The NTSB has announced that it is sending a 20-person team to investigate the derailment of Amtrak train 501, which occurred south of Seattle on the high speed train's inaugural trip. The new train service was intended to ease congestion between Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The accident occurred as the train was rounding a curve on an overpass crossing Interstate 5. Six people were reported killed and dozens injured in the morning derailment that sent as many as 13 train cars off the rails. One train car landed on the I-5 highway below and one car was dangling above the highway.
As an NTSB Board Member for nine years, I participated in numerous investigations of train derailments and other types of train accidents. Because of the circumstances of this particular accident, the NTSB has decided to send what we consider to be a "full" investigative team. This means that someone with expertise in every specialty involved in train operations will be on the team and leading that portion of the investigation. As with all NTSB accident investigations, all team members will report to the investigator-in-charge.
The individual train specialists involved will likely include, at a minimum, a track specialist which includes expertise in the bed on which the track lays and the geometry of the track layout, a mechanical expert who will be looking closely at all the wheels on the train, as well as the couplings, which are the attach points that connect the rail cars, and a human performance expert who will look at the actions of the engineer and others operating the train at the time of the accident and for a period of time prior to the derailment. The team will also include a track signal expert who will attempt to determine what the signals were and whether they were appropriate for that section of track. Another area of long-time concern to the NTSB has been the passenger compartment and features that enhance survivability in the event of an accident. An expert in that area is sure to be part of the team. While the aviation industry has made many improvements over the years that have had a profound effect on crash survivability, that has not been the case with the rail industry.
Another area certain to be of concern to the NTSB is whether positive train control would have made any difference in preventing the derailment. Positive train control is an electronic system that takes train control away from the engineer if the train is being operated contrary to the safe operating procedures for that section of track.
The NTSB's final report on the probable cause of the train derailment will probably take at least a year. However, the NTSB will release factual information over the coming days and weeks related to the accident without drawing conclusions as to the cause or causes of the accident.
