384
Opinion of the Court
The statute that created it begins with the congressional finding, redolent of provisions of the Interstate Commerce Act, see, e. g., 49 U. S. C. §§ 10901, 10903, 10922 (1988 ed. and Supp. V), that "the public convenience and necessity require the continuance and improvement" of railroad passenger service. Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 (RPSA), § 101, 84 Stat. 1328 (emphasis added). In the current version of the RPSA, 45 U. S. C. § 501 et seq. (1988 ed. and Supp. V), the congressional findings are followed by a section entitled "Goals," which begins, "The Congress hereby establishes the following goals for Amtrak," and includes items of such detail as the following:
"(3) Improvement of the number of passenger miles generated systemwide per dollar of Federal funding by at least 30 percent within the two-year period beginning on October 1, 1981.
"(4) Elimination of the deficit associated with food and beverage services by September 30, 1982.
. . . . . "(6) Operation of Amtrak trains, to the maximum extent feasible, to all station stops within 15 minutes of the time established in public timetables for such operation.
. . . . . "(8) Implementation of schedules which provide a systemwide average speed of at least 60 miles per hour . . . ." § 501a.
Later sections of the statute authorize Amtrak's incorporation, §§ 541-542, set forth its structure and powers, §§ 543- 545, and outline procedures under which Amtrak will relieve private railroads of their passenger-service obligations and provide intercity and commuter rail passenger service itself, §§ 561-566. See generally National Railroad Passenger Corporation v. Atchison, T. & S. F. R. Co., 470 U. S. 451, 453-456 (1985). As initially conceived, Amtrak was to be
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