(b) Such increased depreciation pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall be granted for railroad ceilings established for assessment rolls filed in two thousand four and thereafter only upon application of a railroad company. Any increased depreciation shall be granted to all the tracks owned by the railroad in this state not otherwise exempt from inclusion in the calculation of railroad ceilings. Such grant of increased depreciation shall continue for ten years and may be approved for subsequent periods of ten years upon application and compliance with the standards established by rule and regulation. The commissioner shall, in consultation with the department of transportation and the division of the budget, establish by rule and regulation the schedules for increased depreciation and standards for improved service that must be met in order for a railroad to receive such increased depreciation for railroad ceilings established for assessment rolls filed in two thousand four and thereafter. A railroad company that has failed to file an application or failed to meet the standards for improved services contained in any such rules and regulations of the commissioner prior to the establishment of railroad ceilings for assessment rolls filed in two thousand four shall receive one-half the benefit for increased depreciation that such company would have received had such application been made and such standards been met in a timely fashion. The standards for increased depreciation may be based upon increased tonnage, increased level of passenger service, increased number of passenger trains and/or improved on-time performance, increased average speed, and any other factors indicating improved rail service as the commissioner and the department of transportation shall specify.