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Jun 9, 2006 7:53 am US/Eastern
Amtrak Can't Pinpoint Cause Of Rail Outage
NEWARK (CBS/AP) ―
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Commuters were evacuated from trains that lost power for hours.
CBS
Amtrak still doesn't know what caused a power outage that left thousands of rail commuters stranded between New York and Washington two weeks ago.
In a letter to NJ Transit, the railroad's acting president said the extensive Northeast Corridor outage was unrelated to two lesser power failures that caused delays a week earlier.
But David Hughes told NJ Transit it took too long to remove two NJT trains from a tunnel under the Hudson River. That's because coupling equipment was incompatible.
Amtrak has since placed a rescue crew at New York's Penn Station and coupling equipment to be ready in case trains get stuck in the tunnel again.
A final report on the outages could be ready in about three weeks.
The power was out for about two and a half hours in the morning of May 25. But delays and cancellations slowed service through the evening.
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(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
