Must Read Passengers killed when Amtrak train on new route derails in Washington state

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Passengers killed when Amtrak train on new route derails in Washington state

By Tom James

 

First responders are seen at the scene of an Amtrak passenger train derailment on interstate highway (I-5) in this Washington State Patrol image moved on social media in DuPont, Washington, U.S., December 18, 2017. Courtesy Brooke Bova/Washington State Patrol/Handout via REUTERS

 

DUPONT, Wash. (Reuters) - An Amtrak train derailed on Monday in Washington state during its inaugural run on a faster route from Seattle to Portland, Oregon, sending passenger cars tumbling from a bridge onto a major highway, killing a number of riders and injuring nearly 100 people.

 

The derailment caused "multiple fatalities," Pierce County Sheriff's Department spokesman Ed Troyer said, without giving a specific number.

 

Thirteen of the train's 14 cars jumped the tracks, Washington State Patrol spokeswoman Brooke Bova said. Five vehicles and two trucks were involved in the accident; some motorists were injured but none died, authorities said.

 

Seventy-seven people were taken to local hospitals, according to the Tacoma-based CHI Franciscan Health healthcare network. Another 20 patients were treated at the Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, the centre said.

 

Several hours after the 7:40 a.m. (1540 GMT) crash in DuPont, Washington, train cars remained dangling from the overpass, with others strewn across Interstate 5. Bova said it was still possible that passengers remained inside some of the cars perched on the overpass, as rescuers have not been able to access them due to concerns about their stability.

 

The train carried 77 passengers and five crew, Bova said.

 

Some people escaped by kicking out windows, passenger Chris Karnes told local news outlet KIRO 7.

 

"All of a sudden, we felt this rocking and creaking noise, and it felt like we were heading down a hill," Karnes said. "The next thing we know, we're being slammed into the front of our seats, windows are breaking, we stop, and there's water gushing out of the train. People were screaming."

 

The derailment occurred on the first day Amtrak trains began using the new inland route between the Washington cities of Tacoma and Olympia, part of a project to cut travel time, according to an October news release from the state's transportation department.

 

The rerouting takes trains along I-5, enabling them to reach speeds of 79 miles per hour (127 km per hour).

 

Monday's southbound Seattle-to-Portland train, whose scheduled departure time was 6 a.m. (1400 GMT), was the first to take the new route, which uses tracks owned by a commuter line.

 

It was not immediately clear whether the derailment was connected to the new route. A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member told reporters it was too early to say what may have caused the crash, and that the NTSB was sending investigators to the scene.

 

A statement on Monday from the state transportation department said the track had undergone "weeks of inspection and testing" before Monday.

 

(For a map of derailment site, click -

 

'CARS EVERYWHERE'

 

A train crew member told an emergency dispatcher that the train came around a corner before the bridge and then "we went on the ground," according to an audio recording posted by Broadcastify.com.

 

Asked whether everyone was OK, the crew member replied, "I am still figuring that out. We got cars everywhere and down onto the highway." The dispatcher also requested the caller's location, and he responded, "As soon as I know exactly where all of my train is, I'll let you know."

 

Amtrak's co-chief executive, Richard Anderson, declined to speculate on the cause while speaking to reporters on Monday. He confirmed that positive train control (PTC), a system that automatically slows trains if they are going too fast, was not installed on the tracks.

 

By law, PTC must be installed on all passenger rail systems by 2018, a deadline that has repeatedly been delayed after rail agencies said implementation was more complicated than anticipated. Sound Transit commuter line, which owns the track, reported in September that it did not yet have PTC in operation.

 

U.S. President Donald Trump said the crash illustrated the need for infrastructure improvements.

 

The rerouting project was budgeted at $180.7 million and funded by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), according to the state transportation department. The work was done by Sound Transit and reviewed by the FRA, the department said on Monday.

 

I-5 is the West Coast's major north-south highway, running between the U.S-Mexican border in San Diego, California, and the border with Canada in Washington.

 

The mayor of a town along the new route warned early this month that high-speed trains were dangerously close to cars and pedestrians.

 

"Come back when there is that accident, and try to justify not putting in those safety enhancements, or you can go back now and advocate for the money to do it, because this project was never needed and endangers our citizens," Lakewood Mayor Don Anderson told transportation officials, according to Seattle's KOMO News.

 

The derailment was Amtrak's second in Washington state this year. On July 2, a southbound train with more than 250 people aboard derailed in the town of Steilacoom, just a few miles north of Monday's derailment. No serious injuries were reported.

 

In May 2015, an Amtrak train derailed in Philadelphia, killing eight people and injuring more than 200. The NTSB concluded the driver became distracted by radio transmissions and lost track of where he was.

 

An Amtrak train travelling from New York in April 2016 hit a backhoe working on railroad tracks in Chester, Pennsylvania, killing two maintenance workers and injuring 41.

 

That crash prompted criticism from the NTSB about Amtrak's safety record. Amtrak said last month that it had made numerous reforms.

 

(Reporting by Tom James in DuPont, Washington; Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen, Gina Cherelus, Peter Szekely and Daniel Trotta in New York; Writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Cynthia Osterman)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-12-19

[lannarebirth]

My daughter was booked on that train for day after tomorrow. Feeling lucky personally and sad for the dead and injured. 

[Emster23]

I take that train every time I go to USA.

"U.S. President Donald Trump said the crash illustrated the need for infrastructure improvements."

Uh, this was a new route, so probably part of infrastructure improvement, ya think? Maybe (just maybe) lack of PTC installation was part of slashing all those hamstringing regulations he likes to brag about. Should be up to customer to inquire about those sorts of things and make informed (?) choice on transport options. What's a few deaths compared to getting rid of nanny state?

[Coconut Kidd]

^^^It was a “new route” for that particular train, the trestle itself is very, very old.

 

However, in this case it appears that speed may have been a key player in this disaster. 'Positive Train Control' was not is use at this section, the curve was rated at 30 mph, and rumor has it the train was doing 80ish in the straights.

[Stargeezr]

This is a bad way for Amtrak to get a new route started. Makes me wonder how the high speed Chinese rail will do in Thailand, before its first or second major accident?

Geezer

[Sir Swagman]

That tweet from DT about 'demonstrating the need for infrastructure update' was his first response in his usual 'it's all about me' way of seeing things. Whatever his shortcomings as a president they cannot even come close to his failings as a human being. He then (someone must have pointed this need out to him) expressed some concern for the victims. Sociopath.

[Opl]

44 minutes ago, Sir Swagman said:

That tweet from DT about 'demonstrating the need for infrastructure update' was his first response in his usual 'it's all about me' way of seeing things. Whatever his shortcomings as a president they cannot even come close to his failings as a human being. He then (someone must have pointed this need out to him) expressed some concern for the victims. Sociopath.

"As he calls for more infrastructure, Trump’s own budget slashes funding to Amtrak. The President has no idea what is going on around him, as he is only capable of regurgitating his campaign talking points on Twitter. The Washington Post reported in May 2017, “President Trump’s transportation budget slashes federal aid to the nation’s rail systems by cutting funding for long-distance Amtrak service and severely limiting money to help expand transit lines and build new ones."

http://www.politicususa.com/2017/12/18/people-die-washington-train-derailment-trump-cuts-funding-amtrak.html

 

[metisdead]

A profane post has been removed. 

[Becker]

The moral abomination shows his true colors:

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/18/politics/trump-tweet-seattle-train/index.html

[dunroaming]

Horrible accident.  Sympathy for the injured and for the relatives of the dead.  Comments from Trump are up to his usual standard but on this occasion I think he should be left out of it.

[GOLDBUGGY]

6 hours ago, Coconut Kidd said:

^^^It was a “new route” for that particular train, the trestle itself is very, very old.

 

However, in this case it appears that speed may have been a key player in this disaster. 'Positive Train Control' was not is use at this section, the curve was rated at 30 mph, and rumor has it the train was doing 80ish in the straights.

I think the key to any success these new trains will have will because of there Higher Speed. This train travelling at 89 MPH is not even that fast. Trains in Japan can go as fast as 200 MPH, or double that speed. To enjoy any success they need to travel this fast. People who communte to work every day don't care if they can get an extra cup of coffee on the way to work. They care how long it takes them to get from point A to B and back again. 

 

At one time trains were the only sensible mode of transportation over cross country long distances. With overnight travel they were not only the fastest route but also the most comfortable. With improved Highways Systems and the introduction to Airplane Travel after the war the dependance on Train Travel dropped off. They depended more on cargo hauling now then people hauling. 

 

To regain this territory trains will have to travel fast and a lot faster than that. This 100 injured with fatilities does sound serious, but when you consider the deaths on the highway per week, it is very little. But some improvement may be needed for added passager safety. Both Cars and Airplanes use seatbelts. Trains???? 

[riclag]

4 hours ago, Becker said:

The moral abomination shows his true colors:

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/18/politics/trump-tweet-seattle-train/index.html

His true colors are red,white and blue

Edited December 19, 2017 by riclag

[Opl]

7 minutes ago, riclag said:

His true colors are red,white and blue

[riclag]

16 minutes ago, Opl said:

[Becker]

50 minutes ago, riclag said:

How touching. There really is no debating on this level.

[Dave67]

Was looking at the helicopter footage, for a new track not very sophisticated concrete sleepers in ballast, The 2 middle rails are installed on bridges and Viaducts to stop the train derailing and falling off the bridge/viaduct. So inadequate protection which didn't work