To improve railroad safety.

February 1, 2005

Mr. SCHUMER (for himself and Mr. GRAHAM) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

To improve railroad safety.

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 `Railroad Crossing and Hazardous Materials Transport Safety Act of 2005'.

SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

The table of contents of this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.

Sec. 2. Table of contents.

TITLE I--RAIL CROSSING SAFETY

Sec. 101. Review of safety of highway-rail grade crossings.

Sec. 102. Highway-rail grade crossing safety.

Sec. 103. Deputy Administrator for Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety.

Sec. 104. Employment of safety investigation personnel.

Sec. 105. Increased civil penalties for violations of requirements related to highway-rail grade crossing safety.

Sec. 106. Highway-rail grade crossing defined.

Sec. 107. Authorization of appropriations.

TITLE II--SAFE TRANSPORT OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

Sec. 201. Increased civil penalties for violations of rules regarding transportation of hazardous materials.

Sec. 202. Authority to remove railroad cars from service.

Sec. 203. Revocation of compliance orders.

Sec. 204. Safety Inspections of railroad cars carrying hazardous materials.

Sec. 205. Requirement for railroad carriers to provide hazardous materials lists.

Sec. 206. Miscellaneous amendments to chapter 51 of title 49.

Sec. 207. Replacement of manual switches.

Sec. 208. Employment of hazardous materials inspectors.

Sec. 209. Deployment of positive train control systems.

Sec. 210. Rail car separation.

Sec. 211. Dynamic tank car standards.

TITLE I--RAIL CROSSING SAFETY

SEC. 101. REVIEW OF SAFETY OF HIGHWAY-RAIL GRADE CROSSINGS.

(a) REVIEW- The Secretary of Transportation shall conduct a comprehensive review of the safety of all highway-rail grade crossings in the United States. The matters reviewed shall include security measures, safety conditions, past accidents, and possible safety improvements. In the conduct of the review, the Secretary shall determine whether it is advisable to close any of the highway-rail grade crossings.

(b) PRIORITY LIST- Based on the information collected in subsection (a), the Secretary shall compile, maintain, and submit to Congress a list of the 10,000 highway-rail grade crossings most in need of safety improvements. The information considered shall include, among other information, the population density near the highway-rail grade crossings and the number of accidents and incidents at crossings that are reported to the Federal Railway Administration.

(c) INCLUSION IN HIGHWAY-RAIL GRADE CROSSING DATABASE- The Secretary shall include the information collected under subsection (a) and the priority list submitted under subsection (b) in the national database on the safety of highway-rail grade crossings required under section 20154(a) of title 49, United States Code (as added by section 102).

SEC. 102. HIGHWAY-RAIL GRADE CROSSING SAFETY.

(a) HIGHWAY-RAIL GRADE CROSSING SAFETY- Subchapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

`Sec. 20154. Highway-rail grade crossing safety

`(a) DATABASE OF HIGHWAY-RAIL GRADE CROSSING SAFETY INFORMATION-

`(1) REQUIREMENT FOR DATABASE- The Secretary of Transportation shall maintain a national database of information on the safety of highway-rail grade crossings in the United States.

`(2) ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT REPORTS TO BE INCLUDED- The Secretary shall include in the database under paragraph (1), with other information on the safety of highway-rail grade crossings, information from incident reports filed with the Federal Railroad Administration regarding accidents and other safety-related incidents that have occurred at highway-rail grade crossings, including reports submitted under paragraph (1) of subsection (c) and the results of investigations under paragraph (2) of such subsection.

`(b) INVESTIGATIONS OF FATAL ACCIDENTS- The Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration shall conduct an investigation regarding the cause of each fatal accident that occurs at a highway-rail grade crossing.

`(c) ACCIDENT REPORTS- The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, shall prescribe regulations--

`(1) requiring that, not later than 7 days after being involved in an accident at a highway-rail grade crossing, a railroad carrier submit to the Administrator an accident report on that accident as prescribed by the FRA Guide for Preparing Accident/Incident Reports; and

`(2) providing for a railroad carrier to be subject to a civil penalty of $10,000 for each day after the last day on which the report is due that the railroad carrier fails to submit such report.

`(d) CROSSING MALFUNCTION REPORTS- The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, shall prescribe regulations--

`(1) requiring that a railroad carrier submit to the Administrator a Highway Rail-Grade Crossing Warning System Report regarding an activation failure of a highway-rail grade crossing warning system not later than 5 days after the railroad carrier is on notice of such failure; and

`(2) providing for a railroad carrier to be subject to a civil penalty of $5,000 for each day after the last day on which the report is due that the railroad carrier fails to submit such report.

`(e) SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS- The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, shall prescribe regulations for improving the safety, maintenance, and surveillance of highway-rail grade crossings, including regulations that--

`(1) provide for installing surveillance cameras at crossings where one or more fatal accidents have occurred;

`(2) provide for a system of annual inspection of every crossing by a State or Federal inspector to ensure that automated safety systems are in working order, that there is no vegetation or other obstruction blocking the view of crossing warning signs at critical locations in approaches to crossings, and that appropriate crossing warning signs and other safety measures are in place; and

`(3) provide for installing redundant automated warning systems at each crossing where the volume of motor vehicle traffic traversing that crossing is within the highest 10 percent of volumes of traversing motor vehicle traffic per highway-rail grade crossing in the United States.

`(f) COOPERATION WITH FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION- (1) The Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration shall--

`(A) identify any public or private entity that prevents the Administrator from making necessary safety improvements at a highway-rail grade crossing included on the priority list of dangerous crossings submitted to Congress by the Secretary of Transportation under section 101(b) of the Railroad Crossing and Hazardous Materials Transport Safety Act of 2005;

`(B) submit to the Secretary of Transportation--

`(i) a list of the public and private entities identified pursuant to subparagraph (A); and

`(ii) recommendations for withholding from such public entities funds in the amounts specified under paragraph (3) that are otherwise to be disbursed from the Highway Trust Fund during the fiscal year in which such determination is made; and

`(C) submit to the committees of Congress named in paragraph (2)--

`(i) a list of the public and private entities identified pursuant to subparagraph (A); and

`(ii) a report on the recommendations made pursuant to subparagraph (B)(ii).

`(2) The committees of Congress referred to in paragraph (1)(B) are as follows:

`(A) The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.

`(B) The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives.

`(C) The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.

`(D) The Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives.

`(E) The Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate.

`(3) The amounts referred to in paragraph (1)(B) are the percentages of the funds apportioned to the State of the relevant public entity for fiscal year 2004 under paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of section 104(b) of title 23, United States Code, as follows:

`(A) For fiscal year 2005, 2 percent.

`(B) For fiscal year 2006, 4 percent.

`(C) For fiscal year 2007, 6 percent.

`(D) For fiscal year 2008, and each fiscal year thereafter, 8 percent.

`(g) ACCIDENT DEFINED- For purposes of this section, the term `accident' means an impact between on-track railroad equipment and an automobile, bus, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, farm vehicle, or pedestrian.'.

(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT- The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

`20154. Highway-rail grade crossing safety.'.

SEC. 103. DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR FOR HIGHWAY-RAIL GRADE CROSSING SAFETY.

Section 103 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

`(f)(1) There is a Deputy Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration for Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety in the Federal Railroad Administration. The Administrator shall appoint the Deputy Administrator.

`(2) The Deputy Administrator shall have the following duties:

`(A) Developing and evaluating policies related to improving nationally the safety of highway-rail grade crossings.

`(B) Advising the Administrator, the Secretary of Transportation, and Congress regarding the status of--

`(i) efforts to improve the safety of highway-rail grade crossings;

`(ii) pending investigations of accidents and other safety-related incidents that have occurred at highway-rail grade crossings; and

`(iii) pending civil and criminal actions related to highway-rail grade crossing safety.

`(C) Evaluating the efforts of railroad carriers to improve safety measures related to highway-rail grade crossings.

`(D) Monitoring actions taken by railroad carriers in response to failures of highway-rail grade crossing warning systems.

`(E) Monitoring the progress of, and ensuring the expeditious completion of, Federal Railroad Administration investigations of accidents and other safety-related incidents that have occurred at highway-rail grade crossings.

`(F) Ensuring that fair and adequate penalties are imposed for safety violations related to highway-rail grade crossings, including by--

`(i) advising the Chief Counsel of the Federal Railroad Administration regarding penalty decisions;

`(ii) submitting an annual report to Congress on penalties assessed for such violations, including information on the minimum and maximum possible fines, the initial fine recommendations, and the fines actually imposed; and

`(iii) consulting with the Secretary of Transportation and the Attorney General to ensure that railroad carriers responsible for such violations are consistently fined fairly and in accordance with the law.

`(G) Establishing priorities and prescribing regulations related to improving highway-rail grade crossing safety.'.

SEC. 104. EMPLOYMENT OF SAFETY INVESTIGATION PERSONNEL.

(a) IN GENERAL- Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall employ 50 grade crossing inspectors to conduct annual safety reviews, including reviews in connection with the comprehensive review required under section 101.

(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the purpose of carrying out this section.

SEC. 105. INCREASED CIVIL PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO HIGHWAY-RAIL GRADE CROSSING SAFETY.

(a) IN GENERAL- Subchapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code (as amended by section 102), is further amended by adding at the end the following new section:

`Sec. 20155. Civil penalties for violations of requirements related to highway-rail grade crossing safety

`The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, shall prescribe regulations providing that a railroad carrier that knowingly violates, or knowingly causes a violation of, a requirement related to highway-rail grade crossing safety that is applicable to such carrier under this subchapter is liable to the United States Government--

`(1) for a civil penalty of at least $1,000,000, but not more than $20,000,000, in the case of a violation involving gross negligence and resulting in a fatal accident;

`(2) for a civil penalty of at least $25,000, but not more than $10,000,000, in the case of a violation involving gross negligence and not resulting in a fatal accident; or

`(3) for a civil penalty of at least $10,000, but not more than $1,000,000, in the case of a violation not involving gross negligence.'.

(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT- The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter (as amended by section 102(b)) is further amended by adding at the end the following new item:

`20155. Civil penalties for violations of requirements related to highway-rail grade crossing safety.'.

SEC. 106. HIGHWAY-RAIL GRADE CROSSING DEFINED.

(a) IN GENERAL- In this Act, the term `highway-rail grade crossing' means any street or highway crossing over a line of railroad at grade.

(b) Definition for Chapter 201 of Title 49- Section 20102 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

`(3) `highway-rail grade crossing' means any street or highway crossing over a line of railroad at grade.'.

(c) REPEAL OF SUPERSEDED PROVISION- Section 20153(a) of such title is amended--

(1) by striking paragraph (1); and

(2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively.

SEC. 107. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

(a) SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS- There is authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2010, $400,000,000 for safety improvements, including the purchasing, installation, and maintenance by the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration of safety equipment and devices, at highway-rail grade crossings, of which not less than $100,000,000 shall be available for such safety improvements at highway-rail grade

crossings that are included on the priority list of dangerous crossings submitted to Congress under section 101(b).

(b) GRANTS FOR SAFETY ENFORCEMENT- There is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 in each of fiscal years 2005 through 2010 for grants to State and local law enforcement agencies for the support of the enforcement of traffic safety laws and regulations at highway-rail grade crossings.

TITLE II--SAFE TRANSPORT OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

SEC. 201. INCREASED CIVIL PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF RULES REGARDING TRANSPORTATION OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

Section 5123(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--

(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively;

(2) by striking `(1) A person' and inserting `(1)(A) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a person';

(3) by redesignating paragraph (2) as subparagraph (B); and

(4) by inserting after subparagraph (B) (as redesignated by paragraph (3)) the following new paragraph:

`(2) A railroad carrier that knowingly violates a regulation prescribed or order issued under this chapter is liable to the United States Government--

`(A) for a civil penalty of at least $50,000 but not more than $10,000,000 in the case of a violation involving gross negligence and resulting in a fatal accident;

`(B) for a civil penalty of at least $5,000 but not more than $2,500,000 in the case of a violation involving gross negligence and not resulting in a fatal accident; or

`(C) for a civil penalty of at least $5,000 but not more than $50,000 in the case of a violation not involving gross negligence.'.

SEC. 202. AUTHORITY TO REMOVE RAILROAD CARS FROM SERVICE.

Chapter 51 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

`Sec. 5128. Removal of rail cars from service

`The Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe regulations authorizing hazardous materials inspectors to immediately remove railroad cars from service upon determining that such removal is necessary for the protection of the public health and safety.'.

SEC. 203. REVOCATION OF COMPLIANCE ORDERS.

Chapter 51 of title 49, United States Code (as amended by section 202) is further amended by adding at the end the following new section:

`Sec. 5129. Revocation of compliance orders for certain railroad carriers

`The Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration shall revoke and renegotiate any compliance order issued under this chapter the gross violation of which by a railroad carrier results in a derailment or other accident involving railroad cars transporting hazardous materials.'.

SEC. 204. SAFETY INSPECTIONS OF RAILROAD CARS CARRYING HAZARDOUS MATERIALS.

Chapter 51 of title 49, United States Code (as amended by section 203) is further amended by adding at the end the following new section:

`Sec. 5130. Age limits for railroad cars carrying hazardous materials

`(a) NEWER RAILROAD CARS- A railroad car manufactured after the date of the enactment of the Railroad Crossing and Hazardous Materials Transport Safety Act of 2005 may not be used to carry hazardous materials unless such car passes a safety inspection as prescribed by Federal regulations at least once every 15 years.

`(b) OLDER RAILROAD CARS- A railroad car manufactured before the date of the enactment of the Railroad Crossing and Hazardous Materials Transport Safety Act of 2005 may not be used to carry hazardous materials unless such car--

`(1) passes a safety inspection as prescribed by Federal regulations not later than 1 year after such date of enactment; and

`(2) passes a safety inspection as prescribed by Federal regulations at least once every 15 years thereafter.

`(b) DATE OF MANUFACTURE- For the purposes of this section, the date of manufacture of a railroad car is the date on which such car is put into service.'.

SEC. 205. REQUIREMENT FOR RAILROAD CARRIERS TO PROVIDE HAZARDOUS MATERIALS LISTS.

Chapter 51 of title 49, United States Code (as amended by section 204) is further amended by adding at the end the following new section:

`Sec. 5131. Requirement for railroad carriers to provide hazardous materials lists

`(a) AUTHORITY TO REQUEST LIST- A State homeland security coordinator may, up to 12 times in a 12-month period, request from a rail carrier a comprehensive list of all hazardous materials scheduled to be transported through such State during any 6-month period.

`(b) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE LIST- Not later than 30 days after receiving a request from a State homeland security coordinator under subsection (a), a railroad carrier shall submit the requested list to such coordinator.

`(c) SCOPE OF INFORMATION- A railroad carrier submitting a list under this section shall not be required to include on such list information relating to the specific times, locations, or amounts of shipments of hazardous materials.'.

SEC. 206. MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 51 OF TITLE 49.

(a) DEFINITION OF RAILROAD CARRIER- Section 5102 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

`(14) `railroad carrier' has the meaning given that term in section 20102 of this title.'.

(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT- The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 51 of title 49 is amended by adding at the end the following new items:

`5128. Removal of rail cars from service.

`5129. Revocation of compliance orders for certain railroad carriers.

`5130. Age limits for railroad cars carrying hazardous materials.

`5131. Requirement for railroad carriers to provide hazardous materials lists.'.

SEC. 207. REPLACEMENT OF MANUAL SWITCHES.

The Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration shall--

(1) not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, conduct a nationwide review to determine and identify the manual railroad track switches in the United States that are most in need of maintenance and upgrades, based on such criteria as population density near the highway-rail grade crossings and the number and severity of accidents and incidents at crossings that are reported to the Federal Railroad Administration;

(2) not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, compile and submit to Congress a list of the criteria to be used in the nationwide review under paragraph (1);

(3) submit to Congress not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act a report making recommendations for the replacement of the switches most in need of maintenance and upgrades; and

(4) seek, not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, to reduce by half the number of switches included in the report submitted under paragraph (3).

SEC. 208. EMPLOYMENT OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS INSPECTORS.

(a) IN GENERAL- Not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration shall double the number of hazardous materials inspectors employed by the Federal Railroad Administration as of the date of the enactment of this Act.

(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the purpose of carrying out this title.

SEC. 209. DEPLOYMENT OF POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS.

Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration shall submit to Congress a report on the deployment nationally of positive train control systems.

SEC. 210. RAIL CAR SEPARATION.

Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration shall submit to Congress a report making recommendations related to best practices for rail car separation to ensure the safe transport of hazardous materials.

SEC. 211. DYNAMIC TANK CAR STANDARDS.

The Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration shall--

(1) not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, validate the predictive model the Administration is developing to quantify the relevant dynamic forces acting on railroad tank cars under accident conditions; and

(2) not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, initiate a rulemaking to develop and implement appropriate design standards for pressurized tank cars.

END