What caused the derailment of the Empire Builder train?
NTSB investigators said a combination of factors, including worn rail, vertical track deflection, subgrade instability and track misalignment, led to the derailment of Amtrak's westbound Empire Builder on Sept.
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Worn and poorly-maintained train tracks that should have been replaced caused the 2021 derailment of an Amtrak train in Montana that killed three people and injured 49 others, federal investigators said Thursday.
Amtrak's westbound Empire Builder derailed shortly before 4 p.m. on September 25, 2021, near Joplin, Mont., about 50 miles west of Havre on BNSF Railway's Hi-Line Subdivision. Three people were killed and dozens were injured.
The probable cause of the derailment, the NTSB said, “was the truck driver proceeding for unknown reasons into the highway-railroad grade crossing without stopping despite the presence of a stop sign and approaching train.”
The train was traveling just below the speed limit of 79 mph (127 kph) when its emergency brakes were activated, the NTSB said. Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari declined comment on the track issues raised in the report. A spokesperson with BNSF Railway did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
A miscommunication between a train crew and a bridge operator likely led to the derailment of two BNSF engines near Anacortes last week, a federal official said. In the early morning of March 16, two train engines came off the tracks on Swinomish land, a few hundred feet from Swinomish Casino and Lodge.
The two trains take about 7 hours to wind through Washington state and meet up in Spokane in the middle of night for a breakup and reattach experience that form the mother train of 6 sleepers, 6 passenger cars, a dining car and lounge car with a domed view and snack bar on the lower level.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has since said that the derailment appears to have been caused by a mechanical problem on one car, saying a wheel bearing on that car appeared to have overheated.
Eight freight rail tankers derailed near Topock, Arizona, on Wednesday evening, according to BNSF Railway. Despite initial reports from the Mojave County Sheriff's Office that the train was carrying hazardous materials, BNSF confirmed that the train was actually carrying corn syrup.
Queen of The Sea, Sri LankaThe Queen of The Sea train crash in Sri Lanka, caused by the Indian Ocean Tsunami which struck in December 2004, is regarded as the worst train disaster in railroad history after it caused the death of over 1,700 people.