[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2515 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2515
To provide for a grant program for adoption of certain telematics
systems onboard freight railcars, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 31, 2025
Mr. Nehls (for himself and Mr. Moulton) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and
Technology, 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
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for a grant program for adoption of certain telematics
systems onboard freight railcars, and for other purposes.
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 ``American Tank Car Modernization Act
of 2025''.
SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAMS FOR ADOPTION OF CERTAIN TELEMATICS SYSTEMS.
(a) Onboard Freight Railcar Telematics Systems and Gateway Device
Grant Program.--The Administrator of the Federal Railroad
Administration shall establish a grant program to provide funds to
freight railcar owners or operators to purchase and install--
(1) onboard freight railcar telematics systems; or
(2) onboard freight railcar gateway devices.
(b) Eligible Entities.--Eligible entities for funding under the
grant program under this section are freight railcar owners.
(c) Use of Funds.--Funds provided under this section may be used to
purchase and install onboard freight railcar telematic systems or
onboard freight railcar gateway devices that enable the recipient of a
grant to obtain and enhance the data collected from such systems and
devices resulting in the following:
(1) Near real-time visibility of freight railcar location
and freight railcar asset health.
(2) Increasing the visibility to the safety of the asset
and commodity within the freight railcar asset.
(3) Increasing future capability of real-time visibility in
the development of onboard freight railcar sensor technology
that measures or monitors, for purposes of gathering
information on maintenance requirements (and enables railcar
owners, operators, and shippers to identify railcars that could
become a hazard)--
(A) railcar impact;
(B) wheel or wheel bearing temperature;
(C) whether a hand brake is on or off;
(D) whether a hatch is open or closed; and
(E) internal railcar temperature.
(4) Increasing the efficiency of railcar utilization in the
North American freight railcar fleet.
(5) Reducing reliance on human and manual data capture,
reducing the risk of errors due to data latency and timeliness
related to freight railcar data and information.
(6) Offering development of alerts and triggers to capture
and transmit freight railcar mechanical issues to the railroad
operator for action.
(7) Ability to communicate events real-time to a wide
variety of stakeholders.
(d) Grant Use Prioritization.--In selecting recipients of grants
under this section, the Administrator shall prioritize installation of
onboard freight railcar telematic systems or onboard freight railcar
gateway devices in the following order of priority:
(1) Newly built freight railcars manufactured by a
qualified manufacturer in a qualified facility.
(2) Freight railcars entering a certification event in a
qualified facility.
(3) Freight railcars entering a shopping event or
maintenance event in a qualified facility.
(e) Freight Railcar Type Prioritization.--After establishing the
priority requirements under subsection (c), the Administrator shall
further ensure that the freight railcar types eligible to receive such
an installation be considered in the following order of priority:
(1) Tank cars in ``TIH/PIH'' (toxic inhalation products)
service.
(2) Tank cars in Class I, II, and III flammable service.
(3) Tank cars in hazardous materials service.
(4) Tank cars in specialized service.
(5) Other tank cars.
(6) All other freight railcars.
(f) Limitation.--To be eligible for any expenditure of funds under
this section, a freight railcar and any sensitive technology relating
to such railcar shall comply with the requirements of section 20171 of
title 49, United States Code.
(g) Report by Secretary of Transportation.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation 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 implementation and effects of
the grant program established under this section.
(2) Contents.--The report required under paragraph (1)
shall include, at a minimum, the following:
(A) The number of railcars equipped with telematics
devices using funds provided under this section.
(B) The cost of equipping such railcars.
(C) The number of safety incidents involving such
railcars reported to the Federal Railroad
Administration.
(D) Anecdotal experience of grant recipients
relating to the deployment of telematics devices.
(E) Any legislative recommendations relating to the
grant program established under paragraph (1).
(3) Public availability.--The report required under
paragraph (1) shall be made publicly available to the maximum
extent practicable without compromising confidentiality or
security.
(4) Consultation.--In preparing the report required under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consult with Federal
agencies and stakeholders, as appropriate, to gather technical,
operational, and safety-related data.
(h) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) Onboard freight railcar telematics system; onboard
freight railcar gateway device.--The terms ``onboard freight
railcar telematics system'' and ``onboard freight railcar
gateway device'' mean the telematics or gateway device
physically installed on a freight railcar that is owned by a
railcar owner that collects and transmits data about the
railcar asset.
(2) Telematics.--The term ``telematics'' means a technology
that--
(A) relies on telecommunications, informatics, and
computer and data processing;
(B) generates data and informatics from gateway
devices fixed to railcars and provides for the exchange
of information over a distance using battery or solar
powered wireless connections; and
(C) includes the method upon which freight railcars
are monitored by using GPS technology through a gateway
device using on-board diagnostics to plot a railcar's
movements and, if applicable, gather railcar equipment
health and condition data from other onboard railcar
sensors when applied.
(3) Gateway device.--The term ``gateway device'' means a
network hardware or software node used in freight railcar
telecommunications that--
(A) connects two networks with different
transmission protocols together;
(B) serves as an entry and exit point for a network
as all data collected from the railcar must pass
through or communicate with the gateway prior to being
routed;
(C) are distinct from routers or switches in that
they communicate using more than one protocol to
connect multiple networks; and
(D) may be any device on a freight railcar that is
embedded with electronics, software, sensors, or other
connectivity, that enables the device to connect to,
collect data from, or exchange data with another
device, including--
(i) railcar onboard telematics;
(ii) global positioning system satellite
and cellular location tracking systems;
(iii) railcar event status sensors;
(iv) railcar predictive component condition
and performance monitoring sensors; and
(v) similar technologies embedded into
freight railcar components and sub-assemblies.
(4) Railroad freight car.--The term ``railroad freight
car'' means a car designed to carry freight or railroad
personnel by rail, including--
(A) a box railcar;
(B) a refrigerator railcar;
(C) a ventilator railcar;
(D) an intermodal well railcar;
(E) a gondola railcar;
(F) a hopper railcar;
(G) an auto rack railcar;
(H) a flat railcar;
(I) a special railcar;
(J) a caboose railcar;
(K) a tank railcar; and
(L) a yard railcar.
(5) Qualified facility.--The term ``qualified facility''
means a facility that is not owned or under the control of a
state-owned enterprise.
(6) Qualified manufacturer.--The term ``qualified
manufacturer'' means a railroad freight car manufacturer that
is not owned or under the control of a state-owned enterprise.
(7) Certification event.--The term ``certification event''
means a railroad freight car that is required by current
regulations to be recertified in a maintenance facility or
qualified facility.
(8) Shopping event.--The term ``shopping event'' means a
railroad freight car that is undergoing regular or routine
maintenance by a railcar maintenance facility or qualified
facility.
(9) State-owned enterprise.--The term ``state-owned
enterprise'' means--
(A) an entity that is owned by, or under the
control of, a national, provincial, or local government
of a country of concern, or an agency of such
government; or
(B) an individual acting under the direction or
influence of a government or agency described in
subparagraph (A).
(10) Country of concern.--The term ``country of concern''
means a country that--
(A) is identified by the Department of Commerce as
a nonmarket economy country (as defined in section
771(18) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1677(18)))
as of the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail
Expansion and Rail Safety Act of 2021;
(B) was identified by the United States Trade
Representative in the most recent report required by
section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2242)
as a foreign country included on the priority watch
list (as defined in subsection (g)(3) of such section);
and
(C) is subject to monitoring by the Trade
Representative under section 306 of the Trade Act of
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2416).
(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $100,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2026 through 2029, to remain available until expended.
SEC. 3. ENHANCING FREIGHT RAILCAR ONBOARD TELEMATICS AND SENSOR
DEVELOPMENT PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--The Administrator of the Federal Railroad
Administration shall establish a pilot program to--
(1) assist freight railcar owners and freight railcar
manufacturers in the development of freight railcar onboard
sensor technologies to add visibility to the safety of the
freight railcar asset and commodity within the freight railcar
asset;
(2) encourage development of freight railcar onboard
sensors that communicate to the freight railcar onboard gateway
devices to offer future capabilities of real-time visibility
of--
(A) wheel and wheel bearing temperature;
(B) whether a hand brake is on or off;
(C) whether a hatch is open or closed; and
(D) internal railcar temperature; and
(3) carry out any of the activities described in paragraph
(1) and (2) for purposes of informing railcar owners or
operators on maintenance requirements, and enable operators,
shippers, and railcar owners to possibly identify railcars that
could become a hazard.
(b) Eligible Entities.--Eligible entities for funding under the
pilot program under this section are freight railcar owners.
(c) Limitation.--To be eligible for any expenditure of funds under
this section, a freight railcar and any sensitive technology relating
to such railcar shall comply with the requirements of section 20171 of
title 49, United States Code.
(d) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator 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--
(1) the activities carried out with funds provided under
this section; and
(2) the effectiveness of developed freight railcar onboard
sensors by outlining the types and numbers of sensors that have
become industry accepted and are in use on freight railcars.
(e) Definitions.--
(1) Freight railcar onboard sensor.--The term ``freight
railcar onboard sensor'' means the onboard sensor that
communicates or signals the freight railcar onboard telematics
device or gateway device physically installed on a freight
railcar that is purchased and installed by, and owned by the
railcar owner that collects and transmits data about the
railcar asset to the railcar owner, data system, or data
collection point.
(2) Railroad freight car.--The term ``railroad freight
car'' means a car designed to carry freight or railroad
personnel by rail, including--
(A) a box railcar;
(B) a refrigerator railcar;
(C) a ventilator railcar;
(D) an intermodal well railcar;
(E) a gondola railcar;
(F) a hopper railcar;
(G) an auto rack railcar;
(H) a flat railcar;
(I) a special railcar;
(J) a caboose railcar;
(K) a tank railcar; and
(L) a yard railcar.
(3) Telematics.--The term ``telematics'' means a technology
that--
(A) relies on telecommunications, informatics, and
computer and data processing;
(B) generates data and informatics from gateway
devices fixed to railcars and provide for the exchange
of information over a distance using battery or solar
powered wireless connections; and
(C) includes the method upon which freight railcars
are monitored by using GPS technology through a gateway
device using on-board diagnostics to plot a railcar's
movements and, if applicable, gather railcar equipment
health and condition data from other onboard railcar
sensors when applied.
(4) Gateway device.--The term ``gateway device'' means a
network hardware or software node used in freight railcar
telecommunications that--
(A) connects two networks with different
transmission protocols together;
(B) serve as an entry and exit point for a network
as all data collected from the railcar must pass
through or communicate with the gateway prior to being
routed;
(C) are distinct from routers or switches in that
they communicate using more than one protocol to
connect multiple networks; and
(D) may be any device on a freight railcar that is
embedded with electronics, software, sensors, or other
connectivity, that enables the device to connect to,
collect data from, or exchange data with another
device, including--
(i) railcar onboard telematics;
(ii) global positioning system satellite
and cellular location tracking systems;
(iii) railcar event status sensors;
(iv) railcar predictive component condition
and performance monitoring sensors; and
(v) similar sensitive technologies embedded
into freight railcar components and sub-
assemblies.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2026 through 2029, to remain available until expended.
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