This July, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) questioned officials with Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration, and Sound Transit over recent accidents that killed and hurt hundreds of people.
On Dec. 18, 2017 one such crash occurred near Tacoma, Wash., when an Amtrak train rounded a curve at 78-miles an hour, hurling the train off the tracks and onto a busy interstate below and killing three people. Another on Feb. 4 resulted in two dead and 116 injured after an Amtrak train hit a parked freight train in Cayce, S.C.
The hearings focused on finding one bit of information; why do tragic rail accidents like these keep happening? The question was possibly answered by no answer at all, as a pregnant pause in the room spoke loudly as investigators asked Amtrak officials, the FRA, and Sound Transit who was responsible for identifying the problems potentially associated with the curve in Tacoma.
Human error was most likely a culprit in both accidents, documents released by the NTSB disclosed. Investigators are also blaming a lack of training as well as lagging technology—for instance, if the Tacoma train been equipped with positive train control (PTC), the GPS-based system would have detected the speed and applied the brakes in time to control the train’s approach to the bridge.
However, these investigations make plain that the problems facing Amtrak, it’s regulating agency, and rail track owners go beyond the long delayed PTC install. Industry experts quoted in a Washington Post article explained, “Mistakes are often the result of misunderstanding or ignorance.”
In the Tacoma case, the engineer had not run the route more than a few times before loading the passenger train for its first run. In South Carolina, an improperly aligned switch allowed the Amtrak train to slam into the parked CSX train just as a CSX operator went to check the device.
Both crashes reflect a culture where safety seems to have been sidetracked for expediency. Recently, an Amtrak electrician has gone on record saying that preceding the Tacoma train’s inaugural run, “Everything felt rushed.” He stepped forward to blow the whistle on Amtrak, stating that on the fateful day in December he had safety concerns regarding a mechanical failure prior to the train’s departure—to which the company turned a blind eye. While not necessarily connected to the eventual accident, electrician Michael McClure feels it says a lot about the company’s culture, “Safety doesn't seem to be primary in their thoughts. It's about making the money and getting trains out on time.”
As safety hearings continue more information might be revealed as to the reason for one or both of the deadly crashes, but until those who run these rail companies choose to accept responsibility for the safety of their passengers—we’re potentially all at risk when we board one of their trains.
