Critics often lament Amtrak is on the wrong track, but this is ridiculous.
A New York-bound Amtrak train, No. 644, last week ended up on a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) track, according to reports. The train, which just departed Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, stopped in Cynwyd Line, Pa., a suburb located about eight miles outside of Philadelphia, according to published reports.
After the mishap, the train’s 130 passengers were put on another train and transported to New York. In a statement, according to Philly.com, Amtrak said an “investigation was launched and the crew has been held out of work until they can be fully debriefed and additional training can be conducted.”
Amtrak said passengers were never in danger.
“The crew was instructed to basically take the train out to a point on the railroad where they could turn around,” CBS New York quoted Amtrak spokesman Craig Schulz as saying. “They’ve never made this move before. It’s rare that we need to do that. In executing that move, they inadvertently went past where they were supposed to go.”
Added Schulz: “The crew made a mistake. There was never any danger to anybody on the train or otherwise.”
Passengers apparently found the mishap hard to believe.
“With technology today, it’s hard to believe something like that could get lost,” CBS New York quoted one Amtrak passenger as saying.
