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- Aug 24, 2002
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Amtrak Acela problems wheel into past
By Jim Furlong
Publisher
Amtrak is gaining momentum as it pulls away from the crisis that struck its high-speed Acela Express service last August when cracks were discovered in the understructures of its Acela locomotives.
An FRA spokesman in Washington said Amtrak and Bombardier, of Montreal, have presented the FRA with their ideas for a permanent fix for the cracks, which occurred in the locomotives’ yaw damper brackets, part of an assembly designed to prevent side-to-side sway and wheel-hunting.
Though the FRA hasn’t yet responded to the companies in writing, “We’re satisfied that this will be an acceptable fix,” said spokesman Warren Flatau. He said the FRA should issue a formal response “in the very near future,” after some loose ends are tied up.
Amtrak previously had rejected two Bombardier designs before they could be passed on to the FRA.
Discovery of the cracks last August had caused the railroad to take its entire Acela fleet out of service temporarily for inspection and, in many cases, repairs. The troublesome brackets hold in place a sway-resisting shock absorber assembly.
Amtrak had purchased 20 Acela trains, three maintenance facilities and 15 separate high-horsepower locomotives from the consortium consisting of Bombardier and France’s Alstom for $800 million. The first Acela train went into service in December 2000. The final train has not yet been delivered. The 15 high-horsepower locomotives that were part of the purchase had similar problems to the Acela, but all are now back in service.
Carol Sharpe, a Montreal-based spokesperson for Bombardier Transportation, said of the proposed permanent solution, “The parts are ready… The yaw damper bracket and mounting plate have been re-engineered to be more robust and to better distribute stress loads.” She said the problem had developed because stresses proved greater than what had been indicated by data presented to Bombardier. Amtrak and the consortium have sued each other over the Acela project, and their legal actions are before the courts, but the companies are cooperating to solve the mechanical problem.
News of the impending permanent fix represents another milestone on Amtrak’s journey toward recovery from the Acela crisis. Acela departures on the Boston-New York section of the Northeast Corridor have been at pre-crisis levels since last October, while Washington-New York Acela traffic continues to operate somewhat below. New Acela runs are being added in the Boston-Washington corridor today (January 27), an Amtrak spokesman said.
Until the permanent fix is in place, Amtrak is checking the Acelas for cracks after each run under an enhanced inspection program. Seriously cracked brackets are replaced by thicker versions, while minor cracks are ground out and then welded.
Under the current maintenance and repair routine, 12 of the 19 trainsets are in service at any one time, though quick turnarounds are aimed at getting as much track time out of the 12 as would normally be derived from 15. At any time, three trainsets are held in reserve, and four are being inspected or repaired at shops at Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Boston. Only the front and trailing locomotives of the eight-unit trains have the yaw damper brackets.
An Acela train consists of eight cars that are fixed in place. They are the leading locomotive, 1 first-class car, 2 business-class cars, 1 café car, 2 more business class cars, and the trailing locomotive.
Amtrak spokesman Dan Stessel said trains are operating at pre-crisis speeds, which means a top of 135 mph between Washington and New York and a maximum of 150 mph on a stretch of track in Rhode Island. The on-time record of the train between Boston and Washington has been at 79 percent in the current month, he said. Accounting for delays are winter weather, commuter train traffic, lengthy passenger loading times on the “very popular” Acelas, and train congestion at New York’s Penn Station.
Stessel said that in contrast to last August, reports of cracks are coming in slowly now – at the rate of only about one every three weeks for the whole fleet.
By Jim Furlong
Publisher
Amtrak is gaining momentum as it pulls away from the crisis that struck its high-speed Acela Express service last August when cracks were discovered in the understructures of its Acela locomotives.
An FRA spokesman in Washington said Amtrak and Bombardier, of Montreal, have presented the FRA with their ideas for a permanent fix for the cracks, which occurred in the locomotives’ yaw damper brackets, part of an assembly designed to prevent side-to-side sway and wheel-hunting.
Though the FRA hasn’t yet responded to the companies in writing, “We’re satisfied that this will be an acceptable fix,” said spokesman Warren Flatau. He said the FRA should issue a formal response “in the very near future,” after some loose ends are tied up.
Amtrak previously had rejected two Bombardier designs before they could be passed on to the FRA.
Discovery of the cracks last August had caused the railroad to take its entire Acela fleet out of service temporarily for inspection and, in many cases, repairs. The troublesome brackets hold in place a sway-resisting shock absorber assembly.
Amtrak had purchased 20 Acela trains, three maintenance facilities and 15 separate high-horsepower locomotives from the consortium consisting of Bombardier and France’s Alstom for $800 million. The first Acela train went into service in December 2000. The final train has not yet been delivered. The 15 high-horsepower locomotives that were part of the purchase had similar problems to the Acela, but all are now back in service.
Carol Sharpe, a Montreal-based spokesperson for Bombardier Transportation, said of the proposed permanent solution, “The parts are ready… The yaw damper bracket and mounting plate have been re-engineered to be more robust and to better distribute stress loads.” She said the problem had developed because stresses proved greater than what had been indicated by data presented to Bombardier. Amtrak and the consortium have sued each other over the Acela project, and their legal actions are before the courts, but the companies are cooperating to solve the mechanical problem.
News of the impending permanent fix represents another milestone on Amtrak’s journey toward recovery from the Acela crisis. Acela departures on the Boston-New York section of the Northeast Corridor have been at pre-crisis levels since last October, while Washington-New York Acela traffic continues to operate somewhat below. New Acela runs are being added in the Boston-Washington corridor today (January 27), an Amtrak spokesman said.
Until the permanent fix is in place, Amtrak is checking the Acelas for cracks after each run under an enhanced inspection program. Seriously cracked brackets are replaced by thicker versions, while minor cracks are ground out and then welded.
Under the current maintenance and repair routine, 12 of the 19 trainsets are in service at any one time, though quick turnarounds are aimed at getting as much track time out of the 12 as would normally be derived from 15. At any time, three trainsets are held in reserve, and four are being inspected or repaired at shops at Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Boston. Only the front and trailing locomotives of the eight-unit trains have the yaw damper brackets.
An Acela train consists of eight cars that are fixed in place. They are the leading locomotive, 1 first-class car, 2 business-class cars, 1 café car, 2 more business class cars, and the trailing locomotive.
Amtrak spokesman Dan Stessel said trains are operating at pre-crisis speeds, which means a top of 135 mph between Washington and New York and a maximum of 150 mph on a stretch of track in Rhode Island. The on-time record of the train between Boston and Washington has been at 79 percent in the current month, he said. Accounting for delays are winter weather, commuter train traffic, lengthy passenger loading times on the “very popular” Acelas, and train congestion at New York’s Penn Station.
Stessel said that in contrast to last August, reports of cracks are coming in slowly now – at the rate of only about one every three weeks for the whole fleet.
