Title: Passenger Train Safety Act
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Passenger Train Safety Act
This bill addresses passenger safety issues aboard trains.
Specifically, the bill

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6066 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6066

To require the Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak to implement 
      and carry out certain National Transportation Safety Board 
                recommendations, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 3, 2020

 Mr. Heck (for himself, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Larsen of Washington, and Mr. 
   Amodei) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak to implement 
      and carry out certain National Transportation Safety Board 
                recommendations, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Passenger Train Safety Act''.

SEC. 2. SAFETY IMPLEMENTATION REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Federal Railroad Administration Requirements.--Not later than 
18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 
the Federal Railroad Administration shall carry out the following:
            (1) Complete a study on how signage can be used to improve 
        safety in the rail industry that includes--
                    (A) a review of how signs used for other modes of 
                transportation may be effectively used in the rail 
                industry;
                    (B) a review of how signs used in the railroad 
                industry differ; and
                    (C) an analysis of whether a uniform system for 
                speed signs across the entire railroad industry would 
                benefit the railroad industry and improve safety.
            (2) Reevaluate existing seat securement mechanisms and 
        their susceptibility to inadvertent rotation, to identify a 
        means to prevent the failure of these devices to maintain seat 
        securement.
            (3) Conduct research to evaluate the causes of passenger 
        injuries in passenger railcar derailments and evaluate 
        potential methods for mitigating such injuries.
            (4) For research specified by the National Transportation 
        Safety Board in safety recommendation R-16-35 that identifies 
        safety improvements, use the findings to develop occupant 
        protection standards for passenger railcars that will mitigate 
        passenger injuries likely to occur during derailments and 
        overturns.
    (b) Requirements for Amtrak.--Not later than 18 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, Amtrak shall--
            (1) ensure operating crewmembers demonstrate proficiency on 
        the physical characteristics of a territory by using all 
        resources available to them, including--
                    (A) in-cab instruments, signage, signals, and 
                landmarks;
                    (B) under daylight and nighttime conditions; and
                    (C) using observation rides, throttle time, and 
                written examinations;
            (2) revise classroom and road training programs to ensure 
        that operating crews fully understand all locomotive operating 
        characteristics, alarms, and the appropriate response to 
        abnormal conditions;
            (3) require that all engineers undergo simulator training 
        before operating new or unfamiliar equipment (at a minimum, 
        experience and respond properly to all alarms), and when 
        possible, undergo simulator training before operating in 
        revenue service in a new territory and experience normal and 
        abnormal conditions on that territory;
            (4) implement a formal, systematic approach to developing 
        training and qualification programs to identify the most 
        effective strategies for preparing crewmembers to safely 
        operate new equipment on new territories;
            (5) complete a comprehensive assessment of the territories 
        to ensure that necessary wayside signs and plaques are 
        identified, highly noticeable, and strategically located to 
        provide operating crews the information needed to safely 
        operate their trains;
            (6) conduct training that specifies and reinforces how each 
        crewmember, including those who have not received their 
        certifications or qualifications, may be used as a resource to 
        assist in establishing and maintaining safe train operations;
            (7) update the safety review process to ensure that all 
        operating documents are up to date and accurate before 
        initiating new or revised revenue operations;
            (8) incorporate all prerevenue service planning, 
        construction, and route verification work into the scope of 
        your corporate-wide system safety plan, including your rules 
        and policies, risk assessment analyses, safety assurances, and 
        safety promotions;
            (9) conduct risk assessments on all new or upgraded 
        services that occur on Amtrak-owned territory, host railroads, 
        or in States that own infrastructure over which you operate; 
        and
            (10) develop policies for the safe use of child safety 
        seats to prevent uncontrolled or unexpected movements in 
        passenger trains and provide customers with guidance for 
        securing these child safety seats.

SEC. 3. INWARD- AND OUTWARD-FACING RECORDERS.

    Section 20168 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c) by inserting ``or an inward- or 
        outward-facing audio recording device for compliance with the 
        requirements of subsection (l)'' before the period;
            (2) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:
    ``(e) Audio Recorders.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
Passenger Train Safety Act, the Secretary shall by regulation require 
each railroad carrier that provides regularly scheduled intercity rail 
passenger or commuter rail passenger transportation to the public to 
install inward- and outward-facing audio recording devices in or on all 
controlling locomotive cabs and cab car operating compartments on such 
passenger trains.''; and
            (3) in subsection (f)--
                    (A) by striking ``subsection (a)'' and inserting 
                ``this section''; and
                    (B) by striking ``image'' and inserting ``image or 
                audio'';
            (4) in subsection (g) by striking ``subsection (a)'' and 
        inserting ``this section'';
            (5) in subsection (h)--
                    (A) by striking ``audio or'';
                    (B) by striking ``or transcript of oral 
                communications''; and
                    (C) by striking the second sentence;
            (6) in subsection (j) by striking ``image'' and inserting 
        ``image or audio'' each place it appears; and
            (7) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(k) Limitation on Use of Recorded Information.-- The Secretary 
may not use any information collected pursuant to this section in a 
civil penalty or certificate action.
    ``(l) Audio Recording Requirements.--An audio recording device 
required under this section shall--
            ``(1) operate continuously any time the controlling 
        locomotive cabs and cab car operating compartments is in 
        motion;
            ``(2) have crash and fire protections for any audio 
        recordings that are stored only within a controlling locomotive 
        cab or cab car operating compartment; and
            ``(3) encrypt all audio recorded by such device.
    ``(m) Review of Audio Recordings.--
            ``(1) Preservation of certain recordings.--For any audio 
        recorded pursuant to this section of an accident or incident 
        that is required to be reported to the National Transportation 
        Safety Board, the rail carrier holding such recording shall 
        preserve such recording according to the requirements of 
        subsection (g).
            ``(2) Exclusive review.--The National Transportation Safety 
        Board shall have the exclusive authority to--
                    ``(A) decrypt, or provide a decryption key for, an 
                audio recording described in this section; and
                    ``(B) except as provided for in subsection (n), 
                review an audio recording described in this section 
                prior to a public disclosure of such recording.
            ``(3) Public disclosure of audio.--Prior to any public 
        disclosure of an audio recorded under this section (as 
        otherwise provided for in law), the National Transportation 
        Safety Board shall--
                    ``(A) remove all personally identifiable 
                information in such recording; and
                    ``(B) ensure that the audio recording does not 
                contain any audio recorded earlier than 15 minutes 
                before the accident or incident required to be reported 
                to the Board.
    ``(n) Limited Use of Audio Recordings by Rail Carriers.--
            ``(1) In general.--Upon request of a rail carrier, the 
        National Transportation Safety Board may provide a decryption 
        key to such carrier for any audio recording recorded by such 
        carrier under this section, or provide a decrypted version of a 
        recording submitted to the Board under subsection (m), if the 
        Secretary certifies that the rail carrier and all collective 
        bargaining units representing employees of the carrier enter 
        into an agreement that contains the limitations specified in 
        paragraph (2).
            ``(2) Eligible use.--An agreement under paragraph (1) shall 
        require that--
                    ``(A) the recording transmitted is used for 
                training purposes only; and
                    ``(B) the recording is not used for employee 
                discipline or the enforcement of operating rules.''.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF CERTAIN NEW ROUTES.

    Section 20157 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(m) Prohibition on Provision of Certain New Routes.--An entity 
providing regularly scheduled intercity or commuter rail passenger 
transportation may not begin service on any new route that is subject 
to the requirements of this section unless a positive train control 
system is fully implemented and operational on such route.''.

SEC. 5. SPEED LIMIT ACTION PLANS.

    (a) Section 11406 of the FAST Act (Public Law 114-94) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a) by striking ``survey its entire 
        system'' and inserting ``survey its entire system and any other 
        infrastructure over which such railroad carrier operates'';
            (2) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), and (f) as 
        subsections (e), (f), and (g), respectively;
            (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
    ``(d) Periodic Reviews and Updates.--Each railroad carrier 
described under subsection (a) shall--
            ``(1) annually review the speed limit action plans to 
        ensure the effectiveness of actions taken to enable warning and 
        enforcement of the maximum authorized speed for passenger 
        trains at each location identified under subsection (b)(1); and
            ``(2) not later than 90 days prior to implementing any 
        operational or territorial operating changes, such as 
        initiating new service or routes, submit to the Secretary a 
        revised action plan that addresses such operational or 
        territorial operating changes.''; and
            (4) in subsection (c) by inserting ``or subsection (d)(2)'' 
        after ``subsection (b)''.

SEC. 6. REPORT.

    Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak 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 progress of the 
implementation of the safety recommendations described in section 3, 
including a description of all completed elements of the 
implementation.
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