Engineer misjudged train’s location before fatal wreck

An engineer said he misjudged the location of an Amtrak train before it derailed in Washington state last month while traveling at about

80 mph — more than twice the speed limit around a curve, the National Transportation Safety Board disclosed Thursday.

The engineer told the NTSB he knew the curve that had a 30-mph speed restriction was at milepost 19.8, and he planned to start braking about a mile before reaching it. He said he didn’t see a marker at milepost 18 or a

30-mph speed warning sign. He said he applied the brake as soon as he saw a 30-mph sign at the start of the curve, but the train derailed seconds later.