In July 2025, more than two and a half years after Amtrak called on the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to initiate an investigation into “substandard” customer on-time performance for Sunset Limited service between Louisiana and California, citing host freight railroad Union Pacific (UP) as “likely the prime focus of the investigation,” Amtrak and UP settled their differences. On April 1, 2026, they jointly announced reaching an agreement that will allow Amtrak to operate on a five-mile segment of UP-owned track starting near Avondale, La. This reroute of the Sunset Limited onto UP track took effect immediately.
“Amtrak is a key industry partner, and this agreement underscores our ongoing commitment to working with them to enhance both passenger and freight rail services,” said Eric Gehringer, Union Pacific Executive Vice President – Operations.
“We are grateful to have reached this agreement with Union Pacific. Both Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern have shown a strong commitment to quality Amtrak passenger rail service,” said Jennifer Mitchell, Amtrak Executive Vice President, Strategy, Planning and Accessibility.
BACKGROUND
“Amtrak and Union Pacific are pleased with a settlement regarding customer on-time performance for Amtrak’s Sunset Limited service,” UP and Amtrak told Railway Age July 31, 2025 in a joint statement. “As a result, Amtrak requested the STB close its investigation. Union Pacific is committed to improving customer on-time performance for the Sunset Limited, as well as continuous training and education for employees with responsibilities to Amtrak under federal law. Amtrak and Union Pacific express their gratitude to the STB for its time and attention to this matter.”
From the STB filing: “The National Railroad Passenger Corp. (‘Amtrak’) hereby notifies the SurfaceTransportation Board that it has reached a settlement with Union Pacific Railroad (‘Union Pacific’) regarding the performance of the Sunset Limited and therefore moves to dismiss its Complaint with prejudice and to terminate this proceeding. Amtrak is authorized to represent that all parties the Board has deemed are necessary parties to this investigation except Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited (‘CPKC’) consent to this requested relief … Under the settlement that Amtrak has reached with Union Pacific in this matter, Union Pacific has made commitments regarding the Sunset Limited’s customer ontime performance and has further agreed to consequences if it does not meet those commitments. Union Pacific has also agreed that all Union Pacific personnel with any responsibility for Amtrak service will receive continuous training and education as part of a compliance program to understand their responsibilities to Amtrak under federal law. Amtrak and Union Pacific have also agreed on a process by which they hope to certify a schedule for the Sunset Limited. Amtrak therefore believes that the parties have achieved an outcome in this proceeding that is fully consistent with the purposes of an investigation under PRIIA Section 213.”
Download STB “DOCKET NO. NOR 42175, AMTRAK NOTIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT AND MOTION FOR DISMISSAL OF COMPLAINT AND TERMINATION OF INVESTIGATION,” below.
The basis of the Amtrak-UP Sunset Limited dispute can be traced back roughly 15 years. In November 2020 under PRIIA (Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008), the Federal Railroad Administration adopted a final rule establishing metrics and minimum standards for measuring the performance and service quality of Amtrak’s intercity passenger trains. FRA’s action followed nearly 10 years of a contentious battle involving Amtrak and its host freight railroads that twice reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Amtrak in December 2022 reported that in every quarter since the standard became applicable, the westbound Sunset Limited, Train 1 ‘has failed to meet the applicable standards by wide margins,’” Railway Age Executive Editor Marybeth Luczak reported in early January 2023. “’Customer On-Time Performance (COTP) was 40% in the first fiscal quarter of 2022. That figure was even lower in subsequent quarters, declining to 24% in the second fiscal quarter of 2022, 10% in the third fiscal quarter of 2022, and 11% in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2022.‘ Additionally, Amtrak said the eastbound Sunset Limited, Train 2, ‘has demonstrated poor and deteriorating COTP. COTP for the Sunset Limited 2 was 40% in the first fiscal quarter of 2022. That figure declined to 35% in the second fiscal quarter of 2022, 11% in the third fiscal quarter of 2022, and 7% in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2022.’ Amtrak said the substandard on-time performance of these trains ‘is due largely to causes that can and should be addressed by UP.’ These include the ‘extraordinary amount of freight train interference … that Sunset Limited trains encounter on lengthy segments of the Sunset Limited service hosted by UP; the use of enterprise-wide dispatching algorithms, policies, and/or practices that deny Sunset Limited Trains their statutory right to preference; and other UP operational practices that result in systemic violations of Amtrak’s rights. As a result of these practices, and over the recently concluded fiscal year, UP imposed on the average Sunset Limited train more than 15 instances of FTI [freight train interference] per trip, resulting in more than 4 hours of delay for Amtrak passengers per trip. UP has routinely prioritized freight trains over Sunset Limited trains, including when resolving meets and passes, when determining access to main lines, and when otherwise failing to ensure that tracks are available for the scheduled and infrequent transit of Sunset Limited trains. Due in large part to these unlawful practices, the Sunset Limited is currently the worst-performing route for customers on Amtrak’s network.’”
UP asked the STB on Jan. 27, 2023, to order mediation for Amtrak, UP and the other Class I railroads that host the Sunset Limited. Six months later, STB reported that the standard had been met for initiating an investigation into the on-time performance of the Sunset Limited under PRIIA Section 213, and one month later set a procedural schedule that was to include STB-led fact-finding interrogatories and document production requirements, as well as party-led discovery.
INTERESTING TIMING
“How shocking is it that, at the same time that Union Pacific is going before the Surface Transportation Board seeking approval for its merger with Norfolk Southern, UP would suddenly reach a settlement with Amtrak over the Sunset Limited, when, coincidentally, Karen Hedlund, one of the STB voting members, has a special interest in passenger rail?” comments Railway Age Capitol Hill Contributing Editor Frank N. Wilner.
