Tragedy struck on Monday with the Amtrak Cascades derailment south of Tacoma, Washington, near the town of Lakewood.
The Amtrak Cascades is, in my opinion, the most convenient way to travel between Portland, Oregon, and Settle, Washington, as well as all other points in between. In fact, Mrs. Island Miler and I rode it back in 2015 to get from Portland to Seattle. But, tragedy struck yesterday, as Train 501 derailed.
Amtrak Cascades Derailment
If you’ve been living under a rock, or just haven’t been paying attention to the news, the Amtrak Cascades derailment wasn’t just any ordinary derailment. This tragedy saw the train derail as it traversed a bridge over Interstate 5. The derailment sent rail cars onto the interstate below and into the woods, killing some and injuring almost everyone else aboard the train. What caused the derailment has yet to be determined, though it appears as if speed is the likely culprit. After all, the section of track the crash occurred on has a 30 mph speed limit. But, train tracking data shows that the train may have been traveling at 81 mph. And, guess what? Our buddy Richard Anderson (Amtrak’s current co-CEO, former Delta CEO) says Positive Train Control wasn’t active in this area. So if speed was a factor, it could have been prevented with this system.
What is known, though, is that all south-bound lanes of the I-5 may remain closed today. Also, Amtrak services south of Seattle have been suspended indefinitely. However, trains north and east of Seattle will continue to run, as will the Coast Starlight. The Coast Starlight, however, has been re-routed around Point Defiance
Point Defiance Bypass
The section of track Train 501 was traveling on is known as the Point Defiance Bypass. This bypass has been in the works for over a decade now and is aimed at reducing travel time between Portland and Seattle. Further, the bypass is supposed to improve safety and reliability of trains, by taking them off the curvy BNSF mainline. Currently, Amtrak is the only service using this portion of rail though it’s owned by Sound Transit. In fact, Train 501 was the inaugural public run of this section, turning what was supposed to be a day of celebration into a day of mourning.
Impacts to Travel
Train service, as I’ve stated earlier is suspended until further notice. And with busy holiday travel in full swing, this is just awful timing. The Amtrak Cascades is an essential mode of transportation between the two cities and is far more convenient than flying. And to make matters worse, the affected section of I-5 could remain closed for the rest of today too. It is still possible to drive through, but you’ll need to take a pretty massive detour to do so. Of course, another option would be to fly, but I hear flights are filling up QUICK.
Either way, this whole situation is just terrible. It doesn’t matter when or where it happens, things like this should not have happened at all. My thoughts are with the passengers and their families. I can’t imagine how traumatizing this experience has been for them.