Possible Cause Of Deadly Amtrak Crash Revealed!

It will take months for a full investigation into Monday’s Amtrak derailment in DuPont, Washington to conclude. However, there is one important factor that we already know contributed to the crash that killed three people and injured over 100.

The train was traveling extremely fast when it went off the rails. In fact, it was going more than twice the speed limit. It was barreling at 80 miles per hour, but the speed limit was much slower. Most of the track’s speed limit is 79 miles per hour, but the curve where the train derailed limited speed to just 30 miles per hour. The train came off the curve and derailed over I-5. One train car was left dangling over the highway.

13 train cars jumped the track, hitting five cars on the road below. Miraculously, no one in the cars was killed in this horrific crash. Some motorists, whose cars were hit by the train, were trapped in their cars for hours. Five cars and two semi-trucks were involved in this derailment. The three people killed were all passengers on the train.

The track had undergone millions of dollars in improvements and upgrades, but it still failed. Postive Train Control, which slows the rate of a speeding train, wasn’t activated on this train. PTC was installed on the tracks but wasn’t operational. Investigators learned of this important detail from a data recorder housed in the rear locomotive.

The Amtrak Cascades 501 connects 18 cities, including Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, BC, and Eugene, Oregon.

More information on this horrific train crash is in the video below.

It will take months, or even a year, to get final analysis on this crash, but speed was absolutely a significant factor. This deadly crash is eerily similar to the 2015 Amtrak derailment outside Philadelphia that killed eight people and injured more than 200. This train was traveling at more than 100 miles per hour in a 50 mile per hour zone when it derailed while traveling on a curved portion of the track.

While PTC would have prevented this train from traveling at such a high speed, the conductor should be held responsible for his irresponsible behavior.

Do you think the conductor of this Amtrak train should be charged? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! 

Source: CNN