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Who goes first, Amtrak or a freight train? A court rules.


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#11 CNJRoss

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Posted 30 April 2016 - 08:48 PM

The Washington Post, 4/29:
 

Getting there on time: Who goes first, Amtrak or a freight train? A court rules.

 

It’s a question that has brought dread to high school math students for generations: “Two trains leave Chicago” on different routes at different speeds, which one will reach St. Louis first? A court ruling may throw a new variable into the mix: Is the train carrying freight or passengers?

 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday struck down a 2008 law intended to make sure that Amtrak passenger trains arrived on time, even if that meant freight trains had to cool their heels while Amtrak rushed through.

 

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#12 CNJRoss

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Posted 30 April 2016 - 08:52 PM

The Hill, Washington, DC 4/29:

Federal court denies Amtrak regulatory powers

 

A federal appeals court ruled on Friday for the second time that Congress cannot give Amtrak regulatory power over other private railroads and competitors.

 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said even though Amtrak is a public-private hybrid, it is unconstitutional to allow a passenger rail company with its own economic interests to impose rules on its rivals.

 

The court said Congress has a choice: “Its chartered entities may either compete, as market participants, or regulate, as official bodies.”

 

“To do both is an affront to ‘the very nature of things,’ especially due process,” the court wrote.

 

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#13 CNJRoss

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Posted 02 May 2016 - 05:40 PM

Courthouse News Service, 5/2:
 

Amtrak Can't Regulate Railroads, Court Rules

 

WASHINGTON (CN) — On remand from the Supreme Court, the D.C. Circuit again ruled that a 2008 law allowing Amtrak to help regulate freight railroads to ensure the timely service of passenger trains is unconstitutional.
     

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Amtrak is more a government agency than a private corporation when it helps federal agencies draft rules on railroad scheduling.
   

But the opinion, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, suggested that further litigation was required to determine if there are other problems with Amtrak's involvement in setting the regulations.
     

On remand, the D.C. Circuit ruled Friday that Amtrak cannot make laws governing railroad operators "when, economically speaking, it has skin in the game."

 

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#14 CNJRoss

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Posted 23 July 2018 - 11:50 AM

Progressive Railroading, 7/23/18:

 
Court ruling allows Amtrak, FRA to set on-time standards

 
 

A federal appeals court ruled last week that Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) should be allowed to set their own standards for measuring on-time performance of passenger-rail service.

The 2-1 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is the latest in a legal dispute over whether Amtrak has a right to be involved in the rulemaking process for determining on-time performance.

The Association of American Railroads brought the suit several years ago by arguing that Amtrak should not be allowed to determine regulations that affect freight railroads.

 

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#15 CNJRoss

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Posted 06 June 2019 - 07:56 AM

Railway Age,6/3/19:

 
SCOTUS to AAR: No writ of certiorari

 

 

In the latest twist of an ongoing saga now in its 11th year, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has denied an Association of American Railroads (AAR) petition for a writ of certiorari* (a request that SCOTUS order a lower court to send up a case record for review) regarding whether Congress may vest a for-profit government corporation—in this case, Amtrak—with regulatory authority over its private-sector “competitors”—Amtrak’s host freight railroads. AAR has been battling with USDOT and Amtrak in court since 2011.

 

In question is whether Amtrak and the U.S. Department of Transportation (Federal Railroad Administration) should have the legal authority to establish on-time performance metrics and standards for Amtrak trains operating over freight railroad-owned and -dispatched rights-of-way.

 

In July 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that section 207(d) of PRIIA (Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act)—the 2008 legislation that gave the Surface Transportation Board the option to settle disputes over on-time performance metrics and standards by appointing an arbiter to perform binding arbitration—was unconstitutional. But the appeals court ruled that the remainder of section 207—how such metrics were to be developed—was retained. The ruling held that “the constitutional violations … can be fully remedied by excising the binding-arbitration provision … Without an arbitrator’s stamp of approval, Amtrak cannot unilaterally impose its metrics and standards on objecting freight railroads. No rule will go into effect without the approval and permission of a neutral federal agency. That brings the process of formulating metrics and standards back into the constitutional fold.” This cleared the way for FRA and Amtrak to develop on-time performance metrics—but they are still null and void.

 

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#16 CNJRoss

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Posted 08 June 2019 - 06:50 PM

AAR news release:

 
AAR Statement on Supreme Court’s Decision on Metrics & Standards

 

 

Washington, D.C. – June 3, 2019 – Ian Jefferies, Association of American Railroads President and CEO, released the following statement regarding the Supreme Court’s decision to deny AAR’s petition for a writ of certiorari.

 

“While AAR and the freight railroad industry are disappointed that the Supreme Court denied our petition for cert regarding metrics and standards for Amtrak schedule performance, we are pleased that the metrics and standards remain invalidated.  Freight railroads are committed to providing efficient and reliable service to all their customers and tenant railroads, and we will work with the FRA and Amtrak in a way that recognizes the importance of moving increased freight volume to help support the U.S. economy.”

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