Amtrak Promises Smoother Commute Following 3rd Disruption In 3 Days
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (CBS) -- Amtrak is flying in an engineer overnight from the west coast to specifically deal with a problem traced back to a sub-station in Philadelphia.
Riding the rails took a lot longer than normal Thursday afternoon. Trains were running slow along the Northeast Corridor between New York and Philadelphia after officials say voltage problems resulted in trains being held at stations for about 90 minutes.
Power problems also caused service suspensions Thursday morning.
The delays affected thousands of riders on Amtrak, New Jersey Transit and SEPTA.
"I've been here since 4:40 p.m. waiting on my sister who is coming in from New York. It's been four hours and they still have not arrived yet," Darren Smith from Southwest Philadelphia said.
This was the third day in a row delays tripped up rail service along the Northeast Corridor, frustrating travelers.
John Wright's morning commute took two hours longer than normal.
"You have to wonder if there is sufficient attention to preventative maintenance and infrastructure along the Northeast Corridor. It's really critical for many people," he said.
Amtrak apologized for the delay and released a statement which in part says "Our engineering team has identified the failures as a result of the primary computer and back up computer system that control the converters that provide power out on the tracks."
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Despite the delays, most travelers took it all in stride.
"For us, it is not that much of a hassle," traveler Paul Johnson said.
'What are you going to do? You can't walk it," Kevin Marshall from Lancaster said.
As far as the morning commute is concerned, Amtrak contends the problem should be fixed overnight and the morning commute should be normal.
Reported by Todd Quinones, CBS 3
