USC Chapter 261

USC Chapter 261
in effect

49 U.S.C. § 26101 High-speed rail corridor planning

(a) Corridor Planning Assistance.—(1) The Secretary may provide under this section financial assistance to a public agency or group of public agencies for corridor planning for up to 50 percent of the publicly financed costs associated with eligible activities. (2) No less than 20 percent of the publicly financed costs associated with eligible activities shall come from State and local sources, which State and local sources may not include funds from any Federal program. (b) Eligible Activities.—(1) A corridor planning activity is eligible for financial assistance under subsection (a) if the Secretary determines that it is necessary to establish appropriate engineering, operational, financial, environmental, or socioeconomic projections for the establishment of high-speed rail service in the corridor and that it leads toward development of a prudent financial and institutional plan for implementation of specific high-speed rail improvements, or if it is an activity described in subparagraph (M). Eligible corridor planning activities include—(A) environmental assessments; (B) feasibility studies emphasizing commercial technology improvements or applications; (C) economic analyses, including ridership, revenue, and operating expense forecasting; (D) assessing the impact on rail employment of developing high-speed rail corridors; (E) assessing community economic impacts; (F) coordination with State and metropolitan area transportation planning and corridor planning with other States; (G) operational planning; (H) route selection analyses and purchase of rights-of-way for proposed high-speed rail service; (I) preliminary engineering and design; (J) identification of specific improvements to a corridor, including electrification, line straightening and other right-of-way improvements, bridge rehabilitation and replacement, use of advanced locomotives and rolling stock, ticketing, coordination with other modes of transportation, parking and other means of passenger access, track, signal, station, and other capital work, and use of intermodal terminals; (K) preparation of financing plans and prospectuses; (L) creation of public/private partnerships; and (M) the acquisition of locomotives, rolling stock, track, and signal equipment. (2) No financial assistance shall be provided under this section for corridor planning with respect to the main line of the Northeast Corridor, between Washington, District of Columbia, and Boston, Massachusetts. (c) Criteria for Determining Financial Assistance.—Selection by the Secretary of recipients of financial assistance under this section shall be based on such criteria as the Secretary considers appropriate, including—(1) the relationship of the corridor to the Secretary’s national high-speed ground transportation policy; (2) the extent to which the proposed planning focuses on systems which will achieve sustained speeds of 125 mph or greater; (3) the integration of the corridor into metropolitan area and statewide transportation planning; (4) the potential interconnection of the corridor with other parts of the Nation’s transportation system, including the interconnection with other countries; (5) the anticipated effect of the corridor on the congestion of other modes of transportation; (6) whether the work to be funded will aid the efforts of State and local governments to comply with the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.); (7) the past and proposed financial commitments and other support of State and local governments and the private sector to the proposed high-speed rail program, including the acquisition of rolling stock; (8) the estimated level of ridership; (9) the estimated capital cost of corridor improvements, including the cost of closing, improving, or separating highway-rail grade crossings; (10) rail transportation employment impacts; (11) community economic impacts; (12) the extent to which the projected revenues of the proposed high-speed rail service, along with any financial commitments of State or local governments and the private sector, are expected to cover capital costs and operating and maintenance expenses; (13) whether a specific route has been selected, specific improvements identified, and capacity studies completed; and (14) whether the corridor has been designated as a high-speed rail corridor by the Secretary.

49 U.S.C. § 26102 High-speed rail technology improvements

(a) Authority.—The Secretary may undertake activities for the improvement, adaptation, and integration of proven technologies for commercial application in high-speed rail service in the United States. (b) Eligible Recipients.—In carrying out activities authorized by subsection (a), the Secretary may provide financial assistance to any United States private business, educational institution located in the United States, State or local government or public authority, or agency of the Federal Government. (c) Consultation With Other Agencies.—In carrying out activities authorized by subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with such other governmental agencies as may be necessary concerning the availability of appropriate technologies for commercial application in high-speed rail service in the United States.

49 U.S.C. § 26103 Safety regulations and evaluation

The Secretary— (1) shall promulgate such safety regulations as may be necessary for high-speed rail services; (2) shall, before promulgating such regulations, consult with developers of new high-speed rail technologies to develop a method for evaluating safety performance; and (3) may solicit feedback from relevant safety experts or representatives of rail employees who perform work on similar technology or who may be expected to perform work on new technology, as appropriate.

49 U.S.C. § 26104 Authorization of appropriations

(a) Fiscal Years 2006 Through 2013.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary—(1) $30,000,000 for carrying out section 26101; and (2) $30,000,000 for carrying out section 26102, for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2013. (b) Funds To Remain Available.—Funds made available under this section shall remain available until expended.

49 U.S.C. § 26105 Definitions

For purposes of this chapter— (1) the term “financial assistance” includes grants, contracts,,11 So in original. cooperative agreements, and other transactions; (2) the term “high-speed rail” means all forms of nonhighway ground transportation that run on rails or electromagnetic guideways providing transportation service which is—(A) reasonably expected to reach sustained speeds of more than 125 miles per hour; and (B) made available to members of the general public as passengers, but does not include rapid transit operations within an urban area that are not connected to the general rail system of transportation; (3) the term “publicly financed costs” means the costs funded after April 29, 1993, by Federal, State, and local governments; (4) the term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Transportation; (5) the term “State” means any of the several States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and any other territory or possession of the United States; and (6) the term “United States private business” means a business entity organized under the laws of the United States, or of a State, and conducting substantial business operations in the United States.

49 U.S.C. § 26106 High-speed rail corridor development

(a) In General.—The Secretary of Transportation shall establish and implement a high-speed rail corridor development program. (b) Definitions.—In this section, the following definitions apply:(1) Applicant.—The term “applicant” means a State, a group of States, an Interstate Compact, a public agency established by one or more States and having responsibility for providing high-speed rail service, or Amtrak. (2) Corridor.—The term “corridor” means a corridor designated by the Secretary pursuant to section 104(d)(2) 11 See References in Text note below. of title 23. (3) Capital project.—The term “capital project” means a project or program in a State rail plan developed under chapter 227 of this title for acquiring, constructing, improving, or inspecting equipment, track, and track structures, or a facility of use in or for the primary benefit of high-speed rail service, expenses incidental to the acquisition or construction (including designing, engineering, location surveying, mapping, environmental studies, and acquiring rights-of-way), payments for the capital portions of rail trackage rights agreements, highway-rail grade crossing improvements related to high-speed rail service, mitigating environmental impacts, communication and signalization improvements, relocation assistance, acquiring replacement housing sites, and acquiring, constructing, relocating, and rehabilitating replacement housing. (4) High-speed rail.—The term “high-speed rail” means intercity passenger rail service that is reasonably expected to reach speeds of at least 110 miles per hour. (5) Intercity passenger rail service.—The term “intercity passenger rail service” has the meaning given the term “intercity rail passenger transportation” in section 24102 of this title. (6) State.—The term “State” means any of the 50 States or the District of Columbia. (c) General Authority.—The Secretary may make grants under this section to an applicant to finance capital projects in high-speed rail corridors. (d) Applications.—Each applicant seeking to receive a grant under this section to develop a high-speed rail corridor shall submit to the Secretary an application in such form and in accordance with such requirements as the Secretary shall establish. (e) Competitive Grant Selection and Criteria for Grants.—(1) In general.—The Secretary shall—(A) establish criteria for selecting among 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.—The Secretary, in selecting the recipients of high-speed rail development grants to be provided under subsection (c), shall—(A) require—(i) that the project be part of a State rail plan developed under chapter 227 of this title, or under the plan required by section 211 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008; (ii) that the applicant or recipient has or will 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) that the project be based on the results of preliminary engineering studies or other planning, including corridor planning activities funded under section 26101 of this title; (iv) that the applicant provides sufficient information upon which the Secretary can make the findings required by this subsection; (v) that if an applicant has selected the proposed operator of its service, that the applicant provide written justification to the Secretary showing why the proposed operator is the best, taking into account costs and other factors; (vi) that each proposed project meet all safety and security requirements that are applicable to the project under law; and (vii) that each project be compatible with, and operated in conformance with—(I) plans developed pursuant to the requirements of section 135 of title 23; and (II) the national rail plan (if it is available); (B) select high-speed rail projects—(i) that are anticipated to result in significant improvements to intercity rail passenger service, including, but not limited to, consideration of the project’s—(I) levels of estimated ridership, increased on-time performance, reduced trip time, additional service frequency to meet anticipated or existing demand, or other significant service enhancements as measured against minimum standards developed under section 207 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008; (II) anticipated favorable impact on air or highway traffic congestion, capacity, or safety; and (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; (III) the commitment of any affected host rail carrier to ensure the realization of the anticipated benefits; and (IV) other relevant factors as determined by the Secretary; (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—(i) that are anticipated to result in benefits to other modes of transportation and to the public at large, including, but not limited to, consideration of the project’s—(I) encouragement of intermodal connectivity through provision of direct connections between train 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, and cost-effective passenger rail equipment; (V) anticipated positive economic and employment impacts; (VI) encouragement of State and private contributions toward station development, energy and environmental efficiency, and economic benefits; and (VII) falling under the description in section 5302(a)(1)(G) 1 of this title as defined to support intercity passenger rail service; and (ii) that incorporate equitable financial participation in the project’s financing, including, but not limited to, consideration of—(I) donated property interests or services; (II) financial contributions by intercity passenger, freight, and commuter rail carriers commensurate with the benefit expected to their operations; and (III) financial commitments from host railroads, non-Federal governmental entities, non-governmental entities, and others. (3) Grant conditions.—The Secretary shall require each recipient of a grant under this chapter to comply with the grant requirements of 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 that substantially meet the requirements of chapter 227 of this title, as determined by the Secretary pursuant to section 22506 1 of this title, shall be deemed by the Secretary to have met the requirements of paragraph (2)(A)(i) of this subsection. (f) Federal Share.—The Federal share of the cost of a project financed under this section shall not exceed 80 percent of the project net capital cost. (g) Issuance of Regulations.—Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall issue regulations to carry out this section. (h) Authorization of Appropriations.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section—(1) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; (2) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; (3) $350,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; (4) $350,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and (5) $350,000,000 for fiscal year 2013.

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