HOW TO SERVE LEGAL PAPERS ON AMTRAK

This article will provide guidance on how to serve legal papers on Amtrak. With reporting marks, AMTK and AMTZ, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, or Amtrak, offers intercity train service in the contiguous United States and nine Canadian cities.  As a quasi-public corporation, Amtrak gets a mix of state and federal subsidies but is run as a for-profit company.  All of the company’s preferred stock is owned by the United States government via the Secretary of Transportation. One block west of Union Station in Washington, D.C.,  is where Amtrak’s headquarters are situated. Click Here for Frequently Asked Questions About Process Servers!

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BACKGROUND ON AMTRAK

Amtrak operates more than three hundred trains daily to more than five hundred locations in forty-six states and three Canadian provinces. In all, Amtrak owns and manages over five hundred miles of rail in the continental United States. It is possible for trains to go up to 150 mph (240 km/h) on certain portions of the track. Interestingly, the dubbed name of the entity comes from a combination of the words ‘America’ and ‘trak,’ the latter of which is a stylized spelling of the word ‘track.’ Click here for information on How To Identify A Good Process Service Agency

HISTORY OF AMTRAK

All intercity passenger train service in the United States is provided by Amtrak, which was formerly called the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. In 1970, Congress created the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), which took over passenger train operations in the United States from private rail firms the following year. Except for a few, almost every railroad has an agreement with Amtrak. To operate its passenger trains, the firm pays the railways to utilize its tracks and terminals, as well as compensating them for the use of these facilities. In addition to administrative expenditures, such as purchasing new equipment, the company is responsible for scheduling, route planning, and ticket sales. Click here for information on How To Identify A Good Process Service Agency

It was designed to alleviate the financial strain of passenger service on American railways and to enhance service quality. Due to a persistent decrease in passengers and a rise in running expenses, the railways had been losing millions yearly on their passenger lines since the early 1960s. Many of the firms decided to abandon their unproductive routes in order to avoid future losses. Click here for information on How Rush Process Service Can Expedite Your Case.

The establishment of Amtrak was the first time that the U.S. government directly funded rail passenger transportation (although land grants had been given to railroads to spur the completion of a transcontinental line in the 19th century). Amtrak received a  forty million dollar subsidy from Congress, and an extra hundred million dollars in government-guaranteed loans were permitted. Throughout the rest of the 20th century, Amtrak received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money each year to offset operational deficits. Tickets and mail-carrying services brought in some money for the company, but not enough to cover its expenses. In the mid-1990s, Amtrak restructured its corporate structure, implemented service adjustments, and sought alternative finance, including subsidies from state governments, as it faced a drop in federal revenue. Click here for information on How Service of Process Ensures A Solid Foundation.

After 2000, Amtrak had a steady growth in passenger traffic. The Acela Express, a high-speed electrified train that could cruise at about a hundred and twenty-five miles per hour and reach peak speeds of around a hundred and fifty miles per hour, was inaugurated late that year along the highly frequented Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C., and Boston. As well, Amtrak considered establishing high-speed routes between Chicago and St. Louis, as well as across central California’s San Joaquin Valley. In spite of this, the company continued to lose money each year, and its government subsidies frequently topped a billion dollars starting in 2002. Click here for information on How Process Servers Protect Your Rights: Myths Debunked

Consequently, subsidies for shorter-distance routes were still being debated in Congress in 2013. By that year, eighteen states had implemented similar policies. An additional billion dollars was allocated to Amtrak for infrastructure upgrades under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. 

SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATED COMPANIES OF AMTRAK

Amtrak 2000-SD-A Trust is a statutory trust that has domestic residency in Delaware.  The entity is a general statutory trust that entirely has Delaware jurisdiction since its formation on 29th September 2000. The entity retains a registered agent for Delaware Process Service in New Castle County, Wilmington Trust Company.  

It is possible to establish a Delaware statutory trust (DST) outside of the state of Delaware for the purpose of doing business. An Unincorporated Business Trust, or UBO, may also be referred to as a trust.

There are two types of private agreements known as Delaware statutory trusts: [A.] those in which property (both tangible and intangible) is held by one or more trustees for the benefit of the trustor, who is entitled to a beneficial interest in the trust’s property, and [B.] those in which business or professional activities for profit are conducted by one or more trustees for the benefit of the trustor. 

Amtrak Trust HS-EDC-1 is a statutory trust in Delaware. The entity is a subsidiary of Amtrak and unlike Amtrak, would not come under Washington DC Jurisdiction since it is a foreign entity. This is because Amtrak Trust HS-EDC-1  was first established on 15th November 2000 in Delaware/ The company is a general statutory trust in Delaware and retains the Wilmington Trust Company as an agent for Delaware Process Service. 

In comparison to the more complicated filings of other kinds of entities, the establishment of a Delaware statutory trust is quite straightforward and affordable. A private trust agreement must be drawn out by all parties engaged in a statutory trust in order to guarantee that their interests are safeguarded. Neither the private trust agreement nor any of its terms must be made public to any official of the State. The Delaware Division of Corporations may issue a Certificate of Trust after the agreement has been finalized. A USD 500 processing fee must be paid to the Division of Corporations when all of the paperwork has been completed and signed by the trustees. 

A registered agent and registered office must be maintained in Delaware if the trust is or will be a registered investment business for purposes of Delaware Process Service. Only if there is no intention for the statutory trust to be an investment company is it necessary to have at least one trustee who is either a Delaware resident or has a primary place of business in Delaware.

On 19th December 2001, Amtrak Trust HS-MBK-1 was formed in Delaware. The entity is a general statutory trust in Delaware, having been formed in the state. A statutory trust may sue and be sued, and service of process upon even only one of the trustees is sufficient. A statutory trust may be sued for debts and other obligations or liabilities contracted or incurred by the trustees or other authorized persons. This is also applicable upon the duly authorized agents of these as they are engaged in their respective duties under the statutory trust.

The certificate of the trust essentially has the function to [A.] restrict a statutory trust on behalf of a series from agreeing in the governing instrument that any or all of the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses incurred by the statutory trust would be enforceable against the assets of such series; or [B.]  restrict a statutory trust from agreeing that any of the debts existing would be enforceable against the assets of the statutory trust generally. 

It retains the Wilmington Trust company as a registered agent for Delaware Process Service. Since the Wilmington Trust Company has an office located in Wilmington in Delaware, it qualifies to be a registered agent for Delaware Process Service therein. 

Penn Station Leasing, LLC is a foreign limited liability company as per its incorporation in New York State. The entity first filed for incorporation on 14th June 2001 although the entity was originally formed in Delaware on 17th April 2001. The entity retains the National Registered Agents Inc. as an agent for New York City Process Service in New York since the entity has a registered office on Liberty Street, New York. 

The entity was founded in Washington, D.C., to assist railways utilizing Washington’s Union Station by the Washington Terminal Company. Amtrak currently has a majority stake in the company.

Maryland and Ohio railroads joined together to form it in 1901, along with Pennsylvania railroads to form the Baltimore, Ohio, and Washington railroads. Passenger trains through Union Station or traveling through the Washington region depend on the Washington Terminal Company, which owns and operates the station and around 5 miles of track in the vicinity.

Amtrak took over the operations of the terminal corporation in 1981. Amtrak workers hold the remaining 0.7 percent of WTC, which is not owned by the railroad. All of WTC’s executives and the majority of its directors work for Amtrak. Amtrak and the US Department of Transportation jointly own Union Station via WTC. WTC owns the platforms and tracks, but the DOT owns the station structure and the adjoining parking spaces.

However, the Washington Terminal Company is a different legal organization from Amtrak, which means it is subject to the Interstate Commerce Act. In the event that Amtrak attempted to evict VRE from Union Station because VRE refused to automatically re-hire Amtrak as its operational contractor, this permitted Virginia Railway Express to threaten an application to the Surface Transportation Board to enforce its right to access. Amtrak retreated when confronted with this threat.

DOMESTIC COVERAGE AREAS:

Alaska | Alabama | Arkansas | Arizona | California | Colorado | Connecticut | District of Columbia | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Iowa | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maryland | Massachusetts | MaineMichigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | North Carolina | North Dakota | Nebraska | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | Nevada | New York | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode IslandSouth Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Virginia | Vermont | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming

INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE AREAS:

Albania | Andorra | Anguilla | Antigua | Argentina | Armenia | Australia | Austria | Azerbaijan | Bahamas | BarbadosBelarus | Belgium | Belize | Bermuda | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Botswana | Brazil | British Honduras | British Virgin Islands | Bulgaria | Canada | Cayman Islands | Central and Southern Line Islands | Chile|China (Macao) | China People’s Republic | Colombia | Costa Rica | Country of Georgia | Croatia | Cyprus | Czech Republic | Denmark | Dominican Republic | Ecuador | Egypt | Estonia | Falkland Islands and Dependences | Fiji | Finland | France | Germany | Gibraltar | Gilbert and Ellice Islands | Greece | Guernsey | Hong Kong | Hungary | Iceland | India | Ireland | Isle of Man | Israel | Italy | Jamaica | Japan | Jersey Channel Islands | Jordan | Kazakhstan | Korea | KuwaitLatvia | Lithuania | LuxembourgMalawi | Malaysia | Malta | Mauritius | MexicoMonaco | Montenegro | Montserrat | Morocco | Namibia | NetherlandsNew Zealand |Nicaragua | Norway | Pakistan | Panama | ParaguayPeru | Philippines | Pitcairn |PolandPortugal | Republic of Moldova | Republic of North Macedonia | Romania|Russian Federation | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | San Marino | Saudi Arabia | Serbia | Seychelles | SingaporeSlovakia | Slovenia | South Africa | Spain | Sri Lanka | St. Helena and Dependencies | St. Lucia | Sweden | Switzerland | Taiwan | Thailand | Tunisia | Turkey | Turks and Caicos IslandsUkraine | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | Uruguay | US Virgin Islands | Uzbekistan | Venezuela | Vietnam

OFFICE LOCATIONS

New York: (212) 203-8001 – 590 Madison Avenue, 21st Floor, New York, New York 10022
Brooklyn: (347) 983-5436 – 300 Cadman Plaza West, 12th Floor, Brooklyn, New York 11201
Queens: (646) 357-3005 – 118-35 Queens Blvd, Suite 400, Forest Hills, New York 11375
Long Island: (516) 208-4577 – 626 RXR Plaza, 6th Floor, Uniondale, New York 11556
Westchester: (914) 414-0877 – 50 Main Street, 10th Floor, White Plains, New York 10606
Connecticut: (203) 489-2940 – 500 West Putnam Avenue, Suite 400, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830
New Jersey: (201) 630-0114 – 101 Hudson Street, 21 Floor, Jersey City, New Jersey 07302
Washington DC: (202) 655-4450 – 1101 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 300, Washington DC 20004

Pick up the phone and call Toll-Free (800) 774-6922 or click the service you want to purchase. Our dedicated team of professionals is ready to assist you. We can handle all your process service needs; no job is too small or too large!

Contact us for more information about our process-serving agency. We are ready to provide service of process to all our clients globally from our offices in New York, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C.

“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives”– Foster, William A

Sources

1. 60 Massachusetts Ave., NE Washington, DC 20002

2. More than 20,000 individuals worked for Amtrak in the fiscal year 2018, which saw 31.7 million passengers and $3.4 billion in revenue. Every day, more than 87,000 people travel on more than 300 Amtrak trains. Of all passengers, 83 percent travel less than 400 miles; over two-thirds come from the ten major metropolitan regions; (645 km).

3. As many as 9,000 passenger trains operated in 1950, accounting for less than half of total intercity travel. However, only 450 trains remained in service by 1970, with a total passenger traffic share of about 7%.

4. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (Pub.L. 111–5) nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Great Recession, the primary objective of this federal statute was to save existing jobs and create new ones as soon as possible. Other objectives were to provide temporary relief programs for those most affected by the recession and invest in infrastructure, education, health, and renewable energy.

The approximate cost of the economic stimulus package was estimated to be $787 billion at the time of passage, later revised to $831 billion between 2009 and 2019. The ARRA’s rationale was based on the Keynesian economic theory that, during recessions, the government should offset the decrease in private spending with an increase in public spending in order to save jobs and stop further economic deterioration.

5. WILMINGTON TRUST COMPANY

RODNEY SQUARE NORTH 1100 N. MARKET STREET

WILMINGTON County: New Castle

DE Postal Code: 19890

302-636-6543

6. § 3803. Liability of beneficial owners and trustees.

(a) Except to the extent otherwise provided in the governing instrument of the statutory trust, the beneficial owners shall be entitled to the same limitation of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of the State.

(b) Except to the extent otherwise provided in the governing instrument of a statutory trust, a trustee, when acting in such capacity, shall not be personally liable to any person other than the statutory trust or a beneficial owner for any act, omission, or obligation of the statutory trust or any trustee thereof.

(c) Except to the extent otherwise provided in the governing instrument of a statutory trust, an officer, employee, manager or other person acting pursuant to § 3806(b)(7) or (i) of this title, when acting in such capacity, shall not be personally liable to any person other than the statutory trust or a trustee or a beneficial owner for any act, omission or obligation of the statutory trust or any trustee thereof.

(d) No obligation of a beneficial owner or trustee of a statutory trust to the statutory trust, or to a beneficial owner or trustee of the statutory trust, arising under the governing instrument or a separate agreement in writing, and no note, instrument, or other writing evidencing any such obligation of a beneficial owner or trustee, shall be subject to the defense of usury, and no beneficial owner or trustee shall interpose the defense of usury with respect to any such obligation in any action.

7. Name: WILMINGTON TRUST COMPANY

Address: RODNEY SQUARE NORTH 1100 N. MARKET STREET

City: WILMINGTON

State: DE

Phone: 302-636-6543

8. The property of a statutory trust shall be subject to attachment and execution as if it were a corporation, subject to § 3502 of Title 10. 

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, in the event that the governing instrument of a statutory trust, including a statutory trust which is a registered investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (15 U.S.C. § 80a-1 et seq.), creates 1 or more series as provided in § 3806(b)(2) of this title, and to the extent separate and distinct records are maintained for any such series and the assets associated with any such series are held in such separate and distinct records (directly or indirectly, including through a nominee or otherwise) and accounted for in such separate and distinct records separately from the other assets of the statutory trust, or any other series thereof, and if the governing instrument so provides, and notice of the limitation on liabilities of a series as referenced in this sentence is set forth in the certificate of trust of the statutory trust, then the debts, liabilities, obligations and expenses incurred, contracted for or otherwise existing with respect to a particular series shall be enforceable against the assets of such series only, and not against the assets of the statutory trust generally or any other series thereof, and, unless otherwise provided in the governing instrument, none of the debts, liabilities, obligations and expenses incurred, contracted for or otherwise existing with respect to the statutory trust generally or any other series thereof shall be enforceable against the assets of such series

9. NATIONAL REGISTERED AGENTS, INC.

Address:28 LIBERTY ST., NEW YORK, NY, United States, 10005

10. Railroads in Control

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O)

Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR)

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O)

Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad (RF&P)

Southern Railway (SOU)

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL)

Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL)

11. The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 Pub.L. 49–104 24 Stat. 379 

is a United States federal law that was designed to regulate the railroad industry, particularly its monopolistic practices. The Act required that railroad rates be ‘reasonable and just,’ but did not empower the government to fix specific rates. It also required that railroads publicize shipping rates and prohibited short haul or long haul fare discrimination, a form of price discrimination against smaller markets, particularly farmers in Western or Southern Territory compared to the Official Eastern states. The Act created a federal regulatory agency, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which is charged with monitoring railroads to ensure that they complied with the new regulations.

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