115 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

KCPQ-TV, Fox-13 in Seattle, WA, 12/17/18:

 

 

Accountant quits job to become firefighter after saving lives during Amtrak derailment

 

 

Tuesday will mark one year since an Amtrak train derailed near DuPont.

 

 

Story

[KevinKorell]

OPB, 12/16/18:

 

 

Survivors Healing, Seeking Accountability 1 Year After Amtrak Cascades Derailment

 

 

One year after a deadly Amtrak Cascades derailment in Washington, some of the seriously injured are still healing. And the courts are just beginning to deal with the lawsuits stemming from the crash.

 

 

Update

[KevinKorell]

Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA, 12/16/18:

 

 

Kitsap's new emergency director helped deadly Amtrak crash response

 

 

Emergencies you train for may never happen. But you'd better be ready if they do. And in Elizabeth "Lis" Klute's career, they have. 

 

 

Article

[KevinKorell]

KING-TV, Channel 5 in Seattle, WA, 5/13/19:

 

 

Amtrak crash survivor has to give up dream of being police officer due to injuries

 

 

 

Tiffani Vincent had her whole life planned out.

 

Following her career as an Air Force military police officer, she hoped to work for a civilian police department.

 

 

Story

[CNJRoss]

NTSB news release:

 

MEDIA ADVISORY: Amtrak Accident Subject of Board Meeting

 

5/16/2019

 

 

WASHINGTON (May 16, 2019) — The National Transportation Safety Board plans to hold a board meeting Tuesday, 1 p.m. (EDT), to determine the probable cause of the fatal, Dec. 18, 2017, Amtrak accident near DuPont, Washington.

 

Three passengers were killed and 65 others including passengers, crew and occupants of highway vehicles were injured when Amtrak train 501, traveling at 78 mph, derailed from a highway overpass near DuPont, Washington. The accident happened during the first regular passenger service trip on a single main track near milepost 19.86. The lead locomotive, the power car and two passenger railcars derailed onto Interstate 5, and eight highway vehicles came into contact with the derailed equipment.

 

Previously released information about the accident investigation is available at https://go.usa.gov/xEsHk. 

 

WHO:  NTSB investigative staff and board members.

 

WHAT:  An open to the public board meeting.

 

WHERE:  NTSB Boardroom and Conference Center, 420 10th St., SW, Washington, DC.

 

WHEN:  Tuesday, May 21, 2019, 1 p.m. (EDT). 

 

HOW:  Media covering the meeting in person are asked to be in place no later than 12:45 p.m. on the day of the event. The public meeting will also be webcast.  A link for the webcast will be available at http://ntsb.windrosemedia.com/ shortly before the start of the meeting.

 

 

[KevinKorell]

KIRO-TV, Channel 7 in Seattle, WA, 5/21/19:

 

  NTSB presents findings on cause of fatal Amtrak derailment in Dupont 

 

 

The National Transportation Safety Board presented its findings on Tuesday into what may have caused the deadly Amtrak train derailment in Dupont in December 2017.

 

Read

[KevinKorell]

KING-TV, Channel 5 in Seattle, WA, 5/21/19:

 

 NTSB: Engineer was confused by warning system ahead of 2017 Amtrak crash 

 

 

 

A National Transportation Safety Board hearing into the high-speed derailment of Amtrak train 501 in December 2017 is nothing short of scathing.

 

More

[CNJRoss]

NTSB news release:
 

Inadequate Planning, Insufficient Training Led to Fatal Amtrak Train Derailment

 

5/21/2019

​

 

Failure to provide an effective mitigation for a hazardous curve and inadequate training of a locomotive engineer led to the overspeed derailment of an Amtrak passenger train that hurtled off a railroad bridge and onto a busy highway in DuPont, Washington, the NTSB announced Tuesday.

 

On the morning of Dec. 18, 2017, Amtrak Cascades train 501, on its inaugural run on the Point Defiance Bypass between Seattle and Portland, Oregon, derailed on an overpass as it entered a 30-mph curve at approximately 78 mph.   The lead locomotive and four rail cars fell onto Interstate 5 where they struck eight vehicles. Three of the 77 train passengers were killed; 57 passengers and crewmembers aboard the train and eight people on the highway were injured.

 

“This is the third fatal overspeed passenger train derailment the NTSB has investigated since 2013,” said NTSB Chairman Robert L. Sumwalt.  “All three have the same thing in common: each could have been prevented by Positive Train Control. This is why Positive Train Control is on the NTSB’s 2019-2020 Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements. The deadline for full implementation of PTC is rapidly approaching and the NTSB continues to advocate for the expedited implementation of this life-saving technology.”

 

The NTSB said during a public meeting held Tuesday that the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority failed to adequately address the hazard associated with a curve that required the train to slow from 79 mph to 30 mph in order to safely traverse it.  Positive Train Control – a technology that prevents overspeed derailments – was not in use for the track at the curve.

 

Ariel view of accident site in DuPont, Washington (Photo courtesy of Washington State Police)

 

Although the engineer was somewhat familiar with the route from observational rides and three training runs, it was the first time he operated the train on that route in revenue service, and on a locomotive on which he had very little experience.  The NTSB determined the engineer had insufficient training on both the route and the equipment.

 

Amtrak had equipped the locomotive with an inward-facing image recorder that provided investigators with both a visual and audio recording of crewmember activities during the accident trip even though this device was not required by the Federal Railroad Administration.

 

This recording allowed investigators to reconstruct a second-by-second narrative of the actions, movements and words of the engineer and the conductor throughout the entire trip. The engineer and conductor engaged in brief conversations throughout the trip; as the train passed the only sign warning of a speed reduction prior to the accident curve, the engineer was not engaged in conversation and was looking ahead. 

 

The engineer told investigators that he did not see the speed reduction sign. Recordings show that he took no action to reduce the speed of the train prior to the derailment.  Investigators concluded the brief conversations between the engineer and the conductor did not distract them from their duties or their abilities to identify the speed reduction sign.

 

Investigators also found the trainset involved in the crash, which did not meet current crashworthiness standards and was only permitted to operate through a grandfathering agreement with the Federal Railroad Administration, was structurally vulnerable to high-energy derailments or collisions.

 

Responsibility for the planning, safety and oversight of the Cascades operation involved numerous organizations, including Amtrak, the Washington State Department of Transportation, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority.  Investigators found there was a general sense that none of the participants fully understood the scope of their roles and responsibilities as they pertained to the safe operation of the service, which allowed critical safety areas to be unaddressed.

 

As a result of the investigation, the NTSB issued a total of 26 safety recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration, the Washington State Department of Transportation, Oregon Department of Transportation, Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority and the United States Department of Defense.  In addition, the NTSB reiterated three recommendations to the FRA.

 

The final report will be available in several weeks. An abstract of the report that includes findings, probable cause and safety recommendations is available at https://go.usa.gov/xmwhG.

 

Additional materials, including Chairman Sumwalt's opening and closing statements as well as investigator presentations, are available at https://go.usa.gov/xmwhJ.  The accident docket is available at https://go.usa.gov/xmvha.

 

Related News Releases

• May 21, 2019

  Inadequate Planning, Insufficient Training Led to Fatal Amtrak Train Derailment
• May 16, 2019

  MEDIA ADVISORY: Amtrak Accident Subject of Board Meeting
• March 14, 2019

  Amtrak Accident Subject of Board Meeting
• July 03, 2018

  Investigative Hearing Agenda for 2 Amtrak Accidents
• May 23, 2018

  NTSB To Hold Investigative Hearing on Amtrak Crashes
• January 25, 2018

  NTSB Issues Investigative Update on Washington State Amtrak Derailment
• December 22, 2017

  NTSB Conducts Initial Review of Amtrak Train Recorders

Related Reports

• Preliminary Report Railroad Amtrak Passenger Train 501 Derailment DuPont, Washington, December 18, 2017 RRD18MR001

Related Events

• 7/10/2018 - Investigative Hearing: Managing Safety on Passenger Railroads

Related Investigations

• Amtrak derailment

More NTSB Links

• Investigation Process
• Data & Stats
• Accident Reports
• Most Wanted List

 

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[EvergreenRailfan]

The Talgo 6 trains will be pulled from service, as soon as possible.

https://www.kiro7.co...ation/951625613

By the way, which owns the two Talgos in Beech Grove?

[CNJRoss]

Sound Transit news release:

 

Sound Transit issues statement and background following NTSB meeting to discuss findings in its investigation of Amtrak Cascades derailment

 

May 22, 2019

 

 

Sound Transit today issued the below statement and background following the National Transportation Safety Board's meeting to discuss findings in its investigation of the Amtrak Cascades derailment in DuPont, Wash. on December 18, 2017.

 

This Nisqually Amtrak accident causing three fatalities and numerous injuries was a terrible tragedy that sears in the memory of all of us at Sound Transit. We continue to extend our deep sympathies to all of the individuals and families affected.  While Sound Transit does not operate any service in the segment of track where the accident took place, as owner of the track we commit to closely reviewing the NTSB's report and implementing recommendations in collaboration with Amtrak, the Washington State Department of Transportation, BNSF and the Federal Railroad Administration.

 

Ahead of the report Sound Transit has already worked with partners to implement graduated speed limits and supplementary signs as well as crew communications requirements, as the NTSB today recommended. PTC is now fully operational in the corridor.  

 

  Background

 

Sound Transit has been a leader among commuter railroads in the United States in implementing PTC and completed all investments in advance of last December's federal deadline. The launch of PTC in 2018 has greatly increased safety on this corridor and others where passenger trains operate, especially for over-speed incidents. If PTC had been operational on the train that derailed it would have detected an inappropriate speed in relation to the train's location and applied automatic braking.

 

Actions Sound Transit has taken so far include:

1. Graduated speed reduction – As the owner of the segment Sound Transit has implemented revised speed limits for a graduated reduction in the approach to the curve in the Lakewood Subdivision from 79 mph to 50 mph to 30 mph.
2. Crew Focus Zone – In the rules that Sound Transit provides for all users of the tracks, Sound Transit has added requirements for an inter-crew communication protocol approaching the curve where the derailment occurred that requires verbal communications between the train's operator and conductor about speed restrictions.

The derailment occurred on a section of track between DuPont and Tacoma known as the Lakewood Subdivision that Sound Transit acquired for the purpose of establishing Sounder commuter rail service between Tacoma and Lakewood. While Sound Transit does not plan to utilize the southerly section of tracks where the derailment occurred, the agency agreed to allow the Amtrak Cascades program to design and fund improvements to the tracks that would enable its trains to use them. In 2017 Sound Transit completed the improvements to the tracks that were funded by the Amtrak Cascades program. Contractors completed installation of PTC equipment in February 2018, enabling PTC use by Amtrak and other operators following their installation and activation of train and back-office PTC systems. At the time of the derailment PTC was not implemented by Amtrak anywhere on the Cascades corridor.