[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 763 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 763

 To direct the Federal Railroad Administration to make welded rail and 
                         tank car improvements.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 12, 2005

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Federal Railroad Administration to make welded rail and 
                         tank car improvements.

    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 ``Welded Rail and Tank Car Safety 
Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. WELDED RAIL AND TANK CAR SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS.

    (a) Track Standards.--
            (1) In general.--Within 90 days after the date of enactment 
        of this Act, the Federal Railroad Administration shall--
                    (A) require each track owner using continuous 
                welded rail track to include procedures (in its 
                procedures filed with the Administration pursuant to 
                section 213.119 of title 49, Code of Federal 
                Regulations) to improve the identification of cracks in 
                rail joint bars;
                    (B) instruct Administration track inspectors to 
                obtain copies of the most recent continuous welded rail 
                programs of each railroad within the inspectors' areas 
                of responsibility and require that inspectors use those 
                programs when conducting track inspections; and
                    (C) establish a program to review continuous welded 
                rail joint bar inspection data from railroads and 
                Administration track inspectors periodically.
            (2) Whenever the Administration determines that it is 
        necessary or appropriate the Administration may require 
        railroads to increase the frequency of inspection, or improve 
        the methods of inspection, of joint bars in continuous welded 
        rail.
    (b) Tank Car Standards.--The Federal Railroad Administration 
shall--
            (1) validate a predictive model to quantify the relevant 
        dynamic forces acting on railroad tank cars under accident 
        conditions within 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
        Act; and
            (2) initiate a rulemaking to develop and implement 
        appropriate design standards for pressurized tank cars within 
        18 months after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (c) Older Tank Car Impact Resistance Analysis and Report.--Within 1 
year after the date of enactment of this Act the Federal Railroad 
Administration shall conduct a comprehensive analysis to determine the 
impact resistance of the steels in the shells of pressure tank cars 
constructed before 1989. Within 6 months after completing that analysis 
the Administration shall--
            (1) establish a program to rank those cars according to 
        their risk of catastrophic fracture and separation;
            (2) implement measures to eliminate or mitigate this risk; 
        and
            (3) transmit a report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 
        Science, and Transportation and the House of Representatives 
        Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure setting forth 
        the measures implemented.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Federal Railroad 
Administration $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 to carry out this 
section, such sums to remain available until expended.
                               <all>D23/