§24322 Rolling stock purchases

Summary

Amtrak must send a business case analysis before signing any rolling stock or locomotive contract worth more than $100,000,000. It must send the analysis to the Secretary of Transportation, the Senate Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and on Appropriations, and the House Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and on Appropriations. The analysis must compare total lifecycle costs and expected benefits (like revenue, efficiency, and reliability); show total payments by fiscal year; name funding sources and amounts (Federal, State, Amtrak profits, loans or guarantees, or other funding); say if any payment will raise Amtrak’s funding request in its annual report under section 24315(b); and explain how the purchase would change if future funding is not available. Amtrak does not have to share a vendor’s confidential pricing before a contract is signed and may still sign the contract after sending the analysis.