Amtrak reports Acela trains met their schedules only 70% of the time in July, down from 79% over the past year.
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The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on a proposal by some grad students at the University of Pennsylvania for re-doing the Northeast Corridor the right way. The catch? It would cost roughly $98 billion, part of which would go for a new inland route through Connecticut and a tunnel under Long Island Sound.
Rob Bellinger reports from Forest Hills, where, after 30 minutes, his Acela train to Boston has not moved. It's the fifth straight delayed Acela train he's been on:
... Two functioning commuter trains have been dispatched past our High Speed equipment, and nearly a half dozen Orange Line subway trains have passed us on the adjacent tracks. ...
Rob Bellinger uses the crappy WiFi on an Acela train to New York to complain about, among other things:
Now, the train has sat at New Rochelle for a HALF HOUR because, in the words of the conductor, the train operations office "forgot about us."
I know, I know, sounds silly for a train that, at best, only gets to top speed on small sections of track in Rhode Island. But that's exactly the problem, Paul Levy recently reported the driver of the 4 p.m. Boston-bound train always seems to go too fast on that stretch:
... Last week, when I took it (Dec 1), you could actually smell the asbestos in the back car as he had to jam on the brakes before going over one of the bridges. ...
Dan Grabauskas considers the implications of the Northeast Corridor being left off the initial federal list of high-speed rail projects to get federal stimulus money:
A suicide-by-train near Philadelphia (in a word: blecch) and downed wires outside Providence made Fung Wah look like a good alternative along the Northeast Corridor today. Passengers on one train stuck near Providence for four hours issued desperate tweets for help because they were down to one working toilet, but discovered nobody at Amtrak actually uses Twitter.
Diane Danielson, who was on the Providence train from hell, tweeted at one point:
Irony = getting an email titled "Amtrak rewards" while stuck on train that is nearly 3 hours late.
It could have been a lot worse for this Canton resident, struck by a speeding Acela train that hit him while he was crossing the tracks trying to get to HoneyDew Donuts™:
Canton Journal reports:
Rob checks in from somewhere on the tracks along I-95:
Nothing beats sitting in the cafe on the Acela, snug at the center of the 8-car phallus, cruising at half of cruising speed through deathly suburban Connecticut, two beers in and staring at a dozen ugly fat men wearing almost the same blue shirt.
Paula hops on the Acela at Back Bay for a trip to New York, and therein lies a tale.
Bill is not real happy with Amtrak:
I had a miserable trip on a regional Amtrak last night from Stamford, CT back to Boston. The train was an hour-plus late and jammed with people. I finally found a seat, and quickly discovered why no one was sitting there. It was next to a bathroom that had a backed up toilet, and the smell was--how to say this politely--overwhelming. ...
The other day, I had to go to New York for business. Finally: A chance to try out the Acela Express train!
Kids, if you've wanted to experience the best American railroading has to offer, now's the time - given the way things are going in Washington, you might not have this chance much longer. But reserve early - I tried getting a seat 11 days before my trip only to discover that all the morning trains were already all booked. So I had to settle for a "regional" train (you know, the one that stops in places like Old Saybrook) in the morning and Acela back in the evening.
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