Amtrak Priority Law Goes to Supreme Court (Decided 3/9/15)

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So while the case goes back to the Court of Appeals, are the metrics and standards in effect?
 
My understanding is that this narrowly defined verdict merely sets up the next round of litigation. We're still years away from any sort of fundamental conclusion.
This means Amtrak wins. Any win by the freights from now on (well, for a while, until the people on the courts and STB changes) is meaningless. The reasons for this are fairly subtle. In order to win, the freights have to strip Amtrak, the FRA, and the STB of regulatory authority -- a very heavy lift. With the direction this ruling is going, they won't be able to. Even if the freights get the "standards and metrics" invalidated on some other grounds, the Supreme Court has recognized explicitly that the freight railroads can be regulated to force them to provide quality passenger service *through* Amtrak -- whether they want to or not. (And that isn't dicta.) Alito even described contracts with Amtrak as a way of meeting their common carrier obligation, implying that he considers that if they didn't fulfill their contracts with Amtrak, they could be forced back into providing passenger service themselves!
Accordingly, the clause allowing the STB to investigate and decide on its own behalf whether to fine the freight railroads is on solid ground now. With a relatively friendly STB, that's a win for Amtrak service.

Will the Class I freight railroads continue to *waste stockholder money* on *frivolous lawsuits*? Very probably. I wonder if I could sue them for dissipation of corporate funds, since that's what they're doing. (It's been very hard to win such cases for the last 100 years, unfortunately.)

There's a subtle point at the end of Kennedy's ruling when he returns the case to the district court for resolution of other claims by the freights, and that's the "(if properly raised)" clause. Several of the claims were not properly raised. Expect another loss at the district court. It's possible that DC Court of Appeals will continue making up bogus arguments, but if so then the case will go back to the Supreme Court for a second smackdown. It's apparent only Alito and Thomas care about the goofy structure of Amtrak.
 
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I guess the only downside could be, 1/421 could arrive at LAX at 4 AM, or before! :giggle:
 
My understanding is that this narrowly defined verdict merely sets up the next round of litigation. We're still years away from any sort of fundamental conclusion.
This means Amtrak wins. Any win by the freights from now on (well, for a while, until the people on the courts and STB changes) is meaningless. The reasons for this are fairly subtle. In order to win, the freights have to strip Amtrak, the FRA, and the STB of regulatory authority -- a very heavy lift. With the direction this ruling is going, they won't be able to. Even if the freights get the "standards and metrics" invalidated on some other grounds, the Supreme Court has recognized explicitly that the freight railroads can be regulated to force them to provide quality passenger service *through* Amtrak -- whether they want to or not. (And that isn't dicta.) Alito even described contracts with Amtrak as a way of meeting their common carrier obligation, implying that he considers that if they didn't fulfill their contracts with Amtrak, they could be forced back into providing passenger service themselves!
Accordingly, the clause allowing the STB to investigate and decide on its own behalf whether to fine the freight railroads is on solid ground now. With a relatively friendly STB, that's a win for Amtrak service.

Will the Class I freight railroads continue to *waste stockholder money* on *frivolous lawsuits*? Very probably. I wonder if I could sue them for dissipation of corporate funds, since that's what they're doing. (It's been very hard to win such cases for the last 100 years, unfortunately.)

There's a subtle point at the end of Kennedy's ruling when he returns the case to the district court for resolution of other claims by the freights, and that's the "(if properly raised)" clause. Several of the claims were not properly raised. Expect another loss at the district court. It's possible that DC Court of Appeals will continue making up bogus arguments, but if so then the case will go back to the Supreme Court for a second smackdown. It's apparent only Alito and Thomas care about the goofy structure of Amtrak.
This does nothing but send the whole thing back to the lower courts. It will be years and years before anything is resolved. Nobody won but the lawyers.
 
The attempts at delay by the Class Is are futile. If their managements have half a clue they'll see the handwriting on the wall and drop the frivolous lawsuits. (Their managements probably do not have even half a clue, based on current evidence.)
 
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The SCOTUS ruling actually when one thinks about it is good for Amtrak AND the host railroads. The essential levels of performance for both carriers are now seemingly in the spotlight. Both carriers will have to show their stuff in producing results and working together to move trains and co-exist. This works out best for shippers and people.

Some interesting challenges ahead for all railroads serving American commerce and passenger convenience and necessity. It could actually work.
 
Buffett made it clear in his last annual report that he considers it important for BNSF to serve shippers promptly and reliably, rather than delaying service and losing market share, even if this requires large capital investments.

UP has been acting the same way.

At the moment, I think priority treatment for passenger trains in the west is looking pretty good.

As for NS and CSX... I'm beginning to wonder about their management. :p And the less said about CN and CP, the better.
 
I sure hope that we begin to see OTP improve in the near future! The Louisiana - Florida clause is intriguing...could we see the restoration of the Sunset East? Wouldn't that be something?!?
This raises the question of what constitues a Louisiana Florida service? How often must this run? Could Amtrak fulfil the obligation with a once monthly or even less than that move using a minimal consist.

The UK has some example of such so called pariamentary trains. These mostly run sporadically and at strange and impractical hours. They are not announced in any official timetable and tickets are very difficult to buy. So not surprisingly these trains are almost always empty. But by virtue of these trains actually running, legal requirements for providing a service are fulfilled and their continued operation is apparently cheaper than jumping through the hoops that a legal abandonment would require.
 
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Or Acelas make enough additional money to cover it :) There is more than one way to skin such cats, if one wants to. ;)

If the PIP plan is followed then what we will have is a daily Eagle with a Stub to NOL or Florida or wherever.

I have heard that the NOL - Florida folks are really campaigning for a train that has good timing for that portion and is not necessarily a Sunset extension too. So who knows? If it is locally funded it will almost certainly not be a Sunset extension.
Maybe the equipment released by the Hoosier State abandonment could find good use here?

Obviously further equipment would have to come from elsewhere, but it would be a start.
 
I sure hope that we begin to see OTP improve in the near future! The Louisiana - Florida clause is intriguing...could we see the restoration of the Sunset East? Wouldn't that be something?!?
This raises the question of what constitues a Louisiana Florida service? How often must this run? Could Amtrak fulfil the obligation with a once monthly or even less than that move using a minimal consist.
Maybe they could do what the Georgia Railroad did Post-Amtrak until 1983 and tack a coach to the back of a mixed freight!
 
I don't think the freight railroads will roll over and play dead. The cost to them of further litigation is peanuts in the big picture, and from their point of view a fundamental issue is at stake. Wait 2 years and see if this comes back to the Supreme Court. Sometimes cases do, after the justices have remanded on narrow grounds.
 
One never knows what was said behind closed doors in the justices' conference. But most people would say that when the Court releases a narrow opinion that explicitly leaves certain questions unresolved and then invites further litigation to resolve them, as they did in this instance, there was probably a diversity of views among justices on those questions - at least without further argument. Yes, the railroads have an uphill battle but I don't think it's insurmountable.
 
One never knows what was said behind closed doors in the justices' conference. But most people would say that when the Court releases a narrow opinion that explicitly leaves certain questions unresolved and then invites further litigation to resolve them, as they did in this instance, there was probably a diversity of views among justices on those questions - at least without further argument. Yes, the railroads have an uphill battle but I don't think it's insurmountable.
Exactly. One tiny skirmish may have ended in a draw but this war is just beginning. There are still numerous methods and avenues for winning the greater war within the Judicial branch and if that should fail there is always the ever more beholden Legislative branch. It's hard to imagine Amtrak ending up on top when all is said and done years from now. I'm not saying Amtrak was wrong to pick this war, I'm simply saying that they outcome is far from certain and likely to go against them.
 
Lest you forget, *the freights have no lobbying power*. Zero, nada, zilch. They might get a PTC extension, but only because some state governments and commuter rail lines asked for it. And the freights are shooting own goals now...

The mood of the Justices was that Amtrak should have been organized as a federal agency. If they invalidate the entire Amtrak law (which I think would not succeed), you can be sure Congress will do *exactly that*. (Votes in favor of Amtrak have been stronger and stronger.) This is the nightmare scenario for the freights, of course!
 
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Lest you forget, *the freights have no lobbying power*. Zero, nada, zilch. They might get a PTC extension, but only because some state governments and commuter rail lines asked for it. And the freights are shooting own goals now...

The mood of the Justices was that Amtrak should have been organized as a federal agency. If they invalidate the entire Amtrak law (which I think would not succeed), you can be sure Congress will do *exactly that*. (Votes in favor of Amtrak have been stronger and stronger.) This is the nightmare scenario for the freights, of course!
What do you mean, "the freights have no lobby power." I imagine six of the largest corporations in the U.S. have plenty of lobbying power. And if the reestablishment of Amtrak as a federal agency ever comes up, the ultra conservative Republicans will fight it tooth and nail in order to end Amtrak all together. Those folks hate every form of federal power (except for gigantic military power, of course).
 
I'm over my depth, I'll confess. But if Congress decides that

Amtrak should not get to decide the regulations over the freights'

performance, it could give the power to the FRA, no? Then Amtrak

could propose standards to the FRA, which could adopt them

in entirety, or not.

If the haters controlled the Administration, they could deny

everything Amtrak asked for. But the price of that would be

a marked deterioration of service when haters were in power.

And conversely a marked improvement when Amtrak Joe's

political heirs held power.

With the public reaction, the haters might have to find something

else to hate on.

The decision isn't any sweeping victory for our side, but I don't

think the freight roads have much to feel good about.
 
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The trick is to make Amtrak part of the defense department :p
Yeah, we could run Troop Trains attached to LD Trains like in W II, this would ensure that several hundreds of additional New Engines,Superliners, Viewliners, Diners and Equipment/Baggage Cars would be funded from the DOD and National Defense Slush Funds, er Budgets!
 
I'm over my depth, I'll confess. But if Congress decides that Amtrak should not get to decide the regulations over the freights' performance, it could give the power to the FRA, no? Then Amtrak could propose standards to the FRA, which could adopt them in entirety, or not.
The FRA already has the power to set the regulations and guidelines for passenger trains OTP on freight lines. The issue is how much of a direct role Amtrak has in working with the FRA to write the regulations and set the performance requirements.
Washington Post article on the SCOTUS decision: Supreme Court says Amtrak is more like a public entity than a private firm. (article goes on to cover 2 other court actions). Excerpt on where the legal process goes from here:

Because the appeals court based its decision on its finding that Amtrak is a private entity, it did not address other claims by the freight industry that Amtraks actions were unconstitutional.

The lower court must now consider questions about how Amtraks board is appointed and whether there are due process concerns with giving Amtrak regulatory authority over its own industry, Kennedy wrote.
 
I'm over my depth, I'll confess. But if Congress decides that Amtrak should not get to decide the regulations over the freights' performance, it could give the power to the FRA, no? Then Amtrak could propose standards to the FRA, which could adopt them in entirety, or not.
The FRA already has the power to set the regulations and guidelines for passenger trains OTP on freight lines. The issue is how much of a direct role Amtrak has in working with the FRA to write the regulations and set the performance requirements.

...
I don't see the need for Amtrak to have a "direct role" to get the job done, and Congress could easily fix that.

Amtrak works up its standards, mails them like a letter to Santa Claus. Soon everything Amtrak asked for will be sitting under the tree.

Maybe more due process could include inviting the freights to write a letter to Santa, too. But since they've been very, very bad, all they'll get is a lump of coal.
 
What do you mean, "the freights have no lobby power." I imagine six of the largest corporations in the U.S. have plenty of lobbying power.
You imagine wrong. I've been following this, and their lobbying power is very very low. They've alienated a lot of shippers, and the shippers *do* have lobbying power. The local municipalities universally hate them, and they also have lobbying power. The powerful trucking lobby fights against them...
And the casual attitude towards safety has hurt their lobbying, too. They thought they could get the PTC mandate repealed. They expended as much lobbying effort as they could doing so, for about a decade. They haven't managed to even get it extended. And they still might not!

They barely averted rate regulation!

CN and CP still have fairly substantial lobbying power in Canada; I'm not sure why the difference.

Now, they are clearly trying to rebuild their lobbying power, but they haven't been very effective at doing so. Perhaps the constant bad publicity doesn't help. Every oil train fireball is several more Representatives who don't want to be seen helping the Class Is.
 
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