The war between Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express may come to a head Tuesday, when all parties will be asked to sit down with federal railway officials to sort out an escalating dispute over the switch to a rival operator.

VRE, the commuter train service, has asked top federal, congressional and Virginia officials to intervene in what it has called sabotage in the planned June 28 switch to French-owned Keolis. The VRE board of operations gave staff initial permission to pursue a lawsuit, regulatory action or other steps against Amtrak, which has operated its trains since the commuter service began.