Congress·In Committee·H.R. 9181

Rail Motive Power Source Integration Act of 2026

Rail Systems: Testing New Power Sources

10 days ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process and is being reviewed by two House committees. It is actively moving forward as it awaits further study and discussion by these groups. There are no companion bills currently linked to this proposal.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

This bill is in the very early stages and only has support from one political party so far. Most bills like this do not make it out of committee without broader support.

Key Points

This bill creates a new test program to help trains use different types of power like batteries, hydrogen, and electricity. The goal is to help the rail system move away from relying only on diesel fuel.
The Federal Railroad Administration will study where trains are currently forced to stop or change engines because the power source on the tracks changes. This often happens when a train moves from an electric line to a non-electric one.
Researchers will look for ways to design rail cars that can switch between different power sources without stopping. They will also investigate how much these changes would cost and if the government needs to buy more land to make them work.
The government will run real world tests to see if these new train designs work on existing tracks. A full report on what they learned must be sent to Congress within one year.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Jun 8, 2026House

Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Jun 8, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.

News

No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Rail Motive Power Source Integration Act of 2026

Bill NumberHR 9181

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.