Some Acela Trains Back On Track
Amtrak cleared nine of its high-speed Acela Express trains to return to service in the Northeast Corridor just in time for a new work week.
"We will run 30 Acela Express departures, compared to the normal 50," spokesman Clifford Black told CBS Radio station WBZ-AM in Boston. "Out of our total complement of 18 of these high-speed trains, Acela Express trains, nine of them have undergone repairs and are now road-worthy."
Amtrak initially said none of the high-speed trains would return to service until Tuesday at the earliest, but "the repair program has been going very well," said Black. That is welcome news after a stressful week for Amtrak and its riders in the Northeast.
"We are hopeful that within several days we will be back to 100 percent of our normal Acela Express schedule," Black said.
All 18 of the trains were sidelined most of last week after inspectors found cracks in shock-absorbing assemblies beneath many of the locomotives. Amtrak had typically been sending 15 Acela Express trains into service each day, keeping three in reserve.
Amtrak pressed additional conventional trains into duty to fill gaps in the schedule and will continue to do so as repairs continue on the remaining Acela Express trains.
The high-speed service has proven popular, particularly among business travelers in the Northeast whose options include hourly shuttle flights by US Airways and Delta Air Lines.
The trains, introduced in late 2000, can run at 150 mph but now reach that top speed only for an 18-mile stretch in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
They run from Washington to New York in 2 hours, 45 minutes, with a one-way price of $147. Amtrak's next-fastest train between those two cities, the Metroliner, takes about 15 minutes longer and is $19 cheaper.
The trip between Boston and New York takes about 3 hours, 25 minutes on Acela Express and costs $119. That is 35 minutes quicker and $55 more than conventional Acela Regional service.
Amtrak said there would be 17 departures between Washington and New York on Monday, compared with 32 on a regular day, and 13 between New York and Boston, compared with 18 normally.
The government-subsidized but financially strapped railroad put two of the trains back into service over the weekend and reported no problems with their operation.
The repair work is being done on heavy stainless steel brackets that attach shock-absorbing yaw dampers to the locomotives, preventing them from swaying at high speeds.
Cracks and breaks were found on many of the yaw damper assemblies. Some are being repaired, while others are being replaced.
These temporary repairs are designed to get the trains back into service. Permanent repairs could then be done gradually, without canceling service.
Amtrak canceled all Acela Express runs last Tuesday, put two of the trains back in service Wednesday, but then pulled all the trains again after additional cracks were found Thursday.
It also sidelined 15 locomotives that pull conventional trains in the Northeast after finding similar cracks.