When is an "intercity train" not a "connuter train"? that has been a question for ages for the New York-Philadelphia locals on the Northeast Corridors, known as "Clockers" from their Pennsylvania Railroad days, when a train generally left each end terminal on the "o'clock hour. It really wasn't a germane question until Amtrak's inception in 1971. should Amtrak run them, or should commuter agencies? Amtrak has been doing so.

here is the link:

It seems like the Clockers have been a source of contention ever since A-Day. Strange as it may sound, Penn Central Trustees sought to keep them. Apparently, they determined they were "cookie jar profitable" in that short term, absent having to replace the equipment, they were putting more in the cookie jar than they were taking out.

Also of interest, they sought to keep the Metroliners as well.

Obviously, their contention with the National Arbitration Panel (a body provided for by the May 1971 Agreement to resolve disputes between Amtrak and the roads) in the case of the Clockers were that they are commuter trains and outside the scope of trains considered by the (RPSA 1970) Act. Not sure what their position was regarding the Metroliners beyond establishing to the Bankruptcy Court that they were looking into every "nook and cranny" for cash flow.

Nevertheless, the Panel ruled against the Trustees (I can't recall if a decision by the Panel was final and binding or if an aggrieved party could take the matter into the judicial system). In this current "go round", it appears that it is Amtrak who wishes to cede operation of the trains to NJT or other commuter agency.