REGIONAL RAIL REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1973 (as amended through 1980) AN ACT To authorize and direct the maintenance of adequate and efficient rail services in the Midwest and Northeast region of the United States, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act, divided into titles and sections according to the following table of contents, may be cited as the "Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973". TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE I-GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. 201. Formation and structure. Sec. 202. General powers and duties of the Association. Sec. 204. Report. Sec. 205. Rail Services Planning Office. Sec. 206. Final system plan. Sec. 207. Adoption of final system plan. Sec. 209. Judicial review. Sec. 210. Obligations of the Association. Sec. 211. Loans. Sec. 212. Records, audit, and examination. Sec. 213. Emergency assistance pending implementation. Sec. 214. Authorization for appropriations. Sec. 215. Maintenance and improvement of plant. Sec. 216. Purchase of debentures and series A preferred stock. TITLE III-CONSOLIDATED RAIL CORPORATION Sec. 301. Formation and structure. Sec. 302. Powers and duties of the Corporation. Sec. 303. Valuation and conveyances of rail properties. Sec. 304. Termination and continuation of rail services. Sec. 305. Continuing reorganization; supplemental transactions. Sec. 307. Protection of Federal funds. TITLE IV-LOCAL RAIL SERVICES1 Sec. 401. Findings and purposes. Sec. 402. Rail service continuation assistance. Sec. 403. Acquisition and modernization loans. TITLE V-EMPLOYEE PROTECTION Sec. 501. Definitions. Sec. 502. Employment offers. Sec. 503. Assignment of work. Sec. 504. Collective-bargaining agreements. Sec. 505. Employee protection. Sec. 506. Contracting out. 'Title IV of the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973, relating to local rail services, was repealed by the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (Pub. L. 94-210), effective April 1, 1978. Sec. 507. Arbitration. Sec. 508. Duties of acquiring and selling railroads. TITLE VI-MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS Sec. 601. Relationship to other laws. Sec. 602. Annual evaluation by the Secretary. Sec. 603. Freight rates for recyclables. Sec. 604. Separability. Sec. 605. Duty of transferee. TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS DECLARATION OF POLICY SEC. 101. (a) FINDINGS.-The Congress finds and declares that— (1) Essential rail service in the midwest and northeast region of the United States is provided 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 because of the inability of the trustees of such railroads to formulate acceptable plans of reorganization. This rail service is operated over rail properties which were acquired for a public use, but which have been permitted to deteriorate and now require extensive rehabilitation and modernization. (3) The public convenience and necessity require 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 essential 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 preservation and maintenance of adequate and efficient rail service is in the national interest. (6) These needs cannot be met without substantial action by the Federal Government. (b) PURPOSES.-It is therefore declared to be the purpose of Congress in this Act 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 requirements of this region and of the national rail transportation system; (2) the reorganization of railroads in this region into an economically viable system capable 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 regional transportation authorities for continuation of local rail services threatened with cessation; and |