In the case of Illinois Central Railroad Co. et al. v. Norfolk & Western Railway Co. et al., 1966, the U.S Supreme Court was asked to resolve a dispute over railroad freight rates between several Midwestern states and Eastern seaboard states. The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) had previously ruled that certain railroads could increase their shipping rates by 7%, but this decision was challenged by other railroads who argued it would give an unfair advantage to those allowed to raise their prices, as they primarily operated in more profitable areas on the East Coast or were larger companies with greater resources at their disposal. The Supreme Court upheld the ICC's ruling, stating that it was within its power to allow such increases if deemed necessary for maintaining efficient railway service across all regions of America.

In the dissenting opinion for Illinois Central Railroad Co. et al. v. Norfolk & Western Railway Co. et al., it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling, which allowed one railroad company to abandon its line and transfer traffic to another without approval from the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), undermined federal regulatory authority over interstate commerce and could potentially harm public interests in maintaining an efficient national transportation system. The dissenters contended that such unilateral actions by railroads might lead to arbitrary discontinuation of service on certain routes, disruption of existing transport networks, or unfair competition among carriers - all issues traditionally overseen by ICC under its statutory mandate from Congress. They also pointed out inconsistencies between this case's outcome and previous Supreme Court precedents affirming ICC’s jurisdiction over similar matters.