119-hr769

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 769 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 769

 To amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
 Transportation to issue regulations under which Amtrak is responsible 
 for refunding rail passengers the cost of certain rail transportation 
that was canceled or delayed due to a failure of Amtrak, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 January 28, 2025

 Mr. Gottheimer (for himself and Mr. Kean) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
 Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
 Transportation to issue regulations under which Amtrak is responsible 
 for refunding rail passengers the cost of certain rail transportation 
that was canceled or delayed due to a failure of Amtrak, 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 ``All Aboard Act''.

SEC. 2. ACCOUNTABILITY OF AMTRAK FOR UNFULFILLED FARES CAUSED BY 
 MAINTENANCE AND OTHER FAILURES.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``

Sec. 24324. Right of rail passengers to recover certain unfulfilled 
 fare
 ``

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of the All Aboard Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall 
issue regulations to ensure that any person who purchases covered rail 
passenger transportation receives a refund equal to the rate the person 
paid for such transportation, at the expense of Amtrak and in 
accordance with this section, if due to a failure of Amtrak, such 
transportation, or a part of such transportation, is--
 ``

    (1) canceled; or
 ``

    (2) delayed such that the transportation is completed 
 more than 3 hours after the expected completion time as of the 
 time of the purchase.
 ``

    (b) Determination of Cause.--
 ``

    (1) Causation.--For purposes of subsection

    (a) , a 
 cancellation or delay is not a failure of Amtrak if the 
 cancellation or delay is attributable to forces or persons 
 uncontrollable by Amtrak.
 ``

    (2) Dispute procedures.--In carrying out subsection

    (a) , 
 the Secretary shall issue regulations that include--
 ``
        (A) procedures for determining if a cancellation 
 or delay is subject to subsection

    (a) ; and
 ``
        (B) procedures by which Amtrak can dispute that a 
 cancellation or delay is subject to subsection

    (a) , 
 including that the cancellation or delay was due to a 
 failure of Amtrak.
 ``
            (c) Refund Issuance.--
 ``

    (1) Timing.--A provider of covered rail passenger 
 transportation shall issue a refund with respect to a 
 cancellation or delay described in subsection

    (a) --
 ``
        (A) if Amtrak does not dispute that the 
 cancellation or delay is due to a failure of Amtrak--
 ``
            (i) if the covered rail passenger 
 transportation is purchased with credit, a 
 voucher, or rewards points issued by the 
 provider of such transportation, not later than 
 7 days after the cancellation or delay; or
 ``
            (ii) if the covered rail passenger 
 transportation is purchased with cash, as soon 
 as is feasible after the cancellation or delay; 
 or
 ``
        (B) if Amtrak disputes, pursuant to the 
 procedures established under subsection

    (b)

    (2) , that 
 the cancellation or delay is subject to subsection

    (a) , 
 not later than a date--
 ``
            (i) which is after the date on which a 
 final determination is issued that the 
 cancellation or delay is subject to subsection

    (a) ; and
 ``
            (ii) determined by the Secretary to be 
 prompt and feasible.
 ``

    (2) Form.--A refund under subsection

    (a) shall be issued 
 to a purchaser of covered rail passenger transportation in the 
 form of payment used by the purchaser.
 ``
            (d) Amtrak Reimbursement of Other Rail Carriers.--Amtrak shall, 
upon request from a rail carrier that issues a refund under subsection

    (a) , reimburse the rail carrier in the amount equal to the refund.
 ``

    (e) Noncompliance.--Amtrak may not receive Federal funds for any 
period during which the Secretary determines that Amtrak is 
noncompliant with this section.
 ``

    (f) Applicability.--This section shall apply for any fiscal year 
in which Amtrak accepts Federal funds.
 ``

    (g) Covered Rail Passenger Transportation Defined.--In this 
section, the term `covered rail passenger transportation' means--
 ``

    (1) rail passenger transportation provided by, or on 
 behalf, of Amtrak; or
 ``

    (2) commuter rail passenger transportation that travels 
 over rails owned by Amtrak, regardless of if such 
 transportation is provided by Amtrak or another rail 
 carrier.''.

    (b) Replacement of Amtrak Asset Maintenance Strategy.--

    (1) Report.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
 enactment of this Act, Amtrak shall submit to the Committee on 
 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
 Transportation of the Senate a report including--
        (A) an identification of each asset maintenance 
 strategy that Amtrak could adopt as a replacement for a 
 run-to-fail maintenance model; and
        (B) the estimated cost of implementing each asset 
 maintenance strategy identified pursuant to 
 subparagraph
        (A) .

    (2) Ban on run-to-fail model.--Amtrak may not use a run-to-
 fail maintenance model after the date that is 2 years after the 
 date of enactment of this Act.

    (3) Implementation of new asset maintenance strategy.--Not 
 later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 
 Amtrak shall implement an asset maintenance strategy identified 
 in the report under paragraph

    (1) .
            (c) Run-to-Fail Maintenance Model Defined.--In this section, the 
term ``run-to-fail maintenance model'' means an asset maintenance 
strategy under which an asset (including equipment and infrastructure 
used for passenger rail transportation) is retired from use only at 
such time as--

    (1) the asset is no longer capable of fulfilling an 
 intended use; or

    (2) the age of the asset exceeds the manufacturer-estimated 
 lifespan of the asset.
            (d) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 243 of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``24324. Right of rail passengers to recover certain unfulfilled 
 fare.''.
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