Amtrak ordered to expand speed control system at derail site
Source: AP
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Federal officials want Amtrak to immediately expand use of a speed restriction system in the area of Tuesday's deadly derailment to northbound trains like the one that went off the rails in Philadelphia at more than 100 mph, killing eight people.
Saturday's announcement from the Federal Railroad Administration involves the automatic train control system.
The system notifies the engineer when a train is above the speed limit and automatically applies the brakes if the engineer doesn't respond. It was already being used for southbound trains approaching the curve where the derailment occurred.
The agency also ordered Amtrak to analyze curves on the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington and install appropriate technology where needed.
FULL story at link. Video 5 still critical: http://launch.newsinc.com/share.html?trackingGroup=92351&siteSection=bigstory_hom_non_non_dynamic_wire_ap&videoId=29084681
Workers labor on the site where a deadly train derailment occurred earlier in the week, Friday, May 15, 2015, in Philadelphia. Amtrak is working to restore Northeast Corridor rail service between New York City and Philadelphia. Service was suspended after a train derailed in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, killing eight passengers and injuring more than 200. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/b2a8c4c5ea8949179e9eea4e5d6bdc30/fbi-looks-shattered-glass-new-twist-derailment
= new reply since forum marked as read
[font size="4" color="#2B547E" face="Helvetica"]A MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT AND CEO JOE BOARDMAN ON TRAIN 188[/font]
[font size="2" face="Helvetica"]The derailment of Northeast Regional Train 188 was a terrible tragedy that we are responding to with every resource we have available. The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation to determine the cause of the incident, and Amtrak is providing full cooperation.
With truly heavy hearts, we mourn those who died. Their loss leaves holes in the lives of their families and communities. On behalf of the entire Amtrak family, I offer our sincere sympathies and prayers for them and their loved ones. Amtrak takes full responsibility and deeply apologizes for our role in this tragic event.
We recognize that for everyone onboard the train, including those who suffered injuries, the healing process may be long. Within 24 hours of the incident, Amtrak set up a Family Assistance Center in Philadelphia to work closely with the family of passengers and crew on the train. We are also working with the individuals and families affected by this event to help them with transportation, lodging, and of course, medical bills and funeral expenses.
Amtrak is ever grateful to the City of Philadelphia—its first responders who bravely worked in difficult conditions, including the dark of night, to rescue and provide aid to hundreds; its hospital personnel who went into full alert as patients arrived at emergency rooms; its officials who quickly implemented a response plan; and its citizens who opened their doors to offer assistance.
Although our current focus is on the passengers and employees affected by this incident and the resulting service disruption along the Northeast Corridor, we must also take time to learn from this event. Passenger railroading is at its core about people; the safety of our passengers and employees was, is and always will be our number one priority. Our goal is to fully understand what happened and how we can prevent a similar tragedy from occurring in the future. We will also continue to focus on completing Positive Train Control implementation in the Northeast Corridor by December of 2015.
Thank you for your support of America's Railroad during this difficult time.
Sincerely,
Joe Boardman
President and Chief Executive Officer[/font]
I did hear that there was no way they could be up and running by Monday, although the NTSB guy did say "Monday or Tuesday". I know that given Memorial Day weekend is coming up next weekend, they are most definitely aiming to be back by then - as it has been oft-dubbed the "unofficial start of summer" here in the area.
did you get this memo, its only 50% complete in safety (south bound---not north bound)-------really.
That the Federal agency in charge of rail safety, you know the one you just cut the budget from again, so that you can walk around with your delusion and say its failing and it needs to be privatized.
Or did you and your illustrious Paul Ryan budget committee, along with your chairman from Kentucky on the transportation team crumple up that safety issue and throw it the waste paper basket and say------- Heh, 50% is better than nothing?
Because apparently the double standards you right wingers have on "keeping" humans safe is only worth 50%.
Because again, you gave your defense cronies 612 billion more to fund an aircraft which is now costing the tax payees almost two hundred million apiece as of this year to produce, I think we deserve some intelligent answers.
I think we would like to know why you are cutting this funding which has caused 8 deaths while on your watch, because apparently safety is not a top priority
