{"id":551,"date":"2025-09-09T16:59:02","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T16:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/?p=551"},"modified":"2025-09-15T09:01:56","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T09:01:56","slug":"norfolk-southern-giving-amtrak-trains-highest-priority-over-freight-trains-doj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/09\/norfolk-southern-giving-amtrak-trains-highest-priority-over-freight-trains-doj\/","title":{"rendered":"Norfolk Southern giving Amtrak trains 'highest priority' over freight trains: DOJ"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Justice Department (DOJ) on Tuesday unveiled a new settlement between the Trump administration and Norfolk Southern<\/a> after the railway company allegedly prioritized its freight trains over Amtrak routes.<\/p>\n

The settlement aims \u201cto resolve allegations that Norfolk Southern delayed Amtrak passenger trains on Amtrak\u2019s Crescent Route in violation of federal law by failing to give Amtrak trains preference over freight trains,” DOJ officials wrote in a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs part of the settlement, Norfolk Southern agreed to provide all Amtrak trains the highest priority; train its employees to give priority to Amtrak trains; require supervisor approval for any dispatching decision that does not give priority to Amtrak trains in non-emergency situations; and provide records regarding delays suffered by Amtrak trains traveling on the Crescent Route controlled by Norfolk Southern,\u201d the administration added.<\/p>\n

The latest agreement comes over a year after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under former President Biden, announced a settlement with the company in the wake of the 2023 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. <\/p>\n

The settlement was estimated to be worth<\/a> $310 million following a major chemical leak<\/a> that resulted from the accident. The 2024 settlement included an estimated $235 million for cleanup work as well as a $15 million penalty over alleged violations of the Clean Water Act.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmericans traveling by train are entitled to trips free from delays caused by railroads failing to give Amtrak preference over freight trains,\u201d Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate said in Tuesday\u2019s release. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe settlement reached today, as well as Norfolk Southern\u2019s improved performance on Amtrak\u2019s Crescent Route, demonstrates the Department of Justice\u2019s commitment to protecting everyday American train passengers,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

When reached for comment, Norfolk Southern said the settlement \u201creflects our longstanding efforts to provide preference to Amtrak as required under the law\u202fand establishes a process for future engagement that includes\u202fregular reviews of dispatcher training and\u202fsteps to evaluate and address delays to Amtrak trains.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re grateful for the collaboration to reach an amicable resolution,\u201d the railway added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Justice Department (DOJ) on Tuesday unveiled a new settlement between the Trump administration and Norfolk Southern after ...<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":552,"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551\/revisions\/552"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}