WSDOT announced on December 21 that it would not resume Amtrak service on the Point Defiance Bypass until positive train control is implemented in 2018.
(meta data) TITLE: Washington state: No passenger trains on Amtrak derailment route until safety systems are in place | The Seattle Times (meta data) PUBLISHED DATETIME: 2017-12-21 15:40:00 Skip to content Log In Local News Local News Local News Log In Local NewsTraffic Lab # Washington state: No passenger trains on Amtrak derailment route until safety systems are in place Originally published December 21, 2017 at 3:40 pm Updated December 22, 2017 at 2:39 pm Back to story Restart gallery More Photo Galleries ## A pioneering trooper looks back at her career with Washington State Patrol ## New Burke Museum will have a striking and symbolic work of art ## Seattle's waterfront hosts performance by Native youth theater program Red Eagle Soaring Washington state transportation officials say they won't restart passenger service along the rail line where an Amtrak train derailed Monday until "positive train control" safety systems are in place. Mike Baker Seattle Times staff reporter Washington state transportation officials won't restart passenger service along the rail line where an Amtrak train derailed until advanced safety systems are in place, a spokeswoman said Thursday. Barbara LaBoe, a spokeswoman for the Washington state Department of Transportation, said passenger trains will use the older rail line along the coast until "positive train control" technology is ready for the Point Defiance Bypass route. The Amtrak train that derailed on Monday, killing three people and injuring dozens more, was on its inaugural passenger run along the new bypass line that was to speed service south of Tacoma. Investigators still examining the cause of the crash say the train was traveling 80 mph when it entered a curve that has a speed limit of 30 mph. ### Amtrak train derailment Officials pushed 'aggressive' timeline before safety tech was ready | Times Watchdog NTSB report: Amtrak engineer missed speed limit sign before the train crashed on a curve south of Tacoma 'Holy Cow, so the train is actually on the road?' The wreck of Amtrak 501 It took authorities hours to search the wreckage. Here's why Train was 50 mph over limit when it derailed at curve before I-5 crossing Photos: Investigation at crash scene Longtime rail advocates among those killed These are some of the people who rushed to help the survivors Lakewood mayor had predicted new Amtrak rail line would lead to fatalities Man pulled gun on motorist taking food to Amtrak derailment first responders, prosecutors say Complete coverage » Positive train control systems can detect a train that's exceeding speed limits and slow the train. Crews have been working to set up those systems on the Point Defiance Bypass route — and had hoped to have it ready at the start of service — but were still in the testing phase this week. Officials had been working on an "aggressive" timeline to finish the new line this year, with documents showing the state had a deadline of the middle of the year to finish construction in order to fully collect on federal stimulus money awarded years earlier. The state had also vowed to open service in the fall. LaBoe said the decision to halt passenger service on the new route until the systems were in place was not an indication that the state considers the tracks unsafe. She said the new line had been thoroughly inspected and that it was a matter of sensitivity, for those killed in the tragedy and for those who will ride the route in the future. She also said officials were wanting to have renewed conversations with communities along the new route. "It's not a question of the safety of those tracks," LaBoe said. The older route where trains will continue running also does not have the train-control technology, but LaBoe said the state has been operating there for many years without major issues. LaBoe said the state didn't know when the train-control systems would be ready for the new line. A spokesman for Sound Transit, which owns the tracks, has said it's planning to activate the technology before the end of June. Sound Transit has also been working to get more train-control coverage for its Sounder trains. The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating this week's derailment, has long pushed for train-control systems, repeatedly citing the issue after deadly crashes. In 2008, Congress mandated that railroads use the computerized systems by the end of 2015. But, facing cost and implementation challenges, the industry convinced Congress to extend the deadline until the end of 2018. Accidents have continued to draw attention to the issue, and some have had speed similarities similar to Monday's crash. In 2013, a Metro-North passenger train in New York derailed while traveling 82 mph at a curve where the maximum authorized speed was 30 mph, according to the NTSB, killing four people and injuring dozens. In 2015, an Amtrak passenger train in Philadelphia derailed while traveling 106 mph around a curve where the speed was restricted to 50 mph, according to the NTSB, killing eight people and injuring many more. Earlier this year near Steilacoom, Pierce County, an Amtrak train derailed. Officials blamed speed and human error in that non-fatal accident, saying the engineer approached a drawbridge above the 40 mph speed limit. That accident occurred on the older route where trains will continue traveling. Mike Baker: 206-464-2729 or mbaker@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @ByMikeBaker.
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2017 Washington train derailment
Aftermath.
Amtrak temporarily suspended service for south of Seattle for several hours because of the accident, resuming on the former coast route and the old Tacoma station. Southbound automobile traffic was rerouted away from I-5 by WSDOT until the site was cleared of debris and inspected. On December 18, JBLM allowed southbound traffic through from DuPont to State Route 510 near Lacey.