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September 3, 2010

Hurricane Earl takes aim at Amtrak

Not really. But Amtrak has suspended service between New York and Boston until sometime tomorrow. The rail line had planned to suspend service beginning this afternoon, but a tree fell across electrical lines in New London, Conn., and that was the end of that. From Amtrak's press release:

Overhead electrical system damage from a tree which fell from outside Amtrak property in Connecticut and more severe weather forecasted this evening has led Amtrak to suspend all through service between New York and Boston (South Station).

Those passengers currently on Amtrak trains in the affected area are being returned to their stations.

While tooling around their website, I also noticed that as of Sept. 1, Amtrak is no longer accepting money orders or travelers checks as payment. Probably not a big deal. The days of travelers checks seem of a bygone era. I do think money orders are still somewhat popular in some communities, though. Soon we'll all have an embedded strip in our bodies to pay for everything. I look forward to that.

Posted by Michelle Deal-Zimmerman at 4:10 PM | | Comments (1)
Categories: Amtrak/intercity railroads
        

Comments

I blame Amtrak personnel for not seeing this potential problem on or off their property. The weather was calm and I happened to go by the site on my way home to Waterford tonight. The rail system in the U.S. just won't be efficient until all employees take their positions seriously and end their reliance on union protection for job security. People must do their work properly!

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About Michael Dresser
Michael Dresser has been an editor, reporter and columnist with The Sun longer than Baltimore's had a subway. He's covered retailing, telecommunications, state politics and wine. Since 2004, he's been The Sun's transportation writer. He lives in Ellicott City with his wife and travel companion, Cindy.

His Getting There column appears on Mondays. Mike's blog will be a forum for all who are interested in highways, transit and other transportation issues affecting Baltimore, Maryland and the region.
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