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Amtrak train derails onto Interstate 5 between Tacoma and Olympia, WA

NihonTiger

NihonTiger

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Oct 25, 2017
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UPDATE -- Latest info on the derailment:

NihonTiger said:
  • 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.
  • All 12 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
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LIVE COVERAGE:

KOMO-TV, Seattle -- http://komonews.com/watch

KIRO-TV, Seattle -- http://www.kiro7.com/live-stream

The News Tribune, Tacoma -- http://www.thenewstribune.com

INFORMATION:

NTSB

✔@NTSB
Friends and family seeking information related to #Amtrak501 should call @Amtrak at 800-523-9101
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-----

ORIGINAL POST:

http://komonews.com/news/local/derailed-train-falls-off-bridge-onto-i-5-lanes-south-of-tacoma

Just saw this breaking now. Today was the first day of the new service line between Seattle and Portland, and this was the first southbound train.



No word on your injuries yet but one of the cars is sitting on Interstate 5 and the highway is shut down in both directions near Dupont.

https://twitter.com/TerryKIRO7/status/942785869697581056
 
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TeenageFBI

TeenageFBI

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Oct 25, 2017
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Does anyone know if test trips are weighted down as though dozens/hundreds of passengers are onboard?
 
Chekhonte

Chekhonte

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A friend on facebook who is a ambulance driver just posted that he got a call over the radio that it's a mci level 2 which means that it's currently believed that there are 11 to 20 victims.
 
ahoyhoy

ahoyhoy

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Oct 25, 2017
4,322
What the fuck.

Whole bunch of people better be charged because of this. Complete failure.
 
Psychotron

Psychotron

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Oct 26, 2017
5,686
That's awful. I ride the train four hours a day and it's always on my mind. That and the other potential dangers of working in NYC.
 
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NihonTiger

NihonTiger

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Oct 25, 2017
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A bit more info:

This is Amtrak #501, part of the Amtrak Cascades service. It left Seattle just after 6 a.m. local time, due in Portland at 9:30 a.m. Amtrak schedule info indicates it was a half hour late in its departure from Tacoma.

The derailment is just south of Mounts Road in DuPont for those who live in the area. Near Joint Base McCord.
 
TeenageFBI

TeenageFBI

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Turin Turambar said:
The first service day isn't truly the first time the train ran, surely they did a few dozens test runs without passengers.
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I was asking about this earlier but do you know if the test runs are weighted down as though passengers are on the train? I can only imagine that they didn't properly account for the additional weight.
 
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NihonTiger

NihonTiger

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Oct 25, 2017
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Train was traveling around 80 mph at the time of the crash, according to Amtrak.

This was on the newest part of the Point Defiance Bypass, which had just opened between Sound Transit's Lakewood station and the Nisqually River crossing.
 
wandering

wandering

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Oct 25, 2017
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Damn, that's just awful. I used to take the Amtrak between Portland and Seattle. Hoping for the best for the passengers and drivers.
 
FuturusX

FuturusX

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Oct 28, 2017
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This isn't a new service. I take that train to Portland quite a bit for business. It's the FIRST train of the day. I was actually going to book service on this train today at that time. But I made other arrangements at the last minute....
 
Wolf

Wolf

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Oct 25, 2017
4,882
Every time I travel under that overpass it makes me nervous.

I hope there are no casualties but am expecting the worst. :(
 
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NihonTiger

NihonTiger

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Oct 25, 2017
10,551
FuturusX said:
This isn't a new service. I take that train to Portland quite a bit for business. It's the FIRST train of the day. I was actually going to book service on this train today at that time. But I made other arrangements at the last minute....
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I can clarify it in the OP; the service isn't new, but the route the train is taking between Tacoma and Olympia where it crashed is new.
 

Deleted member 2595

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Oct 25, 2017
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Christ. All the best to those who made it and their families.

With the train going at that speed, there was no way it would be an incident safe from mortality.
 
Paches

Paches

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Wolf said:
Every time I travel under that overpass it makes me nervous.

I hope there are no casualties but am expecting the worst. :(
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I go under a similar overpass that trains are sometimes either stopped on top of or moving (freight, not passenger) and have the same thought in my head as I go under it from time to time.
 
FuturusX

FuturusX

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Oct 28, 2017
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NihonTiger said:
I can clarify it in the OP; the service isn't new, but the route the train is taking between Tacoma and Olympia where it crashed is new.
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Ah I see. Well not good regardless.

My wife is freaking out, I was literally supposed to be on that train, but haven't been feeling well so arranged to work remotely with my contacts in Portland.
 
Metanoia Prime

Metanoia Prime

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Oct 26, 2017
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California
So, so tragic. Prayers for all the families affected, and hoping that those injured can fully recover. It pains me to think about the full repercussions of this. The shockwaves of something like this go so far.
 
dark_prinny

dark_prinny

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Just watched this in the local news here in Madrid.

Terrible.
 
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