--- kind: "section" citation: "49 U.S.C. § 24316" title: "49" title_heading: "Transportation" number: "24316" heading: "Plans to address needs of families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents" release: "119-102" url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/49/24316" units: - "Subtitle V — Rail Programs" - "Part C — Passenger Transportation" - "Chapter 243 — Amtrak" --- # §24316. Plans to address needs of families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents - (a) **Submission of Plan.—** Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, a rail [passenger](#f) carrier shall submit to the Chairman of the National [Transportation](/usc/49/13907.md?p=e-2) Safety Board, the Secretary of [Transportation](/usc/49/13907.md?p=e-2), and the Secretary of Homeland Security a plan for addressing the needs of the families of [passengers](#f) involved in any [rail passenger accident](#f) involving a rail [passenger](#f) carrier intercity train and resulting in any loss of life. - (b) **Contents of Plans.—** A plan to be submitted by a rail [passenger](#f) carrier under [subsection (a)](#a) shall include, at a minimum, the following: - (1) A process by which a rail [passenger](#f) carrier will maintain and provide to the National [Transportation](/usc/49/13907.md?p=e-2) Safety Board, the Secretary of [Transportation](/usc/49/13907.md?p=e-2), and the Secretary of Homeland Security immediately upon request, a list (which is based on the best available information at the time of the request) of the names of the [passengers](#f) aboard the train (whether or not such names have been verified), and will periodically update the list. The plan shall include a procedure, with respect to unreserved trains and [passengers](#f) not holding reservations on other trains, for the rail [passenger](#f) carrier to use reasonable efforts to ascertain the names of [passengers](#f) aboard a train involved in an accident. - (2) A process for notifying the families of the [passengers](#f), before providing any public notice of the names of the [passengers](#f), either by utilizing the services of the organization designated for the accident under [section 1139(a)(2) of this title](/usc/49/1139.md?p=a-2) or the services of other suitably trained individuals. - (3) A plan for creating and publicizing a reliable, toll-free telephone number within 4 hours after such an accident occurs, and for providing staff, to handle calls from the families of the [passengers](#f). - (4) A process for providing the notice described in [paragraph (2)](#b-2) to the family of a [passenger](#f) as soon as the rail [passenger](#f) carrier has verified that the [passenger](#f) was aboard the train (whether or not the names of all of the [passengers](#f) have been verified). - (5) An assurance that, upon request of the family of a [passenger](#f), the rail [passenger](#f) carrier will inform the family of whether the [passenger](#f)’s name appeared on any preliminary [passenger](#f) manifest for the train involved in the accident. - (6) A process by which the family of each [passenger](#f) will be consulted about the disposition of all remains and personal effects of the [passenger](#f) within the control of the rail [passenger](#f) carrier and by which any possession of the [passenger](#f) within the control of the rail [passenger](#f) carrier (regardless of its condition)— - (A) will be retained by the rail [passenger](#f) carrier for at least 18 months; and - (B) will be returned to the family unless the possession is needed for the accident investigation or any criminal investigation. - (7) A process by which the treatment of the families of nonrevenue [passengers](#f) will be the same as the treatment of the families of revenue [passengers](#f). - (8) An assurance that the rail [passenger](#f) carrier will provide adequate training to the employees and agents of the carrier to meet the needs of survivors and family members following an accident. - (9) An assurance that the family of each [passenger](#f) or other person killed in the accident will be consulted about construction by the rail [passenger](#f) carrier of any monument to the [passengers](#f), including any inscription on the monument. - (10) An assurance that the rail [passenger](#f) carrier will work with any organization designated under [section 1139(a)(2) of this title](/usc/49/1139.md?p=a-2) on an ongoing basis to ensure that families of [passengers](#f) receive an appropriate level of services and assistance following each accident. - (11) An assurance that the rail [passenger](#f) carrier will provide reasonable compensation to any organization designated under [section 1139(a)(2) of this title](/usc/49/1139.md?p=a-2) for services provided by the organization. - (c) **Use of Information.—** Neither the National [Transportation](/usc/49/13907.md?p=e-2) Safety Board, the Secretary of [Transportation](/usc/49/13907.md?p=e-2), the Secretary of Homeland Security, nor a rail [passenger](#f) carrier may release to the public any personal information on a list obtained under [subsection (b)(1)](#b-1), but may provide information on the list about a [passenger](#f) to the [passenger](#f)’s family members to the extent that the Board or a rail [passenger](#f) carrier considers appropriate. - (d) **Limitation on Statutory Construction.—** - (1) **Rail passenger carriers.—** Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the actions that a rail [passenger](#f) carrier may take, or the obligations that a rail [passenger](#f) carrier may have, in providing assistance to the families of [passengers](#f) involved in a [rail passenger accident](#f). - (2) **Investigational authority of board and secretary.—** Nothing in this section shall be construed to abridge the authority of the Board or the Secretary of [Transportation](/usc/49/13907.md?p=e-2) to investigate the causes or circumstances of any rail accident, including the development of information regarding the nature of injuries sustained and the manner in which they were sustained, for the purpose of determining compliance with existing laws and regulations or identifying means of preventing similar injuries in the future. - (e) **Limitation on Liability.—** A rail [passenger](#f) carrier shall not be liable for damages in any action brought in a Federal or [State](/usc/49/31132.md?p=8) court arising out of the performance of the rail [passenger](#f) carrier in preparing or providing a [passenger](#f) list, or in providing information concerning a train reservation, pursuant to a plan submitted by the rail [passenger](#f) carrier under [subsection (b)](#b), unless such liability was caused by conduct of the rail [passenger](#f) carrier which was grossly negligent or which constituted intentional misconduct. - (f) **Definitions.—** In this section, the terms “passenger” and “rail passenger accident” have the meaning given those terms by [section 1139 of this title](/usc/49/1139.md). - (g) **Funding.—** Out of funds appropriated pursuant to [section 20117(a)(1)(A)](/usc/49/20117.md?p=a-1-A), there shall be made available to the Secretary of [Transportation](/usc/49/13907.md?p=e-2) $500,000 for fiscal year 2010 to carry out this section. Amounts made available pursuant to this subsection shall remain available until expended. ## Source credit (Added Pub. L. 110–432, div. A, title V, § 502(a), Oct. 16, 2008, 122 Stat. 4897; amended Pub. L. 118–63, title XII, § 1215(d), May 16, 2024, 138 Stat. 1430.) ## Notes ### Editorial Notes ### References in Text The date of the enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, referred to in subsec. (a), is the date of enactment of div. A of Pub. L. 110–432, which was approved Oct. 16, 2008. ### Amendments 2024—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 118–63 substituted “any loss of life” for “a major loss of life”.