Sec. 35205. Competition
1,574 words·~7 min read·
/bill/114/hr/22/eas/section-35205A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Section 24711 is amended to read as follows: Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the Railroad Reform, Enhancement, and Efficiency Act , the Secretary of Transportation shall promulgate a rule to implement a pilot program for competitive selection of rail carriers for long-distance routes (as defined in section 24102). The pilot program shall— allow a party described in paragraph
(2)to petition the Secretary to provide intercity rail passenger transportation over a long-distance route in lieu of Amtrak for an operations period of 4 years from the date of commencement of service by the winning bidder and, at the option of the Secretary, consistent with the rule promulgated under subsection (a), allow the contract to be renewed for an additional operations period of 4 years, but not to exceed a total of 3 operations periods; require the Secretary to— notify the petitioner and Amtrak of receipt of the petition under subparagraph
(A)and to publish in the Federal Register a notice of receipt not later than 30 days after the date of receipt; and establish a deadline, of not more than 120 days after the notice of receipt is published in the Federal Register under clause (i), by which both the petitioner and Amtrak, if Amtrak chooses to do so, would be required to submit a complete bid to provide intercity rail passenger transportation over the applicable route; require that each bid— describe the capital needs, financial projections, and operational plans, including staffing plans, for the service, and such other factors as the Secretary considers appropriate; and be made available by the winning bidder to the public after the bid award; for a route that receives funding from a State or States, require that for each bid received from a party described in paragraph (2), other than a State, the Secretary have the concurrence of the State or States that provide funding for that route; for a winning bidder that is not or does not include Amtrak, require the Secretary to execute a contract not later than 270 days after the deadline established under subparagraph (B)(ii) and award to the winning bidder— subject to paragraphs
(3)and (4), the right and obligation to provide intercity rail passenger transportation over that route subject to such performance standards as the Secretary may require; and an operating subsidy, as determined by the Secretary, for— the first year at a level that does not exceed 90 percent of the level in effect for that specific route during the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which the petition was received, adjusted for inflation; and any subsequent years at the level calculated under subclause (I), adjusted for inflation; and for a winning bidder that is or includes Amtrak, award to that bidder an operating subsidy, as determined by the Secretary, over the applicable route that will not change during the fiscal year in which the bid was submitted solely as a result of the winning bid. The following parties are eligible to submit petitions under paragraph (1): A rail carrier or rail carriers that own the infrastructure over which Amtrak operates a long-distance route. A rail passenger carrier with a written agreement with the rail carrier or rail carriers that own the infrastructure over which Amtrak operates a long-distance route and that host or would host the intercity rail passenger transportation. A State, group of States, or State-supported joint powers authority or other sub-State governance entity responsible for provision of intercity rail passenger transportation with a written agreement with the rail carrier or rail carriers that own the infrastructure over which Amtrak operates a long-distance route and that host or would host the intercity rail passenger transportation. A State, group of States, or State-supported joint powers authority or other sub-State governance entity responsible for provision of intercity rail passenger transportation and a rail passenger carrier with a written agreement with the rail carrier or rail carriers that own the infrastructure over which Amtrak operates a long-distance route and that host or would host the intercity rail passenger transportation. If the winning bidder under paragraph (1)(E)(i) is not or does not include Amtrak, the performance standards shall be consistent with the performance required of or achieved by Amtrak on the applicable route during the last fiscal year. Unless the winning bidder already has applicable access agreements in place or includes a rail carrier that owns the infrastructure used in the operation of the route, the winning bidder under paragraph (1)(E)(i) shall enter into a written agreement governing access issues between the winning bidder and the rail carrier or rail carriers that own the infrastructure over which the winning bidder would operate and that host or would host the intercity rail passenger transportation. If the Secretary awards the right and obligation to provide rail passenger transportation over a route under this section to an entity in lieu of Amtrak— the Secretary shall require Amtrak to provide access to the Amtrak-owned reservation system, stations, and facilities directly related to operations of the awarded routes to the rail passenger carrier awarded a contract under this section, in accordance with subsection (g), as necessary to carry out the purposes of this section; an employee of any person, except for a freight railroad or a person employed or contracted by a freight railroad, used by such rail passenger carrier in the operation of a route under this section shall be considered an employee of that rail passenger carrier and subject to the applicable Federal laws and regulations governing similar crafts or classes of employees of Amtrak; and the winning bidder shall provide hiring preference to qualified Amtrak employees displaced by the award of the bid, consistent with the staffing plan submitted by the bidder, and shall be subject to the grant conditions under section 24405. If a rail passenger carrier awarded a route under this section ceases to operate the service or fails to fulfill an obligation under the contract required under subsection (b)(1)(E), the Secretary shall take any necessary action consistent with this title to enforce the contract and ensure the continued provision of service, including— the installment of an interim rail passenger carrier; providing to the interim rail passenger carrier under paragraph
(1)an operating subsidy necessary to provide service; and rebidding the contract to operate the rail passenger transportation. The Secretary shall provide to a winning bidder that is not or does not include Amtrak and that is selected under this section any appropriations withheld under section 35101(c) of the Railroad Reform, Enhancement, and Efficiency Act , or any subsequent appropriation for the same purpose, necessary to cover the operating subsidy described in subsection (b)(1)(E)(ii). If the Secretary selects a winning bidder that is not or does not include Amtrak, the Secretary may provide to Amtrak an appropriate portion of the appropriations under section 35101(a) of the Railroad Reform, Enhancement, and Efficiency Act , or any subsequent appropriation for the same purpose, to cover any cost directly attributable to the termination of Amtrak service on the route and any indirect costs to Amtrak imposed on other Amtrak routes as a result of losing service on the route operated by the winning bidder. Any amount provided by the Secretary to Amtrak under this paragraph shall not be deducted from or have any effect on the operating subsidy described in subsection (b)(1)(E)(ii). If the Secretary does not promulgate the final rule and implement the program before the deadline under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a letter, signed by the Secretary and Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, each month until the rule is complete, including— the reasons why the rule has not been issued; an updated staffing plan for completing the rule as soon as feasible; the contact information of the official that will be overseeing the execution of the staffing plan; and the estimated date of completion of the rule. If Amtrak and the rail passenger carrier awarded a route under this section cannot agree upon terms to carry out subsection (c)(1), and the Surface Transportation Board finds that access to Amtrak’s facilities or equipment, or the provision of services by Amtrak, is necessary under subsection (c)(1) and that the operation of Amtrak’s other services will not be impaired thereby, the Surface Transportation Board shall issue an order that the facilities and equipment be made available, and that services be provided, by Amtrak, and shall determine reasonable compensation, liability, and other terms for use of the facilities and equipment and provision of the services. Not more than 3 long-distance routes may be selected under this section for operation by a winning bidder that is not or does not include Amtrak. Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting a State from introducing competition for intercity rail passenger transportation or services on its State-supported route or routes. . Not later than 4 years after the date of implementation of the pilot program under section 24711 of title 49, United States Code, and quadrennially thereafter until the pilot program is discontinued, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report on the results on the pilot program to date and any recommendations for further action.