In article <telecom24.588.1@telecom-digest.org>,
Associated Press News Wire <ap@telecom-digest.org> wrote:
> A trainload of frustrated passengers has been stuck on an Amtrak train
> stranded in a patch of woods in south Georgia for more than 24 hours.
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: This must certainly be one of the
> grander moments in the glorious history of the Toonerville Trolley.
> If it has not occurred to Amtrack authorities by now to (a) either
> split the wrecked train in two parts and clear the way or (b)
First off, _AMTRAK_ can't do that. AMTRAK doesn't own the tracks. *OR* the
derailed train.
AMTRAK is not in control of the situation. All such "operational"
decisions are made by the freight railroad that owns the tracks, and
the train.
Second, the railroad in that whole area is a "one lane road". *not*
'one lane _each_way_', but *one*lane* total. Again this is not
AMTRAK's doing, but is a decision by the railroad company that owns
the tracks.
A minor screw-up on the 'one-lane road' can lead to big time delays,
simply due to 'traffic jam' effects.
> considering they were already delayed 12 hours in Jacksonville, simply
> evacuate the trains passengers, bus them to the nearest airport and
"Simply evacuate the passengers" ... you say.
*HOW* do you do that? There's trains blocking the track in front of you,
and behind you. There *isn't* any _road_ near the tracks where you are.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: (i.e. the Tin-Foil Hat man). Oh gosh, I
keep forgetting, no one is in charge of anything; certainly not the
internet (right, Robert?) and I guess not the nation's Rail Road
system either. If we evacuated the train and had the people all start
walking down the tracks, presumably the old people would find a drug
store open somewhere along the way where they could replenish their
pharmaceuticals and hope to live for another day or three, and
hopefully they would find an outhouse along the way where they could
filch a roll or two of toilet paper to use. Probably before they got
all the way back to Our Nation's (drug and crime-ridden) Capitol --
where I guess a train from Florida northbound is headed -- they might
even find a store or restaurant to take their check or ATM card so
they can get some groceries to eat on the way. Instead of blaming this
fiasco on the wonderful folks at Amtrak (for after all, they knew
what was best for us when they turned over the Rail Road to the
government long ago) probably 'since no one is in charge of anything'
they could blame the doctors who did not write scripts for larger
pill containers (at least a full week's worth of pills for when
someone decides to ride Amtrak, or the people themselves for not
thinking ahead and bringing lots of loose change to feed the rip off
vending machines on board. After all, the people should have known
that they would get hungry sitting in place for 24+ hours on a non-
moving train, and probably brought along a couple rolls of paper; the
people should have known the bathroom on the train would run
out. Imagine that ... some people believe Amtrak should have had
enough smarts to figure some of this out ahead of time. But who are
they kidding; Amtrak is just another bunch of stupid politicians. I
hope Amtrak pays dearly for this fiasco; oops, I forgot; you cannot
sue the government without getting its permission to do so, since
after all its motives are pure and noble and all that rot. PAT]
Robert Bonomi (bonomi@host122.r-bonomni.com)