Passenger Trains > Amtrak Euphemism of the Week

Pointed out by a contact (I think he also posts here):

The Amtrak hack who wrote this wins the coveted "euphemism of the week" award.

Amtrak Alerts
@AmtrakAlerts  7h

Due to unforeseen track work, Capitol Limited Train 29 and Train 30 scheduled for service on 2/8 are canceled. For traveling assistance, please call or text 1-800-USA-RAIL.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/08/23 12:24 by GenePoon.

Yep, NS forgot to notify us they would be resurfacing the track in East Palestine. 

Yeah, you need a lot of heat for those welded rails....

Victor Baird

"Disabled freight train" that "lost contact with the rail." I suppose they would say the Hindenburg experienced a "sudden loss of buoyancy."

Posted from Android

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA

Dcmcrider Wrote:
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> "Disabled freight train" that "lost contact with
> the rail." I suppose they would say the Hindenburg
> experienced a "sudden loss of buoyancy."

Unexpected rapid and extreme reaction with oxygen causing structural weakness and inability to remain aloft.

TAW

What are they supposed to say? "Freight train got jack up and shit shattered everywhere. There's flames, explosions and its hot and smelly, good thing it wasn't us. Thats train travel."

TomG Wrote:
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> What are they supposed to say? "Freight train got
> jack up and shit shattered everywhere. There's
> flames, explosions and its hot and smelly, good
> thing it wasn't us. Thats train travel."

I gotta agree here.    You dont say "we're not operating because a traincrashed and exploded on the tracks we are supposed to travel on."
When i was flying , if we had a mechanical delay, I had to lie or be very creative.  Otherwise we'd have a bunch  of passengers asking anyone in uniform if it was safe to fly.   Like we all had nothing else to do other than calm down scared people.  You learn in a hurry.

A freight train "lost contact with the rail". They haven't used that one in a while. 🤣

Posted from Android

How about “track work caused by a freight train derailment”?

Regarding Zeppelin Hindenburg:

Extreme loss of buoyancy and resulting uncontrolled loss of altitude caused by a sudden increase in gas bag temperatures of the buoyancy media. With the resulting loss of same.

Regards

Posted from iPhone

GO Transit is usually honest about the causes for delays or cancellations. They will say a "fatality involving a trespasser" and admit to signal or switch problems. But one thing that always gives me a smile is an e-mail saying that a certain train has been "adjusted." When I check further that means it has been cancelled.

It’s not just “bureaucratic jargon “. I forget the exact wording of Professor Musk’s after one of his rockets crashed, something about an unplanned (or maybe “unscheduled”) disassembly.

Posted from iPhone

I don't know who to credit, but one of my favorites is "Anomaly in the wheel-rail interface."

I do recall a plane crash in my area many years ago for which the airline's Flight Status page online stated, "Landing Canceled". That seemed rather cold.

That said, "freight train derailment" would have been a factual explanation for why the Capitol Limited has been scratched since late Friday night, without casting aspersions on anyone.

toledopatch Wrote:
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> I do recall a plane crash in my area many years ago for which the airline's
> Flight Status page online stated, "Landing Canceled". That seemed rather cold.

"Contact agent" would probably be the best choice. "Crashed" would be too blunt. "Unscheduled landing"? "Unscheduled diversion"? Simply "Diverted"?


> That said, "freight train derailment" would have been a factual explanation for why the Capitol
> Limited has been scratched since late Friday night, without casting aspersions on anyone.

"Track unavailable."

At SpaceX they call explosions "Rapid Unscheduled Dis-assembly", or a "RUD" for short.

Jim Maurer

Drknow Wrote:
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> How about “track work caused by a freight train
> derailment”?

Sounds good and factual.

Amtrak or the employee responsible for the euphemism makes good TO conversation, but more accurately, people are WEAK, or leaders think we ARE weak (because they are), so euphemisms are overused.

It's laughable if it isn't a sad commentary to our society's collective decline.
 

cchan006 Wrote:
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>  leaders think we
> ARE weak (because they are),

THAT is where it's at.


> It's laughable if it isn't a sad commentary to our
> society's collective decline.


...and that.

TAW