[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 74 (Thursday, April 29, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2363-S2364]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. Blumenthal):
  S. 1500. A bill to permit Amtrak to bring civil actions in Federal 
district court to enforce the right set forth in section 24308(c) of 
title 49, United States Code, which gives intercity and commuter rail 
passenger transportation preference over freight transportation in 
using a rail line, junction, or crossing; to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1500

       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 ``Rail Passenger Fairness 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       (1) Congress created Amtrak under the Rail Passenger 
     Service Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-158).
       (2) Amtrak began serving customers on May 1, 1971, taking 
     over the operation of most intercity passenger trains that 
     private, freight railroads were previously required to 
     operate. In exchange for assuming these passenger rail 
     operations, Amtrak was given access to the national rail 
     network.
       (3) In return for relief from the obligation to provide 
     intercity passenger service, railroads over which Amtrak 
     operated (referred to in this section as ``host railroads'') 
     were expected to give Amtrak passenger trains preference over 
     freight trains when using the national rail network.
       (4) In 1973, Congress passed the Amtrak Improvement Act of 
     1973 (Public Law 93-146), which gives intercity and commuter 
     rail passenger transportation preference over freight

[[Page S2364]]

     transportation in using a rail line, junction, or crossing. 
     This right, which is now codified as section 24308(c) of 
     title 49, United States Code, states, ``Except in an 
     emergency, intercity and commuter rail passenger 
     transportation provided by or for Amtrak has preference over 
     freight transportation in using a rail line, junction, or 
     crossing unless the Board orders otherwise under this 
     subsection. A rail carrier affected by this subsection may 
     apply to the Board for relief. If the Board, after an 
     opportunity for a hearing under section 553 of title 5, 
     decides that preference for intercity and commuter rail 
     passenger transportation materially will lessen the quality 
     of freight transportation provided to shippers, the Board 
     shall establish the rights of the carrier and Amtrak on 
     reasonable terms.''.
       (5) Many host railroads have ignored the law referred to in 
     paragraph (4) by refusing to give passenger rail the priority 
     to which it is statutorily entitled and giving freight 
     transportation the higher priority. As a result, Amtrak's on 
     time performance on most host railroads is poor, has declined 
     between 2014 through 2019, and continues to decline.
       (6) According to Amtrak, 6,500,000 customers on State-
     supported and long-distance trains arrived at their 
     destination late during fiscal year 2019. Nearly 70 percent 
     of these delays were caused by host railroads, amounting to a 
     total of 3,200,000 minutes. The largest cause of these delays 
     was freight train interference, which accounted for more than 
     1,000,000 minutes of delay for Amtrak passengers, or 
     approximately 2 years, because host railroads chose to give 
     freight trains priority.
       (7) Poor on-time performance wastes taxpayer dollars. 
     According to a 2019 report by Amtrak's Office of Inspector 
     General, a 5 percent improvement of on-time performance on 
     all Amtrak routes would result in $12,100,000 in cost savings 
     to Amtrak in the first year. If on-time performance on long-
     distance routes reached 75 percent for a year, Amtrak would 
     realize an estimated $41,900,000 in operating cost savings, 
     with a one-time savings of $336,000,000 due to a reduction in 
     equipment replacement needs.
       (8) Historical data suggests that on-time performance on 
     host railroads is driven by the existence of an effective 
     means to enforce Amtrak's preference rights:
       (A) Two months after the date of the enactment of the 
     Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 
     (division B of Public Law 110-432), which included provisions 
     for the enforcement of these preference rights, was enacted, 
     the on-time performance of long-distance trains improved from 
     56 percent to 77 percent and Class I freight train 
     interference delays across all routes declined by 40 percent.
       (B) One year after such date of enactment, freight train 
     interference delays had declined by 54 percent and the on-
     time performance of long-distance trains reached 85 percent.
       (C) In 2014, after some of the provisions in the Passenger 
     Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 related to 
     enforcement of preference were ruled unconstitutional by a 
     D.C. Circuit Court, long-distance train on-time performance 
     declined from 72 percent to 50 percent, and freight train 
     interference delays increased 59 percent.
       (D) The last time long-distance trains achieved an on-time 
     rate of more than 80 percent in a given month was February 
     2012.
       (9) As a result of violations of Amtrak's right to 
     preference, Amtrak has been consistently unable on host 
     railroad networks to meet its congressionally mandated 
     mission and goals, which are codified in section 24101 of 
     title 49, United States Code (relating to providing on-time 
     and trip-time competitive service to its passengers).
       (10) Amtrak does not have an effective mechanism to enforce 
     its statutory preference right in order to fulfill its 
     mission and goals. Only the Attorney General can bring a 
     civil action for equitable relief in a district court of the 
     United States to enforce Amtrak's preference rights.
       (11) In Amtrak's entire history, the only enforcement 
     action initiated by the Attorney General was against the 
     Southern Pacific Transportation Company in 1979.
       (12) Congress supports continued authority for the Attorney 
     General to initiate an action, but Amtrak should also be 
     entitled to bring a civil action before a Federal district 
     court to enforce its statutory preference rights.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZE AMTRAK TO BRING A CIVIL ACTION TO ENFORCE 
                   IT PREFERENCE RIGHTS.

       (a) In General.--Section 24308(c) of title 49, United 
     States Code, is amended, by adding at the end the following: 
     ``Notwithstanding sections 24103(a) and 24308(f), Amtrak 
     shall have the right to bring an action for equitable or 
     other relief in the United States District Court for the 
     District of Columbia to enforce the preference rights granted 
     under this subsection.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 24103 of title 49, 
     United States Code, is amended by inserting ``and section 
     24308(c)'' before ``, only the Attorney General''.
                                 ______