Title 49TransportationRelease 119-73

§5563 Conversion of certain rail passenger terminals

Title 49 › Subtitle SUBTITLE III— - GENERAL AND INTERMODAL PROGRAMS › Chapter CHAPTER 55— - INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - TERMINALS › § 5563

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Transportation may help pay to change a rail passenger terminal into an intermodal terminal only if several rules are met. The terminal must be able to add other travel modes like motorbus service, mass transit (rail or rubber-tire), and airline ticketing or airport shuttles. It must be on the National Register of Historic Places. Its architectural character must be kept. Where possible, transport uses can be mixed with civic or cultural activities when recommended by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National Endowment for the Arts chair, or hired consultants. The Secretary can set other rules after talking with those two groups. The Secretary must hire consultants to check that the building’s architecture will be preserved and may only find it preserved if the consultants agree. The Advisory Council and the NEA chair suggest the consultants. The grant cannot pay more than 80 percent of the total conversion cost.

Full Legal Text

Title 49, §5563

Transportation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of Transportation may provide financial assistance to convert a rail passenger terminal to an intermodal transportation terminal under section 5562(a)(1) of this title only if—
(1)the terminal can be converted to accommodate other modes of transportation the Secretary of Transportation decides are appropriate, including—
(A)motorbus transportation;
(B)mass transit (rail or rubber tire); and
(C)airline ticket offices and passenger terminals providing direct transportation to area airports;
(2)the terminal is listed on the National Register of Historic Places maintained by the Secretary of the Interior;
(3)the architectural integrity of the terminal will be preserved;
(4)to the extent practicable, the use of the terminal facilities for transportation may be combined with use of those facilities for other civic and cultural activities, especially when another activity is recommended by—
(A)the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation;
(B)the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts; or
(C)consultants retained under subsection (b) of this section; and
(5)the terminal and the conversion project meet other criteria prescribed by the Secretary of Transportation after consultation with the Council and Chairman.
(b)The Secretary of Transportation must employ consultants on whether the architectural integrity of the rail passenger terminal will be preserved under subsection (a)(3) of this section. The Secretary may decide that the architectural integrity will be preserved only if the consultants concur. The Council and Chairman shall recommend consultants to be employed by the Secretary. The consultants also may make recommendations referred to in subsection (a)(4) of this section.
(c)The Secretary of Transportation may not make a grant under this section for more than 80 percent of the total cost of converting a rail passenger terminal into an intermodal transportation terminal.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 5563(a), (b)49 App.:1653(i)(2) (1st sentence).Oct. 15, 1966, Pub. L. 89–670, 80 Stat. 931, § 4(i)(2); added Oct. 28, 1974, Pub. L. 93–496, §§ 6, 15, 88 Stat. 1528, 1533; May 26, 1975, Pub. L. 94–25, § 13, 89 Stat. 93; Oct. 5, 1978, Pub. L. 95–421, § 14, 92 Stat. 929. 5563(c)49 App.:1653(i)(2) (last sentence). In subsection (a), before clause (1), the words “to convert a rail passenger terminal to an intermodal transportation terminal under section 5562(a)(1) of this title” are substituted for “for the purpose set forth in paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection” for clarity and because of the restatement. In clause (5), the word “prescribed” is substituted for “develop and promulgate” for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code. Subsection (b) is substituted for “and such judgment is concurred in by consultants recommended by the Chairman of the National Endowment of [sic] the Arts and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and retained for this purpose by the Secretary” for clarity and consistency in the revised title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

49 U.S.C. § 5563

Title 49Transportation

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73