To make it clear, as the press release from Amtrak hasn't, ONE. Count them, ONE Acela round trip has been cancelled. That round trip did not exist at all 6 months ago as it debuted September 23rd. It's a trip that I have strongly doubted had the ridership that is captive to a nonstop trip between two cities. The way the Amtrak press release went out, and the TV, radio, and newspaper outlets picked up, it would appear that Amtrak is suspending all Acela service. The NY Post headline above implies this.
Service adjustments
As we are experiencing some reduced demand for our service, we are making temporary adjustments to our schedule, such as removing train cars or cancelling trains when there is a convenient alternative with a similar schedule that will have minimal impact to customers, including:
- Starting Tuesday, March 10, Acela Nonstop service (Trains 2401, 2402, 2403) is suspended until Tuesday, May 26.
Furthermore, there is no Train 2403. Maybe if the Nonstops had been expanded beyond the one current trip, but for now on the current timetable, there was no 2403 to cancel. Misinformation spreads even faster than the disease they are worried about. The existing Acela Nonstops they are suspending are 2401 and 2402.
If there is concern about large groups of people being together, the cancellation of some trains (assuming there may be more coming) will then concentrate more people together on the trains that continue to run. Empty seats are safer than a packed train.
There should also be some red flags about the sudden train cleaning going on (not only on Amtrak but local rapid transit and commuter rail as well) that apparently wasn't happening before. Whose dirt and germs were we sitting in all this time?
Why my rant? As a proponent of rail service, it hurts to see the wrong information going out to the media and being given out to the less understanding public. If ridership is already lacking, this won't help to improve it.