Amtrak Cascades Train 501 Derails Off Interstate 5 Overpass near DuPont, WA
#16
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No problem. Indeed it appears theyve spent a lot of money on the old route. Back in my youth it was basically a spur line that serviced a now closed Navy supply depot, McChord AFB, Fort Lewis, and probably the old dynamite plant at DuPont. After the Vietnam war it fell into light use but in recent years had been at least partially renovated for light commuter use.
#17
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Just announced (10 seconds ago) that the death toll is going to rise; they haven't gone into two cars because they're deemed unsafe for the first responders.
#18
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In a conference call with reporters, Amtrak President and Co-CEO Richard Anderson said “Positive Train Control” was not activated on the tracks at the time of the derailment. Positive Train Control is a technology that automatically slows down, and eventually stops, a train if it senses the train is going too fast and could derail or get in an accident.
#19
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Pierce County Sheriffs Office spokesman Ed Troyer said 13 of 14 train cars derailed in the crash, and "there are a couple of [train] cars that are not safe enough to search."
"We know that theres nobody alive in them at this point, but there are some other fatals that we are probably going to find," Troyer said.
"We know that theres nobody alive in them at this point, but there are some other fatals that we are probably going to find," Troyer said.
#20
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#21
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There should be some very heavy explaining even if PTC wasn't installed and it turns out to be an overspeed case -- it's 2017, and we have readily available technology to eliminate this particular human failure. There's no excuse for not deploying it on vehicles that carry dozens to hundreds of passengers, especially ones (like trains) that are on fixed known-path tracks. I felt the same way after the 2015 Port Richmond derailment. Humans get distracted, lose situational awareness, even fall asleep when they don't mean to, and this is a place where technology can and should be saving lives.
#22
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There should be some very heavy explaining even if PTC wasn't installed and it turns out to be an overspeed case -- it's 2017, and we have readily available technology to eliminate this particular human failure. There's no excuse for not deploying it on vehicles that carry dozens to hundreds of passengers, especially ones (like trains) that are on fixed known-path tracks. I felt the same way after the 2015 Port Richmond derailment. Humans get distracted, lose situational awareness, even fall asleep when they don't mean to, and this is a place where technology can and should be saving lives.
#23
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According to a press release:
On the trains but wayside equipment wasn't installed yet? Or just not turned on/using it?
How many lives would that 12/31/2015 deadline now have saved?
WSDOT purchased 8 new state-of-the-art Siemens Charger locomotives to pull Washington-state sponsored Amtrak Cascades trains. ... started running on the Amtrak Cascades corridor in November 2017.
...
This "next generation" rail equipment features safety upgrades, including on-board positive trian control system, which will automatically stop the train when there are dangerous situations on the rails, once the system is activated corridor-wide in 2018.
...
This "next generation" rail equipment features safety upgrades, including on-board positive trian control system, which will automatically stop the train when there are dangerous situations on the rails, once the system is activated corridor-wide in 2018.
How many lives would that 12/31/2015 deadline now have saved?
#24
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Zero, because even with the current deadline as it is does not give enough time for procurement, installation, and testing. The current deadline is a "progress" deadline, meaning that some predefined amount of progress needs to be made by the deadline, not full installation.
When the requirement went into place, there were no off-the-shelf scalable PTC systems available to simply purchase, install, and use. Even as PTC is being installed now, it's a "lets put it in and see what happens" type of installation. But I do have to mention that without the requirement to install PTC, and without deadlines, it will never get done.
When the requirement went into place, there were no off-the-shelf scalable PTC systems available to simply purchase, install, and use. Even as PTC is being installed now, it's a "lets put it in and see what happens" type of installation. But I do have to mention that without the requirement to install PTC, and without deadlines, it will never get done.
#25
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When the requirement went into place, there were no off-the-shelf scalable PTC systems available to simply purchase, install, and use. Even as PTC is being installed now, it's a "lets put it in and see what happens" type of installation. But I do have to mention that without the requirement to install PTC, and without deadlines, it will never get done.
#26
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MrsCP's company was selling PTC solutions at least 8 years ago. She flew around the world meeting with rail companies, but not much in the US. Congress passed the requirement in 2008, IIRC. Sounds similar to the case of US car companies complaining that fuel economy standards were impossible to meet, fighting them in Congress, while Japanese companies just went ahead and met them.
Just curious - what's to "like" about a train crash post?
Just curious - what's to "like" about a train crash post?
#29
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The whole of Europe also uses ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) in almost all high speed lines.
#30
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