The National Transportation Safety Board has determined that several factors combined to be the probable cause of a fatal 2017 Amtrak derailment in DuPont, Wash., including track owner Sound Transit’s failure to take steps to address the dangerous curve where the train derailed—a segment that lacked an operational Positive Train Control system. The board also cited the engineer’s excessive speed as he entered the curve and his lack of training on that section of track and the type of locomotive he was operating.
The four-member board voted unanimously on May 21 to endorse the findings of its staff that investigated the accident and 26 new safety recommendations, and several reiterated ones, for the U.S. Department of Transportation/Federal Railroad Administration, Sound Transit, Amtrak and other organizations.