WASHINGTON (AP) — Stressed-out travelers shuffled through long lines at Union Station on Friday, while 20 yards away Amtrak officials stood before a closed gate explaining why brake problems had shut down indefinitely the high-speed Acela Express.
Roughly 10,000 riders were left scrambling to find another train or another way to get home, the latest headache to hit the troubled rail company already facing a federal budget ax.
All Acela service between Washington, New York, and Boston will be suspended at least through next Wednesday and some will likely be shut down for much longer, said Amtrak chief operating officer Bill Crosbie.