BOCA RATON, Fla. — Many events can affect Amtrak service, but a Florida tragedy illustrates that some are far from the passenger operator’s control.
A fatal private plane crash Friday, April 11, on tracks used by Tri-Rail and Amtrak trains caused cancellation of the day’s northbound Floridian and its counterpart east from Chicago today (Sunday, April 13). Three members of a South Florida family were killed in the crash of the six-seat Cessna aircraft, the Palm Beach Post reports . The driver of a vehicle on an adjacent street was injured. The NTSB is investigating .
In addition, the eastbound Sunset Limited , Texas Eagle, and Empire Builder sustained long delays on their cross-country routes over the weekend, adding to other national network disruptions.
Florida challenges
The plane crash occurred between the Boca Raton and Deerfield Beach Tri-Rail stations about 10:30 a.m. Friday. The northbound Silver Meteor had already passed, so that day’s train was unaffected. Tri-Rail instituted a bus bridge between the two stations until right-of-way cleanup and track repairs were completed; commuter rail service resumed Saturday evening…