BOSTON — The president of Amtrak said cracks underneath some of its locomotives were so serious that they could have caused a derailment, reported a wire service.
The cracks, which have sidelined all of its high-speed Acela Express locomotives and 15 other locomotives, were so serious that in some cases 200-pound (90-kilogram) steel assemblies had split in two, David L. Gunn told The Boston Globe.
Amtrak canceled all its Acela Express runs on Tuesday, put two of the trains back in service Wednesday, but then pulled all the trains again after additional cracks were found Thursday. It also sidelined 15 locomotives that pull conventional trains in the Northeast.
Even before the cracking problem was discovered this week, Amtrak said the Acela Express trains would need to be cycled out of service for repairs and modifications by their builders, Bombardier of North America and Alstom Ltd. of France.
Amtrak used borrowed equipment Friday to keep its trains running and is hoping its premier Acela Express service will gradually resume operations next week.
The passenger railroad offered 71 departures Friday in the Boston-New York-Washington corridor, compared to 103 on a typical day. There will be a total of 92 departures Saturday and Sunday, compared with 116 over a normal weekend.
Amtrak owns 18 of the Acela Express trains, which can reach speeds of 150 mph, but normally sends 15 into duty each day. About 10,000 people ride Acela Express trains on a typical weekday.