Actions under State law for a violation of a State 
law, regulation, or order that is not inconsistent with 
subsection (a)(2) are also not preempted. 
‘‘(2) RETROACTIVITY.—This subsection shall 
apply to all pending State law causes of action aris-
ing from events or activities occurring on or after 
January 18, 2002.’’. 
TITLE VII—RAIL PASSENGER 
DISASTER FAMILY ASSISTANCE 
SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Rail Passenger Disaster 
Family Assistance Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 702. ASSISTANCE BY NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION 
SAFETY BOARD TO FAMILIES OF PASSENGERS 
INVOLVED IN RAIL PASSENGER ACCIDENTS. 
(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 resulting in 
a major loss of life, the Chairman of the National Transpor-
tation Safety Board shall— 
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‘‘(1) designate and publicize the name and phone 
number of a director of family support services who 
shall be an employee of the Board and shall be re-
sponsible for acting as a point of contact within the 
Federal Government for the families of passengers in-
volved in the accident and a liaison between 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, 
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with respect to the accident and the post-accident ac-
tivities. 
‘‘(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 traveled 
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 di-
rector of family support services designated for the ac-
cident under subsection (a)(1), determines that fur-
ther 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.— 
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‘‘(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 accident a 
list, which is based on the best available infor-
mation at the time of the request, of the names 
of the passengers that were aboard the rail pas-
senger carrier’s train involved in the accident. A 
rail passenger carrier shall use reasonable efforts, 
with respect to its unreserved trains, and pas-
sengers not holding reservations on its other 
trains, to ascertain the names of passengers 
aboard a train involved in an accident. 
‘‘(B) REQUESTS BY DESIGNATED ORGANIZA-
TION.—The organization designated for an acci-
dent under subsection (a)(2) may request from 
the rail passenger carrier involved in the acci-
dent 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 obtained 
under paragraph (1) but may provide information on 
the list about a passenger to the family of the pas-
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senger 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 des-
ignated for an accident under subsection (a)(2) shall coordi-
nate its activities with the rail passenger carrier involved 
in the accident to facilitate the reasonable use of the re-
sources of the carrier. 
‘‘(g) PROHIBITED ACTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) ACTIONS TO IMPEDE THE BOARD.—No per-
son (including a State or political subdivision) may 
impede the ability of the Board (including the direc-
tor of family support services designated for an acci-
dent under subsection (a)(1)), or an organization des-
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ignated 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 unso-
licited communication concerning a potential action 
for personal injury or wrongful death may be made 
by an attorney (including any associate, agent, em-
ployee, or other representative of an attorney) or any 
potential party to the litigation to an individual 
(other than an employee of the rail passenger carrier) 
injured in the accident, or to a relative of an indi-
vidual 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 fam-
ily 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 deter-
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mines that the extension is necessary to meet the 
needs of the families and if State and local authori-
ties are notified of the determination. 
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi-
nitions apply: 
‘‘(1) RAIL
PASSENGER
ACCIDENT.—The term 
‘rail passenger accident’ means any rail passenger 
disaster occurring in the provision of— 
‘‘(A) interstate intercity rail passenger 
transportation (as such term is defined in sec-
tion 24102); or 
‘‘(B) interstate or intrastate high-speed rail 
(as such term is defined in section 26105) trans-
portation, 
regardless of its cause or suspected cause. 
‘‘(2) RAIL PASSENGER CARRIER.—The term ‘rail 
passenger carrier’ means a rail carrier providing— 
‘‘(A) interstate intercity rail passenger 
transportation (as such term is defined in sec-
tion 24102); or 
‘‘(B) interstate or intrastate high-speed rail 
(as such term is defined in section 26105) trans-
portation, 
except that such term shall not include a tourist, his-
toric, scenic, or excursion rail carrier. 
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‘‘(3) PASSENGER.—The term ‘passenger’ in-
cludes— 
‘‘(A) an employee of a rail passenger car-
rier aboard a train; 
‘‘(B) any other person aboard the train 
without regard to whether the person paid for the 
transportation, occupied a seat, or held a res-
ervation for the rail transportation; and 
‘‘(C) any other person injured or killed in 
the accident. 
‘‘(i) 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. 
‘‘(j) 
RELINQUISHMENT
OF
INVESTIGATIVE
PRI-
ORITY.— 
‘‘(1) GENERAL RULE.—This section (other than 
subsection (g)) shall not apply to a railroad accident 
if the Board has relinquished investigative priority 
under section 1131(a)(2)(B) and the Federal agency 
to which the Board relinquished investigative priority 
is willing and able to provide assistance to the vic-
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tims and families of the passengers involved in the 
accident. 
‘‘(2) BOARD ASSISTANCE.—If this section does 
not apply to a railroad accident because the Board 
has relinquished investigative priority with respect to 
the accident, the Board shall assist, to the maximum 
extent possible, the agency to which the Board has re-
linquished investigative priority in assisting families 
with respect to the accident.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for such chapter is amended by inserting after the item re-
lating to section 1138 the following: 
‘‘1139. Assistance to families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents.’’. 
SEC. 703. RAIL PASSENGER CARRIER PLANS TO ADDRESS 
NEEDS OF FAMILIES OF PASSENGERS IN-
VOLVED IN RAIL PASSENGER ACCIDENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part C of subtitle V of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following new chapter: 
‘‘CHAPTER 251—FAMILY ASSISTANCE 
‘‘Sec. 
‘‘25101. Plans to address needs of families of passengers involved in rail passenger 
accidents. 
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‘‘§ 25101. Plans to address needs of families of pas-
sengers involved in rail passenger acci-
dents 
‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF PLANS.—Not later than 6 months 
after the date of the enactment of this section, each rail pas-
senger carrier shall submit to the Secretary of Transpor-
tation and the Chairman of the National Transportation 
Safety Board a plan for addressing the needs of the families 
of passengers involved in any rail passenger accident in-
volving a train of the rail passenger carrier and resulting 
in a major loss of life. 
‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—A plan to be submitted 
by a rail passenger carrier under subsection (a) shall in-
clude, at a minimum, the following: 
‘‘(1) A plan for publicizing a reliable, toll-free 
telephone number, and for providing staff, to handle 
calls from the families of the passengers. 
‘‘(2) A process for notifying the families of the 
passengers, before providing any public notice of the 
names of the passengers, either by utilizing the serv-
ices of the organization designated for the accident 
under section 1139(a)(2) of this title or the services 
of other suitably trained individuals. 
‘‘(3) An assurance that the notice described in 
paragraph (2) will be provided to the family of a pas-
senger as soon as the rail passenger carrier has 
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verified that the passenger was aboard the train 
(whether or not the names of all of the passengers 
have been verified) and, to the extent practicable, in 
person. 
‘‘(4) An assurance that the rail passenger carrier 
will provide to the director of family support services 
designated for the accident under section 1139(a)(1) 
of this title, and to the organization designated for the 
accident under section 1139(a)(2) of this title, imme-
diately upon request, a list (which is based on the best 
available information at the time of the request) of 
the names of the passengers aboard the train (whether 
or not such names have been verified), and will peri-
odically update the list. The plan shall include a pro-
cedure, with respect to unreserved trains and pas-
sengers not holding reservations on other trains, for 
the rail passenger carrier to use reasonable efforts to 
ascertain the names of passengers aboard a train in-
volved in an accident. 
‘‘(5) An assurance that the family of each pas-
senger will be consulted about the disposition of all 
remains and personal effects of the passenger within 
the control of the rail passenger carrier. 
‘‘(6) An assurance that if requested by the family 
of a passenger, any possession of the passenger within 
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the control of the rail passenger carrier (regardless of 
its condition) will be returned to the family unless the 
possession is needed for the accident investigation or 
any criminal investigation. 
‘‘(7) An assurance that any unclaimed posses-
sion of a passenger within the control of the rail pas-
senger carrier will be retained by the rail passenger 
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, including 
any inscription on the monument. 
‘‘(9) An assurance that the treatment of the fam-
ilies of nonrevenue passengers will be the same as the 
treatment of the families of revenue passengers. 
‘‘(10) An assurance that the rail passenger car-
rier will work with any organization designated 
under section 1139(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-
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