Posted on 12/19/2017 4:07:00 AM PST by servo1969
An Amtrak train that derailed Monday during its inaugural ride on a new line in Washington state was traveling at 80 mph in a 30 mph zone, the National Transportation Safety Board said, citing data recorder information.
Bella Dinh-Zarr, an NTSB board member, said at a news conference late Monday that information from the data recorder in the rear locomotive provided information about the train’s speed.
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A track chart prepared by the Washington State Department of Transportation shows the maximum speed drops from 79 mph to 30 mph for passenger trains just before the tracks curve to cross Interstate 5, which is where the train went off the tracks.
An Amtrak train derailed south of Seattle early Monday, causing "injuries and casualties," according to officials. (Washington State Patrol Trooper Brooke Bova) The chart, dated Feb. 7, was submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration in anticipation of the start of passenger service along a new bypass route that shaves off 10 minutes for the trip between Seattle and Portland, Ore.
Kimberly Reason with Sound Transit, the Seattle-area transit agency that owns the tracks, said speed signs are posted 2 miles before the speed zone changes and just before the speed zone approaching the curve.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
If it was doing 80 in a 30 then why didn’t it derail on the first curve?
That's a good possibility, but there are others. Drugs, a really, really important text message, or Allah at the controls all come to mind.
Curve?
The track had barely started to curve when the loco went straight!
I wonder if unions had anything to do with that?
But it didn't.
I do not pretend to have any knowledge of the technical knowledge of operating today’s trains, but a practical question comes to mind: With today’s implementation of computer guidance systems, why was there not an automated system in place that could have prevented the train from maintaining such a speed as it approached the danger zone here? Don’t know how it would work, but I am imagining an engine driving the route with an operator, who while maintaining over-ride abilities, just stands by monitoring the train’s progress. Like auto-pilot on a plane. Tell me what I am not comprehending here.
True; but once OFF the track; the brakes aren't going to be very effective!
The pictures SHOW the lead loco; after going '80' and jumping track and GOING DOWN AN EMBANKMENT to still be upright and only a few feet onto the interstate.
That ain’t the one I remember. It started out
“Casey Jones was a son of a b!#@&
Parked that train in a railroad ditch
Jumped through the window with his....
How about wanting to save the ten minutes, a bit like the Titanic going for a speed record?
Amen! I have been saying that for years. Hoping the Trump administration will make it happen.
Ya THINK??
I know what you mean. Every time I have seen clips of the scene, it has annoyed the heck out of me that this vandal is having his “work” displayed. Vandalism infuriates me to no end. I would like to see serious punishment for it.
Just to be clear, this train wrecked going toward the bridge, not coming off of the bridge. The locomotive you see still on the tracks was bringing up the rear. In another pic you can see the forward locomotive down on the highway and in what direction it kicked up all the dirt across the highway on impact.
I think you have the direction of the train backwards.
For only about 500 feet.
As this was an accident involving the Government, we can put aside the conspiracy theories and instead focus upon the gross incompetence or gross negligence of the government employees.
Obama has filled the government with incompetent people.
Just consider the corruption in the Intelligence Services or the incompetent Navy ship drivers in Asian waters or now this negligent train wreck.
People are getting killed by incompetent government workers.
DRAIN THE SWAMP!!!!!
OSHA will say train drivers don’t have enough training.
Really?
I know my dot connecting pen seems to be broken.
Although that section of track was new, the rest of the line is owned by BNSF and they give Amtrak specific windows of operation. If an Amtrak train misses its window for a section of track, it must yield right-of-way to any BNSF freight train, costing it even more time.
I'd bet the window to enter the next section was expiring, and the engineer was told to speed up so as not to further delay an already late train, which would have been extremely embarrassing for the politicians involved.
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