The list of places where Samsung's beleaguered Galaxy Note 7 is not welcome continues to increase, as the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, more popularly known as Amtrak, has banned the explosive device from its passenger railroad services.
The Galaxy Note 7 started off with a lot of promise after it was launched. However, there then came reports of units catching fire due to their batteries exploding. After a worldwide recall that saw the replacement devices still proving to be too hot to handle, Samsung has decided to end the production and sales of the Galaxy Note 7.
Shortly afterwards, the Department of Transportation issued an official ban on the smartphone from being taken on U.S. airline flights, which is a major escalation from the previous restriction that Galaxy Note 7 owners only needed to turn off the device before boarding airplanes.
The ban of the Galaxy Note 7 on airplanes, including being brought into aircraft as cargo, took effect on Oct. 15.
Unfortunately, there are still some customers who are still holding on to their Galaxy Note 7 smartphones. Whether that is by choice due to the impressive specs and features of the device or lack of knowledge on the recall of the Galaxy Note 7 despite the wide media coverage that it has received, there are still some units of the smartphone out there.
For Galaxy Note 7 owners looking to circumvent the airline ban by travelling through rail, Amtrak's issuance of its own ban eliminates that option as well.
Through the ban, the Galaxy Note 7 is no longer allowed from being brought into trains, platforms, stations and connecting buses. That is understandable given the damage that the smartphone can cause if it explodes while within a train, which could cause travel disruptions, passenger evacuations, and a lot of lost income.
It is not clear if other train operations around the world will enforce such a ban on the Galaxy Note 7. Samsung has placed exchange booths for the Galaxy Note 7 in airports across the globe so that owners can have their devices exchanged before boarding their flights, which is something that Samsung might do for entry points of other forms of transportation.
However, instead of further bans being applied against the smartphone and more exchange booths being put up, it would be much better if all the Galaxy Note 7 units still out in the wild would be replaced by owners as soon as possible.
