(The New Haven Register published the following story by Neal Jones on its website on August 30.)
MADISON, Conn. — An engine fire on an Amtrak train taking passengers from Washington to Boston forced the cancellation of Shore Line East morning commuter service Friday, leaving riders scrambling for alternate transportation.
Amtrak Washington spokesman Dan Stessel said the train was suffering engine failure around 5:42 a.m. when it pulled into Madison station with 151 passengers on board. Trainmen then spotted an engine fire on the roof of the engine, which was “quickly extinguished by the crew,” Stessel said.
No one was injured, but the fire forced the closure of the rail line, cutting off Shore Line East commuter trains for nearly three hours.
“It is rare, but it happens,” Stessel said.
Stessel said once the fire was extinguished, a Shore Line East train pushed the crippled Amtrak train into the Old Saybrook station and a rescue engine arrived from New Haven and “pulled the entire train into Boston.”
The train arrived in Boston 2 hours and 47 minutes late, he said.
A spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Transportation could not be reached for comment Friday, but the Shore Line East Web site indicated all service was running for the afternoon commute.
Stessel said Friday’s incident highlights a growing problem of antiquated equipment. The type of engine that caught fire Friday “looks like a toaster on rails,” he said. It was built in the 1970s or 1980s and needs to be replaced or rebuilt every 10 years, he said.
Stessel said because of budgetary constraints and a lack of dedicated funding from the federal government, necessary maintenance often is deferred.
“We’ve kicked this can so far down the road that we’ve run out of road,” he said.
Under Amtrak’s five-year plan, it is proposed that antiquated equipment be phased out through the infusion of $1.8 billion from the government to update all facets of the rail system.
In July, Amtrak’s ridership was the highest ever recorded in its 32-year history, with more than 2.2 million people, Stessel said.