Bullet Takes Hit

Premature wheel wear discovered during testing of Amtrak’s new high-speed Acela train prompted the railroad to announce Wednesday it is delaying the launch of the service until next spring at the earliest. Acela has been hampered in testing by “wheel hunting” problems. At speeds of 130 mph to 145 mph, the wheels began shaking from side to side. While an embarrassment for the railroad, Amtrak President George Warrington offered one consolation for Northeast passengers expecting the 150-mph trains to start running later this year: a project to straighten curves and run electricity along tracks between Boston and New York was on schedule, which will allow Amtrak to cut travel times by up to one hour, 40 minutes using its existing locomotives.