Coalition Files “Friend of Court” Brief Defending Passenger Rights
Confronts Increasingly Serious Delays Afflicting America’s National Train Network
Confronts Increasingly Serious Delays Afflicting America’s National Train Network
Washington, D.C.—The National Association of Railroad Passengers, the Environmental Law and Policy Center, All Aboard Ohio, and Virginians for High Speed Rail have filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that could prove pivotal in eliminating delays that are leaving passengers stopped on the track and stranded at the station.
The brief argues for the reversal of a judgment issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals - D.C. Circuit. That judgment struck down a provision of the 2008 rail reauthorization bill that instructed the Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak—consulting with the Surface Transportation Board, freight railroads, states, rail labor, and rail passenger organizations—to develop metrics and minimum standards for measuring Amtrak passenger train performance and service quality. A decision in this case has taken on new urgency, following the U.S. House’s introduction of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2014 (H.R. 5449), which sidesteps the serious on-time performance issues afflicting train passengers across the U.S. and crippling rail growth just at the moment when Americans are embracing rail travel in record numbers.
The amicus, or friend-of-the-court brief, lays out an argument structured around two central facts:
I.) “The court of appeals based its decision on two separate grounds: (1) an erroneous finding that Amtrak is a private entity and (2) a complete disregard of the factors indicating sufficient governmental control over the development and implementation of the metrics and standards.”...
II.) “As a matter of public policy, the decision by the court of appeals, which invalidates Amtrak’s on-time performance measures, thwarts the intent of Congress and threatens the future of passenger rail service in the United States.”