Baby Changing on Board Act
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The bill would require newly purchased Amtrak passenger rail cars — and those of other intercity rail providers receiving federal funds — to include a baby changing table in at least one restroom, with mandatory signage marking its location.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would add a new section to federal transportation law requiring that passenger rail cars owned and operated by Amtrak, or by another intercity passenger rail provider that receives federal financial assistance, include a baby changing table in at least one restroom. If the car has a restroom compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, that restroom would need a changing table as well, and signage would have to clearly indicate where changing tables are located. The requirement would apply only to cars that are newly built and solicited for purchase after enactment, and it would not apply to private rail cars used only for excursion or recreational purposes, or to historical or antiquated rail cars. Existing rail cars already in service would not need to be retrofitted.
Key provisions
- 1Would require all newly built, newly solicited covered passenger rail cars to have a baby changing table in at least one restroom
- 2Would require any ADA-compliant restroom present in a covered car to also have a baby changing table
- 3Would require signage identifying restrooms with changing tables and the tables themselves
- 4Would extend the requirement beyond Amtrak to other intercity rail providers that receive federal financial assistance
- 5Would exclude private rail cars and historical or antiquated rail cars from the requirement
Who would be affected
Amtrak and other intercity passenger rail providers that receive federal financial assistance, the manufacturers who build new rail cars for them, and parents or caregivers traveling with infants who would gain access to changing facilities on new trains.
Why it matters
Parents traveling by train with young children would gain a basic amenity — a place to change a diaper — that many rail cars currently lack. Because the requirement only applies to newly solicited cars, the practical effect would build gradually as Amtrak and other providers replace aging rail stock over time.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends 49 U.S.C. Chapter 243 (title 49, United States Code) (Sec. 2)
Inserts new section 24314 requiring baby changing tables and signage in newly solicited covered passenger rail cars.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- The changing-table requirement applies to cars solicited for purchase after enactment
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that enacting S. 71, the Baby Changing on Board Act, would have no effect on the federal budget over the 2026–2036 period.
CBO estimates that S. 71 would produce zero change in direct (mandatory) spending, revenues, or the deficit in any scoring window through 2036 and beyond, because Amtrak and intercity passenger rail services are considered nonfederal entities. The bill would require those rail services to install baby changing tables and appropriate signage in at least one restroom per rail car on new passenger trains purchased after enactment. CBO found that this requirement would impose a private-sector mandate as defined under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA), but estimates its cost would not exceed UMRA's private-sector mandate threshold ($214 million in 2026, adjusted for inflation). The bill contains no intergovernmental mandate because its requirements apply as a condition of receiving federal assistance.
How implementation would work
The requirement attaches automatically to procurement: once the law takes effect, any newly built passenger rail car solicited for purchase by Amtrak or a federally funded intercity rail provider must include a baby changing table and accompanying signage as a design specification. There is no separate rulemaking, grant cycle, or reporting requirement described in the bill; compliance would be enforced through the same statutory framework governing other Amtrak equipment requirements in title 49.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Held at the desk.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill requires Amtrak passenger rail trains to have a baby changing table in at least one restroom in each car, including in an Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990-compliant restroom. The bill applies to passenger rail trains that are (1) owned and operated by Amtrak, and (2) solicited for purchase after the bill's enactment for use by Amtrak.
Legislative subjects
Child safety and welfare; Disability and health-based discrimination; National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak); Railroads; Transportation and Public Works
Committee report
S. Rept. 119-118