I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1713 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide for stable, productive, 
and efficient passenger rail service in the United States, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 20, 2005 
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself and Mr. OBERSTAR) (both by request): in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide for stable, 
productive, and efficient passenger rail service in the 
United States, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Passenger Rail Investment Reform Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Purposes; definitions.
TITLE I—NATIONAL PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE RESTRUCTURING 
Sec. 101. Board of Directors of Amtrak. 
Sec. 102. Passenger rail service restructuring. 
Sec. 103. North East Corridor Compact. 
Sec. 104. Assistance to address capital needs. 
Sec. 105. Employee transition assistance; authorization. 
Sec. 106. Limit on operating assistance for long-distance routes. 
Sec. 107. Repeal of obsolete and executed provisions of law; other. 
TITLE II—FINANCIAL REFORMS 
Sec. 201. Limitations on availability of grants. 
Sec. 202. Spending plans for capital backlog reduction. 
Sec. 203. Redemption of common stock. 
Sec. 204. Retirement of preferred stock; transfer of assets. 
Sec. 205. Real estate and asset sales; other. 
Sec. 206. Management and transfer of secured debt. 
Sec. 207. Transition assistance. 
TITLE III—GRANTS AND OTHER ASSISTANCE FOR INTERCITY 
PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE 
Sec. 301. Capital assistance for intercity passenger rail service. 
Sec. 302. Final regulations on applications by States for development grants. 
Sec. 303. Authority for interstate compacts for corridor development. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSES; DEFINITIONS. 
(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to— 
(1) preserve an intercity passenger rail service 
system in the United States that is driven by sound 
economics; 
(2) provide a transition from the existing struc-
ture for providing such service to a structure that is 
more aligned with existing and emerging transpor-
tation needs; 
(3) develop a system that provides high quality 
passenger rail service at a reasonable cost; 
(4) establish a long-term partnership among the 
States and the Federal Government to support inter-
city passenger rail service; and
(5) create an effective public-private partner-
ship, after a reasonable transition, to manage the 
capital assets of the Northeast Corridor. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act, 
(1) ‘‘Year One’’ means the next Federal fiscal 
year to begin after the date of enactment of this 
Act, except that the term means the current Federal 
fiscal year if the date of enactment of the Act is 
within 60 days of the first day of the current Fed-
eral fiscal year. 
(2) ‘‘Year Two’’, ‘‘Year Three’’, ‘‘Year Four’’, 
‘‘Year Five’’, and ‘‘Year Six’’ mean, respectively, the 
Federal fiscal year that follows year one by one, two, 
three, four, and five years, respectively. 
TITLE I—NATIONAL PASSENGER 
RAIL SERVICE RESTRUCTURING 
SEC. 101. BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF AMTRAK. 
Section 24302 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 24302. Board of Directors 
‘‘(a) MEMBERSHIP.—(1) The Transition Board of 
Directors of Amtrak shall consist of 11 voting members, 
including— 
‘‘(A) the Secretary of Transportation, or an of-
ficer of the United States within the Department of
Transportation appointed by the President, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, and com-
pensated under the Executive Schedule under title 5, 
United States Code, who is designated by the Sec-
retary (hereafter in this section the ‘Secretary’s dele-
gate’); and 
‘‘(B) 10 other members appointed by the Presi-
dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen-
ate. 
‘‘(2) The President of Amtrak shall serve as an ex 
officio, nonvoting member of the Board of Directors. 
‘‘(b) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the Board of 
Directors shall not be compensated for service as such 
member, but shall receive with respect to such service 
travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, 
in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5. 
‘‘(c) TERM OF OFFICE.—Members serving un-expired 
terms on the date of enactment of this section may con-
tinue to serve until the earlier of the expiration of their 
terms or the date on which the restructuring mandated 
under section 24310 of this title is implemented. Members 
appointed by the President under subsection (a)(1)(B) 
shall serve for a term that expires on the date the restruc-
turing mandated in section 24310 of this title is imple-
mented. At the expiration of their terms, members of the
Board shall be eligible to serve as members of the boards 
of successor corporations to Amtrak. 
‘‘(d) QUORUM.—At any time after the date of enact-
ment of this section, a majority of the Board members 
who have been lawfully appointed shall constitute a 
quorum for purposes of conducting Board meetings and 
making all necessary decisions regarding the operations, 
structure, and business affairs of Amtrak. 
‘‘(e) TRANSITION COMMITTEE.—(1) The Board of 
Directors shall form an Asset Transition Committee com-
prised of the Secretary, or the Secretary’s delegate, and 
two other members, or one other member if two other 
members are not lawfully appointed. 
‘‘(2) In addition to other powers and duties assigned 
by the Board, the Asset Transition Committee has the 
duty to ensure that the public interest is served in Board 
decisions and Amtrak management actions that change 
the use of or status of (A) the contractual right of access 
of Amtrak to rail lines of other railroads; (B) Amtrak se-
cured debt; (C) Northeast Corridor real property and as-
sets; and (D) rolling stock. 
‘‘(3) The Board may not take an action with regard 
to the assets or secured debt specified in paragraph (2), 
or permit an Amtrak management action with regard to