§ 5563 — Conversion Of Certain Rail Passenger Terminals

(a) The Secretary of Transportation may provide financial assistance to convert a rail passenger terminal to an intermodal transportation terminal under section 5562(a)(1) of this title only if— (1) the terminal can be converted to accommodate other modes of transportation the Secretary of Transportation decides are appropriate, including— (A) motorbus transportation; (B) mass transit (rail or rubber tire); and (C) airline ticket offices and passenger terminals providing direct transportation to area airports; (2) the terminal is listed on the National Register of Historic Places maintained by the Secretary of the Interior; (3) the architectural integrity of the terminal will be preserved; (4) to the extent practicable, the use of the terminal facilities for transportation may be combined with use of those facilities for other civic and cultural activities, especially when another activity is recommended by— (A) the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; (B) the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts; or (C) consultants retained under subsection (b) of this section; and (5) the terminal and the conversion project meet other criteria prescribed by the Secretary of Transportation after consultation with the Council and Chairman. (b) The Secretary of Transportation must employ consultants on whether the architectural integrity of the rail passenger terminal will be preserved under subsection (a)(3) of this section. The Secretary may decide that the architectural integrity will be preserved only if the consultants concur. The Council and Chairman shall recommend consultants to be employed by the Secretary. The consultants also may make recommendations referred to in subsection (a)(4) of this section. (c) The Secretary of Transportation may not make a grant under this section for more than 80 percent of the total cost of converting a rail passenger terminal into an intermodal transportation terminal.