NTSB Issues Final Report On DuPont Amtrak Derailment

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

SEATTLE, WA — The National Transportation Safety Board on Monday published its final report on the deadly 2017 Amtrak derailment in DuPont, citing missteps by Sound Transit and WSDOT as the main causes of the crash.

The NTSB released most of its findings during a meeting in May, but the report published Monday is the federal government's final word on the incident. The board found over 50 factors contributed to the crash, but the main one was Sound Transit's "failure" to upgrade safety at the curve where the derailment occurred.

Sound Transit owns the tracks where the derailment happened, but doesn't operate any trains in the DuPont area. Still, the agency was responsible for making sure trains obeyed the 30 MPH speed limit — the train was going close to 80 MPH when it derailed. Sound Transit has since installed a safety system called positive-train control (PTC) in the DuPont area, and along its Sounder commuter train routes.

The derailment happened on Dec. 18, 2017 at around 7:30 a.m. The Amtrak train was headed south from Seattle to Portland along a new, faster route that follows I-5. As the train approached a trestle crossing I-5 near DuPont, it hit a 30 MPH curve going 78 MPH. The train jumped off the tracks and sent train cars crashing onto I-5.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/ntsb-issues-final-report-on-dupont-amtrak-derailment/ar-AADmhTI

[Sneederbunk]

1. For some reason the train operator has never been publicly identified.