WASHINGTON — Amtrak and Canadian National Railway have asked the Surface Transportation Board to extend the deadline for filings in their long-running dispute over an operating agreement, telling the board they are “actively engaged in discussions aimed at settling this complex and long-standing case.”
In a joint filing on Friday, Sept. 26, the two sides asked for the current Oct. 9 deadline to be pushed back to Nov. 10. “Given the number and complexity of issues, it is important as the parties work to reach agreement that they concentrate their resources and efforts on their ongoing negotiations rather than the submission currently due” Oct. 9, the filing states. “The modest extension sought here would not significantly delay the Board’s consideration of this case or its issuance of a final decision. Indeed, our hope is that it will accelerate the conclusion of this case as well as conserve the Board’s and the parties’ resources.”
Amtrak and CN — or officially, its U.S. affiliates Illinois Central and Grand Trunk Western — asked for a decision by Sept. 30 in light of a looming potential shutdown of the federal government.
The inability of the two sides to reach a new operating agreement has been before the STB since 2013. It had been dormant since 2022 when new board Chairman Patrick Fuchs mentioned it earlier ths year among matters that the board needed to expedite [see “STB chairman updates efforts …,” Trains.com, Feb. 21, 2025]. The board asked both sides for more information on a number of aspects of the dispute in April [see “STB asks CN, Amtrak …,” Trains.com, April 10, 2025]. The current deadline relates to responses to that April request, as well as a Sept. 22 decision in which the board delegated some responsibilities to its Director of the Office of Economics.
