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Amtrak appoints Chief Safety Officer following DuPont derailment

The announcement of a safety officer is just one reform Amtrak says it’s taking in the wake of the derailment, not waiting for the probable cause to be announced by the NTSB.
Amtrak Cascades Train 501 derailed and cars crashed onto Intersate 5 near DuPont, Wash., Dec. 18, 2017. (Credit: KING)

Amtrak has just appointed a Chief Safety Officer in the wake of the Dec. 18, 2017, derailment onto Interstate 5 in DuPont that killed three people.

The crash injured 62 passengers and crew members aboard the 12 car train. Another 14 vehicles were hit by derailed cars on I-5, injuring eight people.

The announcement of a safety officer is just one reform Amtrak says it’s taking in the wake of the derailment, not waiting for the probable cause to be announced by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The NTSB is looking into training as one potential factor in the accident where the train’s black boxes, known in railroad circles as event recorders, found the engineer noticing he was going too fast.

Including audio and camera recordings in the cab, the NTSB’s preliminary report showed the engineer began to apply normal braking, but not emergency brakes six seconds before the train failed to hold the track while entering the curve at 78 miles per hour. The speed limit on that curve was 30 miles per hour.

Amtrak says there was a two-week training period for operating crew members before service started on a new route known as the Point Defiance Bypass. The bypass is designed to save trains 10 minutes off of the longer route which takes trains further before turning back toward Tacoma. But the change also keeps passenger trains from getting tied up and delayed by heavy freight traffic below downtown.

Washington state Transportation Secretary Roger Millar says meetings are expected soon that will involve all the players involved with Amtrak Cascades trains. They include WSDOT, Oregon’s Department of Transportation, Amtrak, Burlington Northern Santa Fe -- which owns most of the tracks -- and locomotive manufacturers to speed up implementation of Positive Train Control on Amtrak and freight trains.

Amtrak’s new Chief Officer is Ken Hylander, who has three decades of experience in aviation safety. Like Amtrak President Richard Anderson, Hylander comes from Delta Air Lines.

The changes will include safety stand downs, pre-trip briefings with managers and more training, particularly as it relates to speed. In a letter from Amtrak President Anderson to Millar, the reforms are intended to roll out nationwide.

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