Transportation requested by States, authorities, and other persons

§ 24704. Transportation requested by States, authorities, and other persons (a) Applications To Begin or Keep Transportation.—(1) A State, a regional or local authority, or another person may apply to Amtrak and request Amtrak to provide rail passenger transportation or keep any part of a train, route, or service that Amtrak intends to discontinue under section 24706(a) or (b) or 24707(a) or (b) of this title. An application shall— (A) assure Amtrak that the State, authority, or person has sufficient resources to meet its share of the cost of the transportation for the time the transportation will be provided; (B) contain a market analysis acceptable to Amtrak to ensure that there is adequate demand for the transportation; and (C) commit the State, authority, or person to provide at least 45 percent of the short term avoidable loss of providing the transportation the first year the transportation is provided and at least 65 percent of the short term avoidable loss each of the following years, and, except as provided in section 24104(a) of this title, at least 50 percent of associated capital costs each year the transportation is provided. (2) An application submitted by more than one State shall be considered in the same way as an application submitted by one State, without it being necessary for each State to comply with paragraph (1) of this subsection. (b) Actions on Applications.—(1) Amtrak shall review each application submitted under subsection (a) of this section to decide whether— (A) the application complies with subsection (a); and (B) there is a reasonable probability that Amtrak can provide the transportation from available resources. (2) Amtrak may make an agreement with an applicant under this section to begin or keep the transportation if Amtrak decides that the transportation can be provided with resources available to Amtrak. An agreement may be renewed for additional periods of not more than 2 years each. (c) Selecting Among Competing Applications.—If more than one application is made for transportation consistent with the requirements of subsection (a) of this section, but all the transportation applied for cannot be provided with the available resources of Amtrak, the board of directors of Amtrak shall select the transportation that best serves the public interest and can be provided with the available resources of Amtrak. (d) Fare Increases.—(1) Before increasing a fare applicable to transportation provided under subsection (b)(2) of this section by more than 5 percent during a 6-month period, Amtrak shall consult with officials of each State affected by the increase and explain why the increase is necessary. (2) Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, a fare increase described in paragraph (1) of this subsection takes effect 90 days after Amtrak first consults with the affected States. However, not later than 30 days after the first consultation, a State may submit proposals to Amtrak for reducing costs and increasing revenues of the transportation. Amtrak shall consider 108 STAT. 926 the proposals in deciding how much of the proposed increase shall go into effect. (3) (A) Amtrak may increase a fare without regard to the restrictions of this subsection during— (i) the first month of a fiscal year if the authorization of appropriations and the appropriations for Amtrak are not enacted at least 90 days before the beginning of the fiscal year; or (ii) the 30 days following enactment of an appropriation for Amtrak or a rescission of an appropriation. (B) Amtrak shall notify each affected State of an increase under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph as soon as possible after Amtrak decides to increase a fare. (e) Determining Loss, Costs, and Revenues.—After consulting with officials of each State contributing to providing transportation under subsection (b)(2) of this section, the board shall establish the basis for determining short term avoidable loss and associated capital costs of, and revenues from, the transportation. Amtrak shall give State officials the basis for determining the loss, cost, and revenue for each route on which transportation is provided under subsection (b)(2). (f) Availability of Amounts.—Amounts provided by Amtrak under an agreement with an applicant under subsection (b)(2) of this section that are allocated for associated capital costs remain available until expended. (g) Advertising and Promotion.—At least 2 percent but not more than 5 percent of the revenue generated by transportation provided under subsection (b)(2) of this section shall be used for advertising and promotion at the local level.