As used in this part—

Actual running time means the actual elapsed travel time of a train's travel on a host railroad, between the departure time at the first reporting point for a host railroad segment and the arrival time at the reporting point at the end of the host railroad segment.

Adjusted operating expenses means Amtrak's operating expenses adjusted to exclude certain Amtrak expenses that are not considered core to operating the business. The major exclusions are depreciation, capital project related expenditures not eligible for capitalization, non-cash portion of pension and post-retirement benefits, and Amtrak's Office of Inspector General expenses. Adjusted operating expenses do not include any operating expenses for State-supported routes that are paid for separately by States.

Adjusted operating revenue means Amtrak's operating revenue adjusted to exclude certain revenue that is associated with capital projects. The major exclusions are the amortization of State capital payments and capital project revenue related to expenses not eligible for capitalization.

Amtrak means the National Railroad Passenger Corporation.

Amtrak's customer satisfaction survey means a market-research survey that measures Amtrak's satisfaction score as measured by specific service attributes that cover the entire customer journey.

Amtrak-responsible delays means delays recorded by Amtrak, in accordance with Amtrak procedures, as Amtrak-responsible delays, including passenger-related delays at stations, Amtrak equipment failures, holding for connections, injuries, initial terminal delays, servicing delays, crew and system delays, and other miscellaneous Amtrak-responsible delays.

Avoidable operating costs means costs incurred by Amtrak to operate train service along a route that would no longer be incurred if the route were no longer operated.

Certified schedule means a published train schedule that Amtrak and the host railroad jointly certify is aligned with the customer on-time performance metric and standard in § 273.5(a)(1) and (2). If a published train schedule is reported as a certified schedule under § 273.5(c)(1), then it cannot later be designated as an uncertified schedule.

Disputed schedule means:

(1) A published train schedule for which a specific change is sought:

(i) That is the only subject of a non-binding dispute resolution process led by a neutral third-party and involving Amtrak and one or more host railroads;

(ii) That is the only subject of a non-binding dispute resolution process led by a neutral third-party that has been initiated by one or more host railroads and Amtrak has not consented to participate in the process within 30 calendar days; or

(iii) That is the only subject of a non-binding dispute resolution process led by a neutral third-party that has been initiated by Amtrak and the host railroad has not consented to participate in the process within 30 calendar days.

(2) The written decision resulting from a non-binding dispute resolution process is admissible in Surface Transportation Board investigations under 49 U.S.C. 24308(f). If a published train schedule is reported as a disputed schedule under § 273.5(c)(1), then it remains a disputed schedule until reported as a certified schedule.

Fully allocated core operating costs means Amtrak's total costs associated with operating an Amtrak route, including direct operating expenses, a portion of shared expenses, and a portion of corporate overhead expenses. Fully allocated core operating costs exclude ancillary and other expenses that are not directly reimbursed by passenger revenue to match revenues with expenses.

Host railroad means a railroad that is directly accountable to Amtrak by agreement for Amtrak operations over a railroad line segment. Amtrak is a host railroad of Amtrak trains and other trains operating over an Amtrak owned or controlled railroad line segment. For purposes of the certified schedule metric under § 273.5(c), Amtrak is not a host railroad.

Host-responsible delays means delays recorded by Amtrak, in accordance with Amtrak procedures, as host-responsible delays, including freight train interference, slow orders, signals, routing, maintenance of way, commuter train interference, passenger train interference, catenary or wayside power system failure, and detours.

Not well-served communities means those rural communities: Within 25 miles of an intercity passenger rail station; more than 75 miles from a large airport; and more than 25 miles from any other airport with scheduled commercial service or an intercity bus stop.

Passenger revenue means intercity passenger rail revenue generated from passenger train operations, including ticket revenue, food and beverage sales, operating payments collected from States or other sponsoring entities, special trains, and private car operations.

Ridership data means, in a machine-readable format: The total number of passengers, by train and by day; the station-specific number of detraining passengers, reported by host railroad whose railroad right-of-way serves the station, by train, and by day; and the station-specific number of on-time passengers reported by host railroad whose railroad right-of-way serves the station, by train, and by day.

Scheduled running time means the scheduled duration of a train's travel on a host railroad, as set forth in the Amtrak schedule skeleton.

Schedule skeleton means a schedule grid used by Amtrak and host railroads to communicate the public schedule of an Amtrak train and the schedule of operations of an Amtrak train on host railroads.

Third party delays means delays recorded by Amtrak, in accordance with Amtrak procedures, as third party delays, including bridge strikes, debris strikes, customs, drawbridge openings, police-related delays, trespassers, vehicle strikes, utility company delays, weather-related delays (including heat or cold orders, storms, floods/washouts, earthquake-related delays, slippery rail due to leaves, flash-flood warnings, wayside defect detector actuations caused by ice, and high-wind restrictions), acts of God, or waiting for scheduled departure time.

Uncertified schedule means a published train schedule that has not been reported as a certified schedule or a disputed schedule under § 273.5(c)(1).