In article , Associated Press News Wire 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]