News Olympia Train Wreck

Attix

Electric Delivery Driver from Washington
Member
There was a major train derailment yesterday close to where I live where a high-speed Amtrak train, on that line's inaugural voyage, jumped the track on a bridge crossing over I-5 between Tacoma and Olympia, killing at least three people and injuring dozens. Right now, southbound 5 is closed, which is a problem since its a major freeway and goes through a bottleneck (the water is on one side and Joint Base Lewis-McChord is on the other). Traffic actually got so bad yesterday on the most common alternate route that a 65 mile detour over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and onto the Kitsap Peninsula was faster.

Right now, they're clearing the site and moving the cars and bodies to JBLM, and the NTSB is studying the wreckage there. They don't know the exact cause yet, and we probably won't see a report for months, but it is known the train was doing 80 in a 30 mph zone and the track was only recently upgraded to handle passenger trains (it previously only handled freight).

I feel we should all put our thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families, and to everyone who volunteered to clear up the mess.
 

DragonFang101

Funky China Man
Member
There was a major train derailment yesterday close to where I live where a high-speed Amtrak train, on that line's inaugural voyage, jumped the track on a bridge crossing over I-5 between Tacoma and Olympia, killing at least three people and injuring dozens. Right now, southbound 5 is closed, which is a problem since its a major freeway and goes through a bottleneck (the water is on one side and Joint Base Lewis-McChord is on the other). Traffic actually got so bad yesterday on the most common alternate route that a 65 mile detour over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and onto the Kitsap Peninsula was faster.

Right now, they're clearing the site and moving the cars and bodies to JBLM, and the NTSB is studying the wreckage there. They don't know the exact cause yet, and we probably won't see a report for months, but it is known the train was doing 80 in a 30 mph zone and the track was only recently upgraded to handle passenger trains (it previously only handled freight).

I feel we should all put our thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families, and to everyone who volunteered to clear up the mess.
I want to thank you saying something about it here. Since I live in Washington too this has been all over the news and I'm really sad for the families of the three people that died as a result of the accident.
 

Latro

Spider Man
Member
This absolutely terrifies me, honestly. I have taken the Amtrak several times, (used to live near Tacoma, moved ~140 miles north), and was considering taking the train down south to visit family. Not anymore.

It pains me to see this happen :(
 

Attix

Electric Delivery Driver from Washington
Member
This absolutely terrifies me, honestly. I have taken the Amtrak several times, (used to live near Tacoma, moved ~140 miles north), and was considering taking the train down south to visit family. Not anymore.

It pains me to see this happen :(

The worst part is that the town of DuPont had been fighting this line for years, and now their concerns were instantly validated.
 

DragonFang101

Funky China Man
Member
The worst part is that the town of DuPont had been fighting this line for years, and now their concerns were instantly validated.
And then there are all those people that invested in the stock market for Amtrak. They are not gonna have a good time. :(
 

Latro

Spider Man
Member
This is at least the second Amtrak derailment this year in the Puget Sound. Another Amtrak Cascades derailed near Chambers Bay a few months ago...
 

Attix

Electric Delivery Driver from Washington
Member
I just got wind that WSDOT plans to open up two lanes of SB I-5 by 5 P.M. PST, so hopefully that will relieve some of the congestion.

I also read that one thing they're considering is the fact that the new line was apparently rushed into service before all the proper safety features and stops could be installed. Again, nothing conclusive from the investigation just yet, but the errors are adding up and are beginning to point towards negligence of some sort. I've seen enough disaster documentaries to see the pattern in all this.
 
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