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Train track involved in fatal derailment lacked crucial safety system that could have prevented tragedy Train track involved in fatal derailment lacked crucial safety system that could have prevented tragedy
(35 minutes later)
Investigators are set to quiz the engineer from a fatal train derailment as questions mounted as to why a safety system designed to prevent such incidents was not in operation.Investigators are set to quiz the engineer from a fatal train derailment as questions mounted as to why a safety system designed to prevent such incidents was not in operation.
Bella Dinh-Zarr, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), confirmed the Amtrak train on a new route between between Seattle to Portland was travelling at 80mph – 50mph faster than it was supposed to be – when it left the tracks. Bella Dinh-Zarr, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), confirmed the Amtrak train on a new route between between Seattle to Portland was travelling at 80mph – 50mph faster than it was supposed to be – when it left the tracks. 
“If a train is going around a curve and it’s going too fast, yes, it can derail,” she said. “In this case, we need to find out if there was positive train control and how much of it was implemented.”“If a train is going around a curve and it’s going too fast, yes, it can derail,” she said. “In this case, we need to find out if there was positive train control and how much of it was implemented.”
In the hours since Amtrak train 501 derailed close to Tacoma, Washington, killing three people and sending some if its 14 cars onto vehicles on a highway beneath, questions have focussed on a safety system known as positive train control (PTC).In the hours since Amtrak train 501 derailed close to Tacoma, Washington, killing three people and sending some if its 14 cars onto vehicles on a highway beneath, questions have focussed on a safety system known as positive train control (PTC).
Under a federal law passed in 2008, all railroads are required to have PTC, which automatically slows trains if they exceed a speed limit, by the end of 2018. The Washington state Department of Transportation has said that entire Cascades route will have the system in place by the end of next year.Under a federal law passed in 2008, all railroads are required to have PTC, which automatically slows trains if they exceed a speed limit, by the end of 2018. The Washington state Department of Transportation has said that entire Cascades route will have the system in place by the end of next year.
But Geoff Patrick, a spokesman for Sound Transit, the regional transit agency which owns the stretch of track where the derailment happened, told The Independent PTC was not yet in operation on the track. It was due to be active by the second quarter, which he said was ahead of schedule of several other operators. But Geoff Patrick, a spokesman for Sound Transit, the regional transit agency which owns the stretch of track where the derailment happened, told The Independent PTC was not yet in operation on the track. It was due to be active by the second quarter, which he said was ahead of schedule of several other operators. 
Asked if its earlier implementation would have saved lives, he said: “That is not something I’d speculate about.”Asked if its earlier implementation would have saved lives, he said: “That is not something I’d speculate about.”
Reports say investigators will want to ask the engineer, whose identity has not been made public and who is currently in hospital, whether they were in control of the train at the time of accident. They will also order urine and blood samples, check the engineer’s mobile phone and ask questions about whether there was any obvious problem with the track.Reports say investigators will want to ask the engineer, whose identity has not been made public and who is currently in hospital, whether they were in control of the train at the time of accident. They will also order urine and blood samples, check the engineer’s mobile phone and ask questions about whether there was any obvious problem with the track.
They will also likely wish to examine internal cameras from the train. Ms Dinh-Zarr said investigators have already recovered one of the train’s so-called black boxes which revealed it was travelling at 80mph on a part of the track where the top speed was restricted to 30mph.They will also likely wish to examine internal cameras from the train. Ms Dinh-Zarr said investigators have already recovered one of the train’s so-called black boxes which revealed it was travelling at 80mph on a part of the track where the top speed was restricted to 30mph.
The engineer and other crew members are currently still being treated in hospital. That may mean they are not questioned for several days.The engineer and other crew members are currently still being treated in hospital. That may mean they are not questioned for several days.
“We want to make sure they’re well enough to be interviewed,” Ms Dinh-Zarr told MSNBC.“We want to make sure they’re well enough to be interviewed,” Ms Dinh-Zarr told MSNBC.
The train was carrying 80 passengers at the time, dozens of whom were injured and taken to hospital. At least ten were said to have suffered serious injuries.The train was carrying 80 passengers at the time, dozens of whom were injured and taken to hospital. At least ten were said to have suffered serious injuries.
On Tuesday, workers were clearing the wreckage of the train. Reuters said the debris and at least one towering crane glowed in the lights of scores of emergency vehicles, as teams sought to reopen the southbound lanes of the Interstate 5, a major west coast highway stretching from the Canadian border to Mexico. Workers were using cranes and flatbed trucks to heft the remaining train cars off of the crash site and transport them to a secure location, labouring through steady rain and wind. Authorities said Interstate 5, a major west coast highway stretching from the Canadian border to Mexico, could remain closed for days, continuing to snarl traffic throughout the area.
“This is a very careful, delicate operation,” Travis Phelps, a spokesman for the Washington State Department of Transportation, told reporters.
Once those cars are transported to a secure facility, National Transportation Safety Board will have access to gather evidence as they continue conducting their investigation of the derailment. 
The part of track where the derailment happened at around 7.30am had previously been used by slow-moving freight trains but was recently upgraded to handle passenger trains as part of a $181m project to cut travel time between Tacoma and Olympia, the news agency said.The part of track where the derailment happened at around 7.30am had previously been used by slow-moving freight trains but was recently upgraded to handle passenger trains as part of a $181m project to cut travel time between Tacoma and Olympia, the news agency said.
The state transportation department said the track underwent “weeks of inspection and testing” before the new route was inaugurated on Monday, setting off from Seattle for Portland at 6am.The state transportation department said the track underwent “weeks of inspection and testing” before the new route was inaugurated on Monday, setting off from Seattle for Portland at 6am.
After the derailment, people who were injured called out to rescuers, including people who had been in their vehicles nearby and who rushed to help. Among those who offered help were Daniel Konzelman, who was driving to work in Olympia with his girlfriend, Alicia Hoverson, when he noticed the train passing him.After the derailment, people who were injured called out to rescuers, including people who had been in their vehicles nearby and who rushed to help. Among those who offered help were Daniel Konzelman, who was driving to work in Olympia with his girlfriend, Alicia Hoverson, when he noticed the train passing him.
“I noticed it was going really fast. I’d never seen a train going that fast in the past. I drive that stretch every day,” he told the Seattle Times.“I noticed it was going really fast. I’d never seen a train going that fast in the past. I drive that stretch every day,” he told the Seattle Times.
He added: “I looked up and saw the train was hanging off. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this was major’.”He added: “I looked up and saw the train was hanging off. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this was major’.”
One of the three people to lose their life, was identified as  Zack Willhoite, an employee of a local transit agency and a rail advocate. One of the three people to lose their life, was identified as  Zack Willhoite, an employee of a local transit agency and a rail advocate.