WASHINGTON — The question of how Canadian National should receive incentives or penalties for handling of Amtrak trains has no doubt chalked up hundreds — maybe thousands — of billable hours for the companies’ attorneys. The inability of the two sides to reach a new operating agreement first came to the Surface Transportation Board in 2013 and has left operations governed by a contract dating to 2011.
The STB’s challenge is whether its members can sort through the opposing contentions to find a solution that will provide Amtrak passengers what they are entitled to without seriously impeding the flow of freight.
It is impossible to fully evaluate the arguments, because both CN and Amtrak choose to redact meaty portions of the more than 700 pages in the two filings [see “Canadian National blasts Amtrak proposal for dispatching control …,” Trains News Wire, July 28, 2022]. Outsiders can’t see the complete structure, effectiveness, or shortcomings of previous or existing compensation agreements, so we can only hope the STB is able to sift through this crucial yet questionably camouflaged data.
Delays versus On-Time Performance
The shroud of secrecy is not unlike that of the mysterious “commercial relationship” between CN and VIA Rail Canada. That passenger operator, however, doesn’t have the benefit of federally defined performance metrics that Amtrak relies on to help keep its trains on time. The Canadian government also takes a completely hands-off approach to prioritizing passenger trains over freight traffic, or even ensuring publicly funded infrastructure enhancements result in better on-time performance.
In the U.S., passenger trains’ priority is discounted daily when host-railroad dispatchers delay trains. To address this, Amtrak wants to set a standard of 924 minutes of delay per 10,000 train-miles for CN. Incentives would be earned if a train is delayed less than that figure and penalties accrue if the minutes of delay excced that amount. Delays are measured as a departure from pure running time. If delays persist for a full year, Amtrak would have the right to take over dispatching [see “Amtrak seeks right to take over dispatching …,” News Wire, May 31, 2022].
But CN argues that whether a train meets a mutually agreed-upon schedule —comprised of recovery time (padding) and station dwell, as well as pure running time — should be the yardstick because that is what customers were promised when they buy a ticket. The railroad charges that Amtrak thinks its trains should have “presidential motorcade” priority, but CN says delays are irrelevant if a schedule is met. The railroad also points out that it must continue to be compensated for incremental costs incurred by expeditious passenger train handling, questioning why freight shipper delays shouldn’t be included. And it dismisses an Amtrak dispatching takeover as completely unrealistic for a variety of reasons.
Recovery time makes up for failure to receive priority
Which side has a compelling case? It’s hard to say.
A recent example of a decision that only peripherally affected Canadian National involved a delay to Amtrak Lincoln Service train No. 318 imposed by a Norfolk Southern dispatcher.
On July 18, 2022, the northbound train was running a half-hour late following Union Pacific freight interference in Missouri. The almost 2-mile segment of triple track between the Hazel Dell and Iles interlockings in Springfield, Ill., is shared by UP and NS, and controlled by a Norfolk Southern dispatcher. This dispatcher talks regularly with a UP counterpart to ensure the stretch can accommodate conflicting passenger and freight movements on both routes.
Ahead, the southbound Texas Eagle was just stopping at Amtrak’s Springfield station on single track when the dispatcher held no. 318 at Illes at 5:05 p.m. The on-time Eagle passed at 5:11 p.m. Instead of immediately clearing No. 318 to head north, the NS dispatcher held 318 for another 6 minutes to allow an eastbound NS intermodal to pass. The Eagle had also been delayed by about 5 minutes at Hazel Dell for the freight to clear.
This was a pure example of giving a freight train priority. But thanks to recovery time into Springfield, the 13-minute stop only added about 10 minutes of delay to No. 318’s trip. With generous padding incorporated into the CN portion of the route further north, no. 318 sailed through four major interlockings and arrived into Chicago on time, after leaving Joliet 25 minutes late. The Eagle was also early into St. Louis.
The “customer on-time performance” metric set by the Federal Railroad Administration gives more weight to stations that handle more passengers. So, with so many passengers destined for Chicago and St. Louis on train 318 and the Eagle, these trains fared well statistically, based on that measure. Should CN earn incentives for making up time?
On the other hand, far more lengthy delays regularly occur when too many trains are crammed into too few tracks. It’s the railroad’s decision, and travelers pay the price.
As in the ongoing Gulf Coast imbroglio between Amtrak and CSX-Norfolk Southern, the railroads, Amtrak, and the STB are cognizant of a decision that will set a precedent, but there is a lot to sort out.
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