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Week Ending October 12, 2007

H.R.2095 To amend title 49, United States Code, to prevent railroad fatalities, injuries, and hazardous materials releases, to authorize the Federal Railroad Safety Administration, and for other purposes.

The bill establishes the Federal Railroad Safety Administration that will develop and oversee the implementation of a strategy to improve railroad safety. The strategy is intended to reduce the number of accidents, injuries and fatalities involving railroads, improve the consistency and effectiveness of enforcement and compliance programs, identify and target enforcement at high-risk rail crossings and improve research efforts to enhance and promote railroad safety and performance.

The bill addresses needed updates in railroad safety that received attention since 1994. Although train accidents have fallen 71% since 1978, the rate of accidents has increased since 1994. Accidents, including derailments rose from 2,504 in 1994 to 3,325 in 2005. the bill report notes, however, that the number decreased again to 2,835 in 2006 but Congress is unsure if the rate of decline can be sustained and holds that the lower number of accidents does not mean some accidents, such as collisions that release toxic substances into a community, will not occur.

The bill authorizes spending of about $250 million yearly over the next five years to address the problems in several ways.

Employee fatigue and employee related provisions.

40% of accidents are due to employee fatigue. It is prohibited to assign a signal employee, unless in an emergency, to duty unless the employee has had at least 10 hours of off-duty time in the previous 24 hours or has had at least one 24 hour breaks in the previous 7 days. During the 10 hour off time the employee shall not be communicated with by telephone, pager or in any other manner that would disrupt rest unless there is an emergency situation.

Sleeping quarters for off-duty employees may not include camp cars.

Whistleblower protections are emphasized for employees who notify of a work-related injury or illness, cooperate with a safety investigation, accurately record their working hours, provide rail accident information, and report a refusal to authorize the use of safety equipment, track or structures in dangerous condition. Damages can be claimed by those who are not provided with such protection. It is also unlawful for a person to hamper an accident investigation. Penalties can run to one year imprisonment.

Rail carriers must provide employees with access to escape breathing apparatus in the case of a breach of a hazardous material that would pose a n inhalation hazard.

Safety requirements

Increased safety standards are applied to train control systems, warnings in areas where they are no signals, track management, certification of conductors, employee training, treatment of injured employees, emergency breathing apparatus and the environment in the locomotive cab.

The top ten States that have had the most railroad grade crossing collisions will be required to produce an Action Plan to improve safety at crossings. Congress finds that although over $4 billion has been spent of crossing safety such as warning signals, a majority of the nation’s 140,000 crossing are still not adequately equipped. Recognizing, too , that new technologies can prevent collisions, Congress would establish it as US policy to develop new technologies that can prevent loss of life and injuries at railroad crossings. Grants are to State and local governments available for various safety systems.

Within 12 months, each Class I carrier must develop a plan that will minimize the risk of train collisions and over-speed derailments, protect maintenance workers within work zones and to minimize the risk of a train moving through a switch left in the wrong position.

Rail carriers are required to conduct ultrasonic or other inspections to ensure that replacement rail is free from internal defects, to perform rail integrity inspections to manage an annual failure rate less than .1 per track mile on high-risk corridors. Attention is required to concrete cross-tie wear.

At least two years of historical documentation of structural inspection and maintenance activities for certain tunnels must be maintained including the types of cargoes typically transported.

Consumer matters

The National Transportation Safety Board is directed to provide assistance to families of passengers who suffered a major loss of life in a rail accident. The carriers must produce a plan explaining how they will address such passenger’s needs.

An 800 number is to be made available to the public for notification of grad crossing problems such as signal and crossing gate malfunctions and other dangerous circumstances. Within a year and one half, the Secretary of Transportation must remove from railroad right-of-ways grass, brush, shrubs, tree and other vegetation that may obstruct pedestrian or vehicle operator’s view. Allowances can be made for State laws regarding the vegetation.

Civil and criminal penalties for crossing violations and vandalism of railroad crossing equipment are forthcoming. The penalties would be applied to driving around a grade crossing gate, driving through a flashing grade crossing signal or on with passive warning signs without ensuring the crossing could be done safely. A national inventory of grad crossings is required.

Conductors are to be trained and certified in first aid, security and emergency preparedness. Railroad employees for various classes will receive minimum training in their knowledge and ability to comply with Federal railroad safety laws and procedures.

The bill also provides $18 million for an underground rail station and tunnel in Pueblo Colorado.

Sponsor:  Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN-8^th)

Vote: Passed the House 377 to 38 RC 980 October 17, 2007

Cost to the taxpayers: “CBO estimates that the bill would authorize the appropriation of $1.2 billion over the 2008-2012 period. Those amounts include funds for operating FRSA, building a rail facility in Pueblo, Colorado, grants to increase safety throughout the rail system, and implementing National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) programs to assist the families of passengers who are in rail accidents”

Earmark Certification:   “Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R. 2095, the `Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007', contains the following congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives:

Sec. 105, Pueblo, CO, Facility for Underground Rail Station and Tunnel at the Transportation Technology Center--$18 million, Rep. John T. Salazar.

”

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MORE INFORMATION

SUMMARY OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1. Short title; table of contents

This section designates the title of the Act as the `Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007'.

Section 2. Definitions

This section states that, for purposes of this Act, the terms `railroad' and `railroad carrier' have the meaning given those terms in section 20102 of title 49, United States Code.

TITLE I. FEDERAL RAILROAD SAFETY ADMINISTRATION

Section 101. Establishment of Federal Railroad Safety Administration

This section amends section 103 of title 49, United States Code, to reestablish the Federal Railroad Administration as the Federal Railroad Safety Administration.

This section also directs the Administration to consider the assignment of maintenance of safety as the highest priority, recognizing the clear intent, encouragement, and dedication of Congress to the furtherance of the highest degree of safety in railroad transportation. In addition, this section directs the Administration to have an Associate Administrator for Rail Safety appointed in the competitive service by the Secretary. The Associate Administrator shall be the Chief Safety Officer of the Administration, and shall carry out the duties and powers prescribed by the Administrator.

Section 102. Railroad safety strategy

This section requires the Secretary of Transportation to develop a long-term strategy for improving rail safety, which must include an annual plan and schedules for reducing the number and rates of accidents, injuries, and fatalities involving railroads; improving the consistency and effectiveness of enforcement and compliance programs; identifying and targeting enforcement at, and safety improvements to, high-risk highway-rail grade crossings; and improving research efforts to enhance and promote railroad safety and performance. The strategy and annual plans must include estimates of the funds and staff resources needed to accomplish each activity, and be submitted to Congress at the same time as the President's budget submission.

Subsection (d) requires the Secretary and the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Safety Administration, no less frequently than semiannually, to assess the progress of the Administration toward achieving each of the strategic goals described above. An annual report must be submitted to Congress on the performance of the Federal Railroad Safety Administration relative to the goals of the railroad safety strategy and annual plans.

Section 103. Reports

This section requires the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation to submit to the Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Safety Administration, within 30 days of the date of enactment, a report containing a list of each statutory mandate regarding railroad safety that has not been implemented and a list of each open safety recommendation made by the National Transportation Safety Board or the Inspector General regarding railroad safety.

Subsection (b)(1) requires the Secretary, not later than 90 days after the date of enactment, and every 180 days thereafter until each of the mandates has been implemented, to transmit to Congress a report on the specific actions taken to implement such mandates.

Subsection (b)(2) requires the Secretary, not later than January 1 of each year, to transmit 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 containing each open safety recommendation made by the National Transportation Safety Board or the Inspector General regarding railroad safety, a copy of the Department of Transportation's response to each of the recommendations, and a progress report on implementing such recommendations.

Section 104. Rulemaking process

This section prohibits the Secretary from issuing a rule or order that incorporates by reference a code, rule, standard, requirement, or practice issued by an association or other entity that is not an agency of the Federal Government, unless that reference is to a particular code, rule, standard, requirement, or practice adopted before the date on which the rule is issued by the Secretary, and unless the date on which the code, rule, standard, requirement, or practices was adopted is specifically cited in the rule.

Section 105. Authorization of appropriations

This section amends section 20117 of title 49, United States Code, to authorize to be appropriated a total of $1.12 billion for fiscal years 2008 through 2011 to the Secretary to carry out his or her rail safety responsibilities. With amounts appropriated, the Secretary is directed to purchase six Gage Restraint Measurement System vehicles and five track geometry vehicles to enable the deployment of one Gage Restraint Measurement System vehicle and one track geometry vehicle in each region. In addition, $18 million is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to design, develop, and construct the Facility for Underground Rail Station and Tunnel at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colorado. The facility shall be used to test and evaluate the vulnerabilities of above-ground and underground rail tunnels to prevent accidents and incidents in such tunnels, to mitigate and remediate the consequences of any such accidents or incidents, and to provide a realistic training scenario for training emergency responders. Funding is also authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for rail security personnel in regional offices and in Washington, DC.

TITLE II. EMPLOYEE FATIGUE

Section 201. Hours-of-service reform

The Committee has received testimony on the importance of strengthening hours-of-service standards for railroad workers and mitigating fatigue. The Committee has also received testimony on the importance of eliminating limbo time.

The NTSB, following a recent investigation of a train accident in Macdona, Texas, recommended that the FRA limit train crewmember limbo time to address fatigue. The NTSB investigation found that in June 2004, the month of the accident, `the Union Pacific engineer worked at least part of 22 days and that his time on duty ranged from nine hours to more than 18 hours. Eleven of his work days were longer than 14 hours, with one day totaling 22 hours (12 hours on-duty and 10 hours of limbo time).'

According to the accident report, the NTSB was concerned that, `because minimum rest periods prescribed under the hours of service regulations do not take limbo time into account, such time could have cumulative detrimental effects on crewmember fatigue.'

The NTSB concluded that limbo time, which is limited neither by Federal regulation nor railroad operating rules, could be a factor in crewmember fatigue in that required rest periods do not take into account the extended hours of wakefulness before the rest period begins. The NTSB stated: `The combination of erratic work schedules and excess limbo time would be expected to have a detrimental impact on crewmember fatigue * * *.'

This section seeks to strengthen the hours-of-service standards for signal and train employees by providing them with at least 10 consecutive hours of undisturbed rest during a period of 24 hours; prohibiting them from working in excess of 12 consecutive hours; and requiring railroad carriers and railroad contractors to provide such employees with at least one period of at least 24 consecutive hours off duty in a period of seven consecutive days. The Secretary is authorized to waive this last requirement if a collective bargaining agreement provides a different arrangement and such arrangement provides an equivalent level of safety.

Subsection (a) extends hours-of-service standards to railroad contractors who are engaged in installing, repairing, or maintaining signal systems.

Subsection (b) clarifies that up to one hour of time spent returning from a final trouble call of a period of continuous or broken service is time off duty, and limits the number of days a signal employee can exceed the 12-hour limit on hours of service for emergencies to no more than three days during a period of seven consecutive days. This standard is consistent with dispatcher limits. The subsection further prohibits signal employees from exceeding the 12-hour limit on hours of service to conduct routine repairs, routine maintenance, or routine inspection of signal systems. A signal employee is only permitted to exceed the hours-of-service limits for no more than four additional hours in a period of 24 consecutive hours when a true emergency exists and the work of that employee is related to the emergency. The subsection also provides that the hours of service, duty hours, and rest periods of signal employees shall be governed exclusively by Chapter 201. Signal employees operating motor vehicles shall not be subject to any hours-of-service rules, duty hours, or rest period rules promulgated by any Federal authority, including the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, other than the Federal Railroad Safety Administration.

Subsection (c) eliminates limbo time by providing that all time spent in deadhead transportation to a duty assignment, all time spent waiting for deadhead transportation, and all time spent in deadhead transportation from a duty assignment to a place of final release is time on duty, with some exceptions. The subsection allows limbo time in situations involving delays in the operations of a railroad carrier, when the delays were caused by a casualty, an accident, a track obstruction, an act of God, a weather event causing a delay, a snowstorm, a landslide, a track or bridge washout, a derailment, a major equipment failure which prevents a train from advancing, or other delay from a cause unknown or unforeseeable to a railroad carrier and its officers and agents in charge of the employee when the employee left a designated terminal. In addition to these exceptions, the subsection allows the carriers to use up to 40 hours a month in limbo time per employee during the first authorization year; 30 hours a month during the second authorization year; and 10 hours a month thereafter. The subsection also requires reporting of railroad use of limbo time which results in total work time of more than 12 hours and requires additional rest equal to all time in limbo in excess of 12 hours.

Section 202. Employee sleeping quarters

This section amends Section 21106 of title 49, United States Code, to prohibit railroad carriers from providing sleeping quarters through the use of camp cars, as defined in Appendix C to part 228 of title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, for employees and any individuals employed to maintain the right-of-way of a railroad carrier. This prohibition is effective 12 months after the date of enactment.

Section 203. Fatigue management plans

This section requires all railroads to submit to the Secretary for review and approval a fatigue management plan that is designed to reduce the fatigue experienced by railroad employees and to reduce the likelihood of accidents and injuries caused by fatigue.

Section 204. Regulatory authority

This section authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations to reduce the maximum hours an employee may be required or allowed to go or remain on duty to a level less than the level established under Chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, or to increase the minimum hours an employee may be required or allowed to rest to a level greater than the level established under that chapter. The regulations must be based on scientific and medical research.

Section 205. Conforming amendment

This section amends section 21303 of title 49, United States Code, to clarify that a railroad carrier is deemed to know the acts of its managers, supervisors, officers, and agents in any proceeding dealing with a violation of Chapter 211.

TITLE III. PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEES AND WITNESSES

Section 301. Employee protections

This section amends section 20109 of title 49, United States Code, to strengthen existing whistleblower protections for railroad workers. It replaces the existing process for filing a petition for relief with the National Mediation Board with a process for filing such petitions with the Secretary of Labor, which is consistent with the whistleblower process for other transportation workers, including aviation personnel and drivers of commercial motor vehicles. The section provides that if the Secretary of Labor has not issued a final decision within 180 days after the filing of the complaint, the employee may bring an original action at law or equity for de novo review in the appropriate district court of the United States. An employee prevailing in any action under this section shall be entitled to all relief necessary to make the covered individual whole, which shall include reinstatement with the same seniority status that the covered individual would have had, but for the discrimination; the amount of any back pay, with interest; and compensation for any special damages sustained as a result of the discrimination, including litigation costs, expert witness fees, and reasonable attorney fees. Relief may also include punitive damages in an amount not to exceed ten times the amount of any compensatory damages awarded.

TITLE IV. GRADE CROSSINGS

Section 401. Toll-free number to report grade crossing problems

This section amends section 20152 of title 49, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Transportation, within 18 months of the date of enactment, to require each railroad carrier to establish and maintain a toll-free telephone service for rights-of-way over which it dispatches trains for the purpose of receiving calls reporting malfunctions of signals, crossing gates, and other devices and disabled vehicles blocking railroad tracks at grade crossings. Upon receiving a report, the railroad carrier is required to immediately contact trains operating near the grade crossing to warn the crews of the malfunction or disabled vehicle and then contact, as necessary, appropriate public safety officials having jurisdiction over the grade crossing to provide them with the information necessary for them to direct traffic, assist in the removal of the disabled vehicle, or carry out other activities appropriate to responding to the hazardous circumstance. The toll-free telephone number, an explanation of the purpose of the number, and the grade crossing number assigned to the particular crossing must be placed on signs at each grade crossing and be visible to the public.

Section 402. Roadway user sight distance at highway-rail grade crossings

This section adds section 20156 to title 49, United States Code. Subsection (a) of section 20156 requires the Secretary to prescribe regulations that require each railroad carrier to remove from its rights-of-way at all public highway-rail grade crossings, and at all private highway-rail grade crossings open to unrestricted public access, grass, brush, shrubbery, trees, and other vegetation which may obstruct the view of a pedestrian or a vehicle operator, and to maintain its rights-of-way at all such crossings free of such vegetation.

Subsection (b) of section 20156 allows the Secretary to make allowances for preserving trees and other ornamental or protective growth where State or local law or policy would otherwise protect the vegetation from removal and where the roadway authority or private-crossing holder takes appropriate temporary or permanent action to abate the hazard to roadway users.

Subsection (c) of section 20156 authorizes States to continue in force, or enact, a law, regulation, or order requiring the removal of obstructive vegetation from a railroad right-of-way for safety reasons that is more stringent than the requirements of the regulations prescribed by the Secretary.

Subsection (d) of section 20156 requires the Secretary to develop and make available to States model legislation that addresses sight obstructions at grade crossings that are equipped solely with passive warnings, such as permanent structures, temporary structures, and standing railroad equipment, as recommended by the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation in Report No. MH-2007-044.

Section 403. Grade crossing signal violations

This section amends section 20151 of title 49, United States Code, to require the Secretary to develop and make available to States model legislation providing for civil or criminal penalties, or both, for violations of grade crossing signals.

Section 404. National crossing inventory

This section adds section 20157 to title 49, United States Code. Section 20157 requires railroad carriers and States to provide information to the Secretary about grade crossings, and to update that information on a periodic basis beginning not later than three years after the date of enactment. The section also authorizes the Secretary to impose civil penalties for violations of this section.

Section 405. Accident and incident reporting

This section directs the Federal Railroad Safety Administration to conduct an audit of each Class I railroad at least once every two years and conduct an audit of each non-Class I railroad at least once every five years to ensure that all grade crossing collisions, fatalities, and injuries are reported to the national accident database, as recommended by the Department of Transportation's Inspector General.

Section 406. Authority to buy promotional items to improve railroad crossing safety and prevent railroad trespass

This section amends section 20134(a) of title 49, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary to purchase promotional items of nominal value and distribute them to the public without charge as part of an educational or awareness program to improve the safety of grade crossings and to prevent trespass on railroad rights-of-way. The Secretary is directed to prescribe guidelines for the administration of this authority.

Section 407. Operation Lifesaver

This section authorizes appropriations to the Federal Railroad Safety Administration to make grants to Operation Lifesaver to carry out a public information and education program to help prevent railroad incidents, injuries, and fatalities, and to improve awareness along railroad rights-of-way and at grade crossings, and to implement a pilot program, to be known as the Railroad Safety Public Awareness Program, that addresses the need for targeted, sustained community outreach on rail and grade crossing safety. The section authorizes $1.5 million for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2011 to carry out this section.

Section 408. State action plan

This section requires the Secretary to identify on an annual basis the top 10 States that have had the most grade crossing collisions over the past year, and to work with each of those States to develop a State Grade Crossing Action Plan that identifies specific solutions for improving safety at crossings.

Section 409. Fostering introduction of new technology to improve safety at highway-rail grade crossings

The installation of grade-crossing warning signals and cross-arms often costs in excess of $100,000 using current technology. This section adds section 20165 to title 49, United States Code. Section 20165 encourages the development of new technology that can prevent loss of life and injuries at grade crossings.

TITLE V. ENFORCEMENT

Section 501. Enforcement

This section amends section 20112 of title 49, United States Code, to clarify that the Attorney General may bring a civil action in a district court of the United States to: (1) enjoin a violation of, or to enforce, this part or a railroad safety regulation prescribed or order issued by the Secretary; (2) collect a civil penalty imposed or an amount agreed on in compromise under section 21301 (general railroad safety violations), section 21302 (accidents and incident violations), or section 21303 (hours-of-service violations) of this title; and (3) to enforce a subpoena, request for admissions, request for production of documents or other tangible things, or request for testimony by deposition.

Section 502. Civil penalties

This section amends sections 21301, 21302, and 21303 of title 49, United States Code, to increase the maximum civil penalty for a general railroad safety violation, accident and incident violation, and hours-of-service violation from $10,000 to $25,000. The minimum civil penalty remains $500. However, when a grossly negligent violation or a pattern of repeated violations has caused an imminent hazard of death or injury to individuals, or has caused death or injury, the maximum civil penalty is increased from $20,000 under current law to not more than $100,000.

Section 503. Criminal penalties

This section amends section 21311 of title 49, United States Code, to increase the maximum penalty for failing to file an accident or incident report on time from $500 to $2,500, and the maximum penalty for each day after the due date from $500 to $2,500.

Section 504. Expansion of emergency order authority

This section amends section 20104 of title 49, United States Code, to expand the authority of the Secretary to issue emergency rules or restrictions to events causing significant harm to the environment. Current law allows the Secretary to issue emergency rules or restrictions in the event of death or personal injury.

Section 505. Enforcement transparency

This section adds section 20118 to title 49, United States Code, to require the Secretary, not later than December 31, 2007, to provide a monthly updated summary to the public of all railroad enforcement actions taken by the Secretary of the Federal Railroad Safety Administration, from the time a notice commencing an enforcement action is issued until the enforcement action is final. In each summary, the Secretary must identify the railroad carrier or person named in the enforcement activity, the type of alleged violation, the penalty or penalties proposed, any changes in case status since the previous summary, the final assessment amount of each penalty, and the reasons for a reduction in the proposed penalty. The Secretary must provide a mechanism by which a railroad carrier or person named in an enforcement action may make information, explanations, or documents it believes are responsive to the enforcement action available to the public.

Section 506. Interfering with or hampering safety investigations

This section adds section 21312 to title 49, United States Code, to make it unlawful for any person knowingly to interfere with, obstruct, or hamper an investigation by the Secretary of Transportation under section 20702 or section 20902 of title 49, or a railroad investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Section 507. Railroad radio monitoring authority

This section allows the Secretary to authorize officers, employees, or agents of the Secretary to intercept and record radio communications, with or without the consent of the sender or other receivers of the communication, but only where such communication is broadcast or transmitted over a radio frequency which is authorized for use by one or more railroad carriers by the Federal Communications Commission and primarily used by such railroad carriers for communications in connection with railroad operations. Information obtained through such monitoring and recording would not be admissible into evidence in any administrative or judicial proceeding, with two exceptions. First, the provision would not bar admission into evidence of the intercepted communication in a judicial proceeding for the prosecution of a felony under Federal or State law. Second, the provision would not bar admission of the intercepted communication for impeachment purposes in seven enumerated types of railroad safety proceedings. In addition, information is not subject to publication or disclosure, or search or review in connection therewith, under section 552 of title 5, United States Code.

Section 508. Inspector staffing

This section requires the Secretary to increase the total number of positions for railroad safety inspection and enforcement personnel at the Federal Railroad Safety Administration so that by December 31, 2008, the total number of such positions is at least 500, by December 31, 2009, the total number of such positions is at least 600, by December 31, 2010, the total number of such positions is at least 700, and by December 31, 2011, the total number of positions is at least 800. There are currently 421 Federal rail safety inspectors.

TITLE VI. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Section 601. Positive train control systems

The Committee has received testimony on the importance of implementing positive train control. According to the FRA, 40 percent of all train accidents are the result of human factors. According to the NTSB, technological solutions, such as positive train control, have great potential to reduce the number of serious train accidents by providing safety redundant systems to protect against such human performance failures. Positive train control has been on the NTSB's list of most wanted safety improvements for 17 years.

In the past 10 years alone, the NTSB has investigated 52 rail accidents, including four transit accidents, where the installation of a positive train control system would likely have prevented the accident. These include five serious accidents in 2005: Graniteville, South Carolina; Anding, Mississippi; Shepherd, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; and Texarkana, Arkansas. These figures, however, do not include the numerous accidents that the FRA has investigated, and which could have been prevented, if positive train control was implemented. In August 1999, the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee published a report entitled Implementation of Positive Train Control Systems. The report states that out of a select group of 6,400 accidents that occurred from 1998 through 1997, 2,659 of those accidents could have been prevented had some form of positive train control been implemented.

This section requires each Class I railroad, within 12 months of the date of enactment, to develop and submit to the Secretary for review and approval a plan for implementing a positive train control system by December 31, 2014. Such systems must provide a safety redundancy to minimize the risk of accidents by overriding human performance failures involving train movements on main line tracks.

Subsection (c) requires the Secretary to require each railroad carrier to include in its plan, at a minimum, measurable goals, including a strategy and timeline for implementation of such systems; a prioritization of how the systems will be implemented, with particular emphasis on high-risk corridors such as those that have significant movements of hazardous materials or where commuter and intercity passenger railroads operate; identification of detailed steps the carriers will take to implement the systems; and any other elements the Secretary considers appropriate.

Subsection (d) requires the Secretary to review and approve the plan not later than 90 days after the Secretary receives it. If the proposed plan is not approved, the Secretary must notify the affected railroad carrier as to the specific points in which the proposed plan is deficient, and the railroad carrier must correct all deficiencies within 30 days following receipt of the written notice from the Secretary.

Subsection (e) requires the Secretary to submit a report to Congress no later than December 31, 2011, on the progress of the railroads in implementing the systems.

Subsection (f) authorizes the Secretary to extend the date for implementation for any Class I railroad carrier for a period of not more than 24 months if the Secretary determines such an extension is necessary to implement a more effective positive train control system than would be possible by December 31, 2014; to obtain interoperability between positive train control systems implemented by railroad carriers; and for the Secretary to determine that a positive train control system meets the requirements of this section and regulations issued by the Secretary; or to otherwise enhance safety. Not later than 30 days after the Secretary grants an extension, the Secretary shall publish a notice in the Federal Register that identifies the Class I railroad carrier that is being granted the extension, the reasons for granting the extension, and the length of the extension.

Subsection (g) prohibits the Secretary from permitting the installation of any positive train control system or component unless the Secretary has first certified that such system or component has not experienced a safety-critical failure during prior testing and evaluation. If such a failure has occurred, the system or component may be repaired and evaluated in accordance with part 236 of title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations and may be installed when the Secretary certifies that the factors causing the failure have been corrected and approves the system for installation in accordance with part 236.

Section 602. Warning in nonsignaled territory

The Committee has received testimony on the importance of preventing accidents due to misaligned switches. According to the FRA, misaligned switches are consistently either the leading or second leading cause of all human factor accidents. The NTSB has investigated several accidents which resulted from misaligned switches dating back to their investigation of an accident in Cotula, Texas, in 1974. More recently, the NTSB investigated the 2005 accidents in Graniteville, South Carolina, and Shepherd, Texas, which were also caused by misaligned switches.

With respect to the Graniteville accident, a Norfolk Southern train, while traveling 47 mph, encountered an improperly positioned switch that diverted the train from the main line onto an industry track, where it struck an unoccupied parked train. The track through Graniteville was nonsignaled (`dark') territory. Nine people died as a result of chlorine gas inhalation after a tank car was punctured during the accident. The NTSB investigation found that the improperly lined switch had most recently been used by the crew of a local train about eight hours before the accident. The crew had lined the switch for an industry track in order to place two cars at a local plant and then park their train. No crewmember remembered relining the switch for the main line before they boarded a taxi and returned to the terminal. The NTSB concluded, among other things, that the switch was not visible to the crew as they worked, leaving them without a visual reminder to reline the switch. Further, the crew of the oncoming train could not see that the switch was misaligned in time to stop the train.

With respect to the Shepherd accident, a Union Pacific train entered a siding in Shepherd, Texas, at approximately 37 mph and struck a parked train, killing one crewmember. There were no wayside signals to govern the train movements or protect the train from an interruption in the continuity of the track, such as an open switch. Consequently, strict compliance with the operating rules was necessary to protect one train from another. The probable cause of this accident was the failure of a previous crew to return a main track switch to the normal position after they had secured the train on the siding and departed the area.

In response to these accidents and similar accidents dating back to 1974, the NTSB has repeatedly issued recommendations to the FRA to require installation of technologies that will capture the attention of train crews and prevent misaligned switches. The Committee is aware that there are various forms of such technologies.

This section adds section 20158 to title 49, United States Code. Section 20158 requires the Secretary of Transportation, within 12 months of the date of enactment, to prescribe regulations that require railroads, with respect to main lines in nonsignaled territory, to either install an automatically activated device, in addition to the switch banner, that will, visually or electronically, compellingly capture the attention of the employees involved with switch operations and clearly convey the status of the switch both in daylight and darkness or operate trains at speeds that will allow them to be safely stopped in advance of misaligned switches.

The Committee intends that a railroad carrier would not have to install such automatically activated devices along main lines in nonsignaled territory if the railroad carrier has installed a train speed enforcement system that would stop a train in advance of a misaligned switch in such areas or the railroad carrier operators trains at speeds that will allow them to be safely stopped in advance of such switches.

Section 603. Track safety

The Committee has received testimony on the importance of strengthening track safety standards. In 2006, track-related accidents surpassed human factors-related accidents as the leading cause of all train accidents.

This section adds section 20159 to title 49, United States Code. Section 20159 requires the Secretary, within 12 months of the date of enactment, to prescribe regulations to require railroad carriers to manage the rail in their tracks so as to minimize accidents due to internal rail flaws. The regulations must, at a minimum, require railroad carriers to conduct ultrasonic or other appropriate inspections to ensure that rail used to replace defective segments of existing rail is free from internal defects; require railroad carriers to perform rail integrity inspections to manage an annual service failure rate of less than 0.1 per track mile on high-risk corridors, such as those that have significant movements of hazardous materials or where commuter and intercity passenger railroads operate; and encourage railroad use of advanced rail defect inspection equipment and similar technologies as part of a comprehensive rail inspection program. This section also requires the Secretary, within 18 months of the date of enactment, to develop and implement regulations for all classes of track for concrete rail ties that address, at a minimum, limits for rail seat abrasion; concrete crosstie pad wear limits; missing or broken rail fasteners; loss of appropriate toeload pressure; improper fastener configurations; and excessive lateral rail movement.

Section 604. Certification of conductors

This section adds section 20160 to title 49, United States Code. Section 20160 requires the Secretary, within 18 months of the date of enactment, to prescribe regulations and issue orders to establish a program requiring the certification of train conductors. In prescribing such regulations, the Secretary must require that conductors on passenger trains be trained in security, first aid, and emergency preparedness.

Section 605. Minimum training standards

This section adds section 20161 to title 49, United States Code. Section 20161 requires the Secretary, within 180 days of enactment, to establish minimum training standards for each class and craft of railroad employees and develop a minimum training curriculum, and ongoing training criteria, testing, and skills evaluation measures to ensure that railroad employees charged with the inspection of track or railroad equipment are qualified to assess railroad compliance with Federal standards to identify defective conditions and initiative immediate remedial action to correct critical safety defects that are known to contribute to derailments, accidents, or injury. The section also requires railroad carriers to submit their training and qualification programs to the Federal Railroad Safety Administration for review and approval.

Section 606. Prompt medical attention

This section adds section 20162 to title 49, United States Code. Section 20162 prohibits a railroad carrier from denying, delaying, or interfering with the medical or first aid treatment of an employee who is injured during the course of employment. If transportation to a hospital is requested by an employee who is injured during the course of employment, the railroad must promptly arrange to have the injured employee transported to the nearest medically appropriate hospital. This section further prohibits a railroad carrier from disciplining, or threatening to discipline, an employee for requesting medical or first aid treatment, or for following orders or a treatment plan of a treating physician. For purposes of this section, `discipline' means to bring charges against a person in a disciplinary proceeding, suspend, terminate, place on probation, or make note of reprimand on an employee's record.

Section 607. Emergency escape breathing apparatus

This section adds section 20163 to title 49, United States Code. Section 20163 requires the Secretary, within 18 months of enactment, to prescribe regulations that require the railroads to provide emergency breathing apparatus for all crewmembers on freight trains carrying hazardous materials that would pose an inhalation hazard in the event of unintentional release and to provide such crewmembers with appropriate training for using the breathing apparatus.

Section 608. Locomotive cab environment

This section requires the Secretary, within 12 months of the date of enactment, to transmit a report to Congress on the effects of the locomotive cab environment on the safety, health, and performance of train crews.

Section 609. Tunnel information

This section requires each railroad carrier, with respect to each of its tunnels which are longer than 1,000 feet and located under a city with a population of 400,000 or greater or carry five or more scheduled passenger trains per day, or 500 or more carloads of Toxic Inhalation Hazardous materials per year, to maintain for at least two years historical documentation of structural inspection and maintenance activities for such tunnels, including information on the methods of ingress and egress into and out of the tunnels, the types of cargos typically transported through the tunnels, and schematics or blueprints for the tunnels, when available. Upon request, railroad carriers are also required to provide periodic briefings to the government of the local jurisdictions in which the tunnels are located, including updates whenever a repair or rehabilitation project substantially alters the methods of ingress and egress. Such governments are required to use appropriate means to protect and restrict the distribution of any security sensitive information provided by the railroad carriers, consistent with national security interests.

Section 610. Railroad police

This section amends section 28101 of title 49, United States Code, to authorize rail police officers who are employed by a railroad carrier and certified or commissioned as police officers under the laws of a State to enforce the laws of any jurisdiction in which any rail carrier owns property, to the extent of the authority of such police officers to protect employees, passengers, or patrons of any rail carrier; property, equipment, and facilities owned, leased, operated, or maintained by any rail carrier; property moving in interstate or foreign commerce in the possession of any rail carrier; and personnel, equipment, and material moving by rail that are vital to the national defense.

Section 611. Museum locomotive study

This section requires the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a study of its regulations relating to safety inspections of diesel-electric locomotives and equipment and the safety consequences of requiring less frequent inspections of such locomotives which are operated by museums. The study must also include an analysis of the safety consequences of requiring less air brake inspections of such locomotives. The Secretary is required to transmit a report to Congress on the results of the study within 12 months of the date of enactment.

Section 612. Certification of carmen

This section adds section 20164 to title 49, United States Code. Section 20164 requires the Secretary, within 18 months of the date of enactment, to prescribe regulations and issue orders to establish a program requiring the certification of carmen, including all employees performing mechanical inspections, brake system inspections, or maintenance on freight and passenger rail cars. The program shall be designed based on the requirements of parts 215, 221, 231, 232, and 238 of title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Section 613. Train control systems deployment grants

This section requires the Secretary to establish a grant program for the deployment of train control and component technologies. Grants shall be made to eligible passenger and freight railroad carriers and State and local governments for specified projects that have public benefits of improved safety or network efficiency. Applicants for grants are required to file with the Secretary a train control implementation plan that describes the overall safety and efficiency benefits of installing the systems and the stages for implementing such systems. The Secretary is required to give priority consideration to applications that benefit both passenger and freight safety and efficiency, or incentivize train control technology deployment on high-risk corridors such as those that have significant movements of hazardous materials or where commuter and intercity passenger railroads operate.

Section 614. Infrastructure safety investment reports

This section requires each Class I railroad, not later than February 15 of each year, to file a report with the Federal Railroad Safety Administration and the Surface Transportation Board detailing, by State, the infrastructure investments and maintenance they have performed on their system, including but not limited to track, locomotives, railcars, and grade crossings, in the previous calendar year. Such reports shall be made publicly available, and any interested party may file comments about the reports, which also shall be made public.

Section 615. Emergency grade crossing safety improvements

On Easter 2007, three teenage girls died when their car was struck by a freight train at a railroad grade crossing in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. The crossing was equipped with flashing warning signal lights, but no crossing gates.

This section requires the Secretary to establish a grant program for State and local governments to provide emergency grade crossing safety improvements at locations where there has been a railroad grade crossing collision with a school bus or collision involving three or more serious bodily injuries or fatalities. Grants awarded shall not exceed $250,000 per crossing.

Section 616. Clarifications regarding State law causes of action

This section amends section 20106 of title 49, United States Code, to clarify that nothing in that section shall be construed to preempt an action under State law seeking damages for personal injury, death, or property damage alleging that a party has violated the Federal standard of care established by a regulation or order issued by the Secretary of Transportation (with respect to railroad safety matters) or the Secretary of Homeland Security (with respect to railroad security matters) covering the same subject matter as provided in section 20106(a). This includes actions under State law for a party's violation of or failure to adequately comply with its own plan, rule, or standard that it created pursuant to a regulation or order issued by either of the Secretaries or for a party's failure to adequately comply with a law, regulation, or order issued by either of the Secretaries. Actions under State law for a violation of a State law, regulation, or order that is not inconsistent with section 20106(a)(2) are also not preempted. Section 20106(b)(2), as amended by this section, clarifies that this entire section shall apply to all pending State law causes of action arising from events or activities occurring on or after January 18, 2002.

After the Committee ordered H.R. 2095 reported favorably to the House on June 14, 2007, the House and Senate passed the Conference Report on H.R. 1, the `Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007', which addressed this issue and clarified the intent and interpretations of the preemption statute under current law. The President signed the bill on August 3, 2007 (P.L. 110-259).

P.L. 110-259 clarifies that section 20106 of title 49, United States Code, does not preempt State law causes of action where a party has failed to comply with the Federal standard of care established by a regulation or order issued by the Secretary of Transportation or the Secretary of Homeland Security, its own plan or standard that it created pursuant to a regulation or order issued by either of the Secretaries, or a State law, regulation, or order that is not incompatible with section 20106(a)(2). P.L. 110-259 also clarifies that section 20106 applies to all pending State law causes of action arising from activities or events occurring on or after January 18, 2002, the date of the Minot, North Dakota derailment. The provision also states that nothing in section 20106 creates a Federal cause of action on behalf of an injured party or confers Federal question jurisdiction for such State law causes of action.

TITLE VII. RAIL PASSENGER DISASTER FAMILY ASSISTANCE

Section 701. Short title

This section designates the title of Title VII as the `Rail Passenger Disaster Family Assistance Act of 2007'.

Section 702. Assistance by National Transportation Safety Board to families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents

This section adds section 1139 to title 49, United States Code. Section 1139 requires the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, as soon as practical after being notified of a rail passenger accident within the United States, to (1) designate and publicize the name and phone number of a director of family support services who shall be an employee of the Board and shall be responsible for acting as a point of contact within the Federal Government for the families of passengers involved in the accident and a liaison between the rail passenger carrier and the families; and (2) designate an independent nonprofit organization, with experience in disasters and posttrauma communication with families, which shall have primary responsibility for coordinating the emotional care and support of the families passengers involved in the accident.

Section 703. Rail passenger carrier plans to address needs of families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents

This section adds section 25101 to title 49, United States Code. Section 25101 requires each rail passenger carrier, within six months of the date of enactment, to submit to the Secretary and the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board a plan for addressing the needs of the families of passengers involved in any rail passenger accident involving a train of the rail passenger carrier and resulting in a major loss of life. The section further provides that a rail passenger carrier shall not be liable for any damages in any action brought in a Federal or State court arising out of the performance of the rail passenger carrier in preparing or providing a passenger list, or in providing information concerning a train reservation, pursuant to a plan submitted by the rail passenger carrier, unless such liability was caused by conduct of the rail passenger carrier which was grossly negligent or which constituted intentional misconduct.

Section 704. Establishment of task force

This section requires the Secretary to establish a task force to develop a model plan to assist passenger rail carriers in responding to passenger rail accidents; recommendations on methods to improve the timeliness of the notification provided by passenger rail carriers to the families of passengers involved in a passenger rail accident; recommendations on methods to ensure that the families of passengers involved in a passenger rail accident who are not citizens of the United States receive appropriate assistance; and recommendations on methods to ensure that emergency services personnel have as immediate and accurate a count of the number of passengers on board the train as possible. The Secretary is required to transmit to Congress a report containing the model plan and recommendations developed by the task force not later than one year after the date of enactment.

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