49 U.S.C. § 24905 — Northeast Corridor Commission; Safety Committee

(a) Northeast Corridor Commission. Within 180 days of the 2008 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act becoming law, the Secretary of Transportation had to create a Northeast Corridor Commission ("Commission") to promote cooperation on Corridor rail operations, infrastructure investment, and related activities. Its members represent Amtrak; the Department of Transportation, including the Office of the Secretary, the FRA, and the Federal Transit Administration; one member from each Corridor state (including D.C.), picked by, and serving at the pleasure of, that state's chief executive; and non-voting representatives of freight and commuter carriers that the Secretary selects. No single one of these groups can hold a majority of Commission seats. The Commission must set a meeting schedule and location, meeting at least four times a year, and must develop its own rules and procedures. A vacancy is filled the same way the original appointment was made. Members serve without pay but get travel expenses, including per diem, under sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5. Members elect two co-chairs — one from the federal-representative group, one from the state-representative group. The Commission may appoint and pay its own staff, and other federal agencies may lend it staff on a reimbursable basis when asked. The General Services Administration must provide administrative support services on request, also reimbursed. The Commission consults with other entities as appropriate. (b) Statement of Goals and Recommendations. (1) The Commission must develop and periodically update a statement of goals for Corridor rail infrastructure and operations — aimed at expanded and improved intercity, commuter, and freight service that's safer and more reliable, with shorter travel times, more frequent trains, and better intermodal connections that ease airport and highway congestion, cut energy use, improve air quality, and boost economic development in the Corridor region. (2) Based on that statement, the Commission must develop recommendations covering, as appropriate: short- and long-term capital investment needs; future funding needs for capital improvements and maintenance; operational improvements for intercity, commuter, and freight rail; opportunities for additional non-rail uses of the Corridor; scheduling and dispatching; safety and security; equipment design; marketing; future capacity needs; and potential funding and financing mechanisms for corridor-wide projects. (3) The Commission must send Congress any updates to its goals statement within 60 days of making them, plus annual performance reports and improvement recommendations, due by March 31 each year for the prior fiscal year, summarizing operations and performance (including ridership trends) for commuter, intercity, and freight rail; delivery of the capital investment plan's first year; and progress reducing the state-of-good-repair backlog. (c) Allocation of Costs. (1) The Commission must maintain the cost-allocation policy first approved September 17, 2015, updating it as appropriate, for splitting costs, revenue, and compensation for Northeast Corridor commuter rail service using or providing facilities or services to Amtrak. That policy must ensure there's no cross-subsidizing between commuter, intercity, and freight rail; that each service is charged only the costs it causes plus a fair share of costs incurred for more than one service's common benefit, based on relative use; and that all of an operator's financial contributions that benefit a different infrastructure owner — including capital investments and in-kind services — are counted. The Commission must also develop timetables for putting the policy into effect, send policy and timetable updates to the Surface Transportation Board and Congress, support members implementing the policy on schedule, and — with a majority of members' consent — petition the Board to appoint a mediator for nonbinding mediation. (2) Amtrak and Corridor commuter authorities must put the policy into their usage agreements according to the timetables. If they fail to implement or comply with the policy, the Surface Transportation Board must determine fair compensation, using the procedures that apply under section 24903(c) and taking the policy into account, and enforce that determination on the parties. (3) The Commission may revise the policy as needed, including based on Amtrak's financial accounting system developed under section 203 of the 2008 Act. (4) If a dispute arises over implementing or complying with the policy, the Commission, Amtrak, or a Corridor commuter authority may ask the Board for dispute resolution; the Board must set procedures for such disputes, which may include professional mediation. (d) Authorization of Appropriations. Congress may appropriate to the Secretary, for the Commission's and the Northeast Corridor Safety Committee's use, whatever sums are necessary to carry out this section for fiscal years 2022 through 2026, on top of any amounts withheld under section 22101(e) of the 2021 Act. (e) Northeast Corridor Safety Committee. (1) The Secretary must establish a Northeast Corridor Safety Committee, with members the Secretary appoints to represent the Department of Transportation (including the FRA), Amtrak, freight carriers running more than 150,000 train-miles a year on the Corridor main line, commuter rail agencies, rail passengers, rail labor, and other individuals or organizations the Secretary decides have a significant interest in rail safety or security. (2) This Committee stops existing once the Secretary determines positive train control, as required by section 20157, is fully implemented along the whole Northeast Corridor.