(The Associated Press circulated the following article by September 24.)
ALBANY, N.Y. — The state’s contract with Amtrak for high-speed rail service should be declared legally derailed.
That’s according to legal papers Amtrak filed yesterday in federal court, where it’s facing a lawsuit from the state Department of Transportation.
The D-O-T lawsuit says Amtrak should be forced to follow through on its contract to establish high-speed rail service between Manhattan and Albany. If Amtrak fails to do that, the state wants the rail agency to cough up 477 (m) million dollars in damages.
Amtrak never completed needed track improvements along the Hudson Valley that would allow refurbished trains to approach their top speeds of 125 miles an hour.
Earlier this week, the head of the D-O-T accused of stealing three of the trains. Amtrak said it moved the Turbotrains to Delaware for storage after they were pulled from service because of problems with their air conditioning systems.