Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) introduced legislation on April 8 to restructure, reform and reauthorize Amtrak at a cost of around $2 billion per year. S. 2036 would begin to take effect 180 days after enactment, splitting up the existing National Railroad Passenger Corporation by creating a new American Passenger Railway Corporation which would take the Amtrak name, and use it to take control of passenger rail services. NRPC would continue to supervise freight rail.

The bill would also alter the way short-corridors (sub 750 mile routes) are funded. Currently some states pay a percentage share for certain corridors within their borders, while others pay nothing. S. 2306 would require all states to pay 70% of the operating losses of short corridors by 2010. The problem of long-distance corridors would be addressed by a new commission which would seek solutions on a train-by-train basis, rather than a more broad measure. The profitable Northeast corridor would also be turned over to a multistate compact, allowing states to manage the corridor services.

Finally, the legislation creates a new rail development program modelled on New Starts, providing up to $3.25 billion for projects to introduce rail into new corridors, including high-speed rail.