NYT: Amtrak Halts Acela Trains Over Brake Problems

Amtrak Halts Acela Trains Over Brake Problems
By CHRISTINE HAUSER

Published: April 15, 2005


Amtrak canceled its Acela Express service that connects Washington, D.C., New York City and Boston today after a routine inspection found that there were cracks in the brakes of most of the coaches, the company said in a statement. The cancellation will remain in effect until the brake problem is resolved, it said.

No brake failures or other safety problems have occurred on the high speed trains, but service was halted as a precaution, Amtrak said. The routes are the company's busiest, and the Acela carries mostly business travelers between the cities. A one-way trip between two of them takes about three hours, and the company was discussing the possibility of bringing in additional service to compensate.

"They want to take a look at the components on all the Acela trains," said an Amtrak spokesperson, Tracy Connell, in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C. "The northeast corridor is the busiest route for Amtrak."

Amtrak normally operates 15 Acela Express round-trips daily between New York and Washington, and 11 between New York and Boston. Acela Express service represents approximately 20 percent of Amtrak's Boston-New York-Washington weekday service, Ms. Connell said.

Average weekly ridership on the Acela trains is 53,315 on the lines from Washington, D.C., through to Boston, she said....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/15/national/15cnd-amtr.html?hp&ex=1113624000&en=b453b492802ee253&ei=5094&partner=homepage

You've got to give them credit for taking them offline.

not a hard choice.

lot of Congressional staffers and financial people go back and forth from DC to NYC on the Accela. Train is comparable to flight in price and train is easier in terms of number of transfers that it takes people to get downtown.

usually aren't a problem. I bet they put most of the trains back in service with the cracks still there.

I just don't understand how a "routine" check found cracks that warranted stopping service appear magically since the last "routine" check. How routine are these checks? Every month or something?

not just delayed but cancelled