formation as the Secretary determines necessary to 
adequately conduct such reviews. 
‘‘(3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 60 
days after receipt, the Secretary shall make available 
to the public on the Internet Web site of the Depart-
ment of Transportation any report submitted pursu-
ant to paragraph (1) or subsection (d), but may ex-
clude, as the Secretary determines appropriate— 
‘‘(A) proprietary information; and 
‘‘(B) security-sensitive information, includ-
ing information described in section 1520.5(a) 
of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. 
‘‘(d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than July 1, 
2018, the Secretary shall transmit to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate a report on the progress 
of each railroad carrier or other entity subject to sub-
section (a) in implementing a positive train control system. 
‘‘(e) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary is authorized to 
assess civil penalties pursuant to chapter 213 for— 
‘‘(1) a violation of this section; 
‘‘(2) the failure to submit or comply with the 
revised plan required under subsection (a), including 
the failure to comply with the totals provided pursu-
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ant to subclauses (III) and (V) of subsection 
(a)(2)(A)(iii) and the spectrum acquisition dates 
provided pursuant to subsection (a)(2)(A)(iii)(I); 
‘‘(3) failure to comply with any amendments to 
such revised plan pursuant to subsection (a)(2)(C); 
and 
‘‘(4) the failure to comply with an alternative 
schedule and sequence submitted under subsection 
(a)(2)(B) and approved by the Secretary under sub-
section (a)(3)(C).’’; 
(4) in subsection (h)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) 
PROVISIONAL
OPERATION.—Notwith-
standing the requirements of paragraph (1), the Sec-
retary may authorize a railroad carrier or other enti-
ty to commence operation in revenue service of a 
positive train control system or component to the ex-
tent necessary to enable the safe implementation and 
operation of a positive train control system in 
phases.’’; 
(5) in subsection (i)— 
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(A) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(1) 
through (3) as paragraphs (3) through (5), re-
spectively; and 
(B) by inserting before paragraph (3) (as 
so redesignated) the following: 
‘‘(1) EQUIVALENT
OR
GREATER
LEVEL
OF 
SAFETY.—The term ‘equivalent or greater level of 
safety’ means the compliance of a railroad carrier 
with— 
‘‘(A) appropriate operating rules in place 
immediately prior to the use or implementation 
of such carrier’s positive train control system, 
except that such rules may be changed by such 
carrier to improve safe operations; and 
‘‘(B) all applicable safety regulations, ex-
cept as specified in subsection (j). 
‘‘(2) HARDWARE.—The term ‘hardware’ means 
a locomotive apparatus, a wayside interface unit (in-
cluding any associated legacy signal system replace-
ments), switch position monitors needed for a posi-
tive train control system, physical back office system 
equipment, a base station radio, a wayside radio, a 
locomotive radio, or a communication tower or 
pole.’’; and 
(6) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(j) EARLY ADOPTION.— 
‘‘(1) OPERATIONS.—From the date of enact-
ment of the Positive Train Control Enforcement and 
Implementation Act of 2015 through the 1-year pe-
riod beginning on the date on which the last Class 
I railroad carrier’s positive train control system sub-
ject to subsection (a) is certified by the Secretary 
under subsection (h)(1) of this section and is imple-
mented on all of that railroad carrier’s lines required 
to have operations governed by a positive train con-
trol system, any railroad carrier, including any rail-
road carrier that has its positive train control sys-
tem certified by the Secretary, shall not be subject 
to the operational restrictions set forth in sections 
236.567 and 236.1029 of title 49, Code of Federal 
Regulations, that would apply where a controlling lo-
comotive that is operating in, or is to be operated 
in, a positive train control-equipped track segment 
experiences a positive train control system failure, a 
positive train control operated consist is not pro-
vided by another railroad carrier when provided in 
interchange, or a positive train control system other-
wise fails to initialize, cuts out, or malfunctions, pro-
vided that such carrier operates at an equivalent or 
greater level of safety than the level achieved imme-
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diately prior to the use or implementation of its 
positive train control system. 
‘‘(2) SAFETY ASSURANCE.—During the period 
described in paragraph (1), if a positive train control 
system that has been certified and implemented fails 
to initialize, cuts out, or malfunctions, the affected 
railroad carrier or other entity shall make reasonable 
efforts to determine the cause of the failure and ad-
just, repair, or replace any faulty component causing 
the system failure in a timely manner. 
‘‘(3) PLANS.—The positive train control safety 
plan for each railroad carrier or other entity shall 
describe the safety measures, such as operating rules 
and actions to comply with applicable safety regula-
tions, that will be put in place during any system 
failure. 
‘‘(4) NOTIFICATION.—During the period de-
scribed in paragraph (1), if a positive train control 
system that has been certified and implemented fails 
to initialize, cuts out, or malfunctions, the affected 
railroad carrier or other entity shall submit a notifi-
cation to the appropriate regional office of the Fed-
eral Railroad Administration within 7 days of the 
system failure, or under alternative location and 
deadline requirements set by the Secretary, and in-
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