Amtrak Washington Train Crash: Investigators Focus On Speed

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42408624

Apparently the train was travelling at 81mph, when the limit on the bend was only 30mph....that is one hell of a difference, and I am surprised that more poeple haven't been killed and injured.

[emmie]

looks like the driver was at fault, does it say whether he survived. having read though the piece can't see it.

[youngmafbog]

//Investigators Focus On Speed//

Seems a funny choice of words for 81 on a 30 bend !

One has to wonder why they dont have auto train braking, or did it fail?

[ToraToraTora]

similar thing here in Spain 2016, too fast round the bend: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/10201940/Dramatic-footage-shows-moment-Spanish-train-crashes-near-Santiago-de-Compostela.html

[youngmafbog]

So surley it is not beyond the wit of man to use satellite navigation to slow the train down if it is travelling too fast? I cannot be that expensive to do it that way?

[emmie]

like the Croydon train crash, that was going around a bend far to quick..

[EDDIE51]

On the news it gave a recording of the train driver reporting the crash.
He was saying we are off the track and on the highway, so he was OK.

[albaqwerty]

thought it was the conductor on the recording, but am not going to nit-pick when people are dead and a lot of folk are injured.

Wasn't this section supposed to be a fast-speed part of the journey between Seattle and Portland?

Heard a bit of an interview with an Engineer who mentioned that recommendations given over the previous decades still hadn't been put into action.

[EDDIE51]

youngmafbog. Amtrak has suffered from a major lack of investment over many years. It is not up to the standard of railways in Europe or places like Japan. In fact it is more like the railway system of a third world country. It's train have a reputation for being late and unreliable. The USA relies on air/ road transport far more than any European country , so it's rail system has been allowed to degenerate.

[Islay]

Eddie - where are you getting your information from?

[youngmafbog]

I have never really heard that Eddie but you could well be right.

However my comment is really about ALL trains around the world re: the posts on similar accidents.

[mikey4444]

YMB...Automatic Train Protection, or something similar would probably have prevented this this crash, but its expensive to install.

[EDDIE51]

Trump has wasted no time in making it a political point
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-train-derailment-amtrak-washington-tweet-middle-east-infrastructure-a8117371.html
Yet he was in favour of the cuts in spending
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/trump-budget-slashes-federal-aid-for-rail-long-distance-amtrak-routes/2017/05/23/55df2bc4-3fdf-11e7-adba-394ee67a7582_story.html?utm_term=.4997ec27bfc1

[youngmafbog]

Yes Mickey, which is why I suggested an alternative (and should be much cheaper ) method.

[youngmafbog]

Eddie, cuts in spending do not need to equate to a loss or degradation of service. It's a little thing called efficiency which unfortunately those in the public pay dont seem to understand (across the globe).

[EDDIE51]

^ Yes I agree, but the cuts to Amtrak's budget have been going on for decades . It's entire rolling stock is way out of date by modern standards.

[mikey4444]

YMB....thought you might be interested in this :::::

"Derailed US train lacked automatic safety system"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42421417