[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 230 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 230

                      To improve railroad safety.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
                      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.
                                 <all>