I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1282 
To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to establish national safety 
standards for transit agencies operating heavy rail on fixed guideway. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 31, 2011 
Ms. EDWARDS (for herself, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WOLF, Mr. HOYER, Ms. 
NORTON, Mr. MORAN, Mr. CUMMINGS, and Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to establish 
national safety standards for transit agencies operating 
heavy rail on fixed guideway. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Metro Safety 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Every weekday more than 7,000,000 people 
board rail transit vehicles in the United States. 
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(2) Despite the National Transportation Safety 
Board’s recommendations to the Federal Transit 
Administration to establish and enforce Federal 
safety standards for transit agencies operating heavy 
rail on fixed guideway, the Federal Transit Adminis-
tration has not taken action because of a perceived 
absence of authority to establish such standards. 
(3) The Federal Transit Administration has not 
established minimum Federal standards that govern 
the structural crashworthiness of heavy rail pas-
senger cars on fixed guideway. 
(4) The National Transportation Safety Board 
concluded that the failure to have minimum crash-
worthiness standards places an unnecessary risk on 
passengers and crew. 
(5) The Federal Transit Administration does 
not have any requirements that rail transit cars be 
equipped with means for safe and rapid emergency 
responder entry and passenger evacuation. 
(6) Although the installation of data recorders 
on rail transit cars would help investigators deter-
mine the factors contributing to crashes, the Federal 
Transit Administration does not require such instal-
lation. 
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(7) Although the National Transportation Safe-
ty Board has expressed concern that the hours of 
service practices of transit agencies do not provide 
transit vehicle operators with the opportunity to ob-
tain adequate sleep to be fully alert and to operate 
safely, the Federal Transit Administration does not 
have hours of service regulations to govern the prac-
tices of transit agencies. 
SEC. 3. NATIONAL RAIL TRANSIT SAFETY STANDARDS. 
(a) 
ESTABLISHMENT.—Notwithstanding 
section 
5334(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, the Secretary 
of Transportation, in consultation with the National 
Transportation Safety Board shall, by regulation, develop, 
implement, and enforce national safety standards for tran-
sit agencies operating heavy rail on fixed guideway. 
(b) INCLUSION OF NTSB RECOMMENDATIONS.—The 
standards established under subsection (a) shall include 
the standards recommended to the Federal Transit Ad-
ministration by the National Transportation Safety Board 
related to crashworthiness, emergency access and egress, 
event recorders, and hours of service. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor-
tation shall submit a report to Congress that describes the 
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progress made in establishing the standards described in 
subsection (a). 
Æ 
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