At least 3 killed in Amtrak derailment

[cteno4]

JOPLIN, Mont. (AP) — At least three people were killed Saturday afternoon when an Amtrak train that runs between Seattle and Chicago derailed in north-central Montana, an official with the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office said.

Dispatcher Starr Tyler told The Associated Press that three people died in the derailment. She did not have more details. Amtrak said in a statement that there were multiple injuries.

 

https://apnews.com/article/c8c3730849f568ca68b455eb23b49cef

[cteno4]

Looks like May have happened at a point with the train partway thru, but of course nothing solid until the reports are done.

 

jeff

[maihama eki]

We have some friends that just took a cross country train trip from Wilmington, DE to Oregon on Amtrak. They would have passed that area a few days prior on that route.

 

I'm originally from Montana, and I think most folks living anywhere else in the world would have a hard time fathoming how empty and remote this area is. 

[Kiha66]

While the accident is very sad, I'm glad if it had to happen it occurred on flat soft ground with nothing to hit and easy access by rescue crews.  It seems the damage on the track starts a few hundred feet beyond the switch, so I'll be interested to see what the NTSB identifies as the cause.

 

I suspect whatever eventually replaces the superliners in Amtrak service will be single level, as the FRA seems unsatisfied with the safety factor in high level cars.  The replacement cars for California commute service were canceled as the prototypes could not meet the updating standards.  This accident with the cars falling over will probably not help that trend.