Passenger Train Safety Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6066 To require the Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak to implement and carry out certain National Transportation Safety Board rec- ommendations, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 3, 2020 Mr. HECK (for himself, Mr. KILMER, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, and Mr. AMODEI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To require the Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak to implement and carry out certain National Transpor- tation Safety Board recommendations, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Passenger Train Safe- 4 ty Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. SAFETY IMPLEMENTATION REQUIREMENTS. 6 (a) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION REQUIRE- 7 MENTS.—Not later than 18 months after the date of en- 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:52 Mar 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6066.IH H6066 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6066 IH actment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Rail- 1 road Administration shall carry out the following: 2 (1) Complete a study on how signage can be 3 used to improve safety in the rail industry that in- 4 cludes— 5 (A) a review of how signs used for other 6 modes of transportation may be effectively used 7 in the rail industry; 8 (B) a review of how signs used in the rail- 9 road industry differ; and 10 (C) an analysis of whether a uniform sys- 11 tem for speed signs across the entire railroad 12 industry would benefit the railroad industry and 13 improve safety. 14 (2) Reevaluate existing seat securement mecha- 15 nisms and their susceptibility to inadvertent rota- 16 tion, to identify a means to prevent the failure of 17 these devices to maintain seat securement. 18 (3) Conduct research to evaluate the causes of 19 passenger injuries in passenger railcar derailments 20 and evaluate potential methods for mitigating such 21 injuries. 22 (4) For research specified by the National 23 Transportation Safety Board in safety recommenda- 24 tion R–16–35 that identifies safety improvements, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:52 Mar 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6066.IH H6066 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6066 IH use the findings to develop occupant protection 1 standards for passenger railcars that will mitigate 2 passenger injuries likely to occur during derailments 3 and overturns. 4 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR AMTRAK.—Not later than 5 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, Amtrak 6 shall— 7 (1) ensure operating crewmembers demonstrate 8 proficiency on the physical characteristics of a terri- 9 tory by using all resources available to them, includ- 10 ing— 11 (A) in-cab instruments, signage, signals, 12 and landmarks; 13 (B) under daylight and nighttime condi- 14 tions; and 15 (C) using observation rides, throttle time, 16 and written examinations; 17 (2) revise classroom and road training pro- 18 grams to ensure that operating crews fully under- 19 stand all locomotive operating characteristics, 20 alarms, and the appropriate response to abnormal 21 conditions; 22 (3) require that all engineers undergo simulator 23 training before operating new or unfamiliar equip- 24 ment (at a minimum, experience and respond prop- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:52 Mar 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6066.IH H6066 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6066 IH erly to all alarms), and when possible, undergo simu- 1 lator training before operating in revenue service in 2 a new territory and experience normal and abnormal 3 conditions on that territory; 4 (4) implement a formal, systematic approach to 5 developing training and qualification programs to 6 identify the most effective strategies for preparing 7 crewmembers to safely operate new equipment on 8 new territories; 9 (5) complete a comprehensive assessment of the 10 territories to ensure that necessary wayside signs 11 and plaques are identified, highly noticeable, and 12 strategically located to provide operating crews the 13 information needed to safely operate their trains; 14 (6) conduct training that specifies and rein- 15 forces how each crewmember, including those who 16 have not received their certifications or qualifica- 17 tions, may be used as a resource to assist in estab- 18 lishing and maintaining safe train operations; 19 (7) update the safety review process to ensure 20 that all operating documents are up to date and ac- 21 curate before initiating new or revised revenue oper- 22 ations; 23 (8) incorporate all prerevenue service planning, 24 construction, and route verification work into the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:52 Mar 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6066.IH H6066 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6066 IH scope of your corporate-wide system safety plan, in- 1 cluding your rules and policies, risk assessment anal- 2 yses, safety assurances, and safety promotions; 3 (9) conduct risk assessments on all new or up- 4 graded services that occur on Amtrak-owned terri- 5 tory, host railroads, or in States that own infra- 6 structure over which you operate; and 7 (10) develop policies for the safe use of child 8 safety seats to prevent uncontrolled or unexpected 9 movements in passenger trains and provide cus- 10 tomers with guidance for securing these child safety 11 seats. 12 SEC. 3. INWARD- AND OUTWARD-FACING RECORDERS. 13 Section 20168 of title 49, United States Code, is 14 amended— 15 (1) in subsection (c) by inserting ‘‘or an 16 inward- or outward-facing audio recording device for 17 compliance with the requirements of subsection (l)’’ 18 before the period; 19 (2) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 20 following: 21 ‘‘(e) AUDIO RECORDERS.—Not later than 1 year 22 after the date of the Passenger Train Safety Act, the Sec- 23 retary shall by regulation require each railroad carrier 24 that provides regularly scheduled intercity rail passenger 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:52 Mar 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6066.IH H6066 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6066 IH or commuter rail passenger transportation to the public 1 to install inward- and outward-facing audio recording de- 2 vices in or on all controlling locomotive cabs and cab car 3 operating compartments on such passenger trains.’’; and 4 (3) in subsection (f)— 5 (A) by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and in- 6 serting ‘‘this section’’; and 7 (B) by striking ‘‘image’’ and inserting 8 ‘‘image or audio’’; 9 (4) in subsection (g) by striking ‘‘subsection 10 (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘this section’’; 11 (5) in subsection (h)— 12 (A) by striking ‘‘audio or’’; 13 (B) by striking ‘‘or transcript of oral com- 14 munications’’; and 15 (C) by striking the second sentence; 16 (6) in subsection (j) by striking ‘‘image’’ and 17 inserting ‘‘image or audio’’ each place it appears; 18 and 19 (7) by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(k) LIMITATION ON USE OF RECORDED INFORMA- 21 TION.— The Secretary may not use any information col- 22 lected pursuant to this section in a civil penalty or certifi- 23 cate action. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:52 Mar 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6066.IH H6066 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6066 IH ‘‘(l) AUDIO RECORDING REQUIREMENTS.—An audio 1 recording device required under this section shall— 2 ‘‘(1) operate continuously any time the control- 3 ling locomotive cabs and cab car operating compart- 4 ments is in motion; 5 ‘‘(2) have crash and fire protections for any 6 audio recordings that are stored only within a con- 7 trolling locomotive cab or cab car operating compart- 8 ment; and 9 ‘‘(3) encrypt all audio recorded by such device. 10 ‘‘(m) REVIEW OF AUDIO RECORDINGS.— 11 ‘‘(1) PRESERVATION OF CERTAIN RECORD- 12 INGS.—For any audio recorded pursuant to this sec- 13 tion of an accident or incident that is required to be 14 reported to the National Transportation Safety 15 Board, the rail carrier holding such recording shall 16 preserve such recording according to the require- 17 ments of subsection (g). 18 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSIVE REVIEW.—The National 19 Transportation Safety Board shall have the exclusive 20 authority to— 21 ‘‘(A) decrypt, or provide a decryption key 22 for, an audio recording described in this sec- 23 tion; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:52 Mar 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6066.IH H6066 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6066 IH ‘‘(B) except as provided for in subsection 1 (n), review an audio recording described in this 2 section prior to a public disclosure of such re- 3 cording. 4 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF AUDIO.—Prior to 5 any public disclosure of an audio recorded under this 6 section (as otherwise provided for in law), the Na- 7 tional Transportation Safety Board shall— 8 ‘‘(A) remove all personally identifiable in- 9 formation in such recording; and 10 ‘‘(B) ensure that the audio recording does 11 not contain any audio recorded earlier than 15 12 minutes before the accident or incident required 13 to be reported to the Board. 14 ‘‘(n) LIMITED USE OF AUDIO RECORDINGS BY RAIL 15 CARRIERS.— 16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon request of a rail car- 17 rier, the National Transportation Safety Board may 18 provide a decryption key to such carrier for any 19 audio recording recorded by such carrier under this 20 section, or provide a decrypted version of a recording 21 submitted to the Board under subsection (m), if the 22 Secretary certifies that the rail carrier and all collec- 23 tive bargaining units representing employees of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:52 Mar 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6066.IH H6066 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6066 IH carrier enter into an agreement that contains the 1 limitations specified in paragraph (2). 2 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE USE.—An agreement under 3 paragraph (1) shall require that— 4 ‘‘(A) the recording transmitted is used for 5 training purposes only; and 6 ‘‘(B) the recording is not used for em- 7 ployee discipline or the enforcement of oper- 8 ating rules.’’. 9 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF CERTAIN NEW 10 ROUTES. 11 Section 20157 of title 49, United States Code, is 12 amended by adding at the end the following: 13 ‘‘(m) PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF CERTAIN NEW 14 ROUTES.—An entity providing regularly scheduled inter- 15 city or commuter rail passenger transportation may not 16 begin service on any new route that is subject to the re- 17 quirements of this section unless a positive train control 18 system is fully implemented and operational on such 19 route.’’. 20 SEC. 5. SPEED LIMIT ACTION PLANS. 21 (a) Section 11406 of the FAST Act (Public Law 22 114–94) is amended— 23 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘survey its en- 24 tire system’’ and inserting ‘‘survey its entire system 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:52 Mar 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6066.IH H6066 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6066 IH and any other infrastructure over which such rail- 1 road carrier operates’’; 2 (2) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), and 3 (f) as subsections (e), (f), and (g), respectively; 4 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol- 5 lowing: 6 ‘‘(d) PERIODIC REVIEWS AND UPDATES.—Each rail- 7 road carrier described under subsection (a) shall— 8 ‘‘(1) annually review the speed limit action 9 plans to ensure the effectiveness of actions taken to 10 enable warning and enforcement of the maximum 11 authorized speed for passenger trains at each loca- 12 tion identified under subsection (b)(1); and 13 ‘‘(2) not later than 90 days prior to imple- 14 menting any operational or territorial operating 15 changes, such as initiating new service or routes, 16 submit to the Secretary a revised action plan that 17 addresses such operational or territorial operating 18 changes.’’; and 19 (4) in subsection (c) by inserting ‘‘or subsection 20 (d)(2)’’ after ‘‘subsection (b)’’. 21 SEC. 6. REPORT. 22 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 23 of this Act, the Federal Railroad Administration and Am- 24 trak shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:52 Mar 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6066.IH H6066 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6066 IH Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the 1 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 2 the Senate a report on the progress of the implementation 3 of the safety recommendations described in section 3, in- 4 cluding a description of all completed elements of the im- 5 plementation. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:52 Mar 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6066.IH H6066 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS