Missouri Congressman reintroduces bill to remove Amtrak right of preference
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) has reintroduced legislation that would strip Amtrak of its statutory right of operating preference on host freight railroads. It is at least the third time such legislation has been introduced, including the second by Burleson.
The “Freights First Act” would eliminate the right of preference within 50 miles of a port or rail yard — which would likely cover a significant portion of Amtrak’s route mileage. “When freight is forced to wait for passenger trains near critical infrastructure, our entire economy suffers,” Burlison said in a press release.
Burlison — who represents a district with no Amtrak service — previously introduced a version of the bill in June 2023 [see “Republicans push bill to limit Amtrak’s right of preference: Analysis,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 31, 2023]. That legislation, H.R. 3893, died in committee, as did a slightly different version introduced in 2022 by Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.)
While the right of preference currently exists, Amtrak has frequently expressed frustrations that some railroads do not handle its trains accordingly. The company went to the Surface Transportation Board to request an investigation into handling of the Sunset Limited in 2022, the first use of a procedure created as part of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 [see “Amtrak asks federal regulators …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 9, 2022]. That process is continuing. It also apparently urged the Justice Department to take action on the issue, resulting in a lawsuit over Norfolk Southern’s handling of the Crescent that is near a settlement, according to a recent court filing. [see “Justice Department and Norfolk Southern near settlement …,” News Wire, July 14, 2024].
The preference issue was addressed in detail in an article, “Passage interference,” in the May 2025 issue of Trains Magazine.
In Canada, VIA Rail does not have the right of preference, leaving the matter to be settled between VIA and freight operators. Frequent freight delays have led VIA to lengthen the schedule for its flagship train, the Toronto-Vancouver Canadian, to 96 hours — 26 more than when it was introduced as a Canadian Pacific train in 1955 [see “VIA’s Canadian turns 70 …,” News Wire, April 23, 2025]. Current VIA CEO Mario Péloquin has sought rules establishing such preference [see “VIA Rail Canada CEO calls for ‘passenger bill of rights’ …,” News Wire, Oct. 23, 2023]; a bill introduced in Parliament in 2023 to establish VIA preference failed to advance.