Posted on 11/20/2013 12:57:54 PM PST by Third Person
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) Amtrak wants to know how one of its trains took a wrong turn and got lost in the Philadelphia suburbs.
Worried and baffled were most travelers at 30th Street Station Tuesday night.
Mike Roberts of Coatesville said, Wow, thats crazy. Thats not professional at all. How could that happen?
It sounds wild, but Amtrak officials confirm it did happen and what they can tell us so far is this: Amtrak Train 644 that left 30th Street Station for New York City accidentally ended up on the SEPTA tracks. The train actually traveled several miles before the mistake was finally caught and the train stopped at the Bala Cynwyd station.
Peter Menendez of Princeton, NJ said, I think mistakes happen, I come from that industry and the utilities and its hard to coordinate systems like that. I feel bad for those folks.
It happened last Thursday and according to Amtrak, the 130 passengers on-board may have been inconvenienced, but everyone was safely brought back to Philly, put on a different train and taken to New York, this second time around, without incident.
Jennifer Wallace of Tampa, FL said, Definitely they need to investigate. I dont think anybody should get fired but maybe disciplinary, definitely but they should look into it so it doesnt happen again, be more cautious than anything.
Steve Kulm, Amtraks Media Relations Director released a statement which read in part: 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.
That's the way I want to go, get thrown out of the owner's house. lol, I must have missed the entire episode.
He saw “Bala Cynwyd” and freaked out because he thought he suddenly became dyslexic.
I liked train travel. Great way to see the US provided you have the time. But like everything else government touches, AMTRAK is a mess.
Our Obama Gooberment at work. Idiots
I am just glad there is a Bala Cynwyd in PA - otherwise I would be REAL curious how that train made it all the way to Wales.
Train crews don't control track switches from the cab.
Sounds like a dispatcher error.
You got it. It has to be a switch operator (these are now big central operations, not local), or the switch didn’t work (unusual without ice or extreme cold).
It’s not that big a deal, and considering the hundreds of switch throws every day, hardly a condemnation of the system. Find something better to complain about.
Not that going to the wrong location in Philly is something you want to do. I’m sure many would be panicked at that!
Just like it’s spelled...
;-)
/johnny
The comparison to state-run (as opposed to Fed, yikes) DMVs is much more valid for several reasons.
I would presume mandatory drug testing all around?
But the engineer’s communication with the dispatcher would have been recorded and would reveal the signal displayed, the engineer’s reaction to it, and the like.
Maybe they took the IGY?
A Willie Green memorial ping.
It's pronounced: "Bal-La Kin-Wood." It's an affluent suburb of Philadelphia, not far from Villanova University.
Bala Kinwood
“How does one pronounce Bala Cynwyd?”
Ba-la Kin-wid. In college I once dated someone who was raised there. Crazy leftist.
Or worse,
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