Washington

Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(108,010 posts) Sat Jan 25, 2020, 02:17 PM Jan 2020

Engineer in deadly 2017 train derailment sues Amtrak

TACOMA, Wash. — The engineer who was at the controls during the deadly 2017 Amtrak derailment, that sent passenger cars hurtling off the tracks over Interstate 5 near Olympia, has filed a lawsuit against Amtrak in Pierce County Superior Court.

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board earlier said the derailment happened because the engineer, Steven Brown, was improperly trained and lost track of where he was on the route. He was going more than twice the speed limit when he hit a curve during the train's inaugural run on a new bypass route.

Brown's lawsuit, filed this week, says Amtrak had not properly trained him on the new route or the locomotive controls before the Dec. 18, 2017 derailment.

Brown also alleges that Amtrak is at fault for not installing Positive Train Control, a new technology designed to prevent trains from exceeding safe speeds, on the new route before the crash.

https://www.seattlepi.com/local/seattlenews/article/Engineer-in-deadly-2017-train-derailment-sues-15002333.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailynewsletterspi&utm_term=spi

4 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Engineer in deadly 2017 train derailment sues Amtrak (Original Post) Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Jan 2020 OP

Did Amtrak have an employees' timetable for this route? Vogon_Glory Jan 2020 #1

The train was going 80 MPH when it was supposed to be going 30 Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Jan 2020 #2

If so, it sounds like the engineer was speeding. Vogon_Glory Jan 2020 #3

My guess is that'll GP6971 Jan 2020 #4

Vogon_Glory

(9,118 posts)

1. Did Amtrak have an employees' timetable for this route?

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Sat Jan 25, 2020, 02:37 PM

Jan 2020

I’m old enough to remember that freight railroads had what are called “employee timetables” that not only listed the stations and passing tracks on given routes, but also listed the maximum allowable speeds at given sections of the line (shown by mile-markers). Had the engineer seen such a time-table and, if so, was he paying any attention to it when he crashed?

I’d sure like to know the answers.

Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(108,010 posts)

2. The train was going 80 MPH when it was supposed to be going 30

Reply to Vogon_Glory (Reply #1)

Sat Jan 25, 2020, 02:39 PM

Jan 2020

Vogon_Glory

(9,118 posts)

3. If so, it sounds like the engineer was speeding.

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Reply #2)

Sat Jan 25, 2020, 02:48 PM

Jan 2020

I realize that the train was on a recently-constructed section of track, but back in the day he would have been expected to approach slowly.

GP6971

(31,163 posts)

4. My guess is that'll

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Sat Jan 25, 2020, 10:30 PM

Jan 2020

he will lose. I watched that new section of track being constructed and the speed signs were clearly visible. He wasn't paying attention. I seem to recall shortly after the derailment that he said he was distracted by someone else in the cab.

I had just passed the derailment site 5 minutes earlier...took me 4 hours to get home that night.

Reply to this discussion