Cite as: 503 U. S. 407 (1992)
Opinion of the Court
seems to have been anticipated by Amtrak and CV, as indicated by an internal CV Memorandum written in January 1988. App. 94.
Interpreting the B&M communication as a rejection of its offer, Amtrak instituted this proceeding before the ICC to compel conveyance of the track. CV filed a simultaneous request for an exemption from ICC regulation for its acquisition of the segment upon reconveyance from Amtrak.
B&M assessed the transaction as a significant shift in its long competition with CV for freight traffic. CV already owned large parts of the Conn River Line and after the proposed transaction it would own most of it. Though B&M would have trackage rights, CV would gain not only ownership of the segment, but also the right to obtain new customers on its route. B&M alleged this gave a new advantage to CV's corporate parent, the Canadian National Railway Company, for each railroad links up with competing companies in Canada. CV's lines link to Canadian National, while B&M's lines link to the Canadian Pacific, Ltd., Canadian National's competitor. B&M challenged the transaction as simply a device to shift ownership among railroads, not to give ownership to Amtrak, which, B&M argued, was the sole purpose of the condemnation provision.
B&M filed initial objections to the § 562(d) proceeding on two grounds: that Amtrak had not shown that the parties were unable to agree on reasonable terms of sale, and that § 562(d) did not authorize condemnation of railroad lines. The ICC rejected B&M's arguments and in a condemnation proceeding held that Amtrak had shown the inability of the parties to agree to terms. It ruled that § 562(d) covers railroad tracks because tracks are "rail property 'required for intercity rail passenger service.' " App. to Pet. for Cert. in No. 90-1419, pp. 130a-133a. B&M next sought to convert the proceeding into a trackage rights proceeding under § 562(a), but the ICC again rejected B&M's position, holding that Amtrak had an "election of remedies" under § 562 and
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