49 U.S.C. § 24320 (TRANSPORTATION)
§ 24320. Amtrak 5-year business line and asset plans
(a) In General.—
(1) Final plans.—
Not later than February 15 of each year, Amtrak shall submit to Congress and the Secretary of Transportation final 5-year business line plans and 5-year asset plans prepared in accordance with this section. These final plans shall form the basis for Amtrak’s general and legislative annual report to the President and Congress required by section 24315(b). Each plan shall cover a period of 5 fiscal years, beginning with the first fiscal year after the date on which the plan is completed.
(2) Fiscal constraint.—
Each plan prepared under this section shall be based on funding levels authorized or otherwise available to Amtrak in a fiscal year. In the absence of an authorization or appropriation of funds for a fiscal year, the plans shall be based on the amount of funding available in the previous fiscal year, plus inflation. Amtrak may include an appendix to the asset plan required in subsection (c) that describes any funding needs in excess of amounts authorized or otherwise available to Amtrak in a fiscal year.
(b) Amtrak 5-Year Business Line Plans.—
(1) Amtrak business lines.—
Amtrak shall prepare a 5-year business line plan for each of the following business lines and services:
(A) Northeast Corridor train services.
(B) State-supported routes operated by Amtrak.
(C) Long-distance routes operated by Amtrak.
(D) Ancillary services operated by Amtrak, including commuter operations and other revenue generating activities as determined by the Secretary in coordination with Amtrak.
(2) Contents of 5-year business line plans.—
The 5-year business line plan for each business line shall include, at a minimum—
(A) a statement of Amtrak’s objectives, goals, and service plan for the business line, in consultation with any entities that are contributing capital or operating funding to support passenger rail services within those business lines, and aligned with Amtrak’s Strategic Plan and 5-year asset plans under subsection (c);
(B) all projected revenues and expenditures for the business line, including identification of revenues and expenditures incurred by—
(i) passenger operations;
(ii) non-passenger operations that are directly related to the business line; and
(iii) governmental funding sources, including revenues and other funding received from States;
(C) projected ridership levels for all passenger operations;
(D) estimates of long-term and short-term debt and associated principal and interest payments (both current and forecasts);
(E) annual profit and loss statements and forecasts and balance sheets;
(F) annual cash flow forecasts;
(G) a statement describing the methodologies and significant assumptions underlying estimates and forecasts;
(H) specific performance measures that demonstrate year over year changes in the results of Amtrak’s operations;
(I) financial performance for each route within each business line, including descriptions of the cash operating loss or contribution and productivity for each route;
(J) specific costs and savings estimates resulting from reform initiatives;
(K) prior fiscal year and projected equipment reliability statistics; and
(L) an identification and explanation of any major adjustments made from previously-approved plans.
(3) 5-year business line plans process.—
In meeting the requirements of this section, Amtrak shall—
(A) consult with the Secretary in the development of the business line plans;
(B) for the Northeast Corridor business line plan, consult with the Northeast Corridor Commission and transmit to the Commission the final plan under subsection (a)(1), and consult with other entities, as appropriate;
(C) for the State-supported route business line plan, consult with the State-Supported Route Committee established under section 24712;
(D) for the long-distance route business line plan, consult with any States or Interstate Compacts that provide funding for such routes, as appropriate;
(E) ensure that Amtrak’s general and legislative annual report, required under section 24315(b), to the President and Congress is consistent with the information in the 5-year business line plans; and
(F) identify the appropriate Amtrak officials that are responsible for each business line.
(4) Definition of northeast corridor.—
Notwithstanding section 24102, for purposes of this section, the term “Northeast Corridor” means the Northeast Corridor main line between Boston, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia, and facilities and services used to operate and maintain that line.
(c) Amtrak 5-Year Asset Plans.—
(1) Asset categories.—
Amtrak shall prepare a 5-year asset plan for each of the following asset categories:
(A) Infrastructure, including all Amtrak-controlled Northeast Corridor assets and other Amtrak-owned infrastructure, and the associated facilities that support the operation, maintenance, and improvement of those assets.
(B) Passenger rail equipment, including all Amtrak-controlled rolling stock, locomotives, and mechanical shop facilities that are used to overhaul equipment.
(C) Stations, including all Amtrak-controlled passenger rail stations and elements of other stations for which Amtrak has legal responsibility or intends to make capital investments.
(D) National assets, including national reservations, security, training and training centers, and other assets associated with Amtrak’s national rail passenger transportation system.
(2) Contents of 5-year asset plans.—
Each asset plan shall include, at a minimum—
(A) a summary of Amtrak’s 5-year strategic plan for each asset category, including goals, objectives, any relevant performance metrics, and statutory or regulatory actions affecting the assets;
(B) an inventory of existing Amtrak capital assets, to the extent practicable, including information regarding shared use or ownership, if applicable;
(C) a prioritized list of proposed capital investments that—
(i) categorizes each capital project as being primarily associated with—
(I) normalized capital replacement;
(II) backlog capital replacement;
(III) improvements to support service enhancements or growth;
(IV) strategic initiatives that will improve overall operational performance, lower costs, or otherwise improve Amtrak’s corporate efficiency; or
(V) statutory, regulatory, or other legal mandates;
(ii) identifies each project or program that is associated with more than 1 category described in clause (i); and
(iii) describes the anticipated business outcome of each project or program identified under this subparagraph, including an assessment of—
(I) the potential effect on passenger operations, safety, reliability, and resilience;
(II) the potential effect on Amtrak’s ability to meet regulatory requirements if the project or program is not funded; and
(III) the benefits and costs; and
(D) annual profit and loss statements and forecasts and balance sheets for each asset category.
(3) 5-year asset plan process.—
In meeting the requirements of this subsection, Amtrak shall—
(A) consult with each business line described in subsection (b)(1) in the preparation of each 5-year asset plan and ensure integration of each 5-year asset plan with the 5-year business line plans;
(B) as applicable, consult with the Northeast Corridor Commission, the State-Supported Route Committee, and owners of assets affected by 5-year asset plans; and
(C) identify the appropriate Amtrak officials that are responsible for each asset category.
(4) Evaluation of national assets costs.—
The Secretary shall—
(A) evaluate the costs and scope of all national assets; and
(B) determine the activities and costs that are—
(i) required in order to ensure the efficient operations of a national rail passenger system;
(ii) appropriate for allocation to 1 of the other Amtrak business lines; and
(iii) extraneous to providing an efficient national rail passenger system or are too costly relative to the benefits or performance outcomes they provide.
(5) Definition of national assets.—
In this section, the term “national assets” means the Nation’s core rail assets shared among Amtrak services, including national reservations, security, training and training centers, and other assets associated with Amtrak’s national rail passenger transportation system.
(6) Restructuring of national assets.—
Not later than 1 year after the date of completion of the evaluation under paragraph (4), the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, in consultation with the Amtrak Board of Directors, the governors of each relevant State, and the Mayor of the District of Columbia, or their designees, shall restructure or reallocate, or both, the national assets costs in accordance with the determination under that section, including making appropriate updates to Amtrak’s cost accounting methodology and system.
(7) Exemption.—
(A) In general.—
Upon written request from the Amtrak Board of Directors, the Secretary may exempt Amtrak from including in a plan required under this subsection any information described in paragraphs (1) and (2).
(B) Public availability.—
The Secretary shall make available to the public on the Department’s Internet Web site any exemption granted under subparagraph (A) and a detailed justification for granting such exemption.
(C) Inclusion in plan.—
Amtrak shall include in the plan required under this subsection any request granted under subparagraph (A) and justification under subparagraph (B).
(d) Standards to Promote Financial Stability.—
In preparing plans under this section, Amtrak shall—
(1) apply sound budgetary practices, including reducing costs and other expenditures, improving productivity, increasing revenues, or combinations of such practices; and
(2) use the categories specified in the financial accounting and reporting system developed under section 203 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (49 U.S.C. 24101 note).
(Added Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title XI, § 11203(a), Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1630.)
heading: Delayed Effective Dates Under Subsection (a)(1)
text: For delayed effective dates for requirements under subsection (a)(1) of this section, see Effective Date note below.
heading: Effective Date
text: Section effective Oct. 1, 2015, see section 1003 of Pub. L. 114–94, set out as an Effective Date of 2015 Amendment note under section 5313 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title XI, § 11203(b), Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1634, provided that: “The requirement for Amtrak to submit 5-year business line plans under section 24320(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code, shall take effect on February 15, 2017, the due date of the first business line plans. The requirement for Amtrak to submit 5-year asset plans under section 24320(a)(1) of such title shall take effect on February 15, 2019, the due date of the first asset plans.”
heading: Elimination of Duplicative Reporting
text: Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title XI, § 11215, Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1644, provided that:
“Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 4, 2015], the Secretary [of Transportation] shall—
“(1) review existing Amtrak reporting requirements and identify where the existing requirements are duplicative with the business line and asset plans required by section 24320 of title 49, United States Code, or any other planning or reporting requirements under Federal law or regulation;
“(2) if the duplicative requirements identified under paragraph (1) are administrative, eliminate such requirements; and
“(3) submit to Congress a report with any recommendations for repealing any other duplicative requirements.”