Train exceeded 80 mph in a 30-mph curve zone
Rail cars flew off bridge, crushing vehicles below
DUPONT, Wash. – An Amtrak train that derailed south of Seattle and killed at least three people was going more than 80 mph moments before it entered a curve where the recommended speed tops out at 30 mph, Amtrak and state transportation figures show.
The train’s speed and the posted speed limit probably will be key points for federal accident investigators, who are trying to determine why the train — on its inaugural run — flew off the rails and caused several rail cars to plunge off a bridge overpass and onto a trafficclogged interstate.
At least five vehicles on I-5 were struck by train cars tumbling down from the tracks, Pierce County Sheriff ’s Department spokesman Ed Troyer said.
“We have multiple fatals on the train, no fatals on the roadway,” Troyer said. Three people were confirmed dead. City of DuPont Fire Chief Larry Creekmore said more than 100 people were taken to hospitals for treatment. At least two people were in critical condition, and 11 were seriously injured.
Moments before the derailment the
train was going 81.1 mph, according to transitdocs.com, which maps train speeds using data from Amtrak’s train tracker app. A track chart prepared by the Washington State Department of Transportation shows the maximum speed drops from 79 mph to 30 mph for passenger trains just before the tracks curve to cross Interstate 5.
Seventy-seven passengers and seven crew members were on board. In an audiotape of the emergency call released by KUOW public radio, one of the train’s personnel describes the initial confusion.
“Emergency, emergency. We are on the ground,” the unidentified train employee says. “We need EMS ASAP.”
Amtrak Train 501 left Seattle at 6 a.m. local time as a new and controversial high-speed service to Portland, Ore., designed to avoid sharp curves, freight traffic and other obstacles that could slow the trip.
The state Transportation Department said federal funds were used to upgrade the tracks for passenger train use, and the Federal Railroad Administration monitored the work.
Anthony Raimondi, a retired Amtrak employee, was riding in business class and suffered a bruised leg. He said the train rounded a curve when it began to wobble. Then it fell on its side. “It just seemed to be going around the corner very fast and tipping over,” he said.
Scott Claggett, a software salesman, was taking the train to Portland for a business meeting. He reported feeling the train start to lean to the left. The train “kind of buckled,” he said, windows started to shatter, and “people started flying left and right.”
Keith Millhouse, rail safety consultant and a former board chairman of Southern California’s Metrolink commuter rail, said investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board will secure evidence such as track-sig- nal devices and the train’s recorder, which should provide the speed, throttle movement and braking, if any, before the accident. Investigators will interview witnesses and the engineer.
Millhouse, who headed Metrolink during the investigation of a crash between a commuter train and a freight train that killed 25 people in September 2008, said derailments typically happen for one of three reasons: human error, catastrophic mechanical or equipment failure or debris left on the track either intentionally or unintentionally.
Congress has ordered railroads to install automatic braking to slow trains that are speeding or halt them where signals indicate. The railroads were given a deadline of the end of 2018.
“The big tragedy here is that if indeed it was overspeed, positive train control would have prevented this accident,” Millhouse said.
Farley reported for the Kitsap Sun from DuPont; James and Jansen reported for USA TODAY. Contributing: John Bacon, USA TODAY