Greyhound boosts NE service after Amtrak crash

Greyhound is boosting service in the Northeast after a deadly Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia. 

{mosads}Greyhound said in a series of tweets on Wednesday said it is adding extra bus trips and allowing passengers who had Amtrak tickets to trade them in for free rides until rail service is resumed between New York and Philadelphia. 

“Due to Amtrak rail lines being down in the Northeast, Greyhound has added 10 additional schedules btwn NYC & Philadelphia and 6 additional schedules btwn NYC & Washington, D.C. to help affected Amtrak customers get to their final destinations as quickly and conveniently as possible,” the company tweeted. 

“Amtrak customers can trade their unused ticket for a Greyhound ticket free of charge at any of our ticket counters until Amtrak service resumes,” the statement continued. 

Amtrak Northeast Regional Train 188 was traveling from Washington, D.C. to New York on Tuesday night when it derailed near Philadelphia. 

The train was carrying 238 passengers and five crew members at the time of the accident, according to Amtrak officials. At least six people were killed and more than 100 injured in the crash.

The Amtrak crash has stirred debate in Washington about the amount of federal funding that goes to the rail company. Since its inception in 1971, Amtrak has typically received about $1 billion from the federal government, but the House is considering a Republican measure on Wednesday that would cut the company’s funding by about $200 million. 

Lawmakers who support Amtrak have said that the Philadelphia accident showed the need for more federal investment in the national rail company. 

“Today, the House Committee on Appropriations is marking up a bill that will cut Amtrak capital grants by $290 million compared to the FY2015 appropriations level,” Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) said in a statement. 

“The subcommittee bill provides Amtrak with a little over $1.1 billion, far from the $2 billion requested by Amtrak and the $2.5 billion requested in the president’s budget,” the lawmakers continued. “We agree with our Republican friends, we need to let the investigation take its course, but we absolutely do not need to make deeper cuts that will increase the $21 billion maintenance and repair backlog and further jeopardize the safety of the traveling public.”

The northeast corridor is home to Amtrak’s most heavily-traveled routes, including the New York-to-Philadelphia service that has been affected by Tuesday’s night crash. Amtrak has said 11.6 million of its 30.9 million passengers last year took trips on trains operating in the Northeast Corridor, compared to 14.6 million on shorter state-specific routes and 4.5 million on long-distance trains.