WASHINGTON — — In the wake of recent disruptions in MARC trains that have angered hundreds of passengers and frustrated state officials, Amtrak announced Wednesday new measures to answer critics and improve commuter rail service in Maryland.
Seeking to make amends for a June 21 incident in which MARC passengers on the Penn Line were left stranded on a train in sweltering heat, Amtrak President Joseph Boardman said Wednesday that no longer will the railroad bypass disabled trains.
Boardman made the promise at a meeting with MARC passengers at Union Station in Washington as part of the railroad's continuing response to the "hell train" incident and other service lapses that have focused attention on the commuter rail service and the national railroad that operates the Penn Line.
One of the chief complaints of passengers who were trapped aboard Train 538 in estimated 100-degree heat for two hours last week was that they were repeatedly passed by Amtrak and MARC trains that could have taken aboard some of the stranded riders.
Until now, Amtrak has placed emphasis on keeping other trains on schedule, Boardman said. But he promised to immediately shift the focus to the welfare of passengers on disabled trains, including Northeast Regional Amtrak trains that in the past would have been bypassed by Acela Express trains.
"This practice wasn't just for MARC," he said. "It's any stalled or disabled train."
Boardman, who was joined at the station by Maryland Transportation Secretary Beverley Swaim-Staley and Maryland Transit Administration chief Ralign T. Wells, said accountability for the June 21 incident rests squarely with his railroad. He blamed a preoccupation with getting the train rolling again instead of consideration of the comfort of passengers.
"So many times, we think about the stuff, we think about the equipment, we don't think about the customers," he said.
But Swaim-Staley said Maryland officials bear much of the responsibility.
"There are things that are on us to fix at MTA," she said. In particular, the secretary said, she has heard repeatedly from riders that the MTA needs to improve communications with passengers when things go wrong.
The late-afternoon event at the station that is the hub of the MARC system gave riders a chance to express grievances about service that has broken down repeatedly in recent weeks as heat took a toll on aging equipment.
MARC riders such as Calvin Spears of York, Pa., a passenger aboard the stalled train, were not shy about expressing their displeasure to top officials. "Where's the concern for the human condition?" he demanded of Boardman.
The Amtrak chief said "time got away" from the crew trying to repair the engine, but he acknowledged that that was no excuse for the way passengers were treated.
In addition to the new policy on stopping to help stalled trains, Amtrak announced initiatives to improve customer service. They include:
•Stocking Amtrak police patrol vehicles with emergency water supplies to help in heat-related disruptions.
•Immediate mobilization of a rescue locomotive when a MARC engine stalls.
•If a MARC train is disabled without heat or air-conditioning, Amtrak will cancel the next MARC train and use the equipment to rescue the disabled train.
•Stationing a backup diesel locomotive in Washington to take the place of electric engines that become disabled in the afternoon.
Amtrak pledged to improve communications with riders and to provide more training for crews on keeping passengers informed. The railroad said it would promptly dispatch managers to assess conditions on disabled MARC trains.
Boardman said Wednesday that power lines had been ruled out as the cause of the June 21 breakdown. He said Amtrak had determined that an engine component had failed abruptly.
Over the past week, the travails of MARC have emerged a political issue after former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. blasted top appointees of Gov. Martin O'Malley for failing to attend meetings of a MARC riders' advisory council. On Wednesday, just before Swaim-Staley and Wells sat down with that panel, Ehrlich renewed the attack, promising to end what he called "a culture of indifference" if he becomes governor.
The advisory council meeting brought a series of lively exchanges between its members and Swaim-Staley and Wells.
Council Chairman Rafi Guroian chided the MTA for its failure to use advanced electronics and social media to communicate with riders.
"The MTA needs to be thinking not in terms of 1980 but of 2010," Guroian said.
Wells said he has a project in the works but acknowledged that the MTA has communications problems on all of its transit services. "We have problems getting our staff to talk to the passengers," he said.
Guroian said after the meeting that he was happy with Swaim-Staley's and Wells' participation.
