STB to investigate OTP of Amtrak Sunset Limited trains

The Surface Transportation Board yesterday agreed to investigate the on-time performance (OTP) of Amtrak's Sunset Limited long-distance passenger-rail service that runs between New Orleans and Los Angeles.

The board's decision was issued in response to Amtrak’s complaint and petition for an investigation and other relief related to what the railroad has described as "substandard" on-time performance of the service, which operates on Union Pacific Railroad track. Since filing its petition in December 2022, Amtrak has continued to update the STB on the lateness of trains running on the line.

The STB determined that the "standard has been met for initiating an investigation under section 213 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA) and charts the investigation’s course," board officials said in a press release.

The investigation will include fact-finding led by the board through interrogatories and requirements for production of documents, as well as party-led discovery, STB officials said.

Under PRIIA Section 213 and Federal Railroad Administration standards, intercity passenger-rail service that provides on-time arrivals to fewer than 80% of its passengers for two consecutive quarters may file a complaint with the STB to initiate an investigation.

At the end of the investigation's first phase, the board will decide whether delays or failures in OTP are attributable to a rail carrier’s failure to provide preference to Amtrak over freight transportation as required by law. Subject to that decision, a second phase would then develop the record needed to assess possible damages and any other relief.

"On behalf of our Amtrak passengers affected by the chronic delays on host railroads, Amtrak is pleased by the Surface Transportation Board’s action to investigate the substandard on-time performance and freight train interference described in our complaint regarding Sunset Limited service," Amtrak officials said in a prepared statement. "Amtrak believes vigorous STB oversight is important to improve Amtrak reliability on routes operated over host railroads."

The investigation is the first of its kind, said STB Chairman Martin Oberman.

"It involves a significant board-led component as well as party-led discovery," he added. "This framework will ensure that the board has the information it needs to fulfill its mandate to enforce the preference standards and ensure reliable on-time performance for passenger rail.”