WASHINGTON — Amtrak put nine of its Acela Express passenger trains back into duty on Monday, but the railway’s president said it will be days before the high-speed service returns to full strength, a wire service reports.
The first train left Washington at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT) and arrived in New York at about 7:50 a.m. (1150 GMT), seven minutes behind schedule. Other newly repaired trains left Washington and Boston carrying morning commuters.
Repair work continued on nine other Acela Express trains. All 18 were sidelined most of last week after inspectors found cracks in shock-absorbing assemblies beneath many of the locomotives.
“We’ve gotten the easy ones done,” said Amtrak President and Chief Executive David Gunn. “The trains that are left are the ones that are a little tougher to repair.”
He said the railroad will likely run just the nine Acela Express trains “for the next couple of days.” Before the equipment problem was discovered, Amtrak was sending 15 Acela Express trains into service each day, holding three in reserve.
Amtrak offered 30 Acela Express departures Monday from Washington, New York and Boston, compared with 50 on a normal day.
Amtrak initially said none of the high-speed trains would return to service until Tuesday at the earliest, but repair work is progressing ahead of schedule.
The railroad has pressed additional conventional trains into duty to fill gaps in the schedule.
Fifteen high-horsepower locomotives that pull conventional trains in the Northeast also remained out of service because of similar cracks. Gunn said they would likely return to service this week.
Gunn said he has seen no information on how many Acela Express riders stuck with Amtrak last week when all the high-speed trains were sidelined. About 10,000 people ride Acela Express trains on a normal weekday.
“You get a sense people miss the trains and wish they were back,” Gunn said. “It’s nice to be missed.”
The high-speed service has proven popular, particularly among business travelers in the Northeast whose options include hourly shuttle flights by US Airways (NYSE:U – News) and Delta Air Lines. (NYSE:DAL – News)
The trains, introduced in late 2000, can run at 150 mph but, due to track conditions, now reach that top speed only for an 18-mile stretch in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
They run from Washington to New York in 2 hours, 45 minutes, with a one-way price of $147. Amtrak’s next-fastest train between those two cities, the Metroliner, takes about 15 minutes longer and is $19 cheaper.
The trip between Boston and New York takes about 3 hours, 25 minutes on Acela Express and costs $119. That is 35 minutes quicker and $55 more than conventional Acela Regional service.