High-speed train off to slow start
Associated Press
Posted on August 22, 2001
Copyright © Daily Herald, Paddock Publications, Inc.

WASHINGTON - The fast train that is critical to Amtrak's future is off to a
slow start.

In service just eight months, Acela Express is falling short of projections
in riders and revenue. Reimbursement requests from dissatisfied customers
are three times higher than Amtrak's goal. The manufacturer has delivered
only 11 of 20 trains.

And a nonstop Washington-to-New York service - Amtrak's silver bullet in its
race with air shuttles - has been suspended due to low ridership.

Amtrak officials say they have had to deal with various challenges,
including the slowing economy, aging electrical wiring - even rock slides
along a stretch of track in Connecticut.

"We think the service is performing extremely well," said Amtrak spokeswoman
Cecilia Cummings. "We concede that ridership fell below our forecast by
about 6 percent, and revenues by about 3 percent. But when you look at the
drop in business travel in general, we're claiming victory."

Amtrak says Acela Express, which travels between Washington and Boston and
reaches a top speed of 150 mph, carried its 250,000th passenger July 29. The
railway has projected that once all trains are in service, Acela Express
will post annual revenues of $300 million and net $180 million.

But Tom Till, executive director of the Amtrak Reform Council, said the
train's performance thus far raises doubts about that projection.

Income from Acela Express is crucial to Amtrak's survival. The national
passenger railroad has less than 16 months to meet a 1997 congressional
order to end its 30-year reliance on federal operating subsidies. Otherwise,
Congress could liquidate the railway.

Rail advocates hope a successful Acela Express will fuel a national movement
for high-speed trains, but so far Acela has failed to meet expectations:

. A daily nonstop train connecting Washington and New York in two hours, 28
minutes did not prove popular and now makes multiple stops en route. A
promised Boston-New York nonstop has not materialized. Making more stops
"gives us an opportunity to serve more markets and make more revenue," said
Amtrak spokeswoman Karen Dunn. The future of nonstop service is undecided.

. Amtrak, which scrutinizes each Acela Express train before accepting
delivery, sometimes demanding fixes by the makers, continues to push back
the date it expects all 20 in service. The latest estimate: sometime this
winter. Nine trains are operating, with two others as backups. The builders
are Canada's Bombardier Transportation and France's Alstom Ltd.

. Amtrak's year-old service guarantee program, which offers dissatisfied
riders a coupon toward future travel, has a goal of one request per thousand
riders. Through July, Amtrak had issued nearly three times that many for
Acela Express - 2.98 coupons per thousand riders. Amtrak's rate systemwide
is 2.82 per thousand.

. Equipment and weather problems have hurt Acela Express. A lightning strike
knocked out signals one day in July; wires sagging in the heat forced speed
restrictions on a few August days. Century-old overhead wires hold Acela
Express to 75 mph along track owned by Metro-North Railroad in New York and
Connecticut.

A review of 28 Acela Express trains last Wednesday found 10 reached their
ultimate destination late, defined as more than 15 minutes behind schedule.

Overall, Amtrak says 82 percent of the trains between New York and Boston,
and 90 percent of those connecting Washington and New York, have reached
their destination on time. By comparison, the New York-Boston and New
York-Washington air shuttles were on time 83 percent to 86 percent from
December through May.

The trains offer riders more amenities than traditional rail service, such
as conference facilities and pub-style cafe cars.

"I'm a fan," said John R. Buck, a principal in TenX Capital Partners who
rides the train regularly between Philadelphia and New York City. "It gets
me into Manhattan comfortably and reliably, and I typically meet executives
with whom I have interesting discussions. I enjoy the smooth ride."
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