# Question regarding Amtrak.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-amtrak/813027>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 24, 2018, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-amtrak/813027 "2018-04-24T07:20:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-amtrak/813027/41 "2018-05-01T18:18:29Z")

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> **[Northeast Corridor](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_Corridor)**
>
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> [@](#):
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> The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak…

> [@](#):
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> The NEC is a cooperative venture between Amtrak and various state agencies. Amtrak owns the track between Washington and New Rochelle, New York, a northern suburb of New York City. The segment from New Rochelle to New Haven is owned by the states of New York and Connecticut; Metro-North Railroad commuter trains operate there. Amtrak owns the tracks north of New Haven to the border between Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The final segment from the border north to Boston is owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

But every single sentence there has a [citation needed] tag. So YMMV

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**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2018, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-amtrak/813027/42 "2018-05-02T04:05:26Z")

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> [@Motorgirl](#):
>
> AIUI Amtrak owns 0 tracks, and even on the NE corridor freight traffic takes precedence.

Amtrak owns the Northeast Corridor outright, and also a stretch of track in Southwest Michigan. Plus, of course, the approach tracks to stations it owns, such as Chicago or Washington Union Station. The few local freight movements on the NEC (via trackage rights) generally operate at night.

As for the other routes, Amtrak’s _Basic Agreement_ with the freight railroads—and [federal statute](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/49/24308) —explicitly gives them priority over freight trains. Alas, a complex court battle that went to the Supreme Court and back ended a year ago with this provision left unenforceable, and Amtrak on-time performance is now down under 50% for long-distance routes. Details and a proposed legislative solution are on page 47 of [Amtrak’s most recent annual report.](https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/corporate/reports/Amtrak-General-Legislative-Annual-Report-FY2019-Grant-Request.pdf)

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