Hotline #102 - September 3, 1999

Delivery of the first Acela high-speed train set will be delayed until next spring. The problem stems from excessive side-to-side motion of the wheel-sets at high speeds, as identified by test engineers in July. They made changes that stopped that problem, but that led to unusually rapid wear on wheel flanges, especially on passenger coaches.

The consortium building the train decided about a week ago to delay the testing and delivery process until a final solution to the wheel-set problem can be found. While this is no longer a safety issue, the excessive wheel wear would mean unacceptably high maintenance costs. The consortium stressed that it wants the final product to meet Amtrak and passenger expectations.

Amtrak expects to confirm a new delivery schedule in about 60 days, after the consortium can make such a commitment. Amtrak expressed its disappointment, but said that the delay would have no impact on its long-term goal of operational self-sufficiency by 2003. This would be partly due to the fact that construction on train sets can proceed while the wheel-wear problem is investigated, minimizing the impact on net revenues.

Meanwhile, Amtrak plans to convert a couple of NortheastDirect trips to Boston to all-electric power on January 10, and to convert more in late February after new locomotives start entering service. These trips will go from New York to Boston in under four hours.

The Federal Highway Administration published its new regulations for commercial truck drivers who are convicted of certain grade crossing violations, on September 2. Anticipation of these regulations, in the works for nearly two years, increased after a truck derailed the City of New Orleans last spring, killing 11. The new rules call for suspending a driver's license for at least 60 days after the first conviction, at least 120 days after the second conviction, and at least a year after the third conviction that happens in any three-year period. Also, employers who knowingly allow a driver to operate a truck with a suspended license can be fined up to $10,000.

An August 27 letter from the National Transportation Safety Board to Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater repeated a previous recommendation that the DOT develop a standardized hazard index, or a safety prediction formula, to evaluate grade crossings, and require states to use the formula when making investment decisions for upgrades.

The Federal Railroad Administration will conduct the first-ever full-scale passenger train test crash at the test center in Pueblo, Colo., this fall. It has awarded a contract to a company called Simula to lead the part of the testing effort that has to do with human injury and occupant protection.

Amtrak will dedicate its new high-speed rail testing facility on the waterfront in Wilmington, Del., on September 7.

The man accused of stabbing three people on the Lake Shore Limited in Ohio last week, Aaron Hall, was removed from a Greyhound bus the previous day by Illinois State Police. They found that Hall had a two-and-one-half-inch pocket knife, but they did not confiscate it because such knives are not illegal in Illinois. Authorities believe the same knife was used in the Lake Shore Limited attack. Hall pleaded innocent to all charges in county court yesterday.

The National Association of Development Organizations, last weekend in New Orleans, held a conference called, "Transportation: Connecting to Today's Rural America." One featured speaker was Greyhound President Craig Lentzsch, who made strong remarks on the importance of intermodalism to rural areas. He said New Orleans was a good example, where Greyhound serves both the airport and Amtrak station. Amtrak Reform Council Chairman Gil Carmichael made similar remarks, calling for Amtrak and Greyhound to have a unified reservations system.