Amtrak knew of track issues before NY Penn Station derailment

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Written by: Stuart Chirls, Senior Editor
Amtrak knew of track problems before a commuter train derailed at New York’s Penn Station on Monday, turning the hub into a four-day quagmire of cancellations and delays for thousands of commuters.

Amtrak President and CEO Wick Moorman said the damaged track was repaired and operations should return to normal for Friday’s morning rush hour.

Moorman in an appearance at Penn Station on Thursday apologized for the problems that affected trains operated by Amtrak, NJ Transit and the Long Island Railroad. The three lines share tracks in the station, which is owned and maintained by Amtrak.

“It’s our job to make sure that commuters and intercity passengers can safely and reliably travel along the North Corridor, and we know we let them down,” said Moorman. “Our customers and our partners deserve better.”

The Monday derailment of a New Jersey Transit train arriving from Trenton was caused by “defective wood ties,” Moorman said.

He also said for the first time that the March 24 derailment of an Acela train at Penn Station was due to mismatched pieces of rail on a curve inside the station. The Monday incident was located near the Acela derailment, and repairs forced the closure of other ladder tracks leading from the site of the derailment.

“We are working around the clock to both repair the damage caused by the second incident and to ensure that we have no other track problems in this busiest and most important terminal,” said Moorman. He added that many maintenance problems could be avoided if Amtrak wasn’t perennially budget-starved year to year.
The Trump administration in its preliminary budget eliminated funding for most long distance trains outside the Northeast Corridor.

At the same time, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said the state would stop payments to Amtrak until an independent survey finds the line in “a state of good repair.”

Amtrak in 2016 collected $62 million from NJ Transit for maintenance and upgrades, according to local reports. Christie suggested the state might sue Amtrak to get some of that money back.

Christie in 2010 cancelled a $12.4-billion tunnel project that would have doubled the daily number of trains entering Penn Station from the west.

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