All Aboard Act

Bill: 119-hr-769
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5]
Introduced: 2025-01-28
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Latest action: action_date: 2025-01-29
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.

Summaries:
action_date: 2025-01-28
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><strong>All Aboard Act</strong></p><p>This bill requires Amtrak to issue refunds to rail passengers for the purchase price of rail&nbsp;passenger transportation that is cancelled or delayed due to a failure of Amtrak.</p><p>Specifically, the Department of Transportation (DOT) must issue regulations requiring Amtrak to issue full refunds to passengers&nbsp;for the purchase price of the covered rail passenger transportation if there is a cancellation or a delay of more than three hours in the journey completion time that is due to a failure of Amtrak.</p><p>Under the bill,&nbsp;<em>covered rail passenger&nbsp;transportation&nbsp;</em>means (1) rail passenger transportation provided by, or on behalf of, Amtrak; or (2) commuter rail passenger transportation&nbsp;that travels over Amtrak-owned rails, regardless of whether it is&nbsp;provided by Amtrak or other rail carriers.</p><p>The regulations must include procedures for (1) determining if a cancellation or delay is due to a failure of Amtrak, and (2) Amtrak to dispute that a cancellation or delay is subject to the refund requirements.</p><p>The bill&nbsp;prohibits Amtrak from receiving federal funds for any period during which DOT determines that Amtrak is&nbsp;noncompliant with these requirements.</p><p>Amtrak must submit a report to Congress on  alternative asset maintenance strategies to replace&nbsp;the <em>run-to-fail maintenance model</em> (i.e., using passenger rail equipment and infrastructure until it no longer works or exceeds its estimated lifespan), including the cost of the strategies. Within two years of this bill's enactment,&nbsp;Amtrak must (1) stop using a run-to-fail maintenance model, and (2)  implement a new asset maintenance strategy.&nbsp;</p>

tv_txt: I 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 769 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 Secretary 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 purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the All Aboard Act . 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 following 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 transportation 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 Amtrak if the cancellation or delay is attributable to forces or persons uncontrollable by Amtrak. (2) Dispute procedures In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall issue regulations that include— (A) procedures for determining if a cancellation or delay is subject to subsection (a); and (B) procedures by which Amtrak can dispute 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 passenger transportation shall issue a refund with respect to a cancellation or delay described in subsection (a)— (A) if Amtrak does not dispute that the cancellation or delay is due to a failure of Amtrak— (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 (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 subsection (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 subsection (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 passenger transportation in the form of payment used by the purchaser. (d) Amtrak reimbursement of other rail carriers Amtrak shall, upon request from a rail carrier 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. (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 passenger 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 maintenance strategy (1) Report Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 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 including— (A) an identification of each asset maintenance strategy that Amtrak could adopt as a replacement for a run-to-fail maintenance model; and (B) the estimated cost of implementing each asset maintenance strategy identified pursuant 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 maintenance strategy Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, Amtrak shall implement an asset maintenance strategy identified in the report under paragraph (1). (c) Run-to-Fail maintenance model defined In this section, the term run-to-fail maintenance 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 manufacturer-estimated lifespan of the asset. (d) Clerical amendment The table of sections for chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 24324. Right of rail passengers to recover certain unfulfilled fare. .