[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9961 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9961
To permit Amtrak to bring civil actions in Federal district court to
enforce the right set forth in section 24308(c) of title 49, United
States Code, which gives intercity and commuter rail passenger
transportation preference over freight transportation in using a rail
line, junction, or crossing.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 11, 2024
Mr. Deluzio (for himself and Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary,
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of
the committee concerned
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A BILL
To permit Amtrak to bring civil actions in Federal district court to
enforce the right set forth in section 24308(c) of title 49, United
States Code, which gives intercity and commuter rail passenger
transportation preference over freight transportation in using a rail
line, junction, or crossing.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Rail Passenger Fairness Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
(1) Congress created Amtrak under the Rail Passenger
Service Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-158).
(2) Amtrak began serving customers on May 1, 1971, taking
over the operation of most intercity passenger trains that
private, freight railroads were previously required to operate.
In exchange for assuming these passenger rail operations,
Amtrak was given access to the national rail network.
(3) In return for relief from the obligation to provide
intercity passenger service, railroads over which Amtrak
operated (referred to in this section as ``host railroads'')
were expected to give Amtrak passenger trains preference over
freight trains when using the national rail network.
(4) In 1973, Congress passed the Amtrak Improvement Act of
1973 (Public Law 93-146), which gives intercity and commuter
rail passenger transportation preference over freight
transportation in using a rail line, junction, or crossing.
This right, which is now codified as section 24308(c) of title
49, United States Code, states, ``Except in an emergency,
intercity and commuter rail passenger transportation provided
by or for Amtrak has preference over freight transportation in
using a rail line, junction, or crossing unless the Board
orders otherwise under this subsection. A rail carrier affected
by this subsection may apply to the Board for relief. If the
Board, after an opportunity for a hearing under section 553 of
title 5, decides that preference for intercity and commuter
rail passenger transportation materially will lessen the
quality of freight transportation provided to shippers, the
Board shall establish the rights of the carrier and Amtrak on
reasonable terms.''.
(5) Many host railroads have ignored the law referred to in
paragraph (4) by refusing to give passenger rail the priority
to which it is statutorily entitled and giving freight
transportation the higher priority. As a result, Amtrak's on
time performance on most host railroads is poor, has declined
between 2014 through 2019, and continues to decline.
(6) According to Amtrak, 6,500,000 customers on State-
supported and long-distance trains arrived at their destination
late during fiscal year 2019. Nearly 70 percent of these delays
were caused by host railroads, amounting to a total of
3,200,000 minutes. The largest cause of these delays was
freight train interference, which accounted for more than
1,000,000 minutes of delay for Amtrak passengers, or
approximately 2 years, because host railroads chose to give
freight trains priority.
(7) Poor on-time performance wastes taxpayer dollars.
According to a 2019 report by Amtrak's Office of Inspector
General, a 5 percent improvement of on-time performance on all
Amtrak routes would result in $12,100,000 in cost savings to
Amtrak in the first year. If on-time performance on long-
distance routes reached 75 percent for a year, Amtrak would
realize an estimated $41,900,000 in operating cost savings,
with a one-time savings of $336,000,000 due to a reduction in
equipment replacement needs.
(8) Historical data suggests that on-time performance on
host railroads is driven by the existence of an effective means
to enforce Amtrak's preference rights:
(A) Two months after the date of the enactment of
the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of
2008 (division B of Public Law 110-432), which included
provisions for the enforcement of these preference
rights, was enacted, the on-time performance of long-
distance trains improved from 56 percent to 77 percent
and class I freight train interference delays across
all routes declined by 40 percent.
(B) One year after such date of enactment, freight
train interference delays had declined by 54 percent
and the on-time performance of long-distance trains
reached 85 percent.
(C) In 2014, after some of the provisions in the
Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008
related to enforcement of preference were ruled
unconstitutional by a D.C. Circuit Court, long-distance
train on-time performance declined from 72 percent to
50 percent, and freight train interference delays
increased 59 percent.
(D) The last time long-distance trains achieved an
on-time rate of more than 80 percent in a given month
was February 2012.
(9) As a result of violations of Amtrak's right to
preference, Amtrak has been consistently unable on host
railroad networks to meet its congressionally mandated mission
and goals, which are codified in section 24101 of title 49,
United States Code (relating to providing on-time and trip-time
competitive service to its passengers).
(10) Amtrak does not have an effective mechanism to enforce
its statutory preference right in order to fulfill its mission
and goals. Only the Attorney General can bring a civil action
for equitable relief in a district court of the United States
to enforce Amtrak's preference rights.
(11) In Amtrak's entire history, the only enforcement
action initiated by the Attorney General was against the
Southern Pacific Transportation Company in 1979.
(12) Congress supports continued authority for the Attorney
General to initiate an action, but Amtrak should also be
entitled to bring a civil action before a Federal district
court to enforce its statutory preference rights.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZE AMTRAK TO BRING A CIVIL ACTION TO ENFORCE IT
PREFERENCE RIGHTS.
(a) In General.--Section 24308(c) of title 49, United States Code,
is amended, by adding at the end the following: ``Notwithstanding
sections 24103(a) and 24308(f), Amtrak shall have the right to bring an
action for equitable or other relief in the United States District
Court for the District of Columbia to enforce the preference rights
granted under this subsection.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 24103 of title 49, United States
Code, is amended by inserting ``and section 24308(c)'' before ``, only
the Attorney General''.
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