Poor planning and training led to fatal Amtrak train derailment
Failure to provide an effective mitigation for a hazardous curve and inadequate training of a locomotive engineer led to the overspeed derailment of an Amtrak passenger train that hurtled off a railroad bridge and onto a busy highway in DuPont, Washington, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced Tuesday.
On the morning of Dec. 18, 2017, Amtrak Cascades train 501, on its inaugural run on the Point Defiance Bypass between Seattle and Portland, Oregon, derailed on an overpass as it entered a 30-mph curve at approximately 78 mph. The lead locomotive and four rail cars fell onto Interstate 5 where they struck eight vehicles. Three of the 77 train passengers were killed; 57 passengers and crewmembers aboard the train and eight people on the highway were injured.