§ 22910 — Interstate Rail Compacts Grant Program

(a) The Secretary of Transportation shall establish a competitive grant program to provide financial assistance to entities implementing interstate rail compacts pursuant to section 410 of the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997 (49 U.S.C. 24101 note) for— (1) costs of administration; (2) systems planning, including studying the impacts on freight rail operations and ridership; (3) promotion of intercity passenger rail operation; (4) preparation of applications for competitive Federal grant programs; and (5) operations coordination. (b) The Secretary may not award a grant under this section in an amount exceeding $1,000,000 per year. (c) In selecting a recipient of a grant for an eligible project under this section, the Secretary shall consider— (1) the amount of funding received (including funding from a rail carrier (as defined in section 24102)) or other participation by State, local, and regional governments and the private sector; (2) the applicant’s work to foster economic development through rail service, particularly in rural communities; (3) whether the applicant seeks to restore service over routes formerly operated by Amtrak, including routes described in section 11304(a) of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015 (title XI of division A of Public Law 114–94); (4) the applicant’s dedication to providing intercity passenger rail service to regions and communities that are underserved or not served by other intercity public transportation; (5) whether the applicant is enhancing connectivity and geographic coverage of the existing national network of intercity passenger rail service; (6) whether the applicant has prepared regional rail or corridor service development plans and corresponding environmental analysis; and (7) whether the applicant has engaged with appropriate government entities and transportation providers to identify projects necessary to enhance multimodal connections or facilitate service integration between rail service and other modes, including between intercity passenger rail service and intercity bus service or commercial air service. (d) The Secretary may not award grants under this section for more than 10 interstate rail compacts in any fiscal year. (e) The Secretary may only award grants under this section to applicants with eligible expenses related to intercity passenger rail service to be operated by Amtrak. (f) The Secretary shall require each recipient of a grant under this section to provide a non-Federal match of not less than 50 percent of the eligible expenses of carrying out the interstate rail compact under this section. (g) Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail Expansion and Rail Safety Act of 2021, the Secretary, after consultation with grant recipients under this section, shall submit a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives that describes— (1) the implementation of this section; (2) the status of the planning efforts and coordination funded by grants awarded under this section; (3) the plans of grant recipients for continued implementation of the interstate rail compacts; (4) the status of, and data regarding, any new, restored, or enhanced rail services initiated under the interstate rail compacts; and (5) any legislative recommendations.