PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Liz Jones seemed unruffled about Amtrak’s suspension of its high-speed Acela Express train service yesterday, the second time in a week, according to the Providence Journal.
“We’re not steaming, we’re not fuming. We just take it philosophically,” said Jones, who was waiting for a regular train at the Providence train station yesterday afternoon.
She and her husband Dallas were among a handful of passengers at the train station yesterday who were waiting for the slower train that Amtrak ran to replace a suspended Acela run.
“I’m sure glad they pulled the trains that aren’t safe,” said Jones, who was on her way back to Bethesda, Md., after visiting relatives on Cape Cod.
But for some business travelers, problems with Acela created problems for them.
Alexandros E. Washburn, a New York-based architect, said he was an hour late getting into Providence on Wednesday, and yesterday he was at risk of being late for a meeting back in New York.
“It’s an absolute necessity for us that there’s a rational inter-city rail service,” Washburn said just before boarding a regular Amtrak train to New York.
For several large companies with operations in Rhode Island, the Acela cancellations have been inconvenient, but haven’t caused major disruptions so far.
“Since 9/11, a large portion of our air travel has moved to Amtrak” because of cost and safety concerns,” said Debbie Grey, a spokeswoman for American Power Conversion in South Kingstown.
If Amtrak continues to restrict service, the company will have to look at other options, such as going back to air travel or car service, she said.
“We’ve had a few passengers that were going back and forth to New York this week that had to take regional trains at less-convenient times, and they were pretty crowded. Mostly it’s just been an inconvenience at this point. ”
Susan Bishop, spokeswoman for Textron Inc., took her regular Delta Shuttle flight from Boston to New York on Wednesday and overheard a lot of people explaining on their cell phones that they would arrive by plane, not train.
“The shuttle was full, which is unusual,” she said. “I fly it pretty frequently.”
As for other Textron employees, she said they do not use the Acela Express frequently enough for its sidelining to disrupt their work.
The reaction is similar at Hasbro Inc.
“I think the fact that it’s taking place in the summer is good for us because we don’t do as much travel to New York in the summer,” said Wayne Charness, spokesman for Hasbro Inc. “But if it continues into the fall, it certainly will impact us a little more.”