November
26, 2001: Amtrak prepared for the busy Thanksgiving weekend by adding
75,000 seats systemwide to its trains for the period Nov 20-26. Ridership
reportedly was running 20% higher than last year's Thanksgiving holiday,
then unfortunately on the afternoon and evening of Sunday, Nov 25, one
of the busiest travel days of the year, a CSX freight train derailment
along Amtrak's Hell Gate Line disrupted Amtrak travel and inconvenienced
thousands of rail travelers. Early reports said the problem was at New
Rochelle NY, whereas the derailment was actually at Oak Point Yard, which
is in the Bronx, about nine miles from New Rochelle.
The freight apparently knocked down Amtrak catenary wires, and Amtrak eventually
brought out diesel locomotives to power its trains. Trains were running
hours late, and the problem was not Amtrak's doing. The power was off as
far as the phase gap outside New Rochelle, where trains switch over to
Metro-North power.
Amtrak had added some extra trains that were not included in its Thanksgiving
Holiday Timetable for the Northeast Corridor. The extra trains were mentioned
in e-mail memos to Amtrak stations and employees along the NE Corridor.
In the 1:45pm derailment, an Amtrak catenary pole was knocked down. Amtrak
said it hoped to have one track in operation by Monday morning rush hour.