Amtrak train from D.C. crashes in Philly.

[Matt Short Line H]

The automatic signal enforcement that is in place elsewhere on the corridor (NOT PTC!!!) would have prevented this easily. Amtrak needs to come up with a VERY good explanation for why this was not in place. It's not new technology; having been developed as a result of Ricky Gates/Gunpow in 1987.

I think a great reason Amtrak hasn't put Automatic Signal Enforcement (Amtrak's version of PTC) is people in government keep cutting there budget. They have no money coming in from the Midwest Trains, such as the California Zephyr, Southwest Chief, Lincoln Service, take your pick, and Congress just cut AMTK's budget by another $250 Million. Just my view, Matt

[CSX_CO]

The automatic signal enforcement that is in place elsewhere on the corridor (NOT PTC!!!) would have prevented this easily. Amtrak needs to come up with a VERY good explanation for why this was not in place. It's not new technology; having been developed as a result of Ricky Gates/Gunpow in 1987.

I think a great reason Amtrak hasn't put Automatic Signal Enforcement (Amtrak's version of PTC) is people in government keep cutting there budget. They have no money coming in from the Midwest Trains, such as the California Zephyr, Southwest Chief, Lincoln Service, take your pick, and Congress just cut AMTK's budget by another $250 Million. Just my view, Matt

With the money they'll be paying out in the lawsuits they'll probably would have been able to PTC the thing 10 times over.

[J T]

The FRA glass would contain the remains of a bullet if it had been shot. Plus, that glass doesn't stop very big caliber stuff. With as peppered as the front of that engine is from debris, going with it was suffered during the derailment.

I'm with you on that.

But then this was just posted on FB by a fellow railfan...

So the NTSB is finally looking Into the possibility the engineer of the derailed train was shot at before the accident.

The media is going to go absolutely insane if that turns out to be the case.

[Schteinkuh]

Here we go!

http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/vid ... 6381123599

[hoborich]

It certainly seems if there was a malfunction and the train was running away, the engineer would have dumped the air a lot sooner, well before the train reached 100 mph. Just speculation, but I doubt he would have wasted much time trying to figure out what was wrong before hitting the brakes.

[heypal6878]

Take another look at the engine itself. I watched CNN this morning and it looks like the glass in the back of the engine was damaged much like the front windshield. Need to look at the back of the engine as well. Not sure if there are any pictures of the back of the engine.

[Ypsi]

As suspected by some gunfire on the locomotive has been ruled out by the FBI

http://news.yahoo.com/heres-latest-amtr ... 03213.html

[J T]

As suspected by some gunfire on the locomotive has been ruled out by the FBI

Well...imagine that.

[Garry K]

I got this email from Amtrak on Friday, 5/15/15:

A MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT AND CEO JOE BOARDMAN ON TRAIN 188
The derailment of Northeast Regional Train 188 was a terrible tragedy that we are responding to with every resource we have available. The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation to determine the cause of the incident, and Amtrak is providing full cooperation.

With truly heavy hearts, we mourn those who died. Their loss leaves holes in the lives of their families and communities. On behalf of the entire Amtrak family, I offer our sincere sympathies and prayers for them and their loved ones. Amtrak takes full responsibility and deeply apologizes for our role in this tragic event.

We recognize that for everyone onboard the train, including those who suffered injuries, the healing process may be long. Within 24 hours of the incident, Amtrak set up a Family Assistance Center in Philadelphia to work closely with the family of passengers and crew on the train. We are also working with the individuals and families affected by this event to help them with transportation, lodging, and of course, medical bills and funeral expenses.

Amtrak is ever grateful to the City of Philadelphia—its first responders who bravely worked in difficult conditions, including the dark of night, to rescue and provide aid to hundreds; its hospital personnel who went into full alert as patients arrived at emergency rooms; its officials who quickly implemented a response plan; and its citizens who opened their doors to offer assistance.

Although our current focus is on the passengers and employees affected by this incident and the resulting service disruption along the Northeast Corridor, we must also take time to learn from this event. Passenger railroading is at its core about people; the safety of our passengers and employees was, is and always will be our number one priority. Our goal is to fully understand what happened and how we can prevent a similar tragedy from occurring in the future. We will also continue to focus on completing Positive Train Control implementation in the Northeast Corridor by December of 2015.

Thank you for your support of America's Railroad during this difficult time.

Sincerely,
Joe Boardman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Joe Boardman
President and Chief Executive Officer

-------------------
I bolded the part about Amtrak wanting to implement Positive Train Control by December.

Garry K

[59caddy]

Is that a hard deadline to fulfill for a PTC installation this big?

[railohio]

Is that a hard deadline to fulfill for a PTC installation this big?

It was difficult since the legislation passed in 2008.

[J T]

I bolded the part about Amtrak wanting to implement Positive Train Control by December.

Garry K

He's been stating that in about every TV interview he's had since the crash.

[Schteinkuh]

Is that a hard deadline to fulfill for a PTC installation this big?

From what I understand, if Union Pacific made 50 installations per day, starting today, they wouldn't be done until 2017.

[Saturnalia]

"Engineer's union wants two men behind the wheel of locomotives"
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/05/20/en ... comotives/
Lolz

Trying to exploit tragedy. Nevermind the fact that the last major corridor incident (CR vs Pax train) still happened with two men up front.

[Y@]

"Trying to exploit tragedy."

Kid, you stay some stupid stuff. Learn to think before you speak and try to shut up a little more often.

[CSX_CO]

"Trying to exploit tragedy."

Kid, you stay some stupid stuff. Learn to think before you speak and try to shut up a little more often.

What would you call it then? Sure looks like that to me. Union sees it as a way to make sure they get more due paying members on the rosters.

Two men in the cab doesn't guarantee anything either. Plenty of accidents out there were the 2nd crew member didn't prevent the accident. In the same stroke we'll never have an accurate tally of just how many they do prevent either.

[Standard Railfan]

As soon as I saw the news article about the union's call for another engineer I recalled a safety video that we watched as part of our annual CN safety training. The engineer lets his "buddy" fall asleep and then dozes off himself and runs a red block.

Adding another person is not as effective as installing technology to prevent block violations or overspeed situations.

There is an unfortunate part of the whole PTC story. PRR had a similar system in place in the 1950s that was abandoned sometime later.

[Ypsi]

In cab engineer cams are on the way for Amtrak.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/27/ny ... ?referrer=

[Saturnalia]

In cab engineer cams are on the way for Amtrak.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/27/ny ... ?referrer=

For anyone who argues that this "doesn't prevent accidents",

I counter with: Black boxes don't prevent accidents, either.

It is all about figuring out WHAT happened when something goes wrong, not prevention. As in, we have no clue here because we don't know what happened in the cab. Having a camera would have solved that. True, PTC would prevent the wreck entirely, but the cameras still have uses, such as analyzing what is going on when PTC is required to take control, or that sort of thing NOT protected like PTC.

[Jetlink]

In cab engineer cams are on the way for Amtrak.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/27/ny ... ?referrer=

For anyone who argues that this "doesn't prevent accidents",

I counter with: Black boxes don't prevent accidents, either.

It is all about figuring out WHAT happened when something goes wrong, not prevention. As in, we have no clue here because we don't know what happened in the cab. Having a camera would have solved that. True, PTC would prevent the wreck entirely, but the cameras still have uses, such as analyzing what is going on when PTC is required to take control, or that sort of thing NOT protected like PTC.

Probably should put them at the dispatch desks and in the yard towers too. Might want to hang them on the Conductors as well. When you get a job I'll want to make sure you are properly video monitored too. Can't be too careful you know.