Amtrak Apology

In a March 12 letter, an Amtrak passenger recounted an experience on a San Diego to Los Angeles train that was seriously delayed due to an engine failure.

The incident was indeed not one of Amtrak’s proudest moments, beginning with the compressor failure on the locomotive. Frantic rescue efforts were made including leasing a locomotive from a freight carrier to bring the train to Los Angeles. There was also a sincere but inadequate attempt to relieve the train crew that had exceeded their legal limits for hours of service. Efforts notwithstanding, the passengers were delayed more than three hours.

I was most dismayed to hear of Amtrak employees not doing their utmost to make passengers as comfortable as possible in the dire circumstances. There are many excellent employees at Amtrak who often go the extra mile and in fact are even heroic on occasion in similar circumstances.

The events of Feb. 23 have been a hot topic at Amtrak. Suffice it to say, despite our hearty efforts, we messed up, and now can only learn from the experience. Debriefing sessions were held with responsible management to determine how we could do better next time, changes were made in management coverage during evening hours to provide for proper logistical support in similar operating disruptions, and we are committed to learning a lesson to do better by our customers next time around.

However, above all, I regret that Terry William Hamilton and others who were on the train didn’t know that there were Amtrak employees who did care what happened and I apologize for the events of Feb. 23. However, we do realize that handling service disruptions well is essential in order to compete for travelers who have a number of transportation options.

L.W. BULLOCK

General Superintendent

Amtrak, Western Division