News & Reviews News Wire Justice Department and Norfolk Southern near settlement deal in Amtrak Crescent case

Justice Department and Norfolk Southern near settlement deal in Amtrak Crescent case

By Bill Stephens | July 14, 2025

Federal judge OK’s government request for more time to nail down final details of settlement in principle in passenger train right of preference case

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Amtrak train at station
The southbound Crescent leaves Meridian, Miss., for New Orleans. Bob Johnston

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department and Norfolk Southern have reached a settlement in principle regarding the railroad’s handling of Amtrak’s Crescent.

Government lawyers disclosed the agreement in a court filing last week, which requested additional time to finalize the settlement. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson approved the parties’ request for a 60-day extension.

The Justice Department hauled NS to federal court a year ago, contending that NS regularly failed to give the Crescent preference over freight trains as required by law, leading to delays that harm and inconvenience passengers, impede passenger rail transportation, and negatively affect Amtrak’s financial performance. [see “Justice Department sues …,” Trains News Wire, July 30, 2024]

The case was the first right of preference suit filed against a host railroad since 1979, when operational problems on Southern Pacific led to frequent delays to Amtrak’s Sunset Limited. Amtrak trains were granted the right of preference in 1973.

When asking for a dismissal of the case in January, NS argued that the government was taking an “extreme” interpretation of passenger train right of preference.

NS said the Justice Department “complaint depends on the idea that freight railroads must totally clear their tracks for approaching Amtrak trains, the same way D.C.-area commuters must clear the road for the President’s motorcade—even if the result is a massive traffic jam.

“But ‘preference’ for passenger trains has never worked that way. Not in the decades before Congress codified it, and not in the half-century since,” NS argued.

The New York-New Orleans Crescent operates on NS-owned or managed track between Alexandria, Va., and New Orleans.

In 2023, 57% of Crescent passengers arrived on time, which was well below the 80% threshold required under federal standards.

But Crescent passengers had plenty of company: Six long-distance trains – the Silver Meteor (CSX), Empire Builder (BNSF, CPKC), Silver Star (CSX, NS), Sunset Limited (BNSF, UP), Southwest Chief (BNSF), and California Zephyr (BNSF, UP) – had worse on-time performance in 2023, according to Amtrak data. And all 15 of Amtrak’s long-distance trains that operate on the Class I railroads failed to meet federal on-time performance standards in 2023.

The Justice Department on Aug. 2, 2024 acknowledged a Trains freedom of information request for documents that might shed light on why it singled out Norfolk Southern. But it has yet to produce any documents, including a copy of a letter that Amtrak sent to the attorney general seeking enforcement action. At the time, Amtrak declined to provide a copy of the letter and referred questions to the Justice Department.

3 thoughts on “Justice Department and Norfolk Southern near settlement deal in Amtrak Crescent case

  1. Let’s recall that in all, NS controls 1,140 of the Crescent’s 1,377 route-miles.

    Dr. Güntürk Üstün

  2. As has been mentioned here before, the problems Amtrak is having with on time performance have gotten a lot worse since the implementation of PSR. Unless railroads go back to running shorter, faster trains or extend more sidings I really don’t see how it can possibly get better.

    1. You can add “It will never get better” to the eternal certainty of death and taxes.

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