NEW YORK — Predicted ice, snow, and plunging temperatures drove Amtrak management’s decision to replace ACS-64 electric locomotives with diesels between New Haven, Conn., and Boston over the Martin Luther King, Jr,. holiday weekend. Some Northeast Regional trains and all Acela Express service was cancelled Sunday, and the diesel substitutions continued into Monday even as Acela all-electric service began [see “Amtrak resuming normal operations,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 21, 2019].
However, delays and sellouts accompanied the cancellation plan, not only on the New York-Boston portion of the Northeast Corridor but also on Empire Service trains.
“We are utilizing eight diesel locomotives due to inclement weather,” Amtrak spokeswoman Beth Toll tells Trains News Wire, adding, “We typically have a better chance of avoiding delays with our diesels as opposed to electrics in icy (conditions).”
While weather along Amtrak’s electrified route east of New Haven, Conn., turned out to be mostly rain on Sunday, trains that did operate out of New York to Boston were sold out all day as of mid-afternoon Saturday. Though there were no cancellations previously scheduled for the last day of the holiday weekend, as of Saturday, only a few seats were available until Monday’s 7:03 p.m. Acela Express, and those were all gone by Sunday.
A similar situation occurred on the reduced Empire Service schedule for Sunday and continued until Monday’s 7:15 p.m. New York departure. even with a full schedule operating. No coach seats could be purchased out of the Big Apple to destinations west of Schenectady; the westbound Lake Shore Limited only offered high-priced sleeping car space. Eastbound, because Amtrak decided to cancel Sunday’s Lake Shore out of Chicago, the train couldn’t help fill the void on Monday. With only one coach in the consist, the Chicago-bound Lake Shore’s Boston section had no seats available.
Meanwhile, delays departing Boston, the Northeast Regional engine change at New Haven and slower diesel acceleration in electrified territory caused significant delays that reverberated down to Washington, D.C. Train No. 99 left Boston’s South Station on time but was 15 minutes late at New Haven, where a stop lasted 25 minutes that normally is scheduled for two minutes. However, with Acela Express trains already operating, later trains’ electric power appeared to begin running without a change through New Haven.
Curious here: are engineers on the electric locomotives ‘qualified’ to operate diesel locomotives? (I do realise that a diesel locomotive traction is electric). e.g. a jet pilot has to be ‘qualified’ before operating a propellor plane, yes?
What did they use..P32AC-DM engines to get into NYP?
Yet somehow, the Milwaukee Road managed to operate reliably through the Rockies and Cascades with technology from 1915.
What makes diesels more reliable than electrics under these conditions?
PRR raised both pans when the catenary started to ice; no problems. But then when you fire all of the folks with institutional knowledge, this is the result Duh!
Ed, Ice accumulating on the O.C.S.
I think Amtrak inflicted more wounds on itself than had it just operated as scheduled. Amtrak is an operational mess.