Expand All. No one's above the law, although the nation's railroads come close at the state and local level. Over the past quarter century, multiple courts have ruled that only the federal government can impose rules affecting railroad operations.

In the United States, the power of states to regulate railroads is severely limited by the principle of Federal Preemption, primarily under the ICC Termination Act of 1995. Because railroads are the backbone of "Interstate Commerce," the federal government (through the Surface Transportation Board and the Federal Railroad Administration) holds exclusive jurisdiction over most operational, economic, and safety aspects. States generally cannot pass laws that interfere with railroad "High-Fidelity" operations, such as setting speed limits, dictating crew sizes, or controlling rail rates. However, states do retain some authority in specific areas that do not "unduly burden" interstate commerce, such as highway-rail grade crossing safety, local environmental protection, and state-level eminent domain for specific non-interstate projects. In 2026, the legal boundary remains firm: if a state law directly conflicts with a federal rail regulation or significantly disrupts the national rail network, it is almost always struck down by the courts as unconstitutional.