DOCUMENT: Revolting

All (Roaches) Aboard Amtrak

How the nation's railroad deals with nasty bug infestations

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All (Roaches) Aboard Amtrak

JULY 9--It's hard to figure whether an Amtrak traveler should be repulsed or relieved to learn that the railroad company recently issued an internal bulletin detailing the 'Cockroach Cleanout Service' for its rolling stock. Amtrak's mechanical bulletin, a copy of which you'll find here, was issued in November 2008 due to 'cockroach sightings on all train equipment.' The bulletin notes that cockroaches will be attacked with a variety of pesticides and that this 'service will include the 3-step (residual, flush and dust) cockroach cleanout process with an additional step of using cockroach baits after dusting.' For trains at two of Amtrak's heavy maintenance facilities (Bear, Delaware and Beech Grove, Indiana), a more stringent cockroach remediation has also been established. A prior mechanical bulletin, issued in June 2007, addresses 'bed bug sighting infestation,' which requires 'a more complex pest control treatment' that could include quarantining a car for 'Gas fumigation.' The Amtrak bulletins were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. (7 pages)