I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 769 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Transpor-
tation to issue regulations under which Amtrak is responsible for refund-
ing rail passengers the cost of certain rail transportation that was can-
celed or delayed due to a failure of Amtrak, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 28, 2025 
Mr. GOTTHEIMER (for himself and Mr. KEAN) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the Sec-
retary of Transportation to issue regulations under which 
Amtrak is responsible for refunding rail passengers the 
cost of certain rail transportation that was canceled or 
delayed due to a failure of Amtrak, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 ‘‘All Aboard Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. ACCOUNTABILITY OF AMTRAK FOR UNFULFILLED 
FARES 
CAUSED 
BY 
MAINTENANCE 
AND 
OTHER FAILURES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 243 of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘§ 24324. Right of rail passengers to recover certain 
unfulfilled fare 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of the All Aboard Act, the Secretary 
of Transportation shall issue regulations to ensure that 
any person who purchases covered rail passenger transpor-
tation receives a refund equal to the rate the person paid 
for such transportation, at the expense of Amtrak and in 
accordance with this section, if due to a failure of Amtrak, 
such transportation, or a part of such transportation, is— 
‘‘(1) canceled; or 
‘‘(2) delayed such that the transportation is 
completed more than 3 hours after the expected 
completion time as of the time of the purchase. 
‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF CAUSE.— 
‘‘(1) CAUSATION.—For purposes of subsection 
(a), a cancellation or delay is not a failure of Am-
trak if the cancellation or delay is attributable to 
forces or persons uncontrollable by Amtrak. 
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‘‘(2) DISPUTE PROCEDURES.—In carrying out 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall issue regulations 
that include— 
‘‘(A) procedures for determining if a can-
cellation or delay is subject to subsection (a); 
and 
‘‘(B) procedures by which Amtrak can dis-
pute that a cancellation or delay is subject to 
subsection (a), including that the cancellation 
or delay was due to a failure of Amtrak. 
‘‘(c) REFUND ISSUANCE.— 
‘‘(1) TIMING.—A provider of covered rail pas-
senger transportation shall issue a refund with re-
spect to a cancellation or delay described in sub-
section (a)— 
‘‘(A) if Amtrak does not dispute that the 
cancellation or delay is due to a failure of Am-
trak— 
‘‘(i) if the covered rail passenger 
transportation is purchased with credit, a 
voucher, or rewards points issued by the 
provider of such transportation, not later 
than 7 days after the cancellation or delay; 
or 
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‘‘(ii) if the covered rail passenger 
transportation is purchased with cash, as 
soon as is feasible after the cancellation or 
delay; or 
‘‘(B) if Amtrak disputes, pursuant to the 
procedures established under subsection (b)(2), 
that the cancellation or delay is subject to sub-
section (a), not later than a date— 
‘‘(i) which is after the date on which 
a final determination is issued that the 
cancellation or delay is subject to sub-
section (a); and 
‘‘(ii) determined by the Secretary to 
be prompt and feasible. 
‘‘(2) FORM.—A refund under subsection (a) 
shall be issued to a purchaser of covered rail pas-
senger transportation in the form of payment used 
by the purchaser. 
‘‘(d) AMTRAK REIMBURSEMENT
OF OTHER RAIL 
CARRIERS.—Amtrak shall, upon request from a rail car-
rier that issues a refund under subsection (a), reimburse 
the rail carrier in the amount equal to the refund. 
‘‘(e) NONCOMPLIANCE.—Amtrak may not receive 
Federal funds for any period during which the Secretary 
determines that Amtrak is noncompliant with this section. 
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‘‘(f) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply for 
any fiscal year in which Amtrak accepts Federal funds. 
‘‘(g) COVERED RAIL PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION 
DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘covered rail pas-
senger transportation’ means— 
‘‘(1) rail passenger transportation provided by, 
or on behalf, of Amtrak; or 
‘‘(2) commuter rail passenger transportation 
that travels over rails owned by Amtrak, regardless 
of if such transportation is provided by Amtrak or 
another rail carrier.’’. 
(b) REPLACEMENT
OF AMTRAK ASSET MAINTE-
NANCE STRATEGY.— 
(1) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act, Amtrak shall sub-
mit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation of the Senate a report including— 
(A) an identification of each asset mainte-
nance strategy that Amtrak could adopt as a 
replacement for a run-to-fail maintenance 
model; and 
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(B) the estimated cost of implementing 
each asset maintenance strategy identified pur-
suant to subparagraph (A). 
(2) BAN
ON
RUN-TO-FAIL
MODEL.—Amtrak 
may not use a run-to-fail maintenance model after 
the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act. 
(3) IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW ASSET MAINTE-
NANCE STRATEGY.—Not later than 2 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, Amtrak shall imple-
ment an asset maintenance strategy identified in the 
report under paragraph (1). 
(c) 
RUN-TO-FAIL
MAINTENANCE
MODEL
DE-
FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘run-to-fail mainte-
nance model’’ means an asset maintenance strategy under 
which an asset (including equipment and infrastructure 
used for passenger rail transportation) is retired from use 
only at such time as— 
(1) the asset is no longer capable of fulfilling an 
intended use; or 
(2) the age of the asset exceeds the manufac-
turer-estimated lifespan of the asset. 
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(d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘24324. Right of rail passengers to recover certain unfulfilled fare.’’. 
Æ 
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