FILE PHOTO: Travelers line up to board Amtrak trains inside the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Train Hall at Pennsylvania Station ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S., November 21, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

By David Shepardson and Ryan Patrick Jones

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday that Norfolk Southern has agreed to give all Amtrak passenger trains the "highest priority" over freight trains.

The settlement with Norfolk Southern resolves allegations the railroad delayed passenger trains on Amtrak’s Crescent Route between New York City and New Orleans in violation of federal law, the department said in a statement.

Norfolk Southern said the "agreement reflects our longstanding efforts to provide preference to Amtrak as required under the law and establishes a process for future engagement that includes regular reviews of dispatcher training and steps to evaluate and address delays to Amtrak trains."

Amtrak did not immediately comment.

The 1,377-mile (2,216-km) passenger line stops at 33 towns and cities, and Norfolk Southern controls 1,140 miles of rail line on the Crescent Route and handles dispatching for all trains along that segment, including freight trains it operates.

The Biden administration, which made boosting passenger rail service and high-speed rail projects a top priority, had filed a civil suit against Norfolk in July 2024.

Federal law requires Norfolk Southern to give Amtrak passenger trains preference over freight trains, but the Justice Department said at the time that Norfolk regularly failed to do so, "leading to widespread delays that harm and inconvenience train passengers, negatively affect Amtrak’s financial performance, and impede passenger rail transportation."

The Justice Department said last year that 266,000 passengers traveled on the Crescent Route in 2023 and only 24% of southbound Crescent Route passenger trains traveling on Norfolk Southern-controlled track arrived at their destination on time.

As part of the settlement, Norfolk has also agreed to train its employees to give Amtrak trains priority, require supervisor approval for dispatching decisions that do not give priority to Amtrak trains in non-emergency situations, and to provide records when Amtrak trains traveling on the Crescent Route are delayed, the department said.

(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto; Editing by Rami Ayyub, Bill Berkrot and Chris Reese)