Amtrak Power Outage Strands Travelers

Amtrak workers scrambled to fix an electrical problem outside New York City which had ground service on the Northeast corridor to a halt on one of the busiest travel days of 2009.

Trains from Washington, D.C. to Massachusetts were brought to a halt stranding travelers attempting to get home for the holidays.

The electrical problems in Bergen, New Jersey were the not the first experienced by Amtrak. Disruptions in 2006 and 2007 drew attention to the problems which were exacerbated by the Bush administration's threats of vetoing funding to Amtrak.

 Efforts to modernize the antiquated Amtrak electrical system has  been met with a lack of enthusiasm on the part of Republican lawmakers thus inhibiting  making this vital transportation system more reliable.