DOJ accuses Norfolk Southern of making Amtrak late

(WKBN) – The Department of Justice filed a complaint against Norfolk Southern saying the railroad company is making Amtrak trains late.

The complaint alleges that Amtrak uses tracks operated and scheduled by Norfolk and that only 24% of Amrtrak’s southbound Crescent Route trains were able to arrive on time in 2023 because they were held up by Norfolk.

Amtrak’s Crescent Route runs 1,377 miles and stops at 33 towns and cities between New York and New Orleans. Norfolk controls 1,140 miles of that route and handles dispatching for all trains along that segment, including freight it operates.

According to the complaint filed Tuesday, the law requires Norfolk Southern to give Amtrak passenger trains preference over freight trains. The complaint alleges that Norfolk regularly fails to do that which leads to “widespread” delays that inconvenience train passengers and negatively impact Amtrak financially.

One example in the complaint happened on Jan. 1 when an Amtrak train that was 10 miles outside of New Orleans was delayed for nearly an hour when Norfolk dispatchers required the train to travel behind a slow-moving freight train. Other examples include making Amtrak wait for freight trains to pass through and long stretches where trains cannot pass due to track limitations.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called Norfolk’s effort to give passenger trains preference has been “uneven at best.”

Norfolk Southern issued a statement Tuesday saying the company is working on the performance of the Crescent passenger train and is committed to complying with the law.

Thanks to our collaborative relationship with Amtrak and our state partners, Norfolk Southern has taken a leading role in the industry to expand passenger rail service. We are committed to complying with the law, working together, and honoring our commitments. Over the past several months with Amtrak, we have focused on the on-time performance of the Crescent passenger train. We hope to resolve these concerns and continue to make progress together.

Norfolk Southern

The complaint was filed in the District Court of Columbia.

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