Meredith Richards knows how it feels when a passenger train grinds to a halt as a freight train blocks its path. But thanks to a recently announced legal settlement, the former Charlottesville city councilor and other riders on Amtrak’s Crescent line, which links Central Virginia to New York and New Orleans, may soon find fewer delays.

”It’s an extraordinary, historic moment,” Richards, now chair of the Rail Passengers Association, told The Daily Progress. “It’s a very important decision for our area and for our passengers.”

The deal announced Sept. 9 requires Norfolk Southern Railway, which controls 1,140 of the Crescent’s 1,377 miles, to give Amtrak trains the highest priority and requires a supervisor’s approval for any nonemergency dispatching decision that does not give priority to

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