Title 49TransportationRelease 119-73

§22103 Applications

Title 49 › Subtitle SUBTITLE V— - RAIL PROGRAMS › Part PART B— - ASSISTANCE › Chapter CHAPTER 221— - LOCAL RAIL FREIGHT ASSISTANCE › § 22103

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

States must apply to the Secretary of Transportation to get money for a project under section 22101(a). The application is due by January 1 of the fiscal year that has the money. If Congress hasn’t authorized the money by the first day of the fiscal year, the State must file within 90 days after the law authorizing the money is passed. The Secretary decides the application form. The Secretary will consider five things when reviewing an application: the share of rail lines carriers have told the Surface Transportation Board they may abandon, how likely future abandonments are, the project’s benefit-to-cost ratio using the method in section 22101(b), whether the line will keep operating with help, and the effect of rail bankruptcies, restructuring, or mergers on the State.

Full Legal Text

Title 49, §22103

Transportation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)A State must file an application with the Secretary of Transportation for financial assistance for a project described under section 22101(a) of this title not later than January 1 of the fiscal year for which amounts have been appropriated. However, for a fiscal year for which the authorization of appropriations for assistance under this chapter has not been enacted by the first day of the fiscal year, the State must file the application not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of a law authorizing the appropriations for that fiscal year. The Secretary shall prescribe the form of the application.
(b)In considering an application under this subsection, the Secretary shall consider the following:
(1)the percentage of rail lines that rail carriers have identified to the Surface Transportation Board for abandonment or potential abandonment in the State.
(2)the likelihood of future abandonments in the State.
(3)the ratio of benefits to costs for a proposed project calculated using the methodology established under section 22101(b) of this title.
(4)the likelihood that the rail line will continue operating with assistance.
(5)the impact of rail bankruptcies, rail restructuring, and rail mergers on the State.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 22103(a)49 App.:1654(f) (1st sentence).Oct. 15, 1966, Pub. L. 89–670, 80 Stat. 931, § 5(f); added Feb. 5, 1976, Pub. L. 94–210, § 803, 90 Stat. 130; Nov. 8, 1978, Pub. L. 95–607, §§ 102–106(a), 107–109(a), 92 Stat. 3059, 3062; Oct. 12, 1979, Pub. L. 96–86, § 115(b), 93 Stat. 662; Aug. 13, 1981, Pub. L. 97–35, §§ 1191, 1192, 95 Stat. 699; Jan. 14, 1983, Pub. L. 97–468, § 501, 96 Stat. 2551; Apr. 7, 1986, Pub. L. 99–272, § 4018, 100 Stat. 111; restated Dec. 11, 1989, Pub. L. 101–213, § 2(a), (c), 103 Stat. 1843, 1846. 22103(b)49 App.:1654(f) (last sentence). In subsection (a), the words “under this chapter” are added for clarity. The words “a law” are substituted for “legislation” for consistency in the revised title. In subsection (b)(3), the words “established by the Secretary” are omitted as surplus. In subsection (b)(5), the words “applying for assistance” are omitted as unnecessary because of the restatement.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1995—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 104–88 substituted “Surface Transportation Board” for “Interstate Commerce Commission”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1995 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 104–88 effective Jan. 1, 1996, see section 2 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 1301 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

49 U.S.C. § 22103

Title 49Transportation

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73