(Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday it has moved to dismiss a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern after it agreed to give all Amtrak passenger trains the “highest priority” over freight trains.
The settlement with Norfolk Southern Corp and Norfolk Southern Railway Company resolves allegations that the transport company delayed passenger trains on Amtrak’s Crescent Route between New York City and New Orleans in violation of federal law, the department said in a statement.
The 1,377-mile (2,216-km) passenger line stops at 33 towns and cities, and Norfolk Southern controls 1,140 miles of rail line on the Crescent Route and handles dispatching for all trains along that segment, including freight trains it operates.
The Biden administration, which made boosting passenger rail service and high-speed rail projects a top priority, had filed a civil suit against Norfolk in July 2024.
Federal law requires Norfolk Southern to give Amtrak passenger trains preference over freight trains, but the Justice Department said at the time that Norfolk regularly failed to do so, “leading to widespread delays that harm and inconvenience train passengers, negatively affect Amtrak’s financial performance, and impede passenger rail transportation.”
As part of the settlement, Norfolk has also agreed to train its employees to give Amtrak trains priority, require supervisor approval for dispatching decisions that do not give priority to Amtrak trains in non-emergency situations, and to provide records when Amtrak trains traveling on the Crescent Route are delayed, the department said.
(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto; Editing by Rami Ayyub and Bill Berkrot)
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