On the recordJuly 14, 2011
I want to take a moment to recognize the crew of the Amtrak Downeaster who quickly guided 112 passengers to safety after the train was involved in an accident this week in Maine. With the engine engulfed in flames, two conductors and one engineer reacted calmly and professionally to evacuate the train. Although the tragedy sadly took the life of a truck driver whose vehicle was on the tracks, no one in the train was seriously injured. This accident could have been much, much worse, and in part we have the crew of the Downeaster to thank that all of these passengers escaped without a serious injury. Over the last 10 years, the Downeaster has made 30,000 trips between Portland and Boston and transported 3\1/2\ million passengers without a serious incident. And the next morning, the train left Portland on schedule and arrived in Boston 3 minutes early. We should all take a minute today to think about the men and women who work in our transportation system, who day in and day out make sure we are safe, whether we are driving in our own cars or riding on a bus, plane, train, or, like my hometown, a ferry. ____________________
