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Passenger Rail Advisory Committee

November 13, 2023 by zphilip.maynard@stb.gov

The Board announced the formation of the Passenger Rail Advisory Committee (PRAC) in November 2023.  The purpose of the PRAC is to provide advice and guidance to the Board on passenger rail issues on a continuing basis to help the Board better fulfill its statutory responsibilities in overseeing certain aspects of passenger rail service.  The scope of the Committee’s activities shall include providing information, advice, and recommendations to the Board on issues impacting the development and operation of railroad passenger services, including:  improving efficiency on passenger rail routes; reducing disputes between passenger rail carriers and freight rail hosts regarding the use of freight rail carrier-owned facilities and infrastructure for passenger service, including passenger on-time performance issues; and improving regulatory processes related to intercity passenger rail to the benefit of the public, the communities served by passenger rail, and the environment.

The PRAC Meetings will be open to the public and held at least twice a year.  For questions about the PRAC, contact Brian O’Boyle by phone at 202-245-0364 or by e-mail at Brian.Oboyle@stb.gov.

LINKS

—  PRAC Charter

—  Voting Members

Voting Members

The PRAC will consist of 18 voting members.  In addition to the voting members (listed below), the Members of the Board shall serve as ex officio (non-voting) members of the PRAC and the Chair of the Board may invite representatives from the U.S. Department of Transportation to also serve as ex officio members.

The Board will publish a notice in the Federal Register and on its website in Docket No. 774 seeking nominations for individuals to serve as voting members of the PRAC.  The voting members shall include individuals representing the following stakeholder interests in the passenger rail industry.

  • 2 representatives from the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak).
  • 2 representatives from commuter rail operators whose operations use facilities owned and/or utilized by Amtrak, other intercity passenger rail operators, or rail freight operators. For purposes of ensuring geographic diversity within PRAC’s membership, these representatives cannot be from the same state as any of the other state representatives and cannot be from the same State as each other.
  • 2 representatives from existing intercity passenger rail operators other than Amtrak, or developers of new intercity passenger rail lines other than Amtrak.
  • 1 representative from a state that provides funding for intercity passenger rail. For purposes of ensuring geographic diversity within PRAC’s membership, this representative cannot be from the same state as any of the representatives of the commuter rail operators (described above), or the representative from a state in which the intercity passenger rail stations are served only by long-distance trains (described below).
  • 1 representative from a state in which the intercity passenger rail stations are served only by long-distance trains (i.e., passenger trains serving the entirety of routes of more than 750 miles between endpoints). For purposes of ensuring geographic diversity within PRAC’s membership, this representative cannot be from the same state as any of the representatives of the commuter rail operators (described above), or the representative from the state that provides funding for intercity passenger rail (described above).
  • 2 representatives from Class I freight railroads.
  • 1 representative from a Class II or Class III freight railroad.
  • 1 representative from an organized rail labor association.
  • 2 representatives from rail passenger advocacy organizations.
  • 1 representative from a rail shipper or customer advocacy organization or an individual shipper or customer.
  • 3 at-large representatives with relevant experience, including (but not limited to) individuals involved in the design or construction of passenger rail equipment or infrastructure; in the provision of passenger rail analytic or consulting services; in transportation planning; or in transportation-related public policy work.