(c) HIGH-SPEED
RAIL
TECHNOLOGY
IMPROVE-
MENTS.—Section 26102 of title 49, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(d) FACTOR TO CONSIDER.—In providing financial 
assistance to eligible recipients under subsection (b), the 
Secretary may consider activities that incorporate the use 
of technologies that facilitate intermodal connections and 
connections with other passenger rail systems.’’. 
(d) SAFETY REGULATIONS.—Section 26103 of title 
49, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘such’’ 
and all that follows and inserting ‘‘comprehensive, per-
formance-based regulations for all high-speed rail projects. 
Such regulations shall not inhibit interoperability within 
the high-speed rail network.’’ 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—Section 26105 of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘of more than 
125 miles per hour’’ and inserting ‘‘of 186 miles per 
hour or more’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following para-
graph: 
‘‘(7) the term ‘higher-speed’— 
‘‘(A) means all forms of nonhighway 
ground transportation that run on rails or elec-
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tromagnetic guideways providing transportation 
service which is— 
‘‘(i) reasonably expected to reach sus-
tained speeds of more than 110 miles per 
hour but less than 186 miles per hour; and 
‘‘(ii) made available to members of the 
general public as passengers; and 
‘‘(B) does not include rapid transit oper-
ations within an urban area that are not con-
nected to the general rail system of transpor-
tation.’’. 
(f) HIGH-SPEED RAIL CORRIDOR DEVELOPMENT.— 
Section 26106 of title 49, United States Code, is amend-
ed— 
(1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 
following: ‘‘In carrying out the program, the Sec-
retary may designate high-speed rail corridors.’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or Am-
trak’’ and inserting ‘‘, Amtrak, or a consortium 
of a private entity and one or more of any of 
the entities listed in this paragraph’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘before the date 
of the enactment of MAP–21 (Public Law 112– 
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141) or a corridor designated by the Secretary 
under subsection (a).’’; and 
(C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘of at 
least 110 miles per hour’’ and inserting ‘‘of 186 
miles per hour or more’’; 
(3) in subsection (e)— 
(A) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in subparagraph (B)(i)— 
(I) in subclause (I), by adding 
‘‘and’’ at the end; and 
(II) in subclause (II), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(ii) in subparagraph (B)(ii)(IV), by 
inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 
(iii) in subparagraph (C)(i)— 
(I) in subclause (II) by inserting 
‘‘, including where a grant will sup-
port the plans of an Interstate Pas-
senger Rail Commission or other enti-
ty with the goal of developing a re-
gional passenger rail system involving 
2 or more States’’ before the semi-
colon; 
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(II) in subclause (IV), by insert-
ing ‘‘electrification or’’ after ‘‘in-
volve’’; and 
(III) in subclause (V), by striking 
the semicolon and inserting ‘‘, includ-
ing as a result of transit-oriented de-
velopment, connectivity between areas 
of high-economic development and 
areas with a low cost of living, or the 
agglomeration of effects along a pas-
senger rail corridor.’’; 
(IV) in subclause (VI) by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(V) by redesignating subclause 
(VII) as subclause (IX); and 
(VI) by inserting after subclause 
(VI) the following: 
‘‘(VII) impacts associated with 
equity, resilience, sustainability, eco-
nomic development and climate 
‘‘(VIII) ability to serve an eligible 
place, as such term is defined in sec-
tion 41731; and’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (3)— 
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(i) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and 
inserting ‘‘(A) The Secretary’’; and 
(ii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(B) The Secretary shall not establish 
mandatory spending timelines for costs and ac-
tivities associated with the project.’’; 
(4) in the heading of subsection (f), by striking 
‘‘FEDERAL SHARE’’ and inserting ‘‘FUNDING’’; 
(5) in subsection (f), 
(A) by striking ‘‘The Federal share’’ and 
all that follows and inserting ‘‘(1) FEDERAL 
SHARE.—With respect to the net capital cost of 
a project financed under this section, the Fed-
eral share of such cost may be up to 100 per-
cent.’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 
‘‘(A) The Secretary shall prioritize financ-
ing capital projects in high-speed rail corridors 
with respect to which at least 20 percent of the 
project net capital cost is funded through speci-
fied financial sources. 
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‘‘(B) In this section, the term ‘specified fi-
nancial source’ means— 
‘‘(i) the Railroad Rehabilitation and 
Improvement 
Finance 
program 
under 
chapter V of the Railroad Revitalization 
and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 
U.S.C. 821 et seq.); 
‘‘(ii) the transportation infrastructure 
finance and innovation program in chapter 
6 of title 23; 
‘‘(iii) funding provided by the govern-
ment of a country that is adjacent to the 
international border of the United States 
through which the proposed corridor will 
cross; 
‘‘(iv) a State, local, or private source; 
or 
‘‘(v) any combination of the sources 
described in clauses (i) through (v). 
‘‘(C) For any funds derived from the pro-
grams described in clauses (i) or (ii) of sub-
paragraph (B) that are used to finance costs 
associated with capital projects in high-speed 
rail corridors, such funds shall be repaid from 
State, local, or private sources.’’; 
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