The Amtrak Metro-North lawsuit centers on access to shared track in the Bronx. Amtrak says MTA Metro-North Railroad has denied use of that infrastructure. It says the access is needed to test its NextGen Acela trains. This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Amtrak Sues Metro-North Over Bronx Blockade, Threatens Mass Cancellations Today
Photo: Amtrak. Amtrak Sues Metro-North Over Bronx Blockade, Threatens Mass Cancellations Today

Amtrak Metro-North lawsuit and Acela testing

The lawsuit says the refusals followed a disagreement. It involved damaged overhead wiring on Metro-North’s New Haven Line. A local news report said equipment on an Acela train was damaged there in January. The equipment then damaged the overhead wire.

Amtrak says Metro-North has rejected its requests over the past month. The requests covered non-revenue trains on the route. Amtrak says the issue is its refusal to reimburse Metro-North for the wire damage. The report states that Amtrak claims the denials are disrupting federally required safety testing. Also, Amtrak claims they are causing delays and cancellations of revenue service. In addition, their track-sharing agreements have been in place for more than 35 years.

Penn Access project dispute

Separately, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has rejected Amtrak’s framing. According to Railway Supply, MTA said the lawsuit distracts from another track-use dispute. That dispute also involved the passenger railroads.

At the same time, MTA representatives said Amtrak has been delaying Metro-North’s Penn Access project. They said Amtrak is blocking efforts to create four new Bronx stops. Those stops would be on the Amtrak-owned Hell Gate Line. Metro-North currently operates on the Hell Gate Line. It does not make any stops there.

Still, Amtrak officials said the lawsuit relates only to the New Haven lines. They also repeated that Metro-North needed to allow nonrevenue trains on the shared tracks. If not, “systematic cancellations of Amtrak’s train service would be unavoidable,” amNY reported.

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