This is not a good week for Amtrak. First, there was an accident in South Carolina that killed at least 2 people, and now, the train cars are coming apart. On an early morning train bound for Boston, two train cars separated due to a mechanical issue near the Harve de Grace train station in Maryland, near the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, according to the Washington Post. Though there were approximately 52 passengers that had to be transferred to another train, there were no reported injuries according to CBS News. Amtrak is currently investigating and plans to inspect every one of its Acela trains.
Car separation
The Acela train was serving the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak's busiest stretch. The train was traveling at 125 mph from Union Station in Washington DC, and was bound for Boston. Then, in Maryland, the first and second train cars separated from the rest of the train. According to CBS News' transportation safety analyst Mark Rosenker, this is a highly unusual occurrence.
Passenger Andrew Exum tweeted that the power went out and the passengers could see sparks and smoke when the cars separated.
If you’re not on Amtrak 2150 this morning, boy, you are really missing out. Two cars separated, and sparks and smoke went everywhere. @lizzieohreally would have freaked out because her precious Quiet Car was one of the problem children, which is just rude.
— Andrew Exum (@ExumAM) February 6, 2018
An image from the New York Post showed that the connector between the trains was broken and separated; only the air hoses between the trains appeared to be connected.
EXCLUSIVE: A high-speed Amtrak train bound for Penn Station broke apart as it was moving at top speed through Maryland, sources said https://t.co/dObKY7nzlK
— New York Post (@nypost) February 6, 2018
All the passengers on the train were transferred over to a Northeast Regional Train and made a stop in New York before continuing their journey to Boston.
There are no reported injuries.
Previous incidents
This is not the first incident involving Amtrak in recent months. Shortly before this one, a freight train collided with an Amtrak train in South Carolina. That collision is currently being investigated by the NTSB. On January 31, there was a collision in West Virginia involving Republican lawmakers going to their annual retreat, and last year, an Amtrak train derailed in DuPont, Washington.
Amtrak's CEO, Richard Anderson, remains committed to safety, as he sent out a memo on Sunday to employees emphasizing safe travel, according to the Washington Post. The memo asks employees to stop, slow, or cancel train operation if necessary when faced with a safety issue.
Amtrak is currently investigating the incident and investigating every Acela train, and will take any necessary measures to prevent this type of incident from happening again. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is currently monitoring the situation as well.
