Amtrak train derails in Washington state onto Interstate 5; 'multiple fatalities' reported

An inaugural ride on Amtrak's new line meant to speed train service in Washington state turned deadly Monday after a train carrying more than 80 people derailed outside of Tacoma — causing several train cars to tumble from an overpass onto an interstate highway, officials said.

"Multiple fatalities" were reported after Amtrak train 501 derailed about 7:30 a.m. along Interstate 5 as it was leaving the new Tacoma station, Pierce County Sheriff's Spokesman Ed Troyer said. He did not specify the number of people killed.

The train was traveling southbound from Seattle when it derailed.

Police previously said several cars were struck by the Amtrak train cars, injuring multiple drivers on the highway. No motorists’ deaths were reported, according to Pierce County officials.

Amtrak said it was "aware of an incident involving Amtrak train 501," its "Cascades" service from Seattle to Portland, Ore. Service heading south of Seattle is temporarily suspended as of 8 a.m.

An Amtrak train derailed south of Seattle early Monday, causing "injuries and casualties," according to officials. (Washington State Patrol Trooper Brooke Bova)

A highway camera showed at least one train car toppled onto the road, causing a traffic jam. Photos tweeted by Washington State Patrol Public Information Officer Brooke Bova showed one car detached and smashed on the ground. Another car was dangling from the overpass.

Chris Karnes, who was on the train — three or four cars back from the front — told The Associated Press: "I'm not sure what got hit. I'm not sure what happened."

Bova told Fox News' "Happening Now" that people are advised to avoid Interstate 5 and that clearing the area will be an “all day” process.

Chris Kaines, the chair of Pierce Transit's advisory board, said on Twitter "The train has derailed. Emergency crews are on the scene. Massive damage. People are hurt." He said the train appeared to have hit a truck, adding that the car was "destroyed."

The derailment caused all southbound lanes of Interstate 5 near Mounts Road in Pierce County to be closed, the Washington State Department of Transportation tweeted.

WSDOT tweeted that drivers should expect long delays and avoid the area. Southbound Interstate 5 near DuPont was closed shortly after the derailment after traffic backed up for miles.

Monday was the first day of schedule changes to include two new round trips between Seattle and Portland, according to the Amtrak website. Amtrak train 501 is part of the new route running between Portland and Seattle daily. Washington Department of Transportation spent $800 million on passenger train improvement.

The southbound lanes of Interstate 5, which see about 60,000 vehicles per day, are expected to be closed for "an extended period," according to the WSDOT.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/12/1...ashington-state-blocks-interstate-5.html

What a mess, I can almost guarantee you that someone I worked with was killed.

R.I.P.

Very sad and tragic accident. I will be very curious to read what the NTSB discovers from its preliminary investigation.

I drive this route regularly. If I had worked last night I would have been there at exactly the time the train derailed. The WDOT spent 800 million dollars upgrading the track through that area but the improvements I think ended at that bridge. The problem I see is that the derailment happened before the train hit that bridge. There is a blind turn just past exit 116 (called Mount's Road) and that looks to be where the wreck happened. I am pretty sure that track was updated. I also have heard the train was going just above the max speed allowed on that section of track. Not a smart decision considering this was the first run on that track of the new Amtrak line. The just changed the routing this week.

Horrible. I work at Madigan Army Medical Center, already told them to call me if they need help. So far they don't. Luckily for MAMC they are on their holiday schedule and the hospital is only about half full. Surgeries are cut back during this week before Christmas so Active Duty Folks can work on getting home for the holidays. We might be short a few staff members but there are still enough folks around to handle something like this. Best off all, there was only one person in our ICU on Sunday so there are beds available for the injured. Most of the casualties went to Madigan, it was the closest hospital.

Looks like speed was a definite factor.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/12/1...ound-curve-before-derailment-report.html

I have to wonder how the engineers could manage that unless the speed limit signs were either not present, or tampered with?

Shouldn't these new fancy trains have speed governors on them of some sort?

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the driver of the train was using their smartphone when the accident occurred.

There is such a system, but it wasn't yet operation for this new route.

Don't think that these particular trains are all that fancy though, they're late '70s - early '90s vintage with a limited amount of newer tech grafted in, and they're pretty beat up for their age.

Anyway I still haven't found out if anyone I know has been killed or injured, though it seems likely.

preliminary reports indicate 120+ kph on 50 kph turn

The conductor of that train should be charged with criminal negligence IMHO.

"80 mph on a turn rated for 30 mph - 80 passengers, at least 3 dead, 100 injured. 13 cars left the track each weighing 65 tons and two of them hit several tractor-trailer trucks on the highway which heavily damaged those trucks. *Positive train control was turned off. The system requires that sensors also be placed along the rail bed, and those were not scheduled to be in place until sometime next year."

"The power car behind the locomotive carried 350 gallons of fuel. The Amtrak train was on its first run on tracks that had been rebuilt at a cost of $181 million"

*positive train control = auto slow down of train on reaching places on the tracks such as curves

"The system requires that sensors also be placed along the rail bed, and those were not scheduled to be in place until sometime next year."



Some local politicians and company managers heads need to roll for that.

If only there was a system that used something else already in place to determine a trains location and speed.... something like orbiting satellites maybe?

Do conductors have maps that tell them when a section of upcoming track doesn't have positive train control?

I might imagine the control panel lets you know.

positive train control uses GPS however Congress has not supported Amtrak with the proper funding for years

Is Amtrak a private company?

So if positive train control uses GPS, how is the conductor supposed to be aware it exists or it does not? Do these trains have complex control panels inside, or are they still levers and switches? Because I still see plenty of pictures on image search showing simple cockpits with levers, knobs and switches.

Amtrak wouldn't be so irresponsible as to put a rookie driver on a new track that isn't finished yet, would they?

"FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) executes and oversees grant agreements with the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) to provide Amtrak with federal funds appropriated by Congress. ... Previously, Amtrak's annual federal funding was provided as an operating grant and a capital and debt service grant"

from what i heard on the news it was said that the project whereby all Amtrak passenger trains would have GPS controlled capabilities was supposed to be finished this Spring

**Special Hag Investigative Report Below**

May 13th, 2015 look familiar ?

Investigators work near the wreckage of Amtrak Northeast Regional Train 188, from Washington to New York that derailed on May 13, 2015, in Philadelphia

2015: "On Thursday, Amtrak President Joseph Boardman said the nation's passenger railroad will begin operating the technology, called positive train control, throughout its busy Northeast Corridor by the end of the year. The technology was installed on the tracks where the accident occurred, but it had not been turned on because further testing was needed, he said in an interview.
Seven years ago, Congress gave Amtrak and freight and commuter railroads until the end of this year to install the technology, on their trains and tracks. But few railroads are expected to meet the deadline. Now lawmakers are proposing to give railroads another five to seven years to get the task done"



too late !

These pseudo government/private sector ventures like AMTRAK and USPS have been massively inefficient money wasters for the most part.