[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3493 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3493

To require rail carriers to develop positive rail control system plans 
 for improving railroad safety and to increase the civil penalties for 
                      railroad safety violations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 16, 2008

 Mrs. Feinstein (for herself and Mrs. Boxer) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require rail carriers to develop positive rail control system plans 
 for improving railroad safety and to increase the civil penalties for 
                      railroad safety violations.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS.

    (a) Submission of Plan.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 12 months after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, each rail carrier that is a Class I 
        railroad, a rail carrier that has inadequate safety performance 
        (as determined by the Secretary), or a rail carrier that 
        provides intercity passenger or commuter rail passenger 
        transportation shall develop and submit to the Secretary a plan 
        for implementing a positive train control system by December 
        31, 2014.
            (2) Technical assistance.--The Secretary may provide 
        technical assistance and guidance to railroad carriers in 
        developing the plans required under this subsection.
    (b) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Positive train control system.--The term ``positive 
        train control system'' means a system designed to prevent 
        train-to-train collisions, overspeed derailments, and 
        incursions into roadway worker work limits.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Transportation.
    (c) Safety Redundancy.--The positive train control system required 
under subsection (a) shall--
            (1) minimize the risk of train collisions and over-speed 
        derailments;
            (2) provide protection to maintenance-of-way workers within 
        established work zone limits;
            (3) provide a safety redundancy to minimize the risk of 
        accidents by overriding human performance failures involving 
        train movements on main line tracks; and
            (4) minimize the risk of the movement of a train through a 
        switch left in the wrong position.
    (d) Contents of Plan.--The plans submitted under paragraph (1) 
shall include--
            (1) measurable goals, including a strategy and time line 
        for implementation of such systems;
            (2) a prioritization of how the systems will be 
        implemented, with particular emphasis on high-risk corridors 
        such as those that have significant movements of hazardous 
        materials or where commuter and intercity passenger railroads 
        operate;
            (3) identification of detailed steps the carriers will take 
        to implement the systems; and
            (4) any other element the Secretary considers appropriate.
    (e) Review and Approval.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the Secretary 
        receives a plan from a rail carrier under this section, the 
        Secretary shall--
                    (A) review the plan;
                    (B) notify the rail carrier that the plan has been 
                approved; or
                    (C) notify the affected railroad carrier of the 
                specific points in which the proposed plan is 
                deficient.
            (2) Correction of deficiencies.--A railroad carrier shall 
        correct all deficiencies of a plan submitted under this section 
        not later than 30 days after receiving written notice from the 
        Secretary of such deficiencies.
            (3) Compliance with plan.--Upon receiving notification from 
        the Secretary that a plan submitted under this section has been 
        approved, the rail carrier that submitted such plan shall 
        comply with goals, strategy, and time line contained in such 
        plan.
            (4) Annual review.--The Secretary shall conduct an annual 
        review to ensure that each rail carrier is complying with the 
        plan submitted by such rail carrier under this section.
    (f) Report.--Not later than December 31, 2011, the Secretary shall 
submit a report that describes the progress made by rail carriers in 
implementing positive train control systems to--
            (1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
        of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 
        the House of Representatives.
    (g) Positive train control systems shall be implemented no later 
than December 31, 2012, in those areas determined by the Secretary of 
Transportation to have the highest safety risk due to shared track 
between commuter and freight rail.
    (h) Certification.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary may not permit the 
        installation of any positive train control system or component 
        unless the Secretary has certified that such system or 
        component has not experienced a safety-critical failure during 
        prior testing and evaluation.
            (2) Repair and reevaluation.--If a failure described in 
        paragraph (1) occurs, the system or component may be--
                    (A) repaired and evaluated in accordance with part 
                236 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations; and
                    (B) installed if the Secretary--
                            (i) certifies that the factors causing the 
                        failure have been corrected; and
                            (ii) approves the system for installation 
                        in accordance with such part 236.
    (i) Enforcement.--The Secretary is authorized to assess civil 
penalties pursuant to chapter 213 of title 49, United States Code, for 
a violation of this section, including the failure to submit, certify, 
or comply with a plan for implementing a positive train control system.

SEC. 2. CIVIL PENALTY INCREASES.

    (a) General Violations of Chapter 201.--Section 21301(a)(2) of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``$10,000'' and inserting ``$25,000''; and
            (2) by striking ``$20,000'' and inserting ``$100,000''.
    (b) Accident and Incident Violations of Chapter 201; Violations of 
Chapters 203 Through 209.--Section 21302(a)(2) of such title is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``$10,000'' and inserting ``$25,000''; and
            (2) by striking ``$20,000'' and inserting ``$100,000''.
    (c) Violations of Chapter 211.--Section 21303(a)(2) of such title 
is amended--
            (1) by striking ``$10,000'' and inserting ``$25,000''; and
            (2) by striking ``$20,000'' and inserting ``$100,000''.
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