Big Train Crash in USA. Amtrak

[Anonymous]

The official NTSB investigation will take months, if not longer, to be completed.  They won't release much until then.



However, new track, new run, 30 minutes behind schedule...  It's easy to see how easily operator error could cause this, especially when the Train Control System was not yet operative...

They are having similar problems up in Edmonton with their new LRT line.

[Angry White Male]

On the rail line here, along Glover Road, freight trains used to do 80+ km/h years ago.  I said to myself, this will NOT end well, knowing the area and the crossings as well as I do.



Sure enough, a freight train hit a loaded dump truck.  This caused the engines and a few cars to derail into a field.  What a mess that was...



Then the limit was lowered to around 60 km/h after that.  Since then numerous people have still died over the years, including a patient that was in the back of an ambulance that got hit.

[cc]

Still Early, But Latest



Officials: Amtrak train was reportedly going 80 in a 30-mph zone



The Amtrak train that derailed Monday morning on its inaugural trip through a faster railway route was supposed to slow dramatically, to 30 mph, before entering the curve where the crash occurred.



The Amtrak train that derailed Monday morning on its inaugural trip through a faster railway route was supposed to slow dramatically before entering the curve where the crash occurred.



The speed limit at the curve where the train crosses Interstate 5 is 30 miles per hour, said state transportation department spokeswoman Barbara LaBoe, while the speed limit on most of the track is 79 mph. She said speed-limit signs are posted two miles before the lowered speed zone and then just before the zone.





"Engineers are trained to slow trains according to posted speeds," she said.



Daniel Konzelman, who was driving on I-5 south parallel to the train, said he was traveling at 60 mph or more and watched the train pass his vehicle about a half-mile before the crash. A website that monitors locations and speeds of Amtrak trains, transitdocs.com, reported that the train was going about 81 mph shortly before the derailment, The Associated Press reported



[There definitely is a strong curve where it left the tracks]

https://static.seattletimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/12182017_curve_150004-640x412.jpg">



The railway route had recently undergone a $181 million retrofit program in order to speed up passenger service that previously traveled away from the freeway and along the coast. Part of that retrofit was to include "positive train control" systems that can prevent dangerous situations such as excessive speed.



The 14.5-mile corridor is now equipped for positive train control equipment, but the train controls aren't operating yet in that area, said Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson. An Amtrak spokesman said the equipment was still being tested.

[Odinson]

The train was travelling 2,5 times the speed limit..



There is the cause of the accident.

[Anonymous]

The train was travelling 2,5 times the speed limit..



There is the cause of the accident.

Absolutely, and thank you  cc for posting that.

[Odinson]

The train was travelling 2,5 times the speed limit..



There is the cause of the accident.

Absolutely, and thank you  cc for posting that.

Didnt see that..

[Anonymous]

Did the engineer not look at the sub timetable. It seems obvious he didn't.

[Bricktop]

...and the lawyers line up...

[Anonymous]

...and the lawyers line up...

I expect that, but compensation is warranted.

[Bricktop]

No doubt. I agree that the injured must be cared for finacially and medically.

[The Donald]

Our deepest sympathies and most heartfelt prayers are with the victims of the train derailment in Washington State. We are closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with local authorities...