119-hr2515

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2515 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 2515

 To provide for a grant program for adoption of certain telematics 
 systems onboard freight railcars, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 March 31, 2025

Mr. Nehls (for himself and Mr. Moulton) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
 jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To provide for a grant program for adoption of certain telematics 
 systems onboard freight railcars, and for other purposes.

 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 ``American Tank Car Modernization Act 
of 2025''.

SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAMS FOR ADOPTION OF CERTAIN TELEMATICS SYSTEMS.

    (a) Onboard Freight Railcar Telematics Systems and Gateway Device 
Grant Program.--The Administrator of the Federal Railroad 
Administration shall establish a grant program to provide funds to 
freight railcar owners or operators to purchase and install--

    (1) onboard freight railcar telematics systems; or

    (2) onboard freight railcar gateway devices.

    (b) Eligible Entities.--Eligible entities for funding under the 
grant program under this section are freight railcar owners.
            (c) Use of Funds.--Funds provided under this section may be used to 
purchase and install onboard freight railcar telematic systems or 
onboard freight railcar gateway devices that enable the recipient of a 
grant to obtain and enhance the data collected from such systems and 
devices resulting in the following:

    (1) Near real-time visibility of freight railcar location 
 and freight railcar asset health.

    (2) Increasing the visibility to the safety of the asset 
 and commodity within the freight railcar asset.

    (3) Increasing future capability of real-time visibility in 
 the development of onboard freight railcar sensor technology 
 that measures or monitors, for purposes of gathering 
 information on maintenance requirements (and enables railcar 
 owners, operators, and shippers to identify railcars that could 
 become a hazard)--
        (A) railcar impact;
        (B) wheel or wheel bearing temperature;
            (C) whether a hand brake is on or off;
            (D) whether a hatch is open or closed; and
        (E) internal railcar temperature.

    (4) Increasing the efficiency of railcar utilization in the 
 North American freight railcar fleet.

    (5) Reducing reliance on human and manual data capture, 
 reducing the risk of errors due to data latency and timeliness 
 related to freight railcar data and information.

    (6) Offering development of alerts and triggers to capture 
 and transmit freight railcar mechanical issues to the railroad 
 operator for action.

    (7) Ability to communicate events real-time to a wide 
 variety of stakeholders.
            (d) Grant Use Prioritization.--In selecting recipients of grants 
under this section, the Administrator shall prioritize installation of 
onboard freight railcar telematic systems or onboard freight railcar 
gateway devices in the following order of priority:

    (1) Newly built freight railcars manufactured by a 
 qualified manufacturer in a qualified facility.

    (2) Freight railcars entering a certification event in a 
 qualified facility.

    (3) Freight railcars entering a shopping event or 
 maintenance event in a qualified facility.

    (e) Freight Railcar Type Prioritization.--After establishing the 
priority requirements under subsection
            (c) , the Administrator shall 
further ensure that the freight railcar types eligible to receive such 
an installation be considered in the following order of priority:

    (1) Tank cars in ``TIH/PIH'' (toxic inhalation products) 
 service.

    (2) Tank cars in Class I, II, and III flammable service.

    (3) Tank cars in hazardous materials service.

    (4) Tank cars in specialized service.

    (5) Other tank cars.

    (6) All other freight railcars.

    (f) Limitation.--To be eligible for any expenditure of funds under 
this section, a freight railcar and any sensitive technology relating 
to such railcar shall comply with the requirements of 

section 20171 of 
title 49, United States Code.

    (g) Report by Secretary of Transportation.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall 
 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 
 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
 Representatives a report on the implementation and effects of 
 the grant program established under this section.

    (2) Contents.--The report required under paragraph

    (1) shall include, at a minimum, the following:
        (A) The number of railcars equipped with telematics 
 devices using funds provided under this section.
        (B) The cost of equipping such railcars.
            (C) The number of safety incidents involving such 
 railcars reported to the Federal Railroad 
 Administration.
            (D) Anecdotal experience of grant recipients 
 relating to the deployment of telematics devices.
        (E) Any legislative recommendations relating to the 
 grant program established under paragraph

    (1) .

    (3) Public availability.--The report required under 
 paragraph

    (1) shall be made publicly available to the maximum 
 extent practicable without compromising confidentiality or 
 security.

    (4) Consultation.--In preparing the report required under 
 paragraph

    (1) , the Secretary shall consult with Federal 
 agencies and stakeholders, as appropriate, to gather technical, 
 operational, and safety-related data.

    (h) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section, the following definitions apply:

    (1) Onboard freight railcar telematics system; onboard 
 freight railcar gateway device.--The terms ``onboard freight 
 railcar telematics system'' and ``onboard freight railcar 
 gateway device'' mean the telematics or gateway device 
 physically installed on a freight railcar that is owned by a 
 railcar owner that collects and transmits data about the 
 railcar asset.

    (2) Telematics.--The term ``telematics'' means a technology 
 that--
        (A) relies on telecommunications, informatics, and 
 computer and data processing;
        (B) generates data and informatics from gateway 
 devices fixed to railcars and provides for the exchange 
 of information over a distance using battery or solar 
 powered wireless connections; and
            (C) includes the method upon which freight railcars 
 are monitored by using GPS technology through a gateway 
 device using on-board diagnostics to plot a railcar's 
 movements and, if applicable, gather railcar equipment 
 health and condition data from other onboard railcar 
 sensors when applied.

    (3) Gateway device.--The term ``gateway device'' means a 
 network hardware or software node used in freight railcar 
 telecommunications that--
        (A) connects two networks with different 
 transmission protocols together;
        (B) serves as an entry and exit point for a network 
 as all data collected from the railcar must pass 
 through or communicate with the gateway prior to being 
 routed;
            (C) are distinct from routers or switches in that 
 they communicate using more than one protocol to 
 connect multiple networks; and
            (D) may be any device on a freight railcar that is 
 embedded with electronics, software, sensors, or other 
 connectivity, that enables the device to connect to, 
 collect data from, or exchange data with another 
 device, including--
            (i) railcar onboard telematics;
            (ii) global positioning system satellite 
 and cellular location tracking systems;
            (iii) railcar event status sensors;
            (iv) railcar predictive component condition 
 and performance monitoring sensors; and
            (v) similar technologies embedded into 
 freight railcar components and sub-assemblies.

    (4) Railroad freight car.--The term ``railroad freight 
 car'' means a car designed to carry freight or railroad 
 personnel by rail, including--
        (A) a box railcar;
        (B) a refrigerator railcar;
            (C) a ventilator railcar;
            (D) an intermodal well railcar;
        (E) a gondola railcar;
        (F) a hopper railcar;
        (G) an auto rack railcar;
        (H) a flat railcar;
            (I) a special railcar;
        (J) a caboose railcar;
        (K) a tank railcar; and
            (L) a yard railcar.

    (5) Qualified facility.--The term ``qualified facility'' 
 means a facility that is not owned or under the control of a 
 state-owned enterprise.

    (6) Qualified manufacturer.--The term ``qualified 
 manufacturer'' means a railroad freight car manufacturer that 
 is not owned or under the control of a state-owned enterprise.

    (7) Certification event.--The term ``certification event'' 
 means a railroad freight car that is required by current 
 regulations to be recertified in a maintenance facility or 
 qualified facility.

    (8) Shopping event.--The term ``shopping event'' means a 
 railroad freight car that is undergoing regular or routine 
 maintenance by a railcar maintenance facility or qualified 
 facility.

    (9) State-owned enterprise.--The term ``state-owned 
 enterprise'' means--
        (A) an entity that is owned by, or under the 
 control of, a national, provincial, or local government 
 of a country of concern, or an agency of such 
 government; or
        (B) an individual acting under the direction or 
 influence of a government or agency described in 
 subparagraph
        (A) .

    (10) Country of concern.--The term ``country of concern'' 
 means a country that--
        (A) is identified by the Department of Commerce as 
 a nonmarket economy country (as defined in 

section 771

    (18) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1677

    (18) )) 
 as of the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail 
 Expansion and Rail Safety Act of 2021;
        (B) was identified by the United States Trade 
 Representative in the most recent report required by 
 

section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2242) 
 as a foreign country included on the priority watch 
 list (as defined in subsection

    (g)

    (3) of such section); 
 and
            (C) is subject to monitoring by the Trade 
 Representative under 

section 306 of the Trade Act of 
 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2416).
            (i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $100,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2026 through 2029, to remain available until expended.

SEC. 3. ENHANCING FREIGHT RAILCAR ONBOARD TELEMATICS AND SENSOR 
 DEVELOPMENT PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Administrator of the Federal Railroad 
Administration shall establish a pilot program to--

    (1) assist freight railcar owners and freight railcar 
 manufacturers in the development of freight railcar onboard 
 sensor technologies to add visibility to the safety of the 
 freight railcar asset and commodity within the freight railcar 
 asset;

    (2) encourage development of freight railcar onboard 
 sensors that communicate to the freight railcar onboard gateway 
 devices to offer future capabilities of real-time visibility 
 of--
        (A) wheel and wheel bearing temperature;
        (B) whether a hand brake is on or off;
            (C) whether a hatch is open or closed; and
            (D) internal railcar temperature; and

    (3) carry out any of the activities described in paragraph

    (1) and

    (2) for purposes of informing railcar owners or 
 operators on maintenance requirements, and enable operators, 
 shippers, and railcar owners to possibly identify railcars that 
 could become a hazard.

    (b) Eligible Entities.--Eligible entities for funding under the 
pilot program under this section are freight railcar owners.
            (c) Limitation.--To be eligible for any expenditure of funds under 
this section, a freight railcar and any sensitive technology relating 
to such railcar shall comply with the requirements of 

section 20171 of 
title 49, United States Code.
            (d) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives a report on--

    (1) the activities carried out with funds provided under 
 this section; and

    (2) the effectiveness of developed freight railcar onboard 
 sensors by outlining the types and numbers of sensors that have 
 become industry accepted and are in use on freight railcars.

    (e) 

=== Definitions. ===
-

    (1) Freight railcar onboard sensor.--The term ``freight 
 railcar onboard sensor'' means the onboard sensor that 
 communicates or signals the freight railcar onboard telematics 
 device or gateway device physically installed on a freight 
 railcar that is purchased and installed by, and owned by the 
 railcar owner that collects and transmits data about the 
 railcar asset to the railcar owner, data system, or data 
 collection point.

    (2) Railroad freight car.--The term ``railroad freight 
 car'' means a car designed to carry freight or railroad 
 personnel by rail, including--
        (A) a box railcar;
        (B) a refrigerator railcar;
            (C) a ventilator railcar;
            (D) an intermodal well railcar;
        (E) a gondola railcar;
        (F) a hopper railcar;
        (G) an auto rack railcar;
        (H) a flat railcar;
            (I) a special railcar;
        (J) a caboose railcar;
        (K) a tank railcar; and
            (L) a yard railcar.

    (3) Telematics.--The term ``telematics'' means a technology 
 that--
        (A) relies on telecommunications, informatics, and 
 computer and data processing;
        (B) generates data and informatics from gateway 
 devices fixed to railcars and provide for the exchange 
 of information over a distance using battery or solar 
 powered wireless connections; and
            (C) includes the method upon which freight railcars 
 are monitored by using GPS technology through a gateway 
 device using on-board diagnostics to plot a railcar's 
 movements and, if applicable, gather railcar equipment 
 health and condition data from other onboard railcar 
 sensors when applied.

    (4) Gateway device.--The term ``gateway device'' means a 
 network hardware or software node used in freight railcar 
 telecommunications that--
        (A) connects two networks with different 
 transmission protocols together;
        (B) serve as an entry and exit point for a network 
 as all data collected from the railcar must pass 
 through or communicate with the gateway prior to being 
 routed;
            (C) are distinct from routers or switches in that 
 they communicate using more than one protocol to 
 connect multiple networks; and
            (D) may be any device on a freight railcar that is 
 embedded with electronics, software, sensors, or other 
 connectivity, that enables the device to connect to, 
 collect data from, or exchange data with another 
 device, including--
            (i) railcar onboard telematics;
            (ii) global positioning system satellite 
 and cellular location tracking systems;
            (iii) railcar event status sensors;
            (iv) railcar predictive component condition 
 and performance monitoring sensors; and
            (v) similar sensitive technologies embedded 
 into freight railcar components and sub-
 assemblies.

    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2026 through 2029, to remain available until expended.
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