Less Waiting, More Riding On The Amtrak Crescent Route
If you have ever traveled on the Amtrak Crescent out of Tuscaloosa, you have no doubt waited well past the New Orleans to New York passenger train's scheduled arrival/departure times, sometime for hours. Those delays should be coming to an end after a settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Norfolk Southern Railroad.
Amtrak in 2023 asked the Justice Department to enforce the railroad’s right of preference. That led to a lawsuit by justice complaining that the frequent delays stem from Norfolk Southern's failure to give Amtrak passenger trains preference over money-making freight trains, a violation of federal law. This led to significantly low on-time performance, with only 24% of southbound Crescent trains on-time in 2023. The northbound arrival on-time percentage was not much better.
The Crescent Route, operated by Amtrak (also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corporation), is a 1,377-mile passenger line that stops at 33 cities and towns connecting rural areas in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana to each other and larger cities. Norfolk Southern controls 1,140 of the Crescent's rail service.
The Justice Department filed a complaint in July 2024, citing Norfolk Southern's failure to give Amtrak preference and the negative impact that has had on passengers who have missed meetings and connections. Amtrak claimed passenger ridership has been significantly reduced due to the delays and that has cost the publicly owned passenger rail service significant revenue.
The agreement between DOJ and Norfolk Southern will lead to new procedures, including training its employees to prioritize Amtrak trains. That settlement has prompted DOJ to dismiss its lawsuit against Norfolk Southern.
Since DOJ filed its complaint, the department noted in a press release that passengers traveling on the Crescent Route have experienced widespread improvements. Over the last year, the number of delay minutes incurred by Amtrak’s Crescent trains has declined by 53%, the DOJ said.
“Americans traveling by train are entitled to trips free from delays caused by railroads failing to give Amtrak preference over freight trains,” Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said. “The settlement reached today, as well as Norfolk Southern’s improved performance on Amtrak’s Crescent Route, demonstrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to protecting everyday American train passengers.”
As a result of the agreement, Norfolk Southern will issue and annual certification that that it is complying with the agreement and its obligations under the law to provide Amtrak trains preference.
Amtrak Crescent operates two trains daily through Tuscaloosa. The Northbound Crescent from New Orleans is scheduled to depart at 3:11pm each day. The Southbound Crescent from New York is supposed to depart at approximately 4:13pm.
The settlement should mean passengers will hear the conductor's "all-aboard" call in a timelier manner.
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