More than one year after the U.S. Justice Department filed a civil complaint in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia alleging that Norfolk Southern “delays passenger trains on Amtrak’s Crescent route in violation of federal law” by failing to give Amtrak trains preference over freight trains, the Department announced it had reached a “settlement” with NS and “has moved to dismiss its lawsuit.”
According to the complaint filed on July 30, 2024, federal law requires all rail carriers that contract with Amtrak to provide Amtrak passenger trains preference over freight trains. The complaint alleged that NS “regularly failed to do so, leading to widespread delays to train passengers,” DOJ said. Since the complaint was filed, “passengers traveling on the Crescent route have experienced widespread improvements,” DOJ added. “From 2024 to 2025, the number of delay minutes incurred by Amtrak’s Crescent trains has declined by 53%.”
“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,” said a Norfolk Southern spokesperson to Railway Age Capitol Hill Contributing Editor Frank N. Wilner for a July 31, 2024 commentary. “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.”
NS “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 controlled by Norfolk Southern,” DOJ said. “Norfolk Southern has also pledged to assist the Justice Department in determining the root cause of any delays to Amtrak Crescent route trains. Norfolk Southern’s Vice President of Compliance will annually certify that Norfolk Southern is in compliance with the agreement and its obligations under the law to provide Amtrak trains preference.”
Amtrak’s Crescent route traverses 1,377 route-miles and stops at 33 cities and towns connecting rural areas in Virgina, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana with each other and larger cities. NS controls 1,140 miles (82.8%) of the Crescent route including dispatching for all trains, freight and passenger. Approximately 304,000 passengers traveled on the Crescent route in 2024 and year-over-year ridership has increased so far in 2025.
“Amtrak appreciates the U.S. Department of Justice’s pursuit of this case and its efforts to reach a productive resolution with Norfolk Southern,” Amtrak said in a statement. “Since the case was filed, Amtrak’s performance on NS-hosted routes has shown measurable improvement. On the Crescent route alone, NS-related delays are down 34% year-over-year, with Freight Train Interference (FTI) reduced by 53%. Across all NS-hosted routes, delays decreased 26% and FTI dropped 42% year-over-year. Ridership on these routes also rose by 2%, reflecting growing customer confidence in service reliability. Amtrak appreciates NS’s concrete steps to improve performance under its DOJ agreement. We remain committed to working together to deliver a better experience for our passengers.”
