(a) Purpose

The purpose of this Act and chapter 224 of title 49, United States Code, is to provide the means to rehabilitate and maintain the physical facilities, improve the operations and structure, and restore the financial stability of the railway system of the United States, and to promote the revitalization of such railway system, so that this mode of transportation will remain viable in the private sector of the economy and will be able to provide energy-efficient, ecologically compatible transportation services with greater efficiency, effectiveness, and economy, through—

(1) ratemaking and regulatory reform;

(2) the encouragement of efforts to restructure the system on a more economically justified basis, including planning authority in the Secretary of Transportation, an expedited procedure for determining whether merger and consolidation applications are in the public interest, and continuing reorganization authority;

(3) financing mechanisms that will assure adequate rehabilitation and improvement of facilities and equipment, implementation of the final system plan, and implementation of the Northeast Corridor project;

(4) transitional continuation of service on light-density rail lines that are necessary to continued employment and community well-being throughout the United States;

(5) auditing, accounting, reporting, and other requirements to protect Federal funds and to assure repayment of loans and financial responsibility; and

(6) necessary studies.

(b) Policy

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The policy of this Act and chapter 224 of title 49, United States Code, is to—

(1) balance the needs of carriers, shippers, and the public;

(2) foster competition among all carriers by railroad and other modes of transportation, to promote more adequate and efficient transportation services, and to increase the attractiveness of investing in railroads and rail-service-related enterprises;

(3) permit railroads greater freedom to raise or lower rates for rail services in competitive markets;

(4) promote the establishment of railroad rate structures which are more sensitive to changes in the level of seasonal, regional, and shipper demand;

(5) promote separate pricing of distinct rail and rail-related services;

(6) formulate standards and guidelines for determining adequate revenue levels for railroads; and

(7) modernize and clarify the functions of railroad rate bureaus.