Pub. L. 108-199, div. F, tit. I, sec. 151

Sec. 151. For the purpose of assisting State-supported intercity rail service, in order to demonstrate whether competition will provide higher quality rail passenger service at reasonable prices, the Secretary of Transportation, working with affected States, shall develop and implement a procedure for fair competitive bidding by Amtrak and non-Amtrak operators for State-supported routes: Provided, That in the event a State desires to select or selects a non-Amtrak operator for the route, the State may make an agreement with Amtrak to use facilities and equipment of, or have services provided by, Amtrak under terms agreed to by the State and Amtrak to enable the non-Amtrak operator to provide the State-supported service: Provided further, That if the parties cannot agree on terms, the Secretary shall, as a condition of receipt of Federal grant funds, order that the facilities and equipment be made available and the services be provided by Amtrak under reasonable terms and compensation: Provided further, That when prescribing reasonable compensation to Amtrak, the Secretary shall consider quality of service as a major factor when determining whether, and the extent to which, the amount of compensation shall be greater than the incremental costs of using the facilities and providing the services: Provided further, That the Secretary118 STAT. 304may reprogram up to $2,500,000 from the Amtrak operating grant funds for costs associated with the implementation of the fair bid procedure and demonstration of competition under this section.