NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM DEFINED.

SEC. 201. NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM DEFINED.(a) In General.—Section 24102 is amended—(1) by striking paragraph (2);(2) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) as paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), respectively; and(3) by inserting after paragraph (4) as so redesignated the following:“(5) ‘national rail passenger transportation system’ means—“(A) the segment of the continuous Northeast Corridor railroad line between Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington, District of Columbia;“(B) rail corridors that have been designated by the Secretary of Transportation as high-speed rail corridors (other than corridors described in subparagraph (A)), but only after regularly scheduled intercity service over a corridor has been established;“(C) long-distance routes of more than 750 miles between endpoints operated by Amtrak as of the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008; and122 STAT. 4910“(D) short-distance corridors, or routes of not more than 750 miles between endpoints, operated by—“(i) Amtrak; or“(ii) another rail carrier that receives funds under chapter 244.”.(b) Amtrak Routes With State Funding.—(1) In general.—Chapter 247 is amended by inserting after section 24701 the following:“§ 24702. Transportation requested by States, authorities, and other persons“(a) Contracts for Transportation.—Amtrak may enter into a contract with a State, a regional or local authority, or another person for Amtrak to operate an intercity rail service or route not included in the national rail passenger transportation system upon such terms as the parties thereto may agree.“(b) Discontinuance.—Upon termination of a contract entered into under this section, or the cessation of financial support under such a contract by either party, Amtrak may discontinue such service or route, notwithstanding any other provision of law.” .(2) Conforming amendment.—The chapter analysis for chapter 247 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 24701 the following: “24702. Transportation requested by States, authorities, and other persons”. (c) Amtrak To Continue To Provide Non-High-Speed Services.—Nothing in this division is intended to preclude Amtrak from restoring, improving, or developing non-high-speed intercity passenger rail service.(d) Applicability of Section 24706.—Section 24706 is amended by adding at the end the following:“(c) Applicability.—This section applies to all service over routes provided by Amtrak, notwithstanding any provision of section 24701 of this title or any other provision of this title except section 24702(b).”.(e) Amtrak’s Mission.—(1) Amendments.—Section 24101 is amended—(A) by striking “purpose” in the section heading and inserting “mission”;(B) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:“(b) Mission.—The mission of Amtrak is to provide efficient and effective intercity passenger rail mobility consisting of high quality service that is trip-time competitive with other intercity travel options and that is consistent with the goals of subsection (d).”;(C) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through (11) in subsection (c) as paragraphs (10) through (12), respectively, and inserting after paragraph (8) the following:“(9) provide additional or complementary intercity transportation service to ensure mobility in times of national disaster or other instances where other travel options are not adequately available;”; and(D) in subsection (d), by striking “subsection (c)(11)” and inserting “subsection (c)(12)”.122 STAT. 4911(2) Conforming Amendment.—The chapter analysis for chapter 241 is amended by striking the item relating to section 24101 and inserting the following: “24101. Findings, mission, and goals.”.