12 2 STA T .4897PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 4 3 2 —O CT. 1 6, 2008 ‘ ‘ (2)BOARD A S S I S T A NCE.—Ifthis s ec ti ond oes not ap p ly toa r ailroad passen g er accident b eca u se the Board has relin -q uished in v estigative priority w ith respect to the accident , the Board shall assist, to the m a x imum extent possible, the agency to which the Board has relinquished investigative priority in assisting families with respect to the accident. ‘‘( k ) S A V IN G S CL A U SE.— N othing in this section shall be con- strued to abridge the authority of the Board or the Secretary of T ransportation to investigate the causes or circumstances of any rail accident, including development of information regarding the nature of in j uries sustained and the manner in which they were sustained for the purposes of determining compliance with existing laws and regulations or for identifying means of preventing similar injuries in the future, or both. ’ ’. (b) CON F OR M ING A MENDMENT.—The chapter analysis for chapter 1 1 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 11 38 the following
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‘ 1 1 39.As s i s tance t of a m i l ies of p assen g e r sin v olve d in rail passenger accidents. ’ ’. SEC.502 . RAILP ASSE NG ER CARRIER PLAN TO ASSIST F A M ILIES OF PASSENGERS IN V OLVE D IN RAIL PASSENGER ACCIDENTS. (a) IN G ENERAL.—Chapter 2 4 3 is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘ ‘ §24316.Plansto a d d re ss needs o f fa mi lies of p assen g ers in v olved in rail passenger a c cidents ‘‘(a) SU B MISSION OF P LAN.—Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of the R ail Safety Improvement Act of 2 0 08, a rail passenger carrier shall submit to the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, the Secretary of Transpor- tation, and the Secretary of H omeland Security a plan for addressing the needs of the families of passengers involved in any rail passenger accident involving a rail passenger carrier inter- city train and resulting in a major loss of life. ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—A plan to be submitted by a rail passenger carrier under subsection (a) shall include, at a minimum, the following: ‘‘(1) A process by which a rail passenger carrier will main- tain and provide to the National Transportation Safety Board, the Secretary of Transportation, 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 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 not holding reservations on other trains, for the rail passenger carrier to use reasonable efforts to ascertain the names of passengers aboard a train involved in an accident. ‘‘(2) A process for notifying the families of the passengers, before providing any public notice of the names of the pas- sengers, either by utili z ing the services of the organization designated for the accident under section 113 9 (a)(2) of this title 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 Deadlin e .
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