Petitions.

(a) In general. An eligible petitioner may petition FRA to provide intercity passenger rail transportation over a long-distance route in lieu of Amtrak for a period of time consistent with the time limitations described in § 269.3(b). (b) Petition requirements. Eligible petitioners must: (1) File the petition with FRA no later than 180 days after September 5, 2017; (2) Describe the petition as a “Petition to Provide Passenger Rail Service under 49 CFR part 269”; (3) Describe the long-distance route or routes over which the eligible petitioner wants to provide intercity passenger rail transportation and the Amtrak service that the eligible petitioner wants to replace; and (4) If applicable, provide an executed copy of all written agreements with all entities that own infrastructure on the long-distance route or routes over which the eligible petitioner wants to provide intercity passenger rail transportation. The written agreement(s) must demonstrate the infrastructure owner's support for the petition.