Probe: Derailed Amtrak train was not speeding
JOPLIN, Mont. — An Amtrak train that derailed in rural Montana over the weekend was going just under the speed limit at about 75 mph when it went off the track along a gradual curve, killing three people and possibly ejecting passengers, federal investigators said Monday.
Investigators do not know the cause of the accident, but they are studying video from the train and another locomotive that went over the same track a little over an hour earlier, National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said.
The train derailed before a switch in the line, where one set of tracks turned into two, on a stretch of track that had been inspected just two days before, Landsberg said.
The westbound Empire Builder was traveling from Chicago to Seattle when it left the tracks Saturday afternoon near Joplin, a town of about 200.
The train, carrying 141 passengers and 16 crew members, had two locomotives and 10 cars, eight of which derailed, with some tipping onto their sides.
When asked about wooden ties that were seen along the side of the tracks, and whether there was recent maintenance on that section, Landsberg did not answer directly.
“That will be one of the questions that we look at,” he said.
Landsberg said a preliminary report on the derailment is expected within 30 days.
Investigators will look at “everything,” including the switch, wheels, axles and suspension systems, as well as the track geometry and condition, including any cracks, said Steven Ditmeyer, a rail consultant and former senior official at the Federal Railroad Administration.