                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

LIMITATIONS ON PASSENGER RAIL TRANSPORTATION LIABILITY (§ 56-446.1)

A. As used in this section, unless the context requires otherwise:
			&#8220;Authority&#8221; means a political subdivision of the Commonwealth
that is comprised of two transportation commissions of the Commonwealth
collectively engaged in providing, directly or indirectly, passenger rail
transportation services to the general public.
			&#8220;Claim&#8221; means a claim, action, suit, or request for damages,
whether compensatory, punitive, or otherwise, made by or on behalf of any rail
passenger arising out of the provision of passenger rail services against an
authority or a railroad, against a member of an authority&#8217;s governing
body, or against a director, officer, employee, affiliate engaged in railroad
operations, or agent of an authority or a railroad, for property damage,
personal injury, bodily injury, or death.
			&#8220;Passenger rail services&#8221; means the transportation of rail
passengers by or on behalf of an authority, and all related services performed
by a railroad or an authority, including services performed by a railroad on
behalf of an authority, pursuant to a contract with the authority arising from
or in connection with the transportation of rail passengers.
			&#8220;Railroad&#8221; means a railroad company or railroad corporation that
has entered into any contracts or operating agreements of any kind with an
authority for the provision of passenger rail services.

B. An authority may contract with any railroad to allocate financial
responsibility for claims against the railroad or the authority arising from or
in connection with any incident or accident of any kind related to the provision
of passenger rail services, which may include but not be limited to executing
indemnity agreements, notwithstanding any other statutory, common law, public
policy, or other prohibition against same, and regardless of the nature of the
claim or the conduct giving rise to such claim.

C. The aggregate liability of the authority and any applicable railroad,
including the authority or railroad&#8217;s governing board, directors,
officers, employees, affiliates engaged in railroad operations, or an agent of
an authority, for all claims of rail passengers arising from a single incident
or accident of any kind involving passenger rail services or incidental services
related thereto for property damage, personal injury, bodily injury, and death
shall be limited to $250 million per single incident or accident.

D. This section shall not affect the damages that may be recovered under the
Federal Employers&#8217; Liability Act of 1908 (45 U.S.C. &#xA7; 51 et seq.), as
amended.

E. This section shall not affect the damages that may be recovered for a claim
if it can be shown that the accident or injury occurred as a result of willful
and wanton conduct, felonious criminal conduct, or gross negligence on the part
of the railroad.

F. The limitation on aggregate liability provided in this section shall be
modified each year, beginning in January, 2011, and continuing each January
thereafter, by adjusting the amount of the limitation by a percentage equal to
the percentage change in the medical care component of the Consumer Price Index,
as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over that component published
for the previous December.

G. The Virginia Division of Risk Management shall be designated to examine the
history of claims made and amounts recovered against the Virginia Railway
Express arising from or in connection with the provision of passenger rail
service in the Commonwealth, and to provide a complete review of those findings
to the General Assembly by November 30, 2010.

HISTORY: 2006, cc. 774, 807.