H.R. 5570

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5570 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5570

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, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 26, 2025

Mr. Deluzio (for himself, Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania, and Mrs. McIver) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on 
the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

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, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Rail Passenger Fairness Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

(1) Congress created Amtrak under the Rail Passenger 
Service Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-158).
(2) Amtrak began serving customers on May 1, 1971, taking 
over the operation of most intercity passenger trains that 
private, freight railroads were previously required to operate. 
In exchange for assuming these passenger rail operations, 
Amtrak was given access to the national rail network.
(3) In return for relief from the obligation to provide 
intercity passenger service, railroads over which Amtrak 
operated (referred to in this section as ``host railroads'') 
were expected to give Amtrak passenger trains preference over 
freight trains when using the national rail network.
(4) In 1973, Congress passed the Amtrak Improvement Act of 
1973 (Public Law 93-146), which gives intercity and commuter 
rail passenger transportation preference over freight 
transportation in using a rail line, junction, or crossing. 
This right, which is now codified as section 24308(c) of title 
49, United States Code, states, ``Except in an emergency, 
intercity and commuter rail passenger transportation provided 
by or for Amtrak has preference over freight transportation in 
using a rail line, junction, or crossing unless the Board 
orders otherwise under this subsection. A rail carrier affected 
by this subsection may apply to the Board for relief. If the 
Board, after an opportunity for a hearing under section 553 of 
title 5, decides that preference for intercity and commuter 
rail passenger transportation materially will lessen the 
quality of freight transportation provided to shippers, the 
Board shall establish the rights of the carrier and Amtrak on 
reasonable terms.''.
(5) Many host railroads have ignored the law referred to in 
paragraph (4) by refusing to give passenger rail the priority 
to which it is statutorily entitled and giving freight 
transportation the higher priority. As a result, Amtrak's on 
time performance on most host railroads is poor, has declined 
between 2014 through 2019, and continues to decline.
(6) According to Amtrak, 6,500,000 customers on State-
supported and long-distance trains arrived at their destination 
late during fiscal year 2019. Nearly 70 percent of these delays 
were caused by host railroads, amounting to a total of 
3,200,000 minutes. The largest cause of these delays was 
freight train interference, which accounted for more than 
1,000,000 minutes of delay for Amtrak passengers, or 
approximately 2 years, because host railroads chose to give 
freight trains priority.
(7) Poor on-time performance wastes taxpayer dollars. 
According to a 2019 report by Amtrak's Office of Inspector 
General, a 5 percent improvement of on-time performance on all 
Amtrak routes would result in $12,100,000 in cost savings to 
Amtrak in the first year. If on-time performance on long-
distance routes reached 75 percent for a year, Amtrak would 
realize an estimated $41,900,000 in operating cost savings, 
with a one-time savings of $336,000,000 due to a reduction in 
equipment replacement needs.
(8) Historical data suggests that on-time performance on 
host railroads is driven by the existence of an effective means 
to enforce Amtrak's preference rights:
(A) Two months after the date of the enactment of 
the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 
2008 (division B of Public Law 110-432), which included 
provisions for the enforcement of these preference 
rights, was enacted, the on-time performance of long-
distance trains improved from 56 percent to 77 percent 
and class I freight train interference delays across 
all routes declined by 40 percent.
(B) One year after such date of enactment, freight 
train interference delays had declined by 54 percent 
and the on-time performance of long-distance trains 
reached 85 percent.
(C) In 2014, after some of the provisions in the 
Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 
related to enforcement of preference were ruled 
unconstitutional by a D.C. Circuit Court, long-distance 
train on-time performance declined from 72 percent to 
50 percent, and freight train interference delays 
increased 59 percent.
(D) The last time long-distance trains achieved an 
on-time rate of more than 80 percent in a given month 
was February 2012.
(9) As a result of violations of Amtrak's right to 
preference, Amtrak has been consistently unable on host 
railroad networks to meet its congressionally mandated mission 
and goals, which are codified in section 24101 of title 49, 
United States Code (relating to providing on-time and trip-time 
competitive service to its passengers).
(10) Amtrak does not have an effective mechanism to enforce 
its statutory preference right in order to fulfill its mission 
and goals. Only the Attorney General can bring a civil action 
for equitable relief in a district court of the United States 
to enforce Amtrak's preference rights.
(11) In Amtrak's entire history, the only enforcement 
action initiated by the Attorney General was against the 
Southern Pacific Transportation Company in 1979.
(12) Congress supports continued authority for the Attorney 
General to initiate an action, but Amtrak should also be 
entitled to bring a civil action before a Federal district 
court to enforce its statutory preference rights.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZE AMTRAK TO BRING A CIVIL ACTION TO ENFORCE IT 
PREFERENCE RIGHTS.

(a) In General.--Section 24308(c) of title 49, United States Code, 
is amended, by adding at the end the following: ``Notwithstanding 
sections 24103(a) and 24308(f), Amtrak shall have the right to bring an 
action for equitable or other relief in the United States District 
Court for the District of Columbia to enforce the preference rights 
granted under this subsection.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 24103 of title 49, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting ``and section 24308(c)'' before ``, only 
the Attorney General''.
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