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Six killed in Amtrak Northeast Corridor derailment in Philadelphia
Check speed recorder first.
Aerial views on MSNBC bear an uncanny resemblance to the Spuyten Duyvil overspeed derailment a year and a half ago. One wonders if this too is not overspeed.
How anyone survived in that mangled car, I don’t know.
My deepest thoughts and prayers to all involved.
Frankford Ave and East Butler St. is a nearby intersection, if you are looking to find the location on Google maps.
One of the brand new locos?
From the look of things the engineer should have survived. Did he, and has he made any kind of statement? Also, have they recovered the event data recorder? Once again from what I have seen it should not have been difficult to do.
It’s unfortunate and the news media is sensationalizing the crash. They are also trying to indict the rail industry for not implementing Positive train control sooner and are of course saying that the reason they are are not funding it as it as the railroads should. I’m not involved in the industry other than having railroading as a hobby. From where I sit it seems that for the most part the railroads are moving as fast as is reasonably possible. The media is not allowing for the many technical issues that pop up. The railroads while wanting to implement this technology as soon as is practical. But along with that they want to “get it right”. They very much understand that rushing ahead with an untested system could cause as many safety issues as it addresses and could result in trains being interfered with tying the national rail system in knots. Of course more money needs to expand the national rail network to keep pace with demand.
Media is saying engineer did give a statement.
In this case, the PTC system that may have prevented this crash has been ready to install for years (decades?).
Amtrak has the Advanced Civil Enforcement System (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Civil_Speed_Enforcement_System) which is not quite the same technology freight railroads are working on.
I do agree with you that the freight railroads should get it right and take their time if necessary. But that argument doesn’t apply in this case.
Which means the blame, if that is the conversation, ends up squarely on the lack of investment in Amtrak and infrastructure in general.
Just wait. More fodder for those who were frightened by a train whistle while in the crib (a lot of 'em in Washington these days) when they realize there is a string of (OMYGod!) TANK CARS on an adjacent track…
The pictures I have seen on-line show the loco as number 601 which is one of the new ones.
In contradiction to Christophe’s statement, the NEC already has PTC in the form of ACSES. It will prevent overspeed if operating correctly.
The inability of general news media to get basic things right is one reason I go to Trains Newswire for stories like this. From the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: “The front car, believed to be the engine, was separated from the rest of the train.”
I too was wondering if the tanks cars were full or empty?
Media is reporting the train was over 100mph at time of crash. ACSES is supposed to prevent speeding through permanent speed restrictions like this 50 mph curve. Why didn’t it? Is it fully installed and operational NYP to WAS? I can’t find recent info online. Is this a human failure (engineer) or did the equipment fail?
Lets wait and see what the investigation finds out before commenting its always sad when there,s a loss of life my thoughts go out to all concerned RIP and hope all those injured make a full recovery my best wishes to them all Charles Coleman
Check your Google earth location a short distance before the derailment. There is a signal bridge, a major rail bridge and an abandoned tower before the wreck site. Perfect places for rock throwing kids. A commuter train had it’s front window broken near here just a few minutes before Amtrak passed! Looking at the Amtrak engine, the window is shattered! That could be a reason the engineer was distracted with a face full of glass, and not applying his brakes to slow down the train?
Years ago Amtrak locomotives had steel grates over the windows to prevent rocks from hitting them. Did this locomotive not have those?
From news this afternoon the direct cause was overspeed. From the nature of the accident I had suspected it but it is not my place to propose this without evidence. Now we must find the indirect cause. Why was the train moving so fast?
The new units do not have them - yet. They also have bigger windows. While we must let the investigators do their thing, my suspicion is, given the damage to the lower right skirting on the engine it tells me it probably took a catenary support structure impact since it was the lead vehicle and that may well have broken the glass as well.
I, too, LOVED the media report - …“the first car on the train which was probably the engine…”. Hey, guys, it sure wasn’t the diner. I DID notice the NBC did a much better job than usual this morning calling things railroad by their proper names. I’m sure Don Phillips would have some comments on that. Maybe he’s been coaching them.