Norfolk Southern Railroad is causing chronic delays for Amtrak between New York and New Orleans by forcing passenger trains to wait while massive freight trains pass by, the federal government said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
The Justice Department took the unusual step of filing a lawsuit because it says Norfolk Southern consistently violates federal law requiring Amtrak trains to have the right of way when passing over freight train tracks. Amtrak relies on tracks owned by one of the six major freight train lines in most of the country.
“Americans should not experience delays because railroads violate the law,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
Norfolk Southern spokesman Tom Crosson said the railroad is committed to complying with the law that gives priority to passenger trains and is committed to expanding passenger rail service.
“Over the past several months, we have focused with Amtrak on the punctuality of the Crescent passenger train,” Crosson said. “We hope to resolve these concerns and continue to move forward together.”
Last year, only 24 percent of Amtrak’s southbound trains on Norfolk Southern’s network reached their destinations on time, leaving most of the 266,000 passengers traveling the Crescent Route between New York and New Orleans with delays, the lawsuit alleges.
In one case, an Amtrak train was delayed for nearly an hour just 10 miles outside of New Orleans because Norfolk Southern forced it to pull behind a slow-moving freight train. In another case, the railroad’s dispatchers made an Amtrak train wait until three freight trains had passed.
According to Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner, this lawsuit will ensure that passengers arrive at their destinations on time.
“We are pleased that the U.S. Department of Justice is taking steps to enforce in federal court the longstanding federal law that requires intercity passenger trains to have priority over freight traffic when we operate on shared rail lines,” Gardner said in a statement.
Often there is no way for an Amtrak train to pass one of the Norfolk Southern trains, because the railroad is running increasingly long freight trains that will not fit on any of the sidings along the main line. All of the major freight railroads now regularly run trains longer than 2 miles.
“For half a century, federal law has required freight carriers to give Amtrak the right-of-way on their rail lines. Yet enforcement of this important law has been mixed at best,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Norfolk Southern is one of the nation’s largest freight carriers, based in Atlanta. The company operates trains throughout the eastern United States.