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Supreme Court: Amtrak wins over freight trains

The U.S. Supreme Court sided Monday with Amtrak in a dispute with freight railroads over priority of passenger trains on freight tracks.

The U.S. Supreme Court sided Monday with Amtrak in a dispute with freight railroads over priority of passenger trains on freight tracks.

A 2008 law directed Amtrak to work with the Federal Railroad Administration to create standards that let Amtrak keep priority over freight trains. But a federal appeals court sided with the freight railroad industry, which said Amtrak was a private organization that could not regulate competitors' actions.

The Supreme Court reversed, saying Amtrak is like a government entity given the reality of federal controls.

Amtrak said its on-time performance has been hampered by freight trains holding up passenger trains.

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