Failure to provide an effective mitigation method for a hazardous curve and inadequate training of a locomotive engineer is what led to the derailment of an Amtrak passenger train that hurtled off a railroad bridge and onto a busy highway in DuPont, Wash., on the morning of Dec. 18, 2017, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Ever since Hurricane Sandy devastated the New York and New Jersey region in October 2012, the tunnels under the Hudson River between New Jersey and Penn Station New York have been described as a ticking time bomb, subject to complete failure at any time; at least any time after 2021, and more likely after 2034.
THE FINANCIAL EDGE, MAY 2019 – In a recent TED talk, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey suggested that, in an attempt to combat abusive speech and harassment, Twitter would consider moving from threads written by individuals to topic threads. Dorsey suggested these interest networks would be easier to monitor for Twitter code of conduct breeches.
Amtrak recently announced that on May 4 it would be expanding its Acela Express service with an additional round trip on Saturdays.
Amtrak recently announced that Dennis Newman has been appointed Executive Vice President, Planning & Strategy, and he will be “responsible for corporate planning and strategy, schedule and consist planning, Amtrak’s services and host railroad groups, and the company’s participation in the Gateway Program.”
Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson and his chief deputy, Stephen Gardner, have proposed eliminating the company’s interregional trains in favor of a scattering of discontiguous, higher frequency short corridors connecting nearby city pairs. But this reflects a deep misapprehension of the performance of the company’s three primary business groups, and a surprising emphasis on minimizing the returns on investment of the company’s capital resources.
The original Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) Project started with a semblance of consensus but ended its 15-year life in controversy. Its replacement, Gateway, was proposed in February 2011, and has been surrounded by controversy for the entire eight years of its life, so far. The politicians and planners who are pushing the program consider it inevitable, just as they considered the now-defunct ARC Project inevitable almost until the day it was killed in 2010.
LEGISLATIVE REPORT, APRIL 2019 – Knock, knock. Who’s there? If at the door are those laboring in official Washington, the answer is, “many new faces”—new congressional committee chairs, regulators, association chiefs, lobbyists and labor negotiators. Does not danger dwell where unfamiliarity and uncertainty lurk?
Amtrak has executed a Master Development Agreement with Penn Station Partners to redevelop and expand historic Baltimore Penn Station on the Northeast Corridor. Amtrak plans to contribute up to $90 million toward expansion and modernization.
Amtrak has promoted Roger Harris to Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer. He will be responsible for corporate marketing, sales distribution, network and consist planning, market research and pricing and revenue management for the Northeast Corridor, State-Supported and Long-Distance Service Lines.