The passenger rail reauthorization legislation approved by the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation is groundbreaking in two ways. It is the first bill ever to receive a committee’s approval (in either chamber) that actually contemplates, and even encourages, the expansion of our skeletal national passenger train network, rather than merely ensuring that the existing system stays in place while leaving modest expansion efforts to the states. Second, the Committee voted last week to insert the intercity passenger rail provisions wholesale into its draft of the surface transportation authorization bill (generally referred to as the “highway bill”). This marks the first time a committee has given its imprimatur to the idea of putting intercity passenger rail on a more level playing field with the other modes instead of being relegated to its own corner.
Congress has previously enacted a passenger rail authorization roughly every four to six years. This bill sets overall policy for how intercity passenger train service is to be funded, managed, planned and overseen, by both federal and state governments (as the states are dependent on federal funding, to which Congress always attaches strings). It also authorizes a certain amount to be spent on passenger trains’ operating and capital needs each year for the number of years that it covers. This authorization, however, is merely a guideline for the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, which determine how much money is actually spent each year. The amount appropriated each year for Amtrak and passenger rail investment programs is almost always less than the amount authorized. The most recent passenger rail authorization was the Passenger Rail Investment & Improvement Act of 2008, whose authorizations expired Sept. 30, 2014 (appropriations for the current fiscal year were provided without authorization), but the rest of whose policy provisions will remain in effect until amended or replaced by the next bill.
Surface transportation bills must gain approval from four Senate committees: Commerce (which deals with general highway policy), Banking Housing & Urban Affairs (which deals with public transit policy, i.e. commuter rail, subways, light rail, streetcars & city/regional buses), Environment & Public Works (which deals with infrastructure, construction and environmental aspects), and Finance (which handles how the bill’s spending is paid for). On the House side, only two committees have jurisdiction: Transportation & Infrastrucutre, and Ways and Means (which handles the “pay-fors”).
Observers describe the current transportation situation on Capitol Hill as “chaotic.” Current highway & transit authorizations are set to expire at the end of this month. The House passed a 5.5-month extension of current policy this week, but the Senate has yet to act as a full body. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has indicated that he is interested in a 1.5-year extension of current policy to give Congress more time to iron out new policy. Meanwhile, the Senate EPW Committee has passed its version of a long-term surface transportation bill, in addition to the Commerce Committee’s version, which includes the rail title. Banking has yet to act, while rumors are that Finance has begun discussing pay-fors covering about $50 billion in spending.
The House passed its version of passenger rail reauthorization, the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015 (PRRIA, H.R. 749) back on March 4. This bill, sponsored by committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA), makes several reforms to the way Amtrak is overseen, gives states an even greater role in passenger rail decision-making, and divides spending and accounting between the Northeast Corridor spine (Boston-Washington only, excluding feeder routes) and the rest of the Amtrak system. But it does not encourage expansion or a greater role for firms other than Amtrak in providing passenger train services. Such provisions exist in the Senate bill in part thanks to its sponsors having done greater outreach to stakeholders, including NARP and the Association of Independent Passenger Rail Operators, in the process of drafting it.
This table summarizes the key similarities and differences between the provisions of the Senate’s R2E2 and the House’s PRRIA which, assuming the R2E2 provisions pass the full Senate in something close to their current form, will need to be ironed out by a House-Senate conference committee.
Category
Senate R2E2 (S. 1626)
House PRRIA (H.R. 749)
Funding Authorization
For Amtrak operations, capital & debt service: $1.45 billion in FY 2016; increasing to $1.9 billion in FY 2019. For national infrastructure & safety investments authorized under Chapter 244 of Title 49 USC: $350 million in FY 2016; increasing to $900 million in FY 2019. For NTSB safety investigations: $6.3 million in FY 2016; increasing to $6.6 million in FY 2019. For Amtrak’s Office of the Inspector General: $20 million in FY 2016; increasing to $21.5 million in FY 2019.
For the Northeast Corridor Improvement Fund: $439 million in FY 2016; increasing to $498 million in FY 2019. For National Network (everything outside the NEC spine) operations & capital): $973 million in FY 2016; increasing to $997 million in FY 2019. Total Amtrak: $1.41 billion in FY 2016; increasing to $1.5 billion in FY 2019. For infrastructure & safety investment authorized under Chapter 244 of Title 49 USC: $300 million each year from FY 2016 to FY 2019. For Amtrak’s Office of the Inspector General: $23 million in FY 2016; increasing to $25 million in FY 2019.
Amtrak Leadership
Restructures the Amtrak Board of Directors to ensure greater regional balance: 2 representing the Northeast Corridor; 2 the state-supported routes; 2 the long-distance routes; and 1 at-large.
No provisions making changes to Amtrak’s leadership structure.
Network and Services Study
Requires Amtrak to contract with an independent entity to conduct a study as to what routes it should operate and what services it should provide. This entity must consider the connectivity a route provides, the transportation needs of populations who aren’t well served by other modes, the financial & operational effects on the overall network, and views of states & communities along the route.
Similar provision (mandating such a study as a condition for receiving federal subsidies), but without any stipulations as to what factors the independent entity should consider in its analysis. (It is worth noting that the 2008 PRIIA law includes a similar provision, but Amtrak has yet to have an independent entity undertake the mandated study.)
NEC Planning & Management
Similar provisions to House, including requiring the NEC Commission to produce annual performance reports & recommendations for improvements, and to produce an annual Capital Investment Plan for the NEC covering 5 fiscal years. Requires NEC Commission to develop a cost allocation policy for allocating shared infrastructure costs between Amtrak, commuter railroads and freight railroads using the NEC.
Empowers the Northeast Corridor Commission to act as a true planner & convener of the NEC states, commuter railroads and Amtrak, giving states an equal voice in the Corridor’s management. Includes incentives to encourage additional state & local contributions to improve NEC infrastructure, such as a $600 million grant program contingent on states contributing equal amounts, and a dedicated loan fund for the NEC (part of RRIF).
State-Supported Route Management
Establishes a Working Group to promote mutual cooperation & planning between states, Amtrak, the US DOT and stakeholder groups on state-supported routes, to further aid in the transition towards states bearing the bulk of their operating costs. Stipulates that states may competitively bid the operations & maintenance contracts for state-supported routes without limitation and asks the Working Group to develop options & best practices for obtaining state-supported operations & services competitively.
Requires Amtrak to provide accurate, updated costs and service information to the states, including projections, to aid states in managing the services they pay for. Requires Amtrak to provide states with more detailed reports on the costs for its services, and to complete detailed five-year capital & financial plans.
Competitive Grants to Launch or Restore Routes
Establishes a program for issuing three-year operating assistance grants to launch or restore an intercity train route, emphasizing restoring service that serves underserved areas, fosters economic development and enhances connectivity, as well as routes previously served by Amtrak, where daily or daytime service doesn’t currently exist, and where planning, design, environmental reviews and land acquisition have been completed.
No similar provision.
Federal-State Partnership to Address State-of-Good-Repair Backlog
Establishes a program to provide financing for capital projects to bring passenger rail assets back into a state of good repair, to address a maintenance backlog that is hindering the efficient operation of trains & preventing system expansion. Would prioritize projects with a 50/50 state-federal funding split.
Gulf Coast Service Working Group
Directs FRA to convene a working group to restore passenger train service between New Orleans and Orlando.
Has a nearly identical provision to the Senate bill.
Amtrak Food & Beverage Service
Codifies Amtrak’s pledge to eliminate operating losses from F&B service within 5 years, but gives Amtrak more flexibility to enact this commitment, and creates pilot programs to help demonstrate that F&B service, even if it operates at a loss, is essential to a train’s overall bottom line: one to allow state-supported routes to offer local food & beverage, and to offer special events on board trains and in stations that can help state-supported routes’ bottom lines.
Codifies Amtrak’s pledge to eliminate F&B losses within 5 years, and requires improved product & supply chain efficiencies, strengthened staff training & accountability, improved F&B staff scheduling and ticket revenue enhancements.
Rail Safety
Has provisions requiring better federal & state plans to eliminate grate crossings or make them safer; encouraging fuller industry participation in the close call reporting system; requiring passenger train operators to identify areas to improve warning and enforcement of speed limits; to re-evaluate current track inspection requirements to see if more frequent inspection is needed; and to require all passenger railroads to install inward- and outward-facing cameras in all locomotives and cab cars, and authorizing DOT to require installation of audio recording devices.
Has no rail safety provisions.
Positive Train Control
Maintains the deadline of Dec. 31, 2015, by which all rail lines carrying passengers or certain hazardous materials must have PTC (a technology that prevents collisions and enforces speed limits) installed, but allows FRA to grant special exemptions extending the deadline to individual railroads on a case-by-case basis, provided that the railroad produce a plan and timeline for PTC implementation.
Has no provision affecting the PTC deadline or allowing case-by-case extensions to be granted. Passenger and freight railroads, including the American Public Transportation Association (representing commuter rail agencies), generally favor either extending the deadline or allowing exemptions, while rail labor organizations and some others want the deadline to remain firm, and railroads that do not meet the deadline penalized.
Restructuring Amtrak Funding & Accounting
Creates separate accounts for the Northeast Corridor, State-Supported Routes and Long-Distance Routes. NARP says that, unlike the House bill’s restructuring, this “does nothing to threaten the national character of the US passenger rail network.”
Completely separates Amtrak’s account between the Northeast Corridor and the rest of the system (“National Network”), the latter including routes that feed into the NEC, such as Philadelphia-Harrisburg and New Haven-Springfield. Prohibits surplus passenger revenues from NEC trains from cross-subsidizing long-distance trains. Also mandates that Amtrak carry out a business case analysis for all major procurements and requires more transparent bookkeeping.
Efficiency & Project Delivery
Streamlines the permitting and environmental review process for intercity passenger rail projects by eliminating the need for historical reviews of railroads or transit lines and their elements (except for stations) that have been historically used for freight or passenger rail transportation. This would bring rail policy more in line with highway policy.
Ensures that all agencies responsible for reviewing & permitting a project do so concurrently; sets hard deadlines for reviews to be completed; improves coordination between the parties involved in reviewing a project.
Liability in Passenger Train Accidents or Incidents
Allows the $200 million per incident cap on the passenger train operator and track owner’s liability for damages resulting from passenger train incidents to rise, indexed to inflation, adjusted every 10 years, and applied retroactively to the derailment of Amtrak train 188 on May 12, 2015.
Competitive Bidding for Long-Distance Routes
Establishes a pilot program where up to three projects may be undertaken where a company applies to replace Amtrak as the operator of an LD route and receives an operating subsidy up to 90% of that currently provided to Amtrak for that route. Each pilot is permitted up to 12 years without needing to be recompeted.
Extends the PRIIA 2008 provision for a 5-year pilot program under which “a rail carrier or rail carriers that own infrastructure over which Amtrak operates a passenger rail service route…” may “petition the Federal Railroad Administration to be considered as a passenger rail service provider over that route in lieu of Amtrak for an operations period of 5 years.”
“Performance-Based” Proposals for Replacing Amtrak on Major Corridors
Solicits sweeping proposals from entities that would operate the NEC and other major corridors specified in the bill in lieu of Amtrak. This provision, in addition to the state-supported and long-distance route competition provisions, streamline the PRIIA 2008 statutory requirements to make them more workable.
Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan program reforms
Makes a number of reforms intended to make RRIF loans easier for applicants to access, including allowing federal grants to be used to pay credit risk premiums on loans.
Adds process improvements such as approval deadlines to add clarity and reliability for potential borrowers. Dedicates a significant portion of RRIF to the NEC to incentivize states & localities to seek loans to advance projects of national & regional significance.
Public-Private Partnership Opportunities
Requires Amtrak to study development opportunities at stations it owns, then seek private-sector partners to unlock their potential. Allows Amtrak to leverage its property along the NEC & elsewhere to generate additional revenue, such as through selling advertising space.
Pets on Trains
Requires Amtrak to develop a pilot program allowing passengers to transport cats and dogs on certain Amtrak trains, provided a list of stipulations is met.
Boarding Procedures
Requires Amtrak's Office of the Inspector General to prepare a report evaluating Amtrak’s boarding procedures at large stations, comparing them to commuter and international passenger rail boarding procedures, and recommending improvements to ensure the free flow of passengers through stations.
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