§ 269.15 - Access to facilities; employees.

§ 269.15 Access to facilities; employees.

(a) Access to facilities.

(1) If the award under § 269.13

of this part

is made to

a railroad other than Amtrak

an eligible petitioner, Amtrak must provide that eligible petitioner access to

its

the Amtrak-owned reservation system, stations, and facilities directly related to operations

to

of the

winning bidder awarded a contract under this part, in accordance with section 217 of the Act, necessary to carry out the purposes of this part.

(

awarded route(s).

(2) If Amtrak and the eligible petitioner awarded a route cannot agree on the terms of access, either party may petition the Surface Transportation Board under 49 U.S.C. 24711(g).

(b) Employees. The employees of any person used by a railroad , except as provided in a collective bargaining agreement, an eligible petitioner uses in the operation of a route under this part shall be considered an employee of that railroad eligible petitioner and subject to the applicable Federal laws and regulations governing similar crafts or classes of employees of Amtrak, including provisions under section 121 of the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997 relating to employees who provide food and beverage service.

(c) Hiring preference. The winning bidder shall must provide hiring preference to qualified Amtrak employees displaced by the award of the bid, consistent with the staffing plan submitted by the winning bidder submits and the grant conditions established by 49 U.S.C. 24405.