Amtrak Train May Have Been Struck Before It Derailed, Officials Say

New Yoirk Times ^ | May 15, 2015 | DAVE PHILIPPS and EMMA G. FITZSIMMONS

[MeshugeMikey]

PHILADELPHIA — An assistant conductor on the Amtrak train that derailed on Tuesday believes she heard the engineer tell another regional train operator in a radio transmission that the train had been struck by something just before the accident, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

At a news conference on Friday, Robert L. Sumwalt, the safety board official who is leading the investigation, said the F.B.I. had been asked to examine what he described as a fist-size impact area found on the lower left side of the train’s windshield. Officials said that the F.B.I. had been called in because it has the forensics expertise needed for the investigation, but that it had not yet begun its analysis.

[Publius]

Or the yutes could just be trying some target practice. Getting back at The Man.

[MeshugeMikey]

“The two events may add up.”

and then there are the other 2... alleged projectile impacts.

I suspect dare I say it...foul play

note that I did not use the T word or mention ISLAM

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Dude is responsible for mass mayhem and death, of course he remembers nothing. How does a guy deal with this without blowing his brains out?

[MeshugeMikey]

got ..me...

[CedarDave]

Let me throw something else into the mix here, not at the engineer, but at the duplicity of Amtrak. There is talk all over the news spectrum that if Positive Train Control had been installed and operative, this wouldn't have happened. This is followed by equal-opportunity congressional bashing on who's fault it is that PTC isn't installed yet. Amtrak is trying to play CYA, but they will be exposed as having a currently deployed technology that could have been installed and working to prevent this from happening. That technology is "Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System." From an earlier post here on FR by me and taken from an opinion article at CNN by Fred Frailey (long time Trains Magazine writer and columnist):

Meanwhile, Amtrak has its own version of positive train control, called Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System (ACSES). Its sophisticated technology is tested and known to work. Alas, its adoption has been slow in the Amtrak-owned Northeast Corridor, operative only between Boston and New Haven, Connecticut, on a short stretch of New Jersey just outside of New York City and in parts of northern Maryland.
The danger train travel can't banish

The irony is that this technology was installed and operating for southbound trains at this location because of the dramatic speed reduction from 110 mph to 70 mph or lower. It was not installed northbound because the speed reduction required to safely take the curve was not considered significant enough to warrant it's installation. Based on what I have read elsewhere, to install that technology would only require a few days labor for hardware work and very little software programming.

In summary, the PTC commotion regarding this specific location is mainly BS and I would expect that the current system will be in and working at that location well before the end of the year. As for PTC, Boardman or no one else can guarantee it will be working flawlessly by the start of 2016. As Frailey states:

Not until 2017 or 2018 will the large railroads finish installing positive train control. And until they do and flip the switch, there's no guarantee that it will even work. One fear is that positive train control will choke on its own complexity and slow the railroad network to a crawl.

One more item picked up from TrainOrders: One report has it that the FRA will not let trains move past the wreck location until ACSES is installed there. If true, it is indeed an easy fix and one that should have been performed there and lots of other locations a long time ago.

[MeshugeMikey]

most yout dont seem very.....dedicated..or focused.in the way that the jihadists seem to be

[MeshugeMikey]

not considered significant enough ...

a JV...danger zone....yep!

[MeshugeMikey]

the Projectiles did not come from the same source apparrntly given the different locations at which the trainS were truck.. unless ithere was a DRONE involved

[Publius]

In Philly, Broad St. takes the place of what would have been 14th St. The two incidents were 9 blocks apart and 15 minutes apart. You could walk that distance in that amount of time, but not carrying a weapon openly.

[22202NOVA]

We used to put coins on the tracks. Stupid, weren’t we?

[PA Engineer]

No, but we’ll be able to find the location of the sudden acceleration from the black box. The two events may add up.

Amtrak train sped up for about a minute before crash, NTSB says

[MeshugeMikey]

and as it runs out....at three different locations..

I doubt that the at least 3 projectiles hitting the 3 windshields at three locations was any accident

[Publius]

Now it’s just a matter of algebra. “If a train is going 106 mph, how far will it travel in 5 minutes?” Could be a tough one.

[MeshugeMikey]

and of course..SNITCHES get STICHES so there wont likely “be” any witnesses if it turns out that shots were fired

[NoCmpromiz]

Are SEPTA and Amtrak on the same CB channel?

CB channel?

No.

For dispatching purposes both Amtrak, SEPTA, and any freight trains that would move through there on the tracks dispatched by Amtrak would all be on the same AAR channel...

[PA Engineer]

Can’t copy the acceleration graphic from the Washington Post, however it is very revealing.

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

Thanks. I meant that. But I’m a bit ‘dated’. ;)

[Publius]

You think he was running from a shooting by someone from the ‘hood and forgot the curve?

[PA Engineer]

You think he was running from a shooting by someone from the ‘hood and forgot the curve?

No.

[Publius]

What’s your take?