[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1852 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1852
To establish an intercity passenger rail service investment grant
program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 26, 2021
Mr. Markey (for himself and Ms. Warren) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish an intercity passenger rail service investment grant
program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.
This Act may be cited as the ``Building Rail Across Intercity
Networks To Ride Around Interior of the Nation Act'' or the ``BRAIN
TRAIN Act''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM FOR HIGH-PERFORMANCE INTERCITY
PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE.
(a) In General.--Chapter 261 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 26107. Intercity passenger rail service investment program
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Applicant.--The term `applicant' means Amtrak or a
State, group of States, interstate compact, or public agency
established by 1 or more States with responsibility for
providing intercity passenger rail service.
``(2) Capital project.--The term `capital project' means a
project or program in a State rail plan developed under chapter
227 for--
``(A) acquiring, constructing, improving, or
inspecting equipment, track, and track structures, or a
facility of use in or for the primary benefit of
intercity passenger rail service;
``(B) expenses incidental to the acquisition or
construction (including designing, engineering,
location surveying, mapping, environmental studies, and
acquiring active or out of service rights-of-way); and
``(C) payments for the capital portions of rail
trackage rights agreements, highway-rail grade crossing
improvements related to intercity passenger rail
service, mitigating environmental impacts,
communication and signalization improvements,
relocation assistance, acquiring replacement housing
sites, and acquiring, constructing, relocating, and
rehabilitating replacement housing.
``(3) High-performance rail.--The term `high-performance
rail' means intercity passenger rail service that is designed
to meet the current and future market demand for the
transportation of people, in terms of capacity, travel times,
reliability, and efficiency.
``(4) Intercity passenger rail service.--The term
`intercity passenger rail service' has the meaning given the
term `intercity rail passenger transportation' in section
24102.
``(5) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary
of Transportation.
``(6) State.--The term `State' means any of the 50 States
or the District of Columbia.
``(b) Establishment.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish an
intercity passenger rail service investment program to promote
high-performance rail transportation options.
``(2) Grants authorized.--The Secretary may award grants
under this section to an applicant to finance capital projects
for high-performance rail, including grants awarded in
installments for projects lasting longer than 1 year.
``(c) Applications.--Each applicant seeking a grant under this
section shall submit an application to the Secretary in such form and
containing such information as the Secretary shall reasonably require.
``(d) Competitive Grant Selection and Criteria for Grants.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall--
``(A) establish criteria for selecting among
capital projects that meet the criteria specified in
paragraph (2);
``(B) conduct a national solicitation for
applications; and
``(C) award grants on a competitive basis.
``(2) Grant criteria.--In selecting the recipients of
intercity passenger rail grants under subsection (b)(2), the
Secretary shall--
``(A) require--
``(i) the project to be part of a State
rail plan developed under chapter 227, or under
the plan required under section 211 of the
Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act
of 2008 (49 U.S.C. 24902 note);
``(ii) the applicant or recipient to have
the legal, financial, and technical capacity to
carry out the project, satisfactory continuing
control over the use of the equipment or
facilities, and the capability and willingness
to maintain the equipment or facilities;
``(iii) the project to be based on the
results of preliminary engineering studies or
other planning;
``(iv) the applicant to provide sufficient
information upon which the Secretary can make
the findings required under this subsection;
``(v) if an applicant has selected the
proposed operator of its service, the applicant
to provide written justification to the
Secretary showing why the proposed operator is
the best, taking into account costs and other
factors;
``(vi) each proposed project to meet all
safety and security requirements that are
applicable to the project under law; and
``(vii) each project to be compatible with,
and operated in conformance with--
``(I) plans developed pursuant to
the requirements under section 135 of
title 23; and
``(II) the national rail plan (if
available);
``(B) select high-performance rail projects--
``(i) that are anticipated to result in
significant improvements to intercity rail
passenger service, including consideration of
the project's--
``(I) levels of estimated
ridership, increased on-time
performance, reduced trip time, or
additional service frequency to meet
anticipated or existing demand;
``(II) anticipated provision of
intercity passenger rail service in
historically and persistently
unconnected and under-connected
regions; and
``(III) anticipated favorable
impact on air or highway traffic
congestion, capacity, or safety;
``(ii) for which there is a high degree of
confidence that the proposed project is
feasible and will result in the anticipated
benefits, as indicated by--
``(I) the project's precommencement
compliance with environmental
protection requirements;
``(II) the readiness of the project
to be commenced; and
``(III) other relevant factors
determined by the Secretary; and
``(iii) for which the level of the
anticipated benefits compares favorably to the
amount of Federal funding requested under this
section; and
``(C) give greater consideration to projects that--
``(i) are anticipated to result in benefits
to other modes of transportation and to the
public at large, including consideration of the
project's--
``(I) encouragement of intermodal
connectivity through provision of
direct connections between train and
transit stations, airports, bus
terminals, subway stations, ferry
ports, and other modes of
transportation;
``(II) anticipated improvement of
conventional intercity passenger,
freight, or commuter rail operations;
``(III) use of positive train
control technologies;
``(IV) environmental benefits,
including projects that involve the
purchase of environmentally sensitive,
fuel-efficient or electrified, and
cost-effective passenger rail
equipment;
``(V) anticipated reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions;
``(VI) anticipated improvement of
air quality and public health;
``(VII) anticipated positive
economic and employment impacts,
including development in the areas near
passenger stations, historic districts,
or other opportunity zones;
``(VIII) encouragement of State and
private contributions toward station
development, energy and environmental
efficiency, and economic benefits; and
``(IX) provision of enhanced access
for persons with disabilities to
intercity passenger rail service; and
``(ii) incorporate equitable financial
participation in the project's financing,
including consideration of--
``(I) donated or discounted
interests in real or personal property;
``(II) donated services;
``(III) financial contributions by
intercity passenger, freight, and
commuter rail carriers commensurate
with the benefit expected to their
operations;
``(IV) financial commitments from
host railroads, non-Federal
governmental entities, nongovernmental
entities, and others; and
``(V) Federal loans, including
loans under title V of the Railroad
Revitalization and Regulatory Reform
Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 821 et seq.).
``(3) Grant conditions.--The Secretary shall require each
recipient of a grant under this chapter to comply with the
grant requirements under section 22905.
``(4) State rail plans.--State rail plans completed before
the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail Investment and
Improvement Act of 2008 (division B of Public Law 110-432) that
substantially meet the requirements of chapter 227 of this
title, as determined by the Secretary pursuant to section
22706, shall be deemed by the Secretary to have met the
requirements of paragraph (2)(A)(i).
``(e) Federal Share.--
``(1) In general.--The Federal share of the cost of a
capital project financed under this section shall not exceed 90
percent of the project's net capital cost.
``(2) In-kind match.--The fair market value of in-kind
contributions to a capital project financed under this section
shall be treated as non-Federal matching funds for purposes of
paragraph (1).
``(3) Loans.--The value of any Federal loans paid back with
non-Federal funds shall be treated as non-Federal matching
funds for purposes of paragraph (1).
``(f) Issuance of Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall issue
regulations to carry out this section.
``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--
``(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated
to the Secretary to carry out this section $5,000,000,000 for
each of the fiscal years 2022 through 2026.
``(2) Availability of funds.--Any amounts appropriated for
a fiscal year pursuant to paragraph (1) that remain unobligated
at the end of such fiscal year shall be made available for
eligible projects in the following fiscal year.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The chapter analysis for chapter 261 of
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``26107. Intercity passenger rail service investment program.''.
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