New Haven to NYC in 63 minutes—but is it safe?

Wed., Jun. 7th wasn't just another day at the office for Massachusetts Electric Construction Company workers in Old Saybrook. Instead of handling paperwork and phone calls, employees found themselves in the middle of an FBI raid. "Cop cars were on the lawn, computers were coming out of there, and FBI and police were looking in dumpsters for stuff," Alice Rand, an employee of a neighboring business, said.

COURTESY AMTRAK.COM Amtrak's $2 billion Acela program has been plagued by months of problems, leaving many to wonder whether the new bullet trains are fit for service after all.

Before the end of the day, four truckloads of documents had been seized as part of a federal investigation into whether the company—which has been hired by Amtrak to construct 157 miles of high-speed Acela train tracks—used inferior materials to build the new railway. Since the FBI raid, many more company documents have been subpoenaed.

Amtrak's $2 billion bullet trains, which will connect Washington, New York, New Haven, and Boston, have been widely anticipated for months. The new railway would take riders from New Haven to New York in just 63 minutes, from New York to Boston in three hours, and from New York to Washington in two hours and 45 minutes. According to Yale President Richard C. Levin, GRD '74, who has done research on transportation economics, Acela service could have a significant impact on the Elm City.

"High-speed transit to New York City will have a powerful and positive effect on economic development in New Haven," he said. "If we can get fast, effective, reliable transportation to New York, that will help attract companies to locate here."

But that transportation might not be so effective and reliable. Following months of engineering problems—including premature wheel wear, missing and broken bolts, and an inefficient tilting system (the tilting system helps trains to negotiate curves at high speeds)—this latest federal probe has raised new questions about Acela's safety.

The FBI investigation of Massachusetts Electric and Balfour Beatty Construction, Inc.—another company that was hired to build the electrified train tracks—comes on the heels of the resignation of Joseph Vranich from the Amtrak Reform Council. Vranich stepped down from his position in July, criticizing Amtrak for choosing "unproven, unbuilt Acela equipment" over other high-speed train designs.

And, according to documents filed in the U.S. District Court in Hartford at the end of August, railroad officials continue to seek records from the two companies in an attempt to determine whether they submitted fraudulent claims in connection with their electrical wire work.

One of Amtrak's main worries is whether certain clamps and bolts were properly tested, as well as whether the zinc-plated clamps used on Connecticut's movable bridges were either altered or substituted by another type of clamp.

"Our foremost concern throughout the project [has been] safety," Amtrak Inspector General Fred E. Weiderhold, Jr. said at the time the FBI documents were filed. "We're looking to make sure that...the materials are fit for use."

The phone at Massachusetts Electric's offices in Old Saybrook has been disconnected since the federal probe began. Spokespeople from the company's Boston and New York branches declined to comment on the progress of the investigation or Acela's safety.

Still, Amtrak spokesman Ross Hall said that his company is operating a safe railroad. "At no point have we operated an unsafe one," he said. When asked about the state of the FBI's investigation, though, Ross declined to talk about it. "Even if we did know something, we couldn't comment," he said.

Whatever the outcome of the federal probe, Levin remains hopeful that Acela will benefit the Yale community once it finally begins full service to New Haven.

"Anything that has a positive impact on the New Haven economy helps [the University]," he said. "It's an important step forward."

Carl Bialik contributed to this article.

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