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Amtrak train derails onto Interstate 5 between Tacoma and Olympia, WA
- Thread starter NihonTiger
- Start date
The carriages must've flown through the woods at high speed. There might even be ones that completely disintegrated inside the woods that the cameras can't see
My condolences to your country...
...for having a president that uses such a catatrophe to push his agenda and 10 minutes later writing something about thoughts and prayers as his usual afterthought (probably someone told him about the looks of his first tweet).
...for having a president that uses such a catatrophe to push his agenda and 10 minutes later writing something about thoughts and prayers as his usual afterthought (probably someone told him about the looks of his first tweet).
That seems like a possible scenario. Rail corridors can be very tightly scheduled.
Generally the freight owned lines do not have schedules. They dispatch trains as routing requires.
The local stations have aerial coverage, there are several cars crashed through trees on the other side of bridge
According MSNBC reporting it was 79 MPH area and train was going 81 MPH as it derailed. They were late, but not particularly disregarding speed limits on track.
6 killed so far confirmed at this stage. Count not done yet, but that is a lot less than I was expecting.
Thankfully it does not appear that the train was packed. 83 people aboard CNN reported.
Hope the number does not rise.
I used to take the Amtrak between Toronto and New York, and nearly every single time there would be a conflict with freight traffic that would have us sitting on a side rail in the middle of nowhere for an hour waiting for it to pass.
Well, I hope they find out what happened.
Exactly. No schedule, just dispatch as is needed. Some of the old lines are required to provide Amtrak to "priority" but that is not always doable or enforceable.
You asked if the train had been tested. The person you quoted said, yes it was test run, not that this was a test run.
You took it to mean today's incident was a test run which it wasn't. He was saying it had been tested before this.
Damn. Co-worker's brother was on this train, coming for the holidays. She hasn't heard from him. And her mother-in-law died last night ugh :(
Thoughts go out to any of you who may've been affected. My fiancé takes Amtrak all the time. Hopefully they figure out what went wrong here.
Thoughts go out to any of you who may've been affected. My fiancé takes Amtrak all the time. Hopefully they figure out what went wrong here.
Millions of dollars down the drain and doing the safe way and this is the result? How about we just modernize train travel
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For those joining the thread, here is a quick recap (the OP is also being updated to reflect current information):
- At 7:40 a.m. Pacific today -- Dec. 18, 2017 -- a southbound Amtrak Cascades train (#501) from Seattle to Portland derailed at a crossover of Interstate 5 near DuPont, Washington, which is located between Tacoma and Olympia near Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
- Almost all of the passenger cars partially or completely derailed, and at least two ended up on southbound Interstate 5, south of the Mounds Road exit in DuPont.
- 6 people are confirmed to have been killed in the crash, all onboard the train. 77 people have been taken to area hospitals in Pierce and Thruston counties.
- Southbound I-5 is closed and will be for some time, for those of you needing to travel in the area; northbound lanes are partially open but traffic is backed up.
- The train left Seattle at 6 a.m. Pacific and was slated to be in Portland by around 9:30 a.m.
- There have been rumors of an impediment on the track that may have caused the derailment; these are not confirmed at this point and it may be a very long while before we have any idea what caused the derailment. Please keep that in mind when reading stories.
- The train was making its first daily run on the new Point Defiance Bypass, which utilizes Sound Transit lines from Tacoma to Lakewood and then follows another set of rails from Lakewood to the old freight line. The line had been intended to remove passenger trains from a freight line that ran along Puget Sound and was busy; Lakewood city council had voiced concerns about the speed of the trains through the city because several of its crossings are at-grade, which means pedestrians or vehicles could be struck at the crossings. However, it should be noted that the area where it crashed has no at-grade road crossings.
- The line had been upgraded as part of a $181 million project and had reportedly been tested extensively by Sound Transit earlier this year
my condolences.
it is high time to address the state of infrastructure and get serious at modernizing and investing in it for the future.
lack of political will is defining
it is high time to address the state of infrastructure and get serious at modernizing and investing in it for the future.
lack of political will is defining
I would imagine the number has an invisible buffer as well, so even if you go slightly over the 79 it would not be so bad.
That is a major commute corridor on I-5. A lot of people aren't making it to work today at the state capital in Olympia and at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
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While correct, it's also worth noting this rail corridor was recently upgraded for higher-speed train travel, like this.
EDIT: However, seems like there's some uncertainty on the specifics for now; I guess we'll have to wait for more info on the project from Sound Transit.
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2 engines and 12 cars, 13 out of total derailed
Officials don't have full count of deaths confirmed so won't give number to media
Still securing scene and carts before checking rest of cars
Doing traffic rerouting. If you are North bound on I-5 then stay on I-5, it's flowing. I-5 to South closed.
5 cars and 2 semis were struck
Didn't know if this segment of track was part of track that was rebuild for high speeds
^ from briefing given by trooper and aired on MSNBC
Officials don't have full count of deaths confirmed so won't give number to media
Still securing scene and carts before checking rest of cars
Doing traffic rerouting. If you are North bound on I-5 then stay on I-5, it's flowing. I-5 to South closed.
5 cars and 2 semis were struck
Didn't know if this segment of track was part of track that was rebuild for high speeds
^ from briefing given by trooper and aired on MSNBC
I believe that there is gate on center drive that can still be access, though it has limited hours for inbound and outbound traffic.
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Trains can run up to 79 mph on the tracks; I'm not sure if it's been accurately reported on what the curve's speed was but we know the train was travelling at 81 mph when last reported.
If it was only supposed to be a 34 mph turn ... well that would explain some things.
Horrifying accident. The radio host on KIRO radio (Dori Monson) was speculating that ANTIFA was to blame, so disgusting.
Every time something bad happens the alt right twitter machine makes it about Islam and Antifa. I checked the Amtrak hashtag on twitter to see what was going on and got inundated by their crap instead.
At least they didn't try blaming BLM, butter emails or (((Soros))) for it. Can't conservatives stop being conspiracy theory peddling assholes for just 5 minutes?
What the hell? Fuck Dori. I hope KIRO pulls that piece of garbage off the air. Dude drives me nuts when he's hosting Seahawks stuff on the radio.
User warned for copy and pasting from a known fringe conspiracy site
They are blaming Antifa due to the raid on an Antifa headquarters just recently.
Theyve supposedly been erecting structures or pouring cement on train lines to protest fracking.
I dunno.
"Police have raided an Antifa encampment in Olympia, Washington, following a train being sabotaged by anti-fracking activists — but the anarchists claiming credit for the act have vowed to continue until "every officer is down.
The train was reportedly shorted using jumper cables, causing the train to stop.
Since November 17, dozens of anarchists have been camping on the tracks to prevent trains from transporting fracking supplies from the Port of Olympia — however, railroad companies have stated that there were no such shipments scheduled.
On Wednesday, Union Pacific Railroad officers were met by 20 to 30 masked protesters as they cleared out the encampment and swept it for bombs. Four of the people who were camping on the tracks refused to leave and were subsequently arrested, as were eight others on suspicion of obstructing a law enforcement officer."
Theyve supposedly been erecting structures or pouring cement on train lines to protest fracking.
I dunno.
"Police have raided an Antifa encampment in Olympia, Washington, following a train being sabotaged by anti-fracking activists — but the anarchists claiming credit for the act have vowed to continue until "every officer is down.
The train was reportedly shorted using jumper cables, causing the train to stop.
Since November 17, dozens of anarchists have been camping on the tracks to prevent trains from transporting fracking supplies from the Port of Olympia — however, railroad companies have stated that there were no such shipments scheduled.
On Wednesday, Union Pacific Railroad officers were met by 20 to 30 masked protesters as they cleared out the encampment and swept it for bombs. Four of the people who were camping on the tracks refused to leave and were subsequently arrested, as were eight others on suspicion of obstructing a law enforcement officer."
Dori is absolute, deplorable trash to anyone not acquainted. A complete idiot who makes worthless, vapid, unfounded "both sides" arguments about literally everything. It's a crime that he's still on the radio. Been subjected to his unique brand of know-nothingism since I was a kid.
Anyone in the region will know that Dori Monson is a complete right wing nutcase. He has gone so far to the right since Obama/McCain campaign it is crazy.