Amtrak
Person hit, killed by Amtrak train at Ruggles
By adamg - 1/31/12 - 6:43 pmUpdate, 7:25 p.m.: One track was cleared and limited train service through Ruggles resumed.
Commuter-rail and Amtrak service through Ruggles is stopped as transit and fire officials investigate a fatal train-vs-person collision on the inbound side this evening. The T is describing it as a "trespasser strike."
Dan Esdale reports his outbound train to Franklin stopped, then headed back to South Station.
In the other direction, Craig Herman reports an Amtrak train is just sitting at Forest Hills.
He spent a weekend in Readville overnight
By adamg - 12/20/11 - 6:45 am
Bill managed to get on one of the trains actually moving between New York and Boston last night. Then a tree fell against the overhead wires in Readville around 11 p.m., caught fire and brought the Northeast Corridor to a halt again, with powerless trains just sitting on the tracks for almost 90 minutes. He reports:
After a 3hr 22 minute delay, Amtrak train 2170 arrives at South Station.
Northeast Corridor vanishes into pit of dispair
By adamg - 12/19/11 - 7:33 pmDowned power lines somewhere in the Canton area mean no Amtrak service between Boston and New York and, of course, massive delays on the Providence/Stoughton Line that have left stranded commuters hoping for the buses the T is promising.
Amtrak sues Somerville company over fatal Maine crash
By adamg - 8/5/11 - 7:14 pmAmtrak blames a Somerville trucking company for a truck/train crash in Maine last month that killed the truck driver, injured several passengers and did millions of dollars in damage to the Downeaster train.
In a lawsuit filed yesterday in US District Court, Amtrak says Triumvirate Environmental, Inc. should never have let Peter Barnum behind the wheel of a tractor trailer hauling trash because "it knew or should have known was unqualified to operate the Kenworth
tractor trailer combination."
Police: Train hit Hyde Park man at 120 m.p.h.
By adamg - 8/5/11 - 1:42 pm
Via FacebookMBTA Transit Police report Benjy Barlatier, 28, of Hyde Park, died last night when hit head on by a speeding Acela train.
According to the report, Barlatier was hanging with two friends near the benches on the inbound platform when he "unexpectedly" got up and dashed across the tracks nearest the platform onto the center set of tracks:
Barlatier reversed his direction and proceeded back to the platform and was fatally struck while attempting to cross over [the tracks nearest the platform].
The engineer of the inbound train estimated it was doing 120 m.p.h. when it hit Barlatier around 10:30 p.m. Police say the engineer saw Barlatier before the strike and immediately applied the emergency brakes, but at that speed, it took 1.26 miles to stop the train - it came to a halt just past the West Street bridge.
Barlatier's remains were brought to the state medical examiner's office for examination.
Man hit, killed by Amtrak train in Hyde Park
By adamg - 8/4/11 - 9:47 pm
Inspectors and police at Hyde Park station, a few feet from tarps covering remains.
UPDATE: Victim identified as Hyde Park man.
An Acela train barreling through Hyde Park station struck and killed somebody around 10:30 p.m. The engineer immediately applied emergency brakes, but it still took several blocks for the train to come to a stop - just on the other side of the West Street bridge, well north of the station.
More than 100 passengers sat on the train for more than two hours beside beside a wall painted with "Welcome to Boston," while outside, police and firefighters also waited, to help transfer passengers to a promised relief train from South Station that never came.
"The train crew haven't announced what happened, but passengers told them we read about what happened on Twitter," Jesse, a passenger on the train reported.
He added that the train "coasted to a stop with a burning electrical smell that I presume was the brakes. AC was off for a few, then kicked back on."
At 12:45 a.m., after an inspector took one last look around the train, the engineer sounded its horn twice and the train took off for Back Bay and South Station.
Meanwhile, back at the Hyde Park commuter-rail stop, investigators continued to examine the tracks and put down evidence cones along the inbound platform. Three white tarps covered remains along the center tracks.
Flashing police and fire lights cast an unusual glow on the stopped Acela train.
Snow proves too much for Amtrak, again
By adamg - 1/27/11 - 9:48 amAcela engine encased in snow at South Station.
The last train before the shutdown
By adamg - 12/26/10 - 5:18 pm
Stephanie counted herself lucky: She had a ticket on the 5:10 Amtrak train out of South Station - one of the last to leave before the rail line shut down service because of the storm. She reports refugees from the all-canceled Fung Wah streamed into the train station:
Passengers crying I MUST GET TO NY! ... I saw one woman screaming "I will sue Amtrak" - it was nuts.
Feds to fund $33-million design of South Station expansion
By adamg - 10/25/10 - 3:32 pm
The new South Station: Rendering from MassDOT (compare to 1904 South Station).
The Federal Railroad Administration today awarded the money to the state to begin planning seven new tracks at South Station to support new commuter-rail and Acela service to and from Boston. The new tracks would terminate at what is now the post office on Fort Point Channel; federal and state officials continue to work on moving that facility nearby.
State transportation officials say a $120 million grant to Connecticut will upgrade the tracks between New Haven and Springfield, which will eventually allow for more service between Boston and New York inland, rather than along the coast. Amtrak recently said it would use this route to dramatically cut travel time between the two cities - over the next 40 years.
Tree disrupts Amtrak, commuter rail service through Hyde Park
By adamg - 9/30/10 - 3:41 pmThe Boston Fire Department is on scene at the main rail line through Hyde Park, where wind toppled a tree onto the inbound catenary lines, causing it to burst into flames. Rail traffic was stopped in both directions as firefighters awaited the arrival of an Amtrak crew who could turn off the power to allow the charred remnants to be removed and to inspect the wires for damage.
