Image via Screenshot
The Amtrak passenger train that derailed over a highway overpass near DuPont, Washington, on Monday was traveling 50 miles per hour over the speed limit.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the train was traveling at 80 mph, far exceeding the area’s 30 mph speed limit.
The train derailed as it came out of a curve at the high speed, diving into rush hour traffic on the Interstate 5 below.
Thirteen out of 14 cars jumped the tracks, including 12 passenger cars and one engine. All but the head engine derailed.
NTSB is not sure why the train was traveling at 80 mph in a 30 mph zone, said NTSB spokeswoman T. Bella Dinh-Zarr. The incident remains under investigation.
The train’s engineer has not yet been interviewed but NTSB is aiming to complete all interviews "within the next day or so," Dinh-Zarr said.
Three people were killed and over 100 injured in the incident.
Technology that could have prevented the derailment was installed but not activated at the time.
Positive Train Control (PTC) – technology that automatically corrects or stops a train if it is traveling above the speed limit – was installed in the tracks where the derailment happened but it was not operational, said Sound Transit spokesman Geoff Patrick.
For the technology to be operational, PTC needs to be installed in train cars and tracks so they can sync up.
"We have recommended PTC for decades," Dinh-Zarr told CNN on Tuesday. "Unfortunately the deadline was moved farther into the future, and every year that we wait to implement PTC to its fullest extent means that more people will be killed and injured."
Patrick says the target date to have PTC operational is the spring quarter of 2018.
The deadline has been pushed back repeatedly due to high costs and technological issues.
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