National Railroad Passenger Corporation, et al. v. Boston and Maine Corporation, et al. (503 U.S. 407)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 25, 1992 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 503 U.S. 407 · 112 S. Ct. 1394
- Decided
- March 25, 1992
- Term
- October Term 1991
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Kennedy
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court. The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC or Commission) issued an order, upon the request of petitioner National Railroad Passenger Corporation, requiring conveyance of 48.8 miles of railroad track from respondent Boston and Maine Corporation (B&M) to the Corporation. In these consolidated cases we must decide whether the ICC’s decision was based on a reasonable interpretation and application of § 402(d) of the Rail Passenger Service Act, 45 U. S. C. § 562(d), the statute the Corporation invoked in the proceeding. We hold the ICC’s decision is authorized by the statute, and so reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which set aside the Commission’s action. I The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, or Amtrak, is a private, for-profit corporation created by Congress in the Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 (RPSA), Pub. L. 91-518, 84 Stat. 1328, 45 U. S. C. § 501 et seq. The purpose of Amtrak is to provide modern and efficient intercity and commuter rail passenger service. §§501, 541. Amtrak is not an agency or instrumentality of the United States Government, §541, but it has been supported over the years by congressional appropriations. Most of Amtrak’s passenger trains run over existing track systems owned and used by freight railroads. In the RPSA Congress authorized Amtrak to…
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