45 U.S.C. § 701 — Congressional declaration of policy

Page 155 TITLE 45—RAILROADS § 701 Sec. 722. Records, audit, and examination. 723. Emergency assistance pending implementa- tion. 724. Authorization of appropriations. 725. Interim agreements. 726. Debentures and series A preferred stock. 727. Additional purchases of Series A preferred stock. 728. Reports to Congress. 729. Advisory Board. SUBCHAPTER III—CONSOLIDATED RAIL CORPORATION 741. Formation and structure. 742. Powers and duties of Corporation. 743. Valuation and conveyance of rail properties. 744. Termination and continuation of rail serv- ices. 744a. End of Conrail commuter service obligation. 745. Continuing reorganization; supplemental transactions. 746. Certificates of value. 747. Protection of Federal funds. 748. Abandonments. SUBCHAPTER IV—TRANSFER OF FREIGHT SERVICES 761 to 769c. Repealed. SUBCHAPTER V—EMPLOYEE PROTECTION 771 to 780. Repealed. SUBCHAPTER VI—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 791. Relationship to other laws. 792, 793. Repealed. 794. Tax payments to States. SUBCHAPTER VII—PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEES 797. Repealed. 797a. Termination allowance. 797b. Preferential hiring. 797c. Central register of railroad employment. 797d. Election and treatment of benefits. 797e. Assignment of work. 797f. Contracting out. 797g. New collective-bargaining agreements. 797h. Employee and personal injury claims. 797i. Limitations on liability. 797j. Preemption. 797k. Factfinding panel. 797l. Class II railroads receiving Federal assist- ance. 797m. Arbitration. SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL PROVISIONS § 701. Congressional declaration of policy (a) Findings The Congress finds and declares that— (1) Essential rail service in the midwest and northeast region of the United States is pro- vided by railroads which are today insolvent and attempting to undergo reorganization under the Bankruptcy Act. (2) This essential rail service is threatened with cessation or significant curtailment be- cause of the inability of the trustees of such railroads to formulate acceptable plans for re- organization. This rail service is operated over rail properties which were acquired for a pub- lic use, but which have been permitted to dete- riorate and now require extensive rehabilita- tion and modernization. (3) The public convenience and necessity re- quire adequate and efficient rail service in this region and throughout the Nation to meet the needs of commerce, the national defense, the environment, and the service requirements of passengers, United States mail, shippers, States and their political subdivisions, and consumers. (4) Continuation and improvement of essen- tial rail service in this region is also necessary to preserve and maintain adequate national rail services and an efficient national rail transportation system. (5) Rail service and rail transportation offer economic and environmental advantages with respect to land use, air pollution, noise levels, energy efficiency and conservation, resource allocation, safety, and cost per ton-mile of movement to such extent that the preserva- tion and maintenance of adequate and effi- cient rail service is in the national interest. (6) These needs cannot be met without sub- stantial action by the Federal Government. (b) Purposes It is therefore declared to be the purpose of Congress in this chapter to provide for— (1) the identification of a rail service system in the midwest and northeast region which is adequate to meet the needs and service re- quirements of this region and of the national rail transportation system; (2) the reorganization of railroads in this re- gion into an economically viable system capa- ble of providing adequate and efficient rail service to the region; (3) the establishment of the United States Railway Association, with enumerated powers and responsibilities; (4) the establishment of the Consolidated Rail Corporation, with enumerated powers and responsibilities; (5) assistance to States and local and re- gional transportation authorities for continu- ation of local rail services threatened with cessation; and (6) necessary Federal financial assistance at the lowest possible cost to the general tax- payer. (Pub. L. 93–236, title I, § 101, Jan. 2, 1974, 87 Stat. 986.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Bankruptcy Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), is act July 1, 1898, ch. 541, 30 Stat. 544, which was classi- fied generally to former Title 11, Bankruptcy. The Act was repealed effective Oct. 1, 1979, by Pub. L. 95–598, §§ 401(a), 402(a), Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2682, section 101 of which enacted revised Title 11. For current provisions relating to railroad reorganization, see subchapter IV (§ 1161 et seq.) of chapter 11 of Title 11. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries SHORT TITLE OF 1978 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 95–565, § 1, Nov. 1, 1978, 92 Stat. 2397, provided: ‘‘That this Act [amending sections 726, 747, and 825 of this title and section 975 of Title 43, Public Lands, and enacting provision set out as a note under section 975 of Title 43] may be cited as the ‘United States Railway Association Amendments Act of 1978’.’’ SHORT TITLE OF 1976 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 94–555, title II, § 201, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2616, provided that: ‘‘This title [amending sections 702, 711, Page 156 TITLE 45—RAILROADS § 702 1 See References in Text note below. 2 So in original. The period probably should be a semicolon. 716, 720, 721, 743, 744, 771, 774, 775, 779, 823, 824, 825, 826, 829, 831, and 854 of this title, section 960 of Title 20, Edu- cation, sections 1a, 5, 5c, 13, 15, 17, 22, 26c, and 1653 of former Title 49, Transportation, and enacting provi- sions set out as notes under section 80a–3 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade, and sections 1a and 1654 of former Title 49] may be cited as the ‘Rail Amendments of 1976’.’’ SHORT TITLE OF 1975 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 94–5, § 1, Feb. 28, 1975, 89 Stat. 7, provided: ‘‘That this Act [enacting section 794 of this title and amending sections 712, 715, 716, 717, 721, 723, 725, and 743 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Regional Rail Reorga- nization Act Amendments of 1975’.’’ SHORT TITLE Pub. L. 93–236, § 1, Jan. 2, 1974, 87 Stat. 985, provided in part that this Act [enacting this chapter and amend- ing section 856 of former Title 31, Money and Finance, and section 1(16) of former Title 49, Transportation], may be cited as the ‘‘Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973’’. SEPARABILITY Pub. L. 93–236, title VI, § 604, Jan. 2, 1974, 87 Stat. 1023, provided that: ‘‘If any provision of this Act [enacting this chapter and amending section 856 of former Title 31, Money and Finance, and section 1(16) of former Title 49, Transportation] or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of this Act and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.’’ ABOLITION OF UNITED STATES RAILWAY ASSOCIATION AND TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS AND SECURITIES See section 1341 of this title. § 702. Definitions As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires— (1) ‘‘Association’’ means the United States Railway Association, established under sec- tion 711 of this title; (2) ‘‘Commission’’ means the Interstate Commerce Commission; (3) ‘‘Commuter authority’’ means any State, local, or regional authority, corporation, or other entity established for purposes of pro- viding commuter service, and includes the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Connecticut Department of Transportation, the Maryland Department of Transportation, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transpor- tation Authority, the New Jersey Transit Cor- poration, the Massachusetts Bay Transpor- tation Authority, the Port Authority Trans- Hudson Corporation, any successor agencies, and any entity created by one or more such agencies for the purpose of operating, or con- tracting for the operation of, commuter serv- ice; (4) ‘‘Commuter service’’ means short-haul rail passenger service operated in metropoli- tan and suburban areas, whether within or across the geographical boundaries of a State, usually characterized by reduced fare, mul- tiple-ride, and commutation tickets, and by morning and evening peak period operations; (5) ‘‘Corporation’’ means the Consolidated Rail Corporation required to be established under section 741 of this title or its successor by merger, consolidation or other form of suc- cession carried out under applicable law for the purpose of changing the State of its incor- poration; (6) ‘‘effective date of the final system plan’’ means the date on which the final system plan or any revised final system plan is deemed ap- proved by Congress, in accordance with sec- tion 718 of this title; (7) ‘‘employee stock ownership plan’’ means a technique of corporate finance that uses a stock bonus trust or a company stock money purchase pension trust which qualifies under section 401(a) of title 26 in connection with the financing of corporate improvements, trans- fers in the ownership of corporate assets, and other capital requirements of a corporation and which is designed to build beneficial eq- uity ownership of shares in the employer cor- poration into its employees substantially in proportion to their relative incomes, without requiring any cash outlay, any reduction in pay or other employee benefits, or the sur- render of any other rights on the part of such employees; (8) ‘‘final system plan’’ means the plan of re- organization for the restructure, rehabilita- tion, and modernization of railroads in reorga- nization prepared pursuant to section 716 of this title and approved pursuant to section 718 of this title; (9) ‘‘Finance Committee’’ means the Finance Committee of the Board of Directors of the As- sociation established under section 711(i) 1 of this title; (10) ‘‘includes’’ and variants thereof should be read as if the phrase ‘‘but is not limited to’’ were also set forth; (11) ‘‘local or regional transportation au- thority’’ includes a political subdivision of a State.2 (12) ‘‘Office’’ means the Rail Services Plan- ning Office established under section 10361 1 of title 49; (13) ‘‘profitable railroad’’ means a railroad which is not a railroad in reorganization. The term does not include the Corporation, the Na- tional Railroad Passenger Corporation, or a railroad leased, operated, or controlled by a railroad in reorganization in the region; (14) ‘‘rail properties’’ means assets or rights owned, leased, or otherwise controlled by a railroad (or a person owned, leased, or other- wise controlled by a railroad) which are used or useful in rail transportation service; except that the term, when used in conjunction with the phrase ‘‘railroads leased, operated, or con- trolled by a railroad in reorganization’’, shall not include assets or rights owned, leased, or otherwise controlled by a Class I railroad which is not wholly owned, operated, or leased by a railroad in reorganization but is con- trolled by a railroad in reorganization; (15) ‘‘railroad’’ means a rail carrier subject to part A of subtitle IV of title 49. The term includes the Corporation and the National Railroad Passenger Corporation; (16) ‘‘railroad in reorganization’’ means a railroad which is subject to a bankruptcy pro-