SEC. 2. INTERIM USE OF RAILROAD RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 
Section 8 of the National Trails System Act (16 
U.S.C. 1247) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (d)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary of Trans-
portation’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) The Secretary of 
Transportation’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) To be eligible for the treatment described in this 
subsection, a State, political subdivision, or qualified pri-
vate organization shall— 
‘‘(A) provide notice to— 
‘‘(i) the owners of any property upon which 
the railroad right-of-way crosses, or is adjacent 
to the land subject to the right-of-way; and 
‘‘(ii) any unit of local government with ju-
risdiction over any property upon which the 
railroad right-of-way crosses; 
‘‘(B) not later than 30 days after intervening in 
an abandonment proceeding under this subsection, 
receive signed approval from each owner described in 
subparagraph (A)(i) for the proposed interim use; 
‘‘(C) disclose the legal status of the occupancy 
for the right-of-way; 
‘‘(D) with respect to any proposed agreement 
under this subsection— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:13 Aug 11, 2025
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
mprince on LAP1J3WLY3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(i) ensure that any agreement reached 
under this subsection requires the State, polit-
ical subdivision, or qualified private organiza-
tion party to such agreement to compensate the 
owners of property upon which such right-of- 
way crosses for any additional cost attributed to 
the interim use, with a minimum compensation 
level at fair market value of such property, in-
cluding costs imposed on affected landowners 
due to the required movement of existing infra-
structure and lost development opportunities; 
‘‘(ii) provide to the Board such assurances 
as the Board may require, that the State, polit-
ical subdivision, or qualified private organiza-
tion has the financial resources to provide com-
pensation as described under clause (i); and 
‘‘(iii) ensure that any agreement reached 
under this subsection requires the trail sponsor 
to continue all right-of-way maintenance re-
sponsibilities in perpetuity or until the right-of- 
way returns to active rail service; and 
‘‘(E) create an online publicly accessible portal 
to disclose the information described in subpara-
graph (A) through (D). 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:13 Aug 11, 2025
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
mprince on LAP1J3WLY3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(3) Before issuing a notice for interim trail use de-
scribed in this subsection, and after the approval has been 
provided under paragraph (2)(B), the Board shall— 
‘‘(A) provide for a public notice and comment 
period beginning not less than 90 days before a cer-
tification is awarded under this subsection; 
‘‘(B) review the width of any applicable ease-
ment and consider narrowing an easement if it such 
width is not necessary for the corridor to potentially 
be returned to service as a rail corridor; 
‘‘(C) not later than 10 days after the comple-
tion of the requirements under subparagraph (A), 
carry out a cost-benefit analysis of the full impact 
of the interim use of the railway that considers— 
‘‘(i) the impact on— 
‘‘(I) safety; 
‘‘(II) health; 
‘‘(III) security; 
‘‘(IV) privacy; 
‘‘(V) biosecurity; 
‘‘(VI) food security; and 
‘‘(VII) economic impact on owners de-
scribed in paragraph (2)(A)(i) and other 
local communities; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:13 Aug 11, 2025
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
mprince on LAP1J3WLY3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(ii) the likelihood that the corridor will re-
turn to use as rail service if such a consider-
ation was not taken into account in such anal-
ysis. 
‘‘(4) Any cost incurred carrying out the requirements 
of paragraph (3)(B) shall be borne by the State, political 
subdivision, or qualified private organization proposing the 
interim railway use and the Board shall not incur any such 
expenses until funding for carrying out such activities is 
received from the trail sponsor.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this sec-
tion, the Board may contract with an independent third 
party to conduct a cost-benefit analysis required to be car-
ried out under subsection (d)(3)(B).’’. 
SEC. 3. PERIODIC REVIEW OF RAILS-TO-TRAILS COR-
RIDORS. 
The Surface Transportation Board shall— 
(1) periodically review rails-to-trails corridors 
described in section 8(d) of the National Trails Sys-
tem Act (16 U.S.C. 1247(d)); and 
(2) make recommendations to relevant congres-
sional committees on maintenance requirements of 
the trail sponsor and consider requests of land-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:13 Aug 11, 2025
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
mprince on LAP1J3WLY3PROD with $$_JOB
owners and trail sponsors to narrow the width of the 
easement for a corridor. 
SEC. 4. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior 
shall establish an advisory committee to recommend main-
tenance requirements for trail sponsors under the program 
described in section 8(d) of the National Trails System 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1247(d)) and any agreement reached 
under such program. 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The advisory committee estab-
lished under subsection (a) shall be composed of 11 mem-
bers appointed by the Secretary not later than 60 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act. The members of 
the committee shall be as follows: 
(1) 6 members selected from landowners along 
existing trails created under such program. 
(2) 3 members representing rail carriers. 
(3) 2 members that are trail sponsors under 
such program. 
(c) COMPENSATION; TRAVEL EXPENSES.— 
(1) COMPENSATION.—Members of the com-
mittee established under subsection (a) shall not re-
ceive compensation from the Secretary in carrying 
out the duties of the committee under this section. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:13 Aug 11, 2025
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
mprince on LAP1J3WLY3PROD with $$_JOB