Sec. 301. Federal-State partnership for Northeast Corridor development and improvement
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Chapter 244 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section: The Secretary of Transportation shall develop and implement a program for issuing grants to applicants, on a competitive basis, for the purpose of financing the capital projects included in the Northeast Corridor Priority Project List developed under subsection (c). In this section, the following definitions apply: The term applicant means a State (including the District of Columbia), a group of States, an Interstate Compact, or a public agency established by one or more States and having responsibility for providing intercity passenger or commuter rail service.
The term major state-of-good-repair project means a capital project primarily intended to replace, rehabilitate or repair major Northeast Corridor infrastructure assets utilized for providing intercity rail passenger transportation, including tunnels, bridges, stations, and other assets as determined by the Secretary. The term improvement project means a capital project primarily intended to improve intercity passenger rail performance on the Northeast Corridor, including reduced trip times, increased train frequencies, higher operating speeds, and other improvements as determined by the Secretary.
The Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Operations Advisory Commission, established under section 24905, shall develop and approve a Northeast Corridor Priority Project List that shall include— a list of prioritized individual major state-of-good-repair projects and improvement projects along the Northeast Corridor that— can be completed based on— the funding authorized under section 103(b) of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2014 ; any subsequent applicable authorization in effect; in the absence of such an authorization, a 5-year funding amount based on the most recent appropriation; or the requirements of subsection (d); and are consistent with the Northeast Corridor capital investment plan required under section 24906(a); an identification of the applicant for each individual project; an identification of the sources of non-Federal matching funds for each project; and a description of the benefits each project will bring to intercity rail passenger services.
The Federal grants authorized under this section shall be for no more than 50 percent of the net project cost of the project involved. Except as specifically provided in this section, the use of any amounts appropriated for grants under this section shall be subject to the requirements of this chapter. No grants may be obligated to an applicant under this section unless the applicant has transmitted to the Secretary of Transportation a binding written commitment to provide all amounts necessary for the purpose of matching Federal contributions as required by this section.
The Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Operations Advisory Commission shall revise the NEC Priority Project List as necessary to reflect— any differences in the availability of Federal funding from the levels assumed for purposes of subsection (c)(1)(A)
(i)and (ii); any elimination or addition of projects; and any reduction or increase in benefits to be derived from a project. Amounts appropriated for carrying out this section shall remain available until expended. Nothing in this section shall supplant the requirement of applicants to compensate Amtrak for the use of Amtrak facilities or services pursuant to section 24905(c). For purposes of this section, the term Northeast Corridor means the Northeast Corridor main line between Boston, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia, and the Northeast Corridor branch lines connecting to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Springfield, Massachusetts, and Spuyten Duyvil, New York, and facilities and services used to operate and maintain those lines. . The table of sections for chapter 244 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new item: 24407. Federal-State partnership for Northeast Corridor rehabilitation and improvement. .