National Railroad Passenger Corp. et al. v. National Association of Railroad Passengers

Decided January 9, 1974. Potter Stewart delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 72-1289 · 414 U.S. 453 (1974) · Cited 713 times

Holding

Section 307(a), in light of its express language, and the legislative history of that provision and of the Act as a whole, provides the exclusive remedies for breaches of any duties or obligations imposed by the Act, and no additional private cause of action to enforce compliance with the Act can properly be inferred.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–1.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• J. I. Case Co. v. Borak · 377 U.S. 426 (1964)
• Baker v. Carr · 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
• Association of Data Processing Service Organizations, Inc. v. Camp · 397 U.S. 150 (1970)
• Barlow v. Collins · 397 U.S. 159 (1970)
• Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner · 387 U.S. 136 (1967)
• Textile Workers v. Lincoln Mills of Ala. · 353 U.S. 448 (1957)
• Allen v. State Board of Elections · 393 U.S. 544 (1969)
• Botany Worsted Mills v. United States · 278 U.S. 282 (1929)
• Switchmen's Union v. National Mediation Board · 320 U.S. 297 (1943)
• Neuberger v. Commissioner · 311 U.S. 83 (1940)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 523 U.S. 83 (1998)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• Cort v. Ash · 422 U.S. 66 (1975)
• Securities Investor Protection Corp. v. Barbour · 421 U.S. 412 (1975)
• Davis v. Passman · 442 U.S. 228 (1979)
• Touche Ross & Co. v. Redington · 442 U.S. 560 (1979)
• Transamerica Mortgage Advisors, Inc. v. Lewis · 444 U.S. 11 (1979)
• Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Curran · 456 U.S. 353 (1982)
• Jett v. Dallas Independent School District · 491 U.S. 701 (1989)
• Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance v. Russell · 473 U.S. 134 (1985)
• Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez · 436 U.S. 49 (1978)
• Block v. Community Nutrition Institute · 467 U.S. 340 (1984)
• Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Thompson Ex Rel. Thompson · 478 U.S. 804 (1986)
• Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill · 437 U.S. 153 (1978)
• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke · 438 U.S. 265 (1978)
• Northwest Airlines, Inc. v. Transport Workers Union · 451 U.S. 77 (1981)
• United States v. MacCollom · 426 U.S. 317 (1976)
• Dunlop v. Bachowski · 421 U.S. 560 (1975)
• Fedorenko v. United States · 449 U.S. 490 (1981)
• Renegotiation Board v. Bannercraft Clothing Co. · 415 U.S. 1 (1974)
• Verizon Communications Inc. v. Law Offices of Curtis v. Trinko, LLP · 540 U.S. 398 (2004)
• Universities Research Assn., Inc. v. Coutu · 450 U.S. 754 (1981)
• Utah v. Evans · 536 U.S. 452 (2002)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1974). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).