Amtrak derailment: Train crashes near Tacoma, Washington - Sensationalist Headlines

[quote]An Amtrak train car derailed on Monday morning, blocking southbound lanes of a highway near Tacoma, Washington. Washington State Department of Transportation tweeted a picture of the derailment at 7:45 a.m. PST, showing what appeared to be a car on its side over a highway lane.[/quote] [url]https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/amtrak-derailment-train-crashes-near-tacoma-washington-n830751[/url] [quote]First responders are treating the incident as a mass casualty, according to KIRO 7.[/quote] [url]https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/18/amtrak-train-derails-near-seattle-onto-the-i-5-freeway.html[/url] [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/319537168982736917/392351823656386561/unknown.png[/img] Still developing

Goddamn... that picture. It's a worse nightmare when driving under train tracks, always afraid that'll happen. Hoping the best for everyone involved.

NBC reports train was going 80mph, the tracks were brand new and positive train control was in effect. Fatalities are confirmed. Unknown if traffic from the interstate hit the train Was an inaugural run for a new Cascades route out of Tacoma which is that passenger car behind the engine.

[media]https://twitter.com/linglingmz3/status/942792751212511232[/media] It looks pretty bad. Also don't drive and film at the same time. No need for a secondary accident.

I found [B]a source from December 5th[/B] that voices concerns from the mayor of Lakewood where the route was built, he predicted an accident could occur. [url]http://komonews.com/news/local/lakewood-mayor-predicts-deadly-accidents-from-high-speed-train-service[/url] [Quote]The idea is to use the Sound Transit tracks that cut through the city and open them up to Amtrak trains. However, huge safety concerns remain.[/quote] [Quote] [B]Mayor Don Anderson said grade separations – such as overpasses – should be included to keep trains away from cars and pedestrians.[/B] “Come back when there is that accident, and try to justify not putting in those safety enhancements, or you can go back now and advocate for the money to do it, because this project was never needed and endangers our citizens,”[/quote]

Holy shit. I've ridden Amtrak into downtown Seattle but not further south, but I do remember how large the train cars are. It's weird to me that this occurred on Sound Transit tracks. They're the ones building the first tracks on a floating bridge (in the world), and they don't cut corners on safety and testing of all their new lines - it's part of why the light rail expansion takes so bloody long. This is horrifying and tragic, but I hope the root cause is a series of terribly unfortunate events and not due to corners being cut and safety suggestions being disregarded :c [editline]18th December 2017[/editline] NYT has this photo and states injuries due to cars being fell on, and in case it wasn't clear (I certainly missed it) I'm pretty sure the train was unoccupied [t]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/12/19/us/19xp-train/19xp-train-jumbo.jpg[/t] Article, soft paywall with NYT so he incognito/private to get around it: [url]https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/18/us/amtrak-derailment-washington.html[/url]

That is a small bridge (at least for Amtrak), looks like something for local rail or cargo to go on. In other news, Washington continues to design quality bridges. /s

[QUOTE=paindoc;52987238]Holy shit. I've ridden Amtrak into downtown Seattle but not further south, but I do remember how large the train cars are. It's weird to me that this occurred on Sound Transit tracks. They're the ones building the first tracks on a floating bridge (in the world), and they don't cut corners on safety and testing of all their new lines - it's part of why the light rail expansion takes so bloody long. This is horrifying and tragic, but I hope the root cause is a series of terribly unfortunate events and not due to corners being cut and safety suggestions being disregarded :c [editline]18th December 2017[/editline] NYT has this photo and states injuries due to cars being fell on, and in case it wasn't clear (I certainly missed it) I'm pretty sure the train was unoccupied [t]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/12/19/us/19xp-train/19xp-train-jumbo.jpg[/t] Article, soft paywall with NYT so he incognito/private to get around it: [url]https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/18/us/amtrak-derailment-washington.html[/url][/QUOTE] CNN is reporting per the Pierce County Sheriff's Office, there were no deaths in vehicles hit by the train. Multiple fatalities onboard. The train had 78 passengers plus 5 crew.

[media]https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/942827072824672262[/media] Fuck off man

[QUOTE=Potus;52987430][media]https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/942827072824672262[/media] Fuck off man[/QUOTE] i mean, if he wants to say that the exorbitant military budget should be reallocated to improve things back home, i agree with him

[QUOTE=Potus;52987430][media]https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/942827072824672262[/media] Fuck off man[/QUOTE] its no lie that the state of roads, railways, bridges and tunnels in the US are crumbling and need urgent care but i mean this train just derailed and he's already jumping on the politics of it surprised hes not calling for Amtrak to be privatised tho

From what I've been able to piece together from aerial footage on MSNBC and some looking on google maps, it seems like this was very likely a speed issue. Right before the bridge there's about 10 miles of near-straight line running that was recently rebuilt with high speed ties and rail. The segment where the crash occurred has a sharp curve and according to MSNBC is only rated for 30mph. If you look at the aerial footage, about fifty feet before the crash site there's a signal to the right of the track that has been destroyed, meaning the train was already off the rails at that point. Drawing a straight line continuing from the straight track segment, it goes almost directly through the signal. That to me says that the lead locomotive jumped the track at the start of the curve. [t]https://i.imgur.com/HmJ0Z4V.png[/t] Obviously this is all major speculation on my part, but the fact that until the site of the crash itself the rail looks almost pristine makes me think that excessive speed caused the train to jump the rails at the curve right before the bridge. [editline]18th December 2017[/editline] Also this was a brand new locomotive leading a modern train consist on track that had been very recently rebuilt so I'm not sure where the crumbling infrastructure part comes in to play.

[QUOTE=GameDev;52987212]I found [B]a source from December 5th[/B] that voices concerns from the mayor of Lakewood where the route was built, he predicted an accident could occur. [url]http://komonews.com/news/local/lakewood-mayor-predicts-deadly-accidents-from-high-speed-train-service[/url][/QUOTE] This is actually a completely different concern, related to Sound Transit cutting through the city without grade separations. This means the trains are at the same level as pedestrians and other street traffic, leaving them potentially vulnerable. Given that this occurred on track that [I]was[/I] grade separated this is more irrelevant than prophetic. [QUOTE=papkee;52987469]From what I've been able to piece together from aerial footage on MSNBC and some looking on google maps, it seems like this was very likely a speed issue. Right before the bridge there's about 10 miles of near-straight line running that was recently rebuilt with high speed ties and rail. The segment where the crash occurred has a sharp curve and according to MSNBC is only rated for 30mph. If you look at the aerial footage, about fifty feet before the crash site there's a signal to the right of the track that has been destroyed, meaning the train was already off the rails at that point. Drawing a straight line continuing from the straight track segment, it goes almost directly through the signal. That to me says that the lead locomotive jumped the track at the start of the curve. [t]https://i.imgur.com/HmJ0Z4V.png[/t] Obviously this is all major speculation on my part, but the fact that until the site of the crash itself the rail looks almost pristine makes me think that excessive speed caused the train to jump the rails at the curve right before the bridge. [editline]18th December 2017[/editline] Also this was a brand new locomotive leading a modern train consist on track that had been very recently rebuilt so I'm not sure where the crumbling infrastructure part comes in to play.[/QUOTE] Apparently the trains last reported speed was 81mph, and it should've been going 40mph in much of the stretch leading up to that curve. Still no count on fatalities, they're waiting for the NTSB to arrive before they begin releasing details. [editline]18th December 2017[/editline] Also in regards to your analysis papkee, there was apparently some mention of objects on the track and federal agents were inspecting the track quite a bit before the accident itself. Good catch on the signal being taken out, though, that's an important detail that complicates things considerably.

[QUOTE=paindoc;52987563] Apparently the trains last reported speed was 81mph, and it should've been going 40mph in much of the stretch leading up to that curve. Still no count on fatalities, they're waiting for the NTSB to arrive before they begin releasing details. [editline]18th December 2017[/editline] Also in regards to your analysis papkee, there was apparently some mention of objects on the track and federal agents were inspecting the track quite a bit before the accident itself. Good catch on the signal being taken out, though, that's an important detail that complicates things considerably.[/QUOTE] If that last reported speed is correct, then there's no way it could've made around that curve. Even if it was superelevated and the train was using its hydraulic tilting function there's no way that sharp of a turn could be taken at 80mph. Track defect/obstacle can't be ruled out obviously. Hell, even a combination of high speed + something on the rail could be the root cause. Again all we can do is speculate until we get actual facts and data from the train which we won't get for a while still.

I hope the rail snake is okay

[QUOTE=Potus;52987430][media]https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/942827072824672262[/media] Fuck off man[/QUOTE] I mean I pretty much agree with him entirely here.

Okay I'm bored this afternoon so I'm going deep. The radius of the curve before that bridge is around [B]210 meters[/B] via google earth. [t]https://i.imgur.com/apAQ2Ih.png[/t] According to the wikipedia article for track curve radius, for a speed of 81mph, or approximately 130kph, the minimum curve radius for that speed is [B]630m[/B] for non tilting consists and [B]450m[/B] for tilting consists (this train had tilting equipment but it may have not been in use. [t]https://i.imgur.com/Hx113p3.png[/t] Just more data to consider.

[QUOTE=OvB;52987632]I mean I pretty much agree with him entirely here.[/QUOTE] [URL="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/trump-budget-slashes-federal-aid-for-rail-long-distance-amtrak-routes/2017/05/23/55df2bc4-3fdf-11e7-adba-394ee67a7582_story.html?utm_term=.389b8f05014a"]Except it's a huge talking point since he cut money for trains [/URL]

[QUOTE=Flameon;52987643][URL="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/trump-budget-slashes-federal-aid-for-rail-long-distance-amtrak-routes/2017/05/23/55df2bc4-3fdf-11e7-adba-394ee67a7582_story.html?utm_term=.389b8f05014a"]Except it's a huge talking point since he cut money for trains [/URL][/QUOTE] Then I agree with the sentiment and not quite the execution.

[QUOTE=OvB;52987686]Then I agree with the sentiment and not quite the execution.[/QUOTE] He's full of nothing but sentiment, most of it awful, though

Shit, this is a few miles from me. I've taken that train half a dozen times. Hope they figure out what caused this.

[QUOTE=OvB;52987686]Then I agree with the sentiment and not quite the execution.[/QUOTE] "not quite the execution" The execution is flat out deceptively wanking about how he can MAGA this. Even in this thread we see people who may be critical of him most of the time basically saying "I guess he isn't ALL bad, he wants to help and I can agree with this!"; we can all agree we need less war and more work at home. God forbid the eternal winter of construction season ever come to an end in my area. If there was much thought behind it, it's definitely aimed at making the tragedy about him and how good he can be at fixing it. Beyond soaking up the attention, this'd probably end up squeezing his approval rating up a bit across the board, and the majority of people never realize he's outright contributing to [i]de-funding[/i] exactly this infrastructure, something that absolutely leads to more safety hazards through neglect and lack of proper oversight

[QUOTE=GameDev;52987206]NBC reports train was going 80mph, the tracks were brand new and positive train control was in effect. Fatalities are confirmed. Unknown if traffic from the interstate hit the train Was an inaugural run for a new Cascades route out of Tacoma which is that passenger car behind the engine.[/QUOTE] Positive train control was not in effect, according to the amtrak pres

[QUOTE=papkee;52987640]Okay I'm bored this afternoon so I'm going deep. The radius of the curve before that bridge is around [B]210 meters[/B] via google earth.[/QUOTE] Just as an independant calculation, for this curve, the design speed (at 120 mm or 160 mm cant) comes up to about 30 mph and top operational speed comes up to about 50 mph. Small variations in gauge or cant don't change this number much.

[QUOTE=GameDev;52987212]I found [B]a source from December 5th[/B] that voices concerns from the mayor of Lakewood where the route was built, he predicted an accident could occur. [url]http://komonews.com/news/local/lakewood-mayor-predicts-deadly-accidents-from-high-speed-train-service[/url][/QUOTE] Yea that's chilling, dude obviously knew what he was talking about.

Another prime example of why a lack of funding for or even someone in government who even cares about railroads is a bad thing.

No guys! Trump will solve this by defunding Amtrak. No trains, no derailments. Smart! /s Amtrak might not be a sustainable business but defunding them is will do our economy more harm than good. I might not be able to attend college next year because of this orange fuck.

yeah as shitty as trump's execution is, I honestly think I agree with him and considering the person he is I don't think he'd ever had said it in a way more respectful, lmao. Just kinda funny how the president is usually so bad that I settled for that. I mean really, he's literally a president who could probably watch his own family die and tweet about how this underlines the need for more police 20 minutes later. honestly from a psychological standpoint donald trump is so funny to me: He's a man who's taken the tenets of free will to the maximum, and then used his place in life (as in the products of his free will, but he didn't even really EARN those.) to rationalize himself out of all self-awareness using the things he now thinks he's entitled to. Gotta love blinding entitlement issues. Really just underlines how weak of a man he is inside. The enticing drug of 'success' can really destroy a person if they don't use it responsibly.

Any updates on how many casualties there were?

[QUOTE=InfectedPotato;52988110]Any updates on how many casualties there were?[/QUOTE] 6 [url]https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/18/us/amtrak-derailment-washington.html[/url] [Editline]1[/editline] I guess the number got lowered, NYT said 6 originally