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Amtrak way behind replacing Acela trains
Kevin Frey reports for NY1 that Amtrak’s inspector general says the railroad’s $2.3 billion program to replace its aging high-speed Acela trains in the Northeast is now at least three years behind schedule. And, the report says, additional delays are “likely.” Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, said, “We all know that Amtrak trains are often late, but three years is absolutely absurd.” Even worse news from Amtrak’s inspector general is that each of the 12 train sets already produced has defects. The problems include windows that have shattered “spontaneously,” a water drainage issue that could cause the parts holding the cars together to corrode, and leaks in the hydraulic tiling system. Current Acela trains are more than 20 years old, and the inspector general’s report says the reliability of Amtrak’s “current aging Acela fleet is declining, causing more on time performance delays and forcing the company to modify its Acela timetable.” Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.