What's holding up Acela? - Brief Article

Railway Age, July, 2000

Delays and technical problems continue to dog Amtrak's Acela Express high speed trainset, pushing revenue service introduction of the 150-mph Boston-New York-Washington premium service train back to September or possibly later. Amtrak and its supplier, the consortium of Bombardier and Alstom, appeared to be headed toward a court confrontation as this was written.

The most recent problem, discovered during high speed testing on the Northeast Corridor, was broken and missing traction motor mounting bolts. Test engineers reported excessive lateral motion on one of the power cars during a high speed run. Upon inspection, one bolt was found to be missing, the other broken. Inspection of the other power cars in the test fleet revealed similar problems. Several bolts that hadn't already broken off showed signs of severe stress.

The Federal Railroad Administration, which has been closely monitoring the program, suspended further testing until the bolt problem could be diagnosed and repaired. The truck in which the defect had been discovered was removed and shipped back to the supplier for diagnosis. By late June, that problem appeared to have been solved, but continued wheel wear problems and a tilt system that wasn't performing up to specifications threatened to further delay the trainsets' introduction.

Bombardier spokesman Gilles Page told Railway Age that the consortium fully expected to have the trainset ready for conditional acceptance by Amtrak by mid- to late-July, and that there were no serious defects or design flaws that would require a complete redesign of the trucks or suspension system.

Amtrak has been trying to, at least publicly, downplay the problems its highly-touted Acela Express has been experiencing. But by late June, its patience was wearing thin. At a conference sponsored by the National Corridors Initiative in Washington, D.C., on June 26, Amtrak Board Chairman Tommy Thompson said that the board "was very upset," and that "it looks like it will be September before we get delivery of the first trainset."

When asked about whether Amtrak would be seeking financial compensation for the delays, Thompson said "absolutely." He said that Amtrak was negotiating with Bombardier/Alstom, and that "we have lawyers involved." Whether the dispute will be resolved through negotiation or litigation remains to be seen; according to its performance-based contract, Bombardier/Alstom can be fined up to $13,500 per day per trainset for each day delivery is delayed.

Amtrak is partially depending upon Acela Express service to meet Congressionally-mandated operational self-sufficiency by 2002, or face liquidation. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), one of Amtrak's staunchest supporters, agrees with this assessment, calling high speed Northeast Corridor service "make or break" for the beleaguered carrier. "I don't spend much time in church," Lautenberg told the Star Ledger, a New Jersey newspaper. "But I'm lighting candles for this one."