to use in determining what intercity 
passenger routes and services it will provide, including the 
establishment of new routes, the elimination of existing 
routes, and the contraction or expansion of services or fre-
quencies over such routes. In developing such methodologies, 
the entity shall consider— 
(1) the current or expected performance and 
service quality of intercity passenger train operations, 
including cost recovery, on-time performance and 
minutes of delay, ridership, on-board services, sta-
tions, facilities, equipment, and other services; 
(2) connectivity of a route with other routes; 
(3) the transportation needs of communities and 
populations that are not well served by intercity pas-
senger rail service or by other forms of intercity 
transportation; 
(4) Amtrak’s and other major intercity passenger 
rail service providers in other countries’ methodologies 
for determining intercity passenger rail routes and 
services; and 
(5) the views of the States and other interested 
parties.