Amtrak High-Speed Service Delayed : Rail: Wheels of the electric trains for Northeast route are being redesigned. Debut is now set for first half of 2000.

Amtrak, the U.S. passenger rail system, said its debut of high-speed service in the Northeast will be delayed until next year as train makers Bombardier Inc. of Canada and France’s Alstom fix the cars.

The companies are redesigning the wheels and software to let the trains handle the frequent curves on Amtrak’s route between Boston and Washington at speeds as high as 150 miles an hour without excessive wear. The trains are expected to be ready in the first half of next year instead of late this year.

“We are faced with a choice--cut corners to get the train out, or get it right the first time,” Amtrak Chief Executive George Warrington said. A final delivery schedule for the trains, the first of their kind in the U.S., won’t be announced for 60 days, he said.

The Northeast is Amtrak’s most important region, accounting for more than 50% of its revenue and ridership, with 11.9 million passenger trips. Amtrak is relying on the service to lure as many as 3 million new passengers from airlines and highways and expects to add $180 million a year in revenue. Amtrak had about $1 billion in revenue last year.

Under its contract, Amtrak can collect as much as $13,500 for each day the delivery is delayed. “We have contracts that are very clear on that responsibility,” Warrington said.

Alstom will bear the primary responsibility for “fine tuning” the wheels. The electric trains were designed to shave about 30 minutes off rail travel times between Washington and New York and about 90 minutes off the New York and Boston route.

“This delay is unfortunate but not unusual when new technology, although proven, is being introduced in a new environment,” said Jacques Lapare, president of Bombardier Transportation in North America.

Amtrak plans to cut costs to make up for the expected revenue lost because of the delay and doesn’t expect to sell assets, Warrington said.

Bombardier and Alstom will discuss sharing the costs of reconfiguring the wheels, though their accord places final responsibility for the problem with Alstom, Lapare said.

The new train cars will have larger windows, enclosed overhead storage bins, power outlets for laptop computers and audio entertainment at each seat and improved bathrooms. To attract more business travelers, the cars have several tables to accommodate impromptu meetings.

Amtrak had to make $12 million in track improvements on the Northeast corridor to safely operate trains that Bombardier built too wide earlier this year. Another delay in testing was caused by a problem that made the wheels shake from side to side when it hit 130 mph.

The wheel problem is unrelated to the earlier delays, the companies said.