By Bob Gallegos
In October, U.S. Reps. Chris Deluzio and Brendan Boyle, both from Pennsylvania, introduced the Rail Passenger Fairness Act, a bill that if passed will help Amtrak improve on-time performance across its system. The bill, should it become law, will allow Amtrak to take host railroads to court over delays. Currently, the law requires freight railroad hosts to give passenger trains precedence over freight trains. The new bill aims at holding the freight railroads accountable for delays caused by giving freight trains precedence.
The bill states “To permit Amtrak to bring civil actions in Federal district court to enforce the right set forth in section 24308(c) of title 49, United States Code, which gives intercity and commuter rail passenger transportation preference over freight transportation in using a rail line, junction, or crossing.”
Essentially, when Amtrak was created and assumed the passenger operations of the freight railroads, one of the provisions of being relieved of the burden of operating passenger trains was that host railroads were expected to give Amtrak passenger trains preference over freight trains when using the national rail network. The new bill allows Amtrak and commuter operators to sue host railroads should they give freight trains precedence over passenger trains.
Findings cited in the bill note a years-long decline in the on-time performance of long-distance trains, although there were some improvements just after the enactment of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA) which included provisions for enforcement. But in 2014 a D.C. Circuit Court ruled the provisions unconstitutional and on-time performance again declined. It was noted that the last time long-distance trains achieved 80 percent on-time performance was in February 2012.
Late trains cost Amtrak and the taxpayers money. Historically, the carrier has had little recourse to address its losses and gain some relief from the host railroads, several of which generally have ignored the law that provides passenger train superiority over freight traffic. The Rail Passenger Fairness Act introduced in October aims to correct the situation.
Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner issued this statement regarding the bill’s introduction: “Preference of Amtrak trains over freight trains is not only critical, it is also the law. Our customers should arrive on time, and freight railroads shouldn’t delay them with their own trains. Proper enforcement of the law is key, and the right tools must be available. We thank Reps. Deluzio and Boyle for introducing this important bill for our customers and their constituents, and we look forward to Congress continuing to discuss this issue and the best ways to ensure Amtrak customers arrive on time.”