RAILforum: Rough coupling on Lake Shore Limited injures 17 Passengers

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Posted by Trainsandmore (Member # 896) on :

Guys I Have Found this Article on the Trainsmag.com

Seventeen Lake Shore Limited Passengers were injured Friday at Chicago Union Station after a rough coupling between the train and a mail handling car, the Chicago Tribune reported. About 275 People were aboard the train when the incident occurred at 7:25 p.m. The Lake Shore Limited, which had been due to depart Chicago for New York City at 7:10 p.m., was delayed three hours while the injured were taken to area hospitals and Amtrak officials investigated the accident.

So what is your reaction to this guys

Posted by jd477 (Member # 582) on :

If the onboard crew did the coupling, I would not be surprised. If the Chicago crew did the coupling, then I am very surprised.

Posted by Konstantin (Member # 18) on :

I know that Amtrak is raising a lot of revenue by carrying these mail and express cars, but the trouble that they give the passengers really causing a lot of hard feelings. Now they are even causing injuries.

I recently rode the Southwest Chief and the Lake Shore Limited. Nothing out of the ordinary happened on our trip, but still, we were delayed for mail and express several times:
1.5 hours in Kansas City heading east.
0.5 Hours In Chicago heading east.
2.0 Hours in Chicago heading west.
2.4 Hours in Kansas City heading west.

I realize that a lot of this time is built into the schedule, but it is still annoying, and an insult to the passengers to regularly make them sit in the train for so long while Amtrak takes care of the mail and express.

After all, Amtrak is the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, not the National Railroad Mail and Express Corporation.

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Elias Valley Railroad (N-scale)
www.geocities.com/evrr

Posted by MLC (Member # 58) on :

Konstantin said,

"After all, Amtrak is the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, not the National Railroad Mail and Express Corporation"

Unfortunately, because of the Congressional mandate to make a profit, AMTRAK has evolved into a system that hauls mail and express and only incidentally passengers. Since the Lake Shore Limited originates in Chicago, the whole incident could be avoided, and schedules reduced, if the mail and express cars were added before passenger boarding.