S. 1626: Railroad Reform, Enhancement, and Efficiency Act

114th Congress · introduced 2015-06-18 · Transportation and Public Works · Latest: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 466.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2015-06-18 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 466. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Railroad Reform, Enhancement, and Efficiency Act

Plain summary

Railroad Reform, Enhancement, and Efficiency Act This bill reauthorizes FY2016-FY2019 grants to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) for: a Northeast Corridor investment account, a state-supported account, a long-distance account, an other national network activities account, and national infrastructure and safety investments. Appropriations are also authorized for the same period for: National Transportation Safety Board rail investigations, and Amtrak's Office of the Inspector General. The bill revises requirements for the rail cooperative research program. Allocation of a specified amount is made for each fiscal year to the Department of Transportation (DOT) for railroad research and development programs. Amtrak shall establish internal controls to ensure its costs, revenues, and other compensation are allocated to its Northeast Corridor train services or infrastructure, Amtrak-operated state-supported routes and long-distance routes, and other Amtrak national network activities. DOT shall establish substantive and procedural requirements for the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak routes, and national network investment capital grant requests. DOT shall establish: a Northeast Corridor investment account, a state-supported account, a long-distance account, and an other national network activities account. Amtrak shall prepare: final five-year business line plans for Northeast Corridor train services, Amtrak-operated state-supported routes and long-distance routes, and Amtrak ancillary services; and five-year asset plans for Amtrack infrastructure and equipment. DOT shall establish the State-Supported Route Committee. The bill revises alternate passenger rail service pilot program requirements. DOT shall develop: (1) a program for issuing three-year competitive operating assistance grants to eligible public and private entities to initiate, restore, or enhance intercity rail passenger service; and (2) a federal-state partnership program for issuing competitive grants to the aforementioned entities for capital projects to replace, rehabilitate, or repair major infrastructure assets for providing intercity passenger rail service. The bill requires the Northeast Corridor Commission to: develop a capital investment plan for the Northeast Corridor main line between Boston, Massachusetts, and the Virginia Avenue interlocking in the District of Columbia, and the Northeast Corridor branch lines connecting to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Springfield, Massachusetts, and Spuyten Duyvil, New York; and update, once every 10 years, a Northeast Corridor service development plan. DOT shall: (1) develop and distribute to each state a state-specific highway-rail grade crossing action plan to improve safety, and (2) conduct a post-accident assessment of the Amtrak Northeast Regional Train #188 crash on May 12, 2015. DOT may make grants to eligible public and private entities to assist in financing the cost of rail projects to improve the safety, efficiency, or reliability of passenger and freight rail transportation systems. DOT shall issue regulations requiring Class I railroads transporting hazmat to: generate accurate, real-time, and electronic train consist information, including emergency response information; grant each applicable fusion center secure access to such information; require each such fusion center to supply that information to state and local first responders, emergency response officials, and law enforcement personnel involved in the response to or investigation of an accident, incident, or public health or safety emergency involving the rail transportation; and establish security and confidentiality protections to prevent the release of such information to unauthorized persons. DOT shall: (1) issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to require each railroad carrier transporting a Class 3 flammable liquid to maintain an oil spill response plan, and (2) promulgate regulations to require each railroad carrier that provides regularly scheduled intercity rail passenger or commuter rail passenger transportation to the public to install inward- and outward-facing image recording devices in all controlling locomotive cabs and cab car operating compartments in such passenger trains. The bill revises rail passenger transportation liability requirements to increase from $200 million to $295 million the aggregate allowable award to all rail passengers, against all defendants, for all claims, including claims for punitive damages, arising from a single rail passenger accident or incident. Track, Railroad, and Infrastructure Network Act The bill exempts improvements to, maintenance, rehabilitation, or operation of railroad or rail transit lines (but not stations) that are in use or were historically used for the transportation of goods or passengers from federal policies and requirements for the preservation of public park and recreation lands, wildlife and waterfowl refuges, and historic sites. Railroad Infrastructure Financing Improvement Act The bill amends the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 to direct DOT to revise requirements for direct loans and loan guarantees to railroad entities under the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing program.

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate with amendment(s)), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Railroad Reform, Enhancement, and Efficiency Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate with amendment(s))

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Cory A. Booker (D-NJ)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS] reported raising $306,823 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (6)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Fiscal year: The 12-month period a government uses for its budget. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 and is named for the calendar year in which it ends. Most states use July 1 to June 30.
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate with amendment(s))
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114s1626.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/s>

Record fed-us-cong114-s1626 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114