# Major Amtrak derailment south of Tacoma **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 18, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775 "2017-12-18T17:12:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/21 "2017-12-18T18:03:57Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > The problem I have with that is that if it was a fairly active freight route, the tracks should be in good shape and as long as the engineer obeys any speed limitations it should work fine. Unless I’m misunderstanding again, it was rerouting FROM an active freight route, and this is a new one. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/22 "2017-12-18T18:14:20Z")
> [@Helena330](#): > > Unless I’m misunderstanding again, it was rerouting FROM an active freight route, and this is a new one. You’re correct. They laid 14 miles of new track or replacement track. Assuming that a regularly-used freight line would be in good condition is a laughable notion in this country. Congress has refused to spend any money to replace flood-damaged track in the norther tier, which means that there are very long stretches of temporary track where trains crawl along at 15 mph, shaking and rattling over every inch. The last time we took Amtrak to MSP, it took forever. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/23 "2017-12-18T18:19:00Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [It derailed off an overpass onto the freeway,](http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2017/12/amtrak_train_derails_in_washin.html#incart_river_home) From your link: > [@OregonLive](#): > > Service began Monday on a new Amtrak route meant to speed up travel **and enhance safety** on the Cascades train that travels from Vancouver B.C. to Eugene, according to Washington Department of Transportation. > > “The start of new service also includes the debut of the new Tacoma Dome Station in Freighthouse Square, part of the Tacoma-Point Defiance Bypass project,” reads the WDOT website. “ **The additional trips make the service more convenient and accessible for all travelers and allow more options for day trips along the corridor.** ” Ironic. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/24 "2017-12-18T18:23:14Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I found a news station (Fox Q13), and they are now reporting three fatalities. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > ‘77 passengers are being transported [to hospital].’ ‘Four patients considered “Level Red”.’ > [@CNN](#): > > There were 78 passengers and five crew members on board an Amtrak train that derailed in Pierce County, Washington. That’s 80 of 83 either dead or injured. Holy shi…! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/25 "2017-12-18T18:28:38Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > That’s 80 of 83 either dead or injured. Holy shi…! Some of the injured were in vehicles on the freeway. ---
**Author:** ![arles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71c47a/32.png) [@arles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arles)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/26 "2017-12-18T18:29:15Z")
King5 is still having live coverage. Earlier this morning, Alex Rozier was reporting live during the inaugural trip and was interviewing passengers. He and his cameraman got off the train in Tacoma. A few minutes later the train derailed. Now Alex is reporting coverage at the accident site. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/27 "2017-12-18T18:35:24Z")
Holy Crap! What a “Trump Administration”! ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/28 "2017-12-18T18:35:54Z")
[Lakewood mayor predicts deadly accidents from high-speed train service](http://komonews.com/news/local/lakewood-mayor-predicts-deadly-accidents-from-high-speed-train-service) KOMO TV news article, dated 04 December 2017, two weeks before today’s crash. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/29 "2017-12-18T18:52:06Z")
And Trump weighs in: “The train accident that just occurred in DuPont, WA shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. Seven trillion dollars spent in the Middle East while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways (and more) crumble! Not for long! – Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 18, 2017” Too soon, Donny. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/30 "2017-12-18T18:55:57Z")
> [@Taters](#): > > Many of these folks are being transported to where I work. It’s being treated as a mass casualty (both by state and county). I’ve probably driven that stretch of freeway a hundred times; know it well. My thoughts are with the dead, injured, and their families. Could I ask where you work, Taters? St. Joseph’s and Tacoma General aren’t too far away. Madigan is probably closer, but I don’t know if there are issues with taking civilians there. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/31 "2017-12-18T18:57:53Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And Trump weighs in: “The train accident that just occurred in DuPont, WA shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. Seven trillion dollars spent in the Middle East while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways (and more) crumble! Not for long! > – Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 18, 2017” > > Too soon, Donny. You’ve been in office almost a year, Donald. If it’s so important to approve this quickly, why haven’t you even submitted it yet? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/32 "2017-12-18T19:14:03Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Btw, the website I linked to updates every few minutes, and every new picture seems to be worse than the last. Can anyone identify the vehicle that the train car landed on in the lastest pic? Looks like the trailer end of a semi-tractor-trailer truck. > [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > From what I can tell, the train was the Cascades, not the Coast Starlight, but other than that, not much has been released. The train cars do have “Cascades” painted on the sides… > [@Taters](#): > > Many thought this was a bad idea due to the proximity of population centers, roads, and high speeds (79 MPH) of the trains. Regular Amtrak goes as fast as 79 MPH (where conditions permit), that’s not considered a “high speed rail” speed. And passenger trains sort of _have to_ to through population centers because, you know, that’s where the population _is_. > [@Duckster](#): > > [Lakewood mayor predicts deadly accidents from high-speed train service](http://komonews.com/news/local/lakewood-mayor-predicts-deadly-accidents-from-high-speed-train-service) Yeah, well, ANY transportation system can have a deadly accident (how many people killed in cars each year?). Look to some of Europe’s more spectacular train wrecks. While rail travel is largely safe if you have a high-speed passenger train derail or otherwise come to misfortune the casualty numbers can match those of a crashing airliner. Even so - how many people killed each year in cars? It’s just that those are onesies and twosies and so don’t make the headlines. Even so - my condolences to those who lost loved ones or who will have long-term effects from this. I hope they find out what happened, take steps to prevent it occurring again (if reasonable), and get the mess cleaned up soon. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/33 "2017-12-18T19:26:59Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And Trump weighs in: “The train accident that just occurred in DuPont, WA shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. Seven trillion dollars spent in the Middle East while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways (and more) crumble! Not for long! > – Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 18, 2017” > > Too soon, Donny. It’s never too soon for fucked up optics. Even worse, these were _new_ tracks. ---
**Author:** ![Taters](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/taters/32/2845_2.png) [@Taters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taters)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/34 "2017-12-18T19:32:17Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’ve probably driven that stretch of freeway a hundred times; know it well. My thoughts are with the dead, injured, and their families. > > Could I ask where you work, Taters? St. Joseph’s and Tacoma General aren’t too far away. Madigan is probably closer, but I don’t know if there are issues with taking civilians there. I work at Madigan; we do take civilian casualties/traumas. There are protocols for stabilizing them and then transferring to another civilian institution when they can be moved. I am not a healthcare provider. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/35 "2017-12-18T19:34:17Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And Trump weighs in: “The train accident that just occurred in DuPont, WA shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. Seven trillion dollars spent in the Middle East while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways (and more) crumble! Not for long! > – Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 18, 2017” > > Too soon, Donny. What a fool. If it’s a simple matter of the engineer taking a curve too fast it doesn’t matter how good, bad, or indifferent the tracks are. I suppose if I drive 140 on the Interstate and wipe out on a curve and fly into a bridge pier, it means the infrastructure is crumbling. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/36 "2017-12-18T19:35:54Z")
The latest I’ve heard: Six fatalities. AP is reporting ‘_at least_ six’. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/37 "2017-12-18T19:42:39Z")
> [@AP](#): > > The train was going 81.1 mph moments before the derailment, according to [transitdocs.com](http://transitdocs.com), a website that maps Amtrak train locations and speeds using data from the railroad’s train tracker app. > > The maximum speed along the stretch of track, known as Point Defiance Bypass, is 79 mph, according to information about the project posted online by the Washington State Department of Transportation. Speed kills. ---
**Author:** ![pyromyte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d26b3c/32.png) [@pyromyte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pyromyte)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/38 "2017-12-18T19:49:34Z")
> [@lawoot](#): > > I’m a member at a major railfan site ([trainorders.com](http://www.trainorders.com)), where one of the people working on the reroute project regularly posts. a few weeks ago he showed a photo of the site where the accident eventually happened. There is a very sharp curve that is rated for 30 MPH where the derailment happened. According to reports, the train was going about 80. Seems plausible. From [google maps](https://www.google.com/maps/@47.0809309,-122.675309,1129m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m1!1e1?hl=en). I would like to measure that radius, but that curve certainly looks pretty sharp for 80 mph. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/39 "2017-12-18T19:49:56Z")
**Moderator Note** Let’s not derail the train derailment thread with political potshots in a breaking news story. It’s against the rules. Thanks! > [@Gatopescado](#): > > Holy Crap! What a “Trump Administration”! > [@Czarcasm](#): > > And Trump weighs in: “The train accident that just occurred in DuPont, WA shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. Seven trillion dollars spent in the Middle East while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways (and more) crumble! Not for long! > – Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 18, 2017” > > Too soon, Donny. > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > You’ve been in office almost a year, Donald. If it’s so important to approve this quickly, why haven’t you even submitted it yet? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775/40 "2017-12-18T19:55:50Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > **Moderator Note** > > Let’s not derail the train derailment thread with political potshots in a breaking news story. It’s against the rules. > > Thanks! Will do…but please note that I did not search for that Trump Twitter quote. It was in the main story from the OP. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-amtrak-derailment-south-of-tacoma/804775.md?page=3)