Amtrak Disaster: Lawmakers Moved To Delay Rail Safety Rule Weeks Before Philadelphia Derailment

[ellenrr]

David Sirota:
As investigators on Wednesday continued to sift through the wreckage of an Amtrak train in Philadelphia, seeking to understand how the cars derailed in an accident that took the lives of at least seven people, the cause of the tragedy remained undetermined. But a look at recent legislative history reveals that Congress, only weeks ago, moved to loosen a safety rule that was designed to prevent the sort of disaster that just unfolded. On Wednesday afternoon, a National Transportation Safety Board official said that had the PTC technology been installed on the track, the accident in Philadelphia "would not have occurred."

The Amtrak train that derailed was traveling near a notorious curve where cargo and commuter lines come together. The freight rail industry has for years lobbied to limit requirements that it add the safety gear to its tracks, complaining that the mandate was expensive and offered too short a time frame for implementation.

http://www.ibtimes.com/amtrak-disaster-lawmakers-moved-delay-rail-safety-rule-weeks-philadelphia-derailment-1921221

[justiceischeap]

1. I wonder how the cost compares if there's a lawsuit

I know when the Metro trains crashed in DC fairs went up to offset the cost of the lawsuit.

[deutsey]

2. Interesting

I can't shake the suspicion that there's more to this than a "reckless" conductor and this article reinforces those suspicions.

There seems to be a real rush to judgment in condemning the conductor.

I saw a guy from the NTSB on CBS This Morning being interviewed and Nora O'Donnell was trying to get him to agree with some politician who said that the conductor was being reckless and bore the responsibility for the wreck.

To his credit, the investigator refused to agree with that because he said that at this time they don't know what caused the wreck. That's why they're investigating it.

It may turn out that the conductor was a reckless moron, but it just seems odd that so many are trying to convict him before we even know what really happened.

[Downwinder]

4. [The Train] by Anonymous

It's not my job to run the train,
The whistle I don't blow.
It's not my job to say how far
The train's supposed to go.
I'm not allowed to pull the brake,
Or even ring the bell.
But let the damn thing leave the track
And see who catches hell!

[malaise]

3. THIS

The chief sponsor of the bipartisan bill delaying the safety technology mandate, Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, has accepted more than $290,000 in campaign contributions from the railroad industry during his career -- the fifth-highest tally in the Senate, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP), a campaign finance watchdog group. The Association of American Railroads -- which counts private railroad companies and Amtrak as members -- backed Blunt’s legislation to delay the mandate.

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Shout this from rooftops