National Railroad Passenger Corporation v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. et al. (470 U.S. 451)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 18, 1985 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 470 U.S. 451 · 105 S. Ct. 1441
- Decided
- March 18, 1985
- Term
- October Term 1984
- Vote
- 8–0
- Majority author
- Justice Marshall
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court. The question presented in these cases is whether Congress violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment by requiring private railroads to reimburse the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) for rail travel privileges that Amtrak provides to the railroads’ employees and former employees, and their dependents. I A From the middle of the 19th century, the railroad passenger coach played a significant and sometimes romantic role in American cultural and economic life. By the middle of this century, however, “this time-honored vehicle” threatened to “take its place in the transportation museum along with the stagecoach, the sidewheeler, and the steam locomotive.” Whereas in 1929 about 20,000 intercity trains operated in the. country, by 1946, there were only about 11,000 such passenger trains; by 1971, fewer than 500 passenger trains still operated. As cars, buses, and airplanes displaced the passenger railroads, those railroads that continued to provide passenger carriage incurred heavy and continuing losses. At the same time, as common carriers these railroads were bound to continue providing service until the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) or state regulatory authorities relieved them of this responsibility. Given the tremendous operating losses, many of the remaining handful of railroads operating…
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