The head of the railroad safety program at the University of Delaware describes how Positive Train Control, technology that can automatically slow or stop a speeding train, could have prevented the deadly Amtrak derailment in Seattle. (Dec. 19) AP
Investigators are examining whether an Amtrak engineer was distracted when a speeding train derailed, killing three people and injuring dozens more, a U.S. official said Tuesday. (Dec 19) AP
Survivors, witnesses, and a hero Eagle Scout describe the deadly Amtrak train derailment south of Seattle. Their harrowing accounts paint a horrifying picture, but one of heroism as well. USA TODAY
Early assessments show the Amtrak commuter train was traveling 80 mph in a 30 mph zone before it careened over an overpass, killing at least 3 people and leaving several seriously injured. USA TODAY
Crews have begun removing the Amtrak rail cars that derailed in a Monday morning crash in Washington state. (Dec. 19) AP
Survivors of a deadly train crash in Washington state described being thrown from seats, climbing through twisted rail cars and jumping to safety Monday morning. The Amtrak train they rode in was on a first run from Seattle to Portland. (Dec 18) AP
Authorities say 72 people were medically evaluated and taken to hospitals for treatment after an Amtrak train derailed onto a highway about 50 miles south of Seattle. 10 people were in serious condition. Three died in the train wreck. AP
The National Transportation Safety Board says a data recorder was recovered from the passenger train that derailed south of Seattle on Monday. The recorder shows the train was traveling at 80 mph in a 30 mph zone. (Dec. 19) AP
The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday that a "go team" was on it's way to Washington State where an Amtrak train derailed. (Dec. 18) AP
The Positive Train Control system (PTC) uses GPS, wireless radio and computers to monitor trains, and automatically enforce speed limits, and emergency stops. By Frank Pompa and Ramon Padilla, USA TODAY
Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Detective Ed Troyer says there are no rescue operations now, only recovery at the site of the Amtrak derailment in Washington State. (Dec. 18) AP
Audio has been released of an emergency call following Monday's Amtrak train derailment in which the train operator alerts a dispatcher about the accident. More than 75 people were aboard the train, and at least six people are dead, according to authorities. (Dec. 18) AP
An Amtrak train on its inaugural run derailed going from Portland to, causing multiple deaths and injuries. The train was going from Seattle to Portland. USA TODAY
Video provided by KOMO-TV shows aerial footage of the mangled Amtrak rail cars that went off the tracks in Washington State Monday morning. (Dec. 18) AP
Authorities say multiple people were killed when an Amtrak passenger train derailed onto Interstate 5 south of Seattle. (Dec. 18) AP
An Amtrak train derailed south of Seattle, and authorities say "injuries and casualties" were reported. The train derailed about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Seattle before 8 a.m. Monday. (Dec. 18) AP
An Amtrak train derailed south of Seattle, and authorities say "injuries and casualties" were reported. (Dec. 18) AP
An Amtrak train in Washington state derailed, sending a train car over the side of the overpass. Buzz60
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DUPONT, Wash. — The Washington State Department of Transportation affirmed Tuesday its commitment to carry passenger trains on a recently completed bypass that was the site of Monday's deadly derailment.
Janet Matkin, spokeswoman for WSDOT's rail division, said officials are confident a refurbished 14.5-mile section of track known as the Point Defiance bypass will begin operating in due time, once the investigation into Monday's accident is complete.
"We've put in a lot of great improvements," Matkin said. "All new rail, all new ties, all new ballasts."
The section of track where Amtrak Cascades Train 501 toppled from its tracks was actually a brand new corridor for passenger travel on refurbished freight rail tracks, made possible by part of nearly $800 million in federal cash used to enhance service between Seattle and Portland, Ore., over the past decade.
Monday's inaugural journey aimed to usher in a new, improved era of passenger train travel in the Pacific Northwest. It would cut minutes off the overall journey between Seattle and Portland in part by cutting out a meandering and often congested section of track along the waters of Puget Sound and rerouting the trains to urban areas along Interstate 5.
More: Eagle Scout among heroes in chaotic moments after Amtrak derailment
"It was a win-win," according to Gus Melonas, a spokesman for BNSF Railway, which owns much of the track upon which Amtrak relies between Oregon and Washington's largest cities. "The new bypass takes trains off the waterfront and allows BNSF more consistent service for its customers."
Those rails haul the equivalent of 9,000 truckloads of goods daily, Melonas said, to include more than 60 "movements" of trains each day. That includes Amtrak Cascades' recently bolstered service of 12 trains a day between Seattle and Portland.
"By all accounts, the goal of the new route was to separate freight and passenger traffic, which would enable more frequent and reliable service," said Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., who praised the efforts of responders and bystanders involved in the train crash.
Kilmer last week helped cut the ribbon on Amtrak's new Freighthouse Square station, within his district, which the new $181 million bypass traverses. But the movement to create the new tracks predates Kilmer's first election to Congress in 2012.
More: ‘Crumpling and crashing and screaming’: What it was like on board Washington’s derailed Amtrak train
More: Amtrak's Cascades rail lines saw a derailment in July
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — far better known as the Stimulus signed into law by then-new president Barack Obama, including federal cash for "high speed" rail networks throughout the country. The Pacific Northwest's portion of almost $800 million revamped stations and safety signaling, built new locomotives and ultimately aimed to help passenger travel coexist on a freight railway -- all while traveling up to about 80 mph.
Development of the Point Defiance Bypass, though, was not without controversy. Don Anderson, the mayor of Lakewood, which the new bypass travels through, expressed concern earlier this month about trains traveling through his city at high speeds where drivers and pedestrians would cross.
"It's virtually inevitable that someone is going to get killed that wouldn’t be killed otherwise," Anderson said during a city council meeting. "And this is unacceptable."
But the crash occurred in DuPont, south of Lakewood and near a national wildlife refuge and wider greenbelt between Olympia and Tacoma. Those statements by the mayor "in no way was intended to predict what happened in DuPont, nor was the Mayor speaking about the possibility of a train derailment outside city limits," the city of Lakewood said in a statement Tuesday.
There was also sadness about the passenger route leaving Point Defiance near Tacoma's shoreline, which offered picturesque views of the Olympic Mountains, local islands and peninsulas and wildlife.
"I know people who took the train, just for that feature," said Derek Young, a member of the Pierce County Council whose district includes Point Defiance. "It seemed a special treat.”
Amtrak has resumed service on the old Point Defiance route for now, while the National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating that initial train trip on the bypass. But WSDOT affirmed it will continue using the new tracks once the investigation is complete and does not believe they were a factor in the crash.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee says he's committed to getting answers about the deadly train derailment and to make any changes that may be recommended following the investigation. (Dec. 19) AP
"They're going to have to go along way to convince us," said Mike Courts, mayor of DuPont, which also has new railroad crossings along the bypass route.
Questions remain as to why the train was going about 80 mph around a curve in a 30 mph zone when it derailed, sending 13 cars off their tracks and killing three people. Interstate 5, which the new passenger tracks crosses over along an older freight rail trestle, remains closed in its southbound lanes.
"We've gotta get this right," Gov. Jay Inslee said of the investigation at a press conference Tuesday. "We've gotta make sure what happened here never happens again."
Follow Josh Farley on Twitter: @joshfarley
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