The Biden administration is asking the Surface Transportation Board, the independent, appointed body that regulates U.S. rail, to set a precedent by forcing railways to let Amtrak restart an old Gulf Coast line on their privately maintained networks.

The quasi-public passenger rail service owns very few track miles and needs to secure the right-of-ways to the tracks of commercial freight lines. As a result, the railways have been known to drive a hard and drawn-out bargain whenever Amtrak wants to expand its service.