(Bloomberg News circulated the following article by Rip Watson on July 11.)
WASHINGTOn — Amtrak, the national passenger railroad, said its Acela Express high-speed train resumed service with four trips between New York and Washington today, almost three months after being halted because of cracks in a brake part.
The trains being run today include two services in each direction, Amtrak said in a statement. Before the trains were stopped on April 15, Amtrak ran 15 daily trips between New York and Washington. The railroad didn’t say when it would resume New York-Boston Acela service, which was suspended as well.
Amtrak said in April that halting Acela would cost it $1 million a week. The railroad is resuming service with a replacement brake part that passed test runs made in recent weeks. It didn’t give a schedule for resumption of additional New York-Washington Acela trains, which have been replaced by Metroliners that run about 15 minutes slower than Acela’s scheduled 2 hour and 47 minute travel time.
“Ninety-five percent of our Northeast Corridor passengers stayed with Amtrak while Acela was out of service,” Chief Operating Officer William Crosbie said in the statement. “We appreciate that loyalty.”