(a) A mortgage (other than a mortgage under chapter 313 of title 46), lease, equipment trust agreement, conditional sales agreement, or other instrument evidencing the mortgage, lease, conditional sale, or bailment of or security interest in vessels, railroad cars, locomotives, or other rolling stock, or accessories used on such railroad cars, locomotives, or other rolling stock (including superstructures and racks), intended for a use related to interstate commerce shall be filed with the Board in order to perfect the security interest that is the subject of such instrument. An assignment of a right or interest under one of those instruments and an amendment to that instrument or assignment including a release, discharge, or satisfaction of any part of it shall also be filed with the Board. The instrument, assignment, or amendment must be in writing, executed by the parties to it, and acknowledged or verified under Board regulations. When filed under this section, that document is notice to, and enforceable against, all persons. A document filed under this section does not have to be filed, deposited, registered, or recorded under another law of the United States, a State (or its political subdivisions), or territory or possession of the United States, related to filing, deposit, registration, or recordation of those documents. This section does not change chapter 313 of title 46.

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(b) The Board shall maintain a system for recording each document filed under subsection (a) of this section and mark each of them with a consecutive number and the date and hour of their recordation. The Board shall maintain and keep open for public inspection an index of documents filed under that subsection. That index shall include the name and address of the principal debtors, trustees, guarantors, and other parties to those documents and may include other facts that will assist in determining the rights of the parties to those transactions.

(c) The Board may to the greatest extent practicable perform its functions under this section through contracts with private sector entities.

(d) A mortgage, lease, equipment trust agreement, conditional sales agreement, or other instrument evidencing the mortgage, lease, conditional sale, or bailment of or security interest in vessels, railroad cars, locomotives, or other rolling stock, or accessories used on such railroad cars, locomotives, or other rolling stock (including superstructures and racks), or any assignment thereof, which—

(1) is duly constituted under the laws of a country other than the United States; and

(2) relates to property that bears the reporting marks and identification numbers of any person domiciled in or corporation organized under the laws of such country,

shall be recognized with the same effect as having been filed under this section.

(e) Interests with respect to which documents are filed or recognized under this section are deemed perfected in all jurisdictions, and shall be governed by applicable State or foreign law in all matters not specifically governed by this section.

(f) The Board shall collect, maintain, and keep open for public inspection a railway equipment register consistent with the manner and format maintained by the Interstate Commerce Commission as of January 1, 1996.