Amtrak train derails, dangles over interstate in Washington State

[nuckin_futz]

Amtrak train derails, dangles over interstate in Washington

 

TACOMA, Wash. -- An Amtrak train has derailed on an overpass in Washington, authorities said Monday. At this time, all lanes of traffic remain blocked on Interstate 5. 

 

The Washington State Department of Transportation tweeted a photo of the derailment, urging motorists to avoid the area. 

 

CBS News affiliate KIRO-TV reports first responders are treating the derailment as a mass casualty incident. Authorities have not yet provided details on injuries. 

The cause of the derailment remains under investigation. 

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amtrak-train-derailment-tacoma-washington-traffic-today-live-updates/

 

 

 

 

[HerrDrFunk]

Holy $&!# 

[inane]

yikes.

[nuckin_futz]

Sherriff's Office reporting multiple casualties and fatalities.

[Alflives]

Horrible.  This is a nightmare.  

[riffraff]

Terrible.

 

full of Christmas time travellers I bet trying to get to family members.

[Tortorella's Rant]

I take it an accident and not a cowardice attack?

[nuckin_futz]

Washington train crash: Deaths as rail carriages fall on US motorway

 

Train carriages have plummeted on to a motorway in Washington state, causing "multiple" fatalities, police say.

The train derailed and the carriages fell on to the I-5 highway below.

 

Images from the scene show emergency services treating people on the ground. It appears that at least four carriages have left the track; one of them is upside down on the highway.

 

Several cars on the highway were struck by the derailed carriages, the Pierce County Sheriff's department says.

 

Sheriff department spokesman Ed Troyer has told local media that there are fatalities and people still trapped on the train.

 

 

The incident happened near DuPont, which is southwest of Tacoma.

 

The was the first time an Amtrak train carrying passengers southbound had run on a new section of track running parallel to I-5, called the Point Defiance Bypass.

The crash occurred around 07:30 (15:30 GMT), about 45 minutes into train 501's journey between Portland and Seattle.

 

Before the crash, it was travelling at more than 80mph (130km/h), with at least 75 people on board.

 

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42401707

 

*******************************

 

Given it was the inaugural run on a new section of track. I would think it was an accident and not sabotage.

[Odd.]

I've always had fears of that kinda stuff when going on the skytrain. That really sucks.

 

My condolences to whoever affected by this tragedy.

[Brad Marchand]

19 minutes ago, Odd. said:

I've always had fears of that kinda stuff when going on the skytrain. That really sucks.

 

My condolences to whoever affected by this tragedy.

The systems are a bit different, mainly that the SkyTrain system is fully automated while Amtrak trains are still operated manually. Maximum operating speeds are also higher on Amtrak trains than on the SkyTrain. In short, I wouldn't worry about getting into an accident while on the SkyTrain, especially since they've operated continuously for over 30 years without any fatalities.

 

The aerial footage of the crash site looks pretty devastating. All the passenger carriages were derailed. Can't say much else except hopefully there weren't too many casualties.

[Odd.]

 

6 minutes ago, Brad Marchand said:

The systems are a bit different, mainly that the SkyTrain system is fully automated while Amtrak trains are still operated manually. Maximum operating speeds are also higher on Amtrak trains than on the SkyTrain. In short, I wouldn't worry about getting into an accident while on the SkyTrain, especially since they've operated continuously for over 30 years without any fatalities.

 

The aerial footage of the crash site looks pretty devastating. All the passenger carriages were derailed. Can't say much else except hopefully there weren't too many casualties.

 

Quite a hard graphic to watch. 

[Kragar]

3 hours ago, Tortorella's Rant said:

I take it an accident and not a cowardice attack?

+1 for choice of words

[redhdlois]

Geezus H.....Can't imagine driving down the I-5 and being struck from above by an Amtrak car 

[NewbieCanuckFan]

3 hours ago, Brad Marchand said:

The systems are a bit different, mainly that the SkyTrain system is fully automated while Amtrak trains are still operated manually. Maximum operating speeds are also higher on Amtrak trains than on the SkyTrain. In short, I wouldn't worry about getting into an accident while on the SkyTrain, especially since they've operated continuously for over 30 years without any fatalities.

 

The aerial footage of the crash site looks pretty devastating. All the passenger carriages were derailed. Can't say much else except hopefully there weren't too many casualties.

Aren't the older Skytrain lines kind of getting long in the tooth [eg., Expo/Millen. lines]?   They're something like 30+ years old - not sure how extensive any upgrades/fixes have been done during this time.  Wonder if they're running on MS-DOS lol?

[CBH1926]

Terrible news

[Ghostsof1915]

3 dead, 72 injured, 10 in critical condition.

 

The curve where it derailed had a 30 mph speed limit. They are not sure what speed it was travelling when it derailed. 

 

Awful. 

[nuckin_futz]

9 hours ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

3 dead, 72 injured, 10 in critical condition.

 

The curve where it derailed had a 30 mph speed limit. They are not sure what speed it was travelling when it derailed. 

 

Awful. 

Reports are it was going 81 mph through that 30 mph zone.

[Ghostsof1915]

2 minutes ago, nuckin_futz said:

Reports are it was going 81 mph through that 30 mph zone.

That wasn't confirmed yet when I posted. I wanted to let the investigation get all the facts first. 

 

 

[nucklehead]

Positive Train Control -- technology that automatically slows down and stops a speeding train -- wasn't yet activated.

PTC, the technology that automatically slows down and stops a train if it senses that it's going too fast or might get into an accident, had been installed on the track, but wasn't operational yet.

For PTC to be fully operational, it needs to be installed in trains, because a computer system links the train cars and tracks together, he said. The target date for having the PTC operational for that segment of the track had been the second quarter of 2018.

From CNN

[Ghostsof1915]

Funny this happens on a new section of track, with PTC not activated, yet Hell Toupee takes the tragedy and says it's example of crumbling infrastructure.

Sounds more like bean counters didn't get the PTC activated until later, and it's new track, how is that crumbling infrastructure?