November 29, 2001: Amtrak's web site still will not accept trip requests involving the new city of Portland, ME (see report of Nov. 28). Even entering "Portland Starts 12/15, ME" would not bring up schedule and fare information, using trip dates after the Dec. 15 startup date of the new Downeaster service. Instead, the message that the user should select a different city pair came on the screen. Amtrak's web site is at www.amtrak.com.
Issue no. 639 of Rail Travel News has had extremely slow delivery to some
East Coast points. It should have reached all subscribers some time ago,
but apparently it has not. We can only assume that Postal Service slowdowns
in the East related to its recent terrorist problems are to blame. Reports
were that millions of barrels of mail held out because of anthrax scares
are now being sorted and delivered, and presumably that work slows down
regular deliveries.
RTN's suggestion is that if your issue 639 has not arrived, give it another
week, and if it still has not appeared, e-mail
or write us for a replacement copy.