STB completes fact-finding portion of Sunset Limited’s timely performance case

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board will complete the investigative portion of its investigation into Amtrak train on-time performance. Sunset Limited on Friday and has set a timetable for the remainder of the proceedings.

In a decision released yesterday, the STB also asked Amtrak to issue an opening statement addressing several key issues related to Amtrak's freight train priority and how the board should award damages for violations.

Amtrak must address the following points in its letter, among others:

• Explain what would constitute a violation of Amtrak's right of priority over freight trains.
• Whether the STB should rely on the Federal Railroad Administration's definition of a host railroad and whether multiple railroads should operate on a particular section of the Sunset Limited 1,997 mile route between Los Angeles and New Orleans.
• Address any other legal issues Amtrak deems relevant to determine whether the host railroads are in breach of the Sunset Limited preferential right.
• Address the scope of the STB's power to award damages. Is this power limited to damages for preference violations that result in a passenger train falling below the minimum punctuality threshold of 80% in two consecutive calendar quarters? Or does the body have the power to award damages for any failure to grant preference?

The other parties to the proceeding – Union Pacific, BNSF Railway, Canadian National, New Orleans Public Belt Rail Commission, Southern California Railroad Authority and Canadian Pacific Kansas City – were invited to file responses to Amtrak’s opening statement.

The STB also asked Amtrak and UP to answer several questions.

First, how UP's dispatching algorithm assigns the highest priority to Amtrak and UPS trains and whether this practice should be analyzed from a right of way perspective.

Secondly, there is disagreement about which railway line the Sunset Limited between New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal and Live Oak, Louisiana. Amtrak should explain the nature of its relationship with the railroads that own or operate on the tracks and indicate which railroad is considered the sponsoring railroad.

Third, the Federal Railroad Administration lists the UP Amtrak schedule for the Sunset Limited as “disputed.” Under FRA regulations, a disputed schedule is one where changes are being sought that are or have been subject to non-binding dispute resolution. Amtrak and UP must explain what schedule changes were sought, what dispute resolution was used, and provide documentation of the schedule changes. If no schedule changes were sought or dispute resolution is in progress, Amtrak and UP must explain why the schedule was reported as “disputed” rather than “uncertified.”

The decision also denied Amtrak's request that the STB issue an order requiring UP to retain its dispatch records. Finally, the STB ordered UP to resubmit its explanations regarding the host railroad's delays to the Sunset Limited that lasted 90 minutes or more. The point of contention: UP has labeled the entire report “highly confidential,” even though the committee wants to make the investigative process as transparent as possible. The committee said it was unclear why UP's entire report should be labeled “highly confidential,” especially when no other host railroad has redacted its statements.

Amtrak's opening statement is due by October 7. Railroad parties' responses to the opening statement are due by December 23. Responses from non-parties to the case are due by January 22, 2025. Amtrak's response to all responses is due by February 21, 2025.

Amtrak brought the first case of its kind before the STB in December 2022, demanding damages and other compensation from UP for what it considered to be “abysmal” handling of the sunsetand make suggestions on how to proceed with the case.

The discovery process in this case was scheduled to be completed by December 20, 2023, but was delayed due to eight requests for extensions after Amtrak filed a motion to compel UP to release certain information.