Report released in Amtrak derailment
Investigators still seek cause of fatal accident
HELENA, Mont. — A preliminary report on an Amtrak train derailment last month that killed three people and injured dozens more offered no clues about what triggered the accident but said the train’s emergency brakes were activated and that Amtrak estimated the damage at more than $22 million.
However, one attorney whose client is suing Amtrak and BNSF Railway said he wanted to learn more about the crash-worthiness of the train’s observation car and an attorney for a crew member said she reported seeing a 30-foot dip along the railroad, where it appeared the track bed had given way.
The National Transportation Safety Board issued its preliminary report Tuesday on the Sept. 25 derailment of the westbound Empire Builder just west of Joplin, in north-central Montana.
It was mostly factual, saying there were 154 people on board and that 44 passengers and crew were taken to area hospitals with injuries.
The train was traveling at between 75 and 78 mph, just below the speed limit of 79 mph on that section of track when its emergency brakes were activated. The two locomotives and two railcars remained on the rails and eight cars derailed.
NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway said Tuesday it was “still very early” in the investigation and the agency typically takes one to two years to determine accident causes.
“We are looking at everything,” he said.
Rail experts have said the crash could have been caused by problems with the railroad or track, such as a rail that buckled under high heat, or the track itself giving way when the train passed over.
But they said investigators would consider all possibilities, including potential problems with the Empire Builder’s wheels or suspension system.
The investigation includes an examination of onboard video from the Amtrak train and from a freight train that had gone through the derailment area a little over an hour earlier, the NTSB has said.
The derailed train also had a black box that records everything happening on the train, according to the NTSB.
Killed in the accident were Margie and Don Vardahoe, a Georgia couple on a cross-country trip to mark their 50th wedding anniversary, and Zachariah Schneider, 28, a software developer from Illinois.
At least two dozen passengers have filed lawsuits over the derailment, including Schneider’s wife, Rebecca Schneider.
She said in the lawsuit that her husband had left her in the sleeping car and went to sit in the observation car, where he was “horrifically maimed” and killed.
The suits against Amtrak and BNSF allege negligence for not preventing the derailment and seek damages for injuries and psychological trauma to the people aboard the train.
Amtrak and BNSF have declined to comment on litigation.