Hotline #713-A - March 25, 1992

Great news today from the Supreme Court. On a 6-3 vote, the high court overturned a lower court's ruling that Amtrak and the ICC acted improperly by condemning a piece of Guilford trackage in Vermont used by the Montrealer. Ruling for Amtrak were Rehnquist, Stevens, O'Connor, Kennedy, Scalia, and Souter. Dissenting were White, Blackmun, and Thomas. This important victory is expected to put Amtrak in a better bargaining position with the freight railroads when operating agreements expire in 1996. The Association of American Railroads had filed an amicus brief against Amtrak.