Passengers die as US train falls on to road

DERAILMENT ON ‘NEW’ TRACK

A TRAIN making the first run along a faster route has hurtled off an overpass in the US and spilled some of its carriages on to the road below, killing at least six people.

Seventy-eight passengers and five crew members were aboard when the Amtrak train travelling at more than 80mph derailed about 40 miles south of Seattle on a route that had raised safety concerns. The death toll is expected to rise.

An official said preliminary signs indicated the train may have struck something before going off the track.

Pierce County Sheriff ’s Office said several vehicles on Interstate 5 were struck by falling carriages. No motorists were reported killed. Chris Karnes was on the train, three or four carriages from the front. He said the only part of the train remaining on the tracks was the rear locomotive. Several cars were hanging over the overpass.

The possibility that the wreck was caused by something on the tracks fed into concerns voiced by local officials about the risk of high-speed trains crossing busy streets. The mayor of a town near the derailment had warned about the danger of an accident at a public meeting two weeks ago.

The train was making the inaugural run on the new route as part of a $180m (£134m) project designed to speed up the service by removing passenger trains from a route which is bogged down by curves and single-track tunnels.