Workers say they warned Amtrak before deadly crash
In the days before Amtrak 501 careened off the tracks last month in a deadly crash, engineers and conductors warned their supervisors that they did not feel adequately trained on the new route, according to more than a dozen sources.
Several train cars flew off an overpass, landing on Interstate 5 in the December 18 accident near DuPont, Washington, which left three dead and more than 100 injured. At the time, Amtrak 501 was making its inaugural journey of a new Seattle-to-Portland run called the Point Defiance Bypass route.
Engineers and conductors had safety concerns, citing rushed and "Totally inadequate" training which left them feeling dangerously unprepared for the new route, according to multiple sources, including several directly involved in the training. Crew members traditionally train on new routes to familiarize themselves with the signs, terrain and other physical characteristics which vary from route to route. Ref. CNN.
Amtrak train and freight train collide
Two people were killed in a crash involving a freight train and an Amtrak passenger train headed to Miami early Sunday in South Carolina, authorities said.
In addition to the fatalities, at least 70 people were wounded, Lexington County spokesman Harrison Cahill said.
Amtrak Train 91 collided with a CSX freight train at about 2:35 a.m. In Cayce. The lead engine and some passenger cars derailed, Amtrak said in a statement. Ref. CNN.