819 
under subsection (c)(2)(B) and as required under 
subsection (l) of section 22907. 
‘‘(2) PUBLICATION.—The Administrator shall 
make available on a publicly available website the 
protective arrangements established under para-
graph (1).’’. 
SEC. 9304. HIGH-SPEED RAIL FUNDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law and not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation 
shall reinstate any cooperative agreement terminated after 
January 1, 2019 that was originally entered into under 
the heading ‘‘Capital Assistance for High Speed Rail Cor-
ridors and Intercity Passenger Rail Service’’ in the De-
partment of Transportation Appropriations Act, 2010 
(Public Law 111–117). 
(b) INCLUSION.—The reinstatement under subsection 
(a) shall include the obligation to such agreement of all 
of the funds obligated to such agreement as of the date 
of termination of such agreement. 
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TITLE IV—COMMUTER RAIL 
POLICY 
SEC. 9401. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD MEDIATION 
OF TRACKAGE USE REQUESTS. 
Section 28502 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 28502. Surface Transportation Board mediation of 
trackage use requests 
‘‘A rail carrier shall provide good faith consideration 
to a reasonable request from a provider of commuter rail 
passenger transportation for access to trackage and provi-
sion of related services. If, after a reasonable period of 
negotiation, a public transportation authority cannot 
reach agreement with a rail carrier to use trackage of, and 
have related services provided by, the rail carrier for pur-
poses of commuter rail passenger transportation, the pub-
lic transportation authority or the rail carrier may apply 
to the Board for nonbinding mediation. The Board shall 
conduct the nonbinding mediation in accordance with the 
mediation process of section 1109.4 of title 49, Code of 
Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment 
of the TRAIN Act.’’. 
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SEC. 9402. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD MEDIATION 
OF RIGHTS-OF-WAY USE REQUESTS. 
Section 28503 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 28503. Surface Transportation Board mediation of 
rights-of-way use requests 
‘‘A rail carrier shall provide good faith consideration 
to a reasonable request from a provider of commuter rail 
passenger transportation for access to rail right-of-way for 
the construction and operation of a segregated fixed guide-
way facility. If, after a reasonable period of negotiation, 
a public transportation authority cannot reach agreement 
with a rail carrier to acquire an interest in a railroad 
right-of-way for the construction and operation of a seg-
regated fixed guideway facility to provide commuter rail 
passenger transportation, the public transportation au-
thority or the rail carrier may apply to the Board for non-
binding mediation. The Board shall conduct the non-
binding mediation in accordance with the mediation proc-
ess of section 1109.4 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula-
tions, as in effect on the date of enactment of the TRAIN 
Act.’’. 
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TITLE V—RAIL SAFETY 
Subtitle A—Passenger and Freight 
Safety 
SEC. 9501. NATIONAL ACADEMIES STUDY ON SAFETY IM-
PACT OF TRAINS LONGER THAN 7,500 FEET. 
(a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Transportation shall 
seek to enter into an agreement with the National Acad-
emies to conduct a study and issue 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 safety 
impacts of freight trains longer than 7,500 feet. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The study conducted pursuant to 
subsection (a) shall include— 
(1) an examination of any potential risks of the 
operation of such trains and recommendations on 
mitigation of such risks; 
(2) among other safety factors with respect to 
such trains, an evaluation of— 
(A) any increased risk of loss of commu-
nications between the end of train device and 
the locomotive cab, including communications 
over differing terrains and conditions; 
(B) any increased risk of loss of commu-
nications between crewmembers, including com-
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munications over differing terrains and condi-
tions; 
(C) any increased risk of derailments, in-
cluding risks associated with in-train compres-
sive forces and slack action or other safety risks 
in the operations of such trains in differing ter-
rains and conditions; 
(D) safety risks associated with the deploy-
ment of multiple distributed power units in the 
consists of such trains; and 
(E) impacts of the length of trains on 
braking and locomotive performance and track 
wear and tear; and 
(3) an evaluation of whether additional engineer 
and conductor training is required for safely oper-
ating such trains. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 
to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 
report on the results of the study. 
(d) FUNDING.—From the amounts made available 
for fiscal year 2021 to carry out section 20117(a) of title 
49, United States Code, the Secretary shall expend not 
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less than $1,000,000 and not more than $2,000,000 to 
carry out the study required under subsection (a). 
SEC. 9502. GAO STUDY ON CHANGES IN FREIGHT RAILROAD 
OPERATING AND SCHEDULING PRACTICES. 
(a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 
States shall study the impact on freight rail shippers, Am-
trak, commuter railroads, railroad employees, and other 
affected parties of changes in freight railroad operating 
and scheduling practices as a result of the implementation 
of the precision scheduled railroading model. 
(b) CONTENTS.—At minimum, the study shall exam-
ine— 
(1) the impacts of the operation of longer 
trains; 
(2) safety impacts of reduction in workforce, in-
cluding occupational injury rates, impacts to inspec-
tion frequencies and repair quality, and changes in 
workforce demands; 
(3) the elimination or downsizing of yards, re-
pair facilities, and other operational facilities; 
(4) increases in demurrage or accessorial 
charges or other costs to shippers; 
(5) capital expenditures for rail infrastructure; 
and 
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(6) the effect of changes to dispatching prac-
tices and locations of dispatching centers on— 
(A) the on-time performance of passenger 
trains, and 
(B) the quality and reliability of service to 
freight shippers. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 
submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate a report summarizing the study and the results 
of such study, including recommendations for addressing 
any negative impacts of precision scheduled railroading on 
freight shippers or passenger railroads. 
SEC. 9503. FRA SAFETY REPORTING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 20901 of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘(including the train 
length, the number of crew members on board the train, 
and the duties of such crew members)’’ after ‘‘reported 
accident or incident’’. 
(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Trans-
portation shall issue such regulations as are necessary to 
carry out the amendment made by subsection (a). 
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SEC. 9504. WAIVER NOTICE REQUIREMENTS. 
Section 20103(d) of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(d) NONEMERGENCY WAIVERS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may waive 
compliance with any part of a regulation prescribed 
or order issued under this chapter if the waiver is 
in the public interest and consistent with railroad 
safety. 
‘‘(2) 
NOTICE
REQUIRED.—The 
Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(A) provide timely public notice of any re-
quest for a waiver under this subsection; 
‘‘(B) make the application for such waiver 
and any related underlying data available to in-
terested parties; 
‘‘(C) provide the public with notice and a 
reasonable opportunity to comment on a pro-
posed waiver under this subsection before mak-
ing a final decision; and 
‘‘(D) make public the reasons for granting 
a waiver under this subsection. 
‘‘(3) INFORMATION PROTECTION.—Nothing in 
this subsection shall be construed to require the re-
lease of information protected by law from public 
disclosure.’’. 
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SEC. 9505. NOTICE OF FRA COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY AS-
SESSMENTS. 
(a) INITIAL NOTICE.—Not later than 10 business 
days after the Federal Railroad Administration initiates 
a comprehensive safety assessment of an entity providing 
regularly scheduled intercity or commuter rail passenger 
transportation, the Federal Railroad Administration shall 
notify in electronic format the Committee on Transpor-
tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation of the Senate, and each member of Congress rep-
resenting a State in which the service that is the subject 
of the assessment being conducted is located, of the initi-
ation of such assessment. 
(b) FINDINGS.—Not later than 90 days after comple-
tion of a comprehensive safety assessment described in 
subsection (a), the Federal Railroad Administration shall 
transmit in electronic format to the Committee on Trans-
portation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate, and to each member of Con-
gress representing a State in which the service that is the 
subject of the assessment being conducted is located, the 
findings of such assessment, including identified defects 
and any recommendations. 
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(c) DEFINITION OF COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY AS-
SESSMENT.—In this section, the term ‘‘comprehensive 
safety assessment’’ means a focused review of the safety- 
related processes and procedures, compliance with safety 
regulations and requirements, and overall safety culture 
of an entity providing regularly scheduled intercity or com-
muter rail passenger transportation. 
SEC. 9506. FRA ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS. 
Section 20902 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘subpena’’ and 
inserting ‘‘subpoena’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) GATHERING INFORMATION
AND TECHNICAL 
EXPERTISE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall create 
a standard process for investigators to use during 
accident and incident investigations conducted under 
this section for determining when it is appropriate 
to, and how to— 
‘‘(A) gather information about an accident 
or incident under investigation from railroad 
carriers, contractors or employees of railroad 
carriers or representatives of employees of rail-
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‘‘(2) FEDERAL SHARE.— 
‘‘(A) PROJECTS
OVER
$40,000,000.—For 
projects exceeding $40,000,000 in total project 
costs, the Federal share under this section for 
such project shall not exceed 65 percent. 
‘‘(B) PROJECTS
UNDER
$40,000,000.—For 
projects not exceeding $40,000,000 in total 
project costs, the Federal share under this sec-
tion for such project shall not exceed 85 per-
cent. 
‘‘(f) GRANT CONDITIONS.—An eligible entity may not 
receive a grant for a project under this section unless such 
project is in compliance with section 22905, except that 
22905(b) shall only apply to a person that conducts rail 
operations. 
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means— 
‘‘(A) a State; 
‘‘(B) a public agency or publicly chartered 
authority; 
‘‘(C) a metropolitan planning organization; 
‘‘(D) a political subdivision of a State; and 
‘‘(E) a Tribal government. 
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