Amtrak Train Derailment,,

[Mitchell]

www.wpvi.com

A tragic, unfortunately, fatal, for some people, derailment of an Amtrak train traveling from Philadelphia to NY's Penn Station occurred last night. The train went off the tracks near Philadelphia, in a section called Port Richmond, claiming the lives of five people on the train, and injuring 65 other people.

Jim Gardner and his news team spent the entire 11pm newscast on this story last night.

My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

 

[GirlWhoLikes2Laugh]

Yes, I heard about this today. What a terrible tragedy, especially for the families of their loved ones who died. The people who survived are very lucky.

 

[BlasterMaster]

This is a terrible tragedy and it should be a WAKE UP CALL to ALL POLITICIANS that our nation NEEDS to get it's INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIRED!

 

[rdhd]

Well, apparently the gov decided to cut some funding to Amtrak instead.....and supposedly some of these wonderful politicians use Amtrak to get to work. I only saw some headlines, didn't read the actual blurbs. But, if true, good thinking, brainiacs!

On the other hand, it seems the engineer was playing Speed Racer with the train....even upgrading the system won't take care of that kind of malarky. It's physics in action, and it can be deadly.

 

[General Zod]

This is a terrible tragedy and it should be a WAKE UP CALL to ALL POLITICIANS that our nation NEEDS to get it's INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIRED!

Reports are saying the train was going 106 MPH around a 50 MPH curve. What does repairing infrastructure have to do with this derailment?

 

[milagros317]

This is a terrible tragedy and it should be a WAKE UP CALL to ALL POLITICIANS that our nation NEEDS to get it's INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIRED!

It has now come out that the curve where the accident took place has a speed limit of 50mph and the train was going 106mph as it entered the curve.
Moreover, the engineer, a member of a labor union, has ceased talking to law enforcement and has hired a lawyer.
Why does none of this surprise me?

 

[BlasterMaster]

It has now come out that the curve where the accident took place has a speed limit of 50mph and the train was going 106mph as it entered the curve.
Moreover, the engineer, a member of a labor union, has ceased talking to law enforcement and has hired a lawyer. Why does none of this surprise me?

It wouldn't surprise me if Amtrak was telling it's employees to get the trains to their destinations sooner by speeding up the train during part of the trip (which may have led to something going COLOSSALLY WRONG - aka THIS)! As much as I'm growing to detest this engineer more and more I will say if I was in his position I would do the exact same thing he's doing right now. Only an idiot talks to the police / FBI without a lawyer when under police / state / federal investigation. Having said that, I still don't like the guy.

 

[coldneck]

This is a terrible tragedy and it should be a WAKE UP CALL to ALL POLITICIANS that our nation NEEDS to get it's INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIRED!

Watching you guys bring POLITICS into an obvious accident (operator error) is a Train Wreck in it's own right.

 

[BBGuy5240]

Thoughts are with the Families/Friends of those who passed away.

Voting to cut funding literally the next day is probably bad timing, but I wouldn't say Funding is the main reason this happened.

If you're going over 100MPH in a 50MPH Zone, and on a sharp curve of all places, chances are this is what will happen regardless.

Funding is important, but I'm just saying. Over 100MPH in a 50MPH Zone is inexcusable.

 

[Mitchell]

This tragedy occurred for one reason.

The reckless actions of the train operator.

I was stunned when I heard that the operator was going 106 mph, in a 50 mph zone, around a sharp curve, no less.

That is a formula for disaster.

Bottom line: The actions of the train operator cost people their lives, and injured dozens of others.

 

[BellyFan]

You hear people say taking a train is supposed to be safer than driving a car, but you're still putting your safety in the hands of someone else.

Thoughts are with all who were affected.

 

[DontAskJusTckle]

It wouldn't surprise me if Amtrak was telling it's employees to get the trains to their destinations sooner by speeding up the train during part of the trip (which may have led to something going COLOSSALLY WRONG - aka THIS)!

It would certainly surprise me and anybody else familiar with Amtrak's long time commitment to service. Amtrak knows the speed limits and has no history of telling its employees to ignore them. To suggest that Amtrak management would do such a thing without providing any evidence is typical of the baseless smear tactics of those looking to politicize that which isn't political.

 

[Blue Soda]

It wouldn't surprise me if Amtrak was telling it's employees to get the trains to their destinations sooner by speeding up the train during part of the trip (which may have led to something going COLOSSALLY WRONG - aka THIS)! As much as I'm growing to detest this engineer more and more I will say if I was in his position I would do the exact same thing he's doing right now. Only an idiot talks to the police / FBI without a lawyer when under police / state / federal investigation. Having said that, I still don't like the guy.

I disagree, respectfully. Amtrak is rarely on time in my experience so I assume they value safety over speed, and it seems like this operator made a tragic mistake of his own doing. It's better to wait until all the facts come out before we decry the whole company. Regardless, the whole thing is truly sad