Amtrak only has primacy when on schedule. That actually makes some sense. The railroad plans a scheduled hole in the flow of freight trains that they can put

Amtrak only has primacy when on schedule. That actually makes some sense. The railroad plans a scheduled hole in the flow of freight trains that they can put a passenger train in. (Passenger trains are faster than many freight trains, so it takes some juggling to make it work.) If the passenger train is late, the planned spot to put it in isn't there. Now they have to create a spot for it on the fly. That isn't always possible (or possible at an acceptable cost) to the freight railroad.