Hotline #94 - July 9, 1999

Amtrak had its second derailment in just eight days, yesterday. The eastbound Sunset Limited hit a truck that was pulling a saltwater disposal tank across a crossing east of Eagle Lake, Tex. This was about 65 miles west of Houston. The impact derailed both locomotives and seven of the ten cars on the train. One locomotive landed on its side, at a right angle to the track. Press reports described the crossing as on a short dirt road leading from a rice field onto U.S. Highway 90-A, protected by crossbucks but without gates or lights.

Eighteen people on the train were injured. The engineer was thrown from the wreckage and the engineer trainee had to be pulled out through a windshield. Everyone but the trainee is out of the hospital; the trainee should be out shortly.

The truck driver was not hurt badly. Police said the truck may have had faulty brakes and that they were considering charges against the driver.

Among the passengers were the wife and teenage son of Sen. John McCain (R.-Ariz.), who is Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and a frequent critic of long-distance passenger trains. They were headed for a family vacation in Florida, and were flown from the area in a private plane. Other passengers milled about the scene until school buses could take them five miles to the Eagle Lake Community Center, where shelter from the heat and refreshments were provided. Later, they were put on buses and sent to Houston.

It was less orderly at the Houston station, where relatives of incoming passengers and those planning to leave on the train waited for information. Former U.S. Rep. Craig Washington and his two sons were waiting to go to Orlando, but ended up flying.

Meanwhile, the investigation continues in the collision last week between two Amtrak Silver Palms at Jacksonville, Fla. The National Transportation Safety Board had reported early on that the engineer of the southbound train said he had run a red signal, which lead to his train striking the side of the northbound train as it was entering a siding at low speed. Now officials say the southbound engineer, who had no previous violations, had received four notices in the previous two hours that he would be required to stop at that particular siding to allow the northbound train to pass. These notices included conversations with a CSX dispatcher and over the radio with the northbound engineer. The red signal itself was visible from two miles away.

Amtrak is breaking the guaranteed connection at Washington between the eastbound Capitol Limited and southbound Silver Star, effective July 13. Even before the Conrail breakup, Amtrak often was bussing late passengers between Pittsburgh and Washington to make the connection, but buses now are needed almost daily. On-going congestion problems on the CSX line between Chicago and Cleveland and the Norfolk Southern between Cleveland and Pittsburgh have worsened the Capitol's lackluster on-time performance record, and adversely affected other Amtrak trains as well.

Passengers with existing reservations will be sent south either on NortheastDirect trains or the Silver Meteor. Passengers headed for points not served by those trains will go on the Meteor and get alternate transportation to their final destination. Passengers making new reservations will be offered the next day's Star or Carolinian. Amtrak says it will work to restore the connection by the fall timetable, but of course a lot will depend on what progress CSX and Norfolk Southern can make.

Amtrak will change its hold limit policy for reservations, effective July 12. Passengers making reservations within 30 days of departure will have no more than three days to pay for their tickets. Passengers booking more than 30 days ahead will still have seven days, as they do now. Amtrak says this is intended to reduce the  number of no-shows and increase the number of reservations that actually get used.