The bypass route runs through Lakewood, a city of about 60,000 people to the southwest of Tacoma, Wash. A December 2017 derailment on the bypass of an Amtrak Cascades train killed three and injured scores of passengers. The derailment occurred farther south on the bypass near DuPont, Wash.
The council resolution, adopted in a June 3 vote, says failure by WSDOT, Amtrak, Sound Transit (owner of the line), and others to implement NTSB’s safety recommendations approved “presents unacceptable safety risks for passenger rail travel in Washington State, as well as unacceptable risks to interstate commerce.”
The resolution itself may not carry much weight. The NTSB can only recommend changes, and cities have virtually no power to regular rail operations within their borders.
But it does convey continued unhappiness on the part of the city with the plans to run trains at high speed through Lakewood.
The News Tribune (Tacoma) noted that the city sued WSDOT in 2013 to halt the plan to use the bypass for Amtrak trains (Sound Transit uses the northern portion for its Sounder commuter rail service to Lakewood), but a judge ruled the rail line wasn’t subject to city regulation.
Less than three weeks before the crash, Lakewood Mayor Don Anderson warned about the risks the line posed.
“It’s virtually inevitable that someone is going to get killed that wouldn’t be killed otherwise,” he said, according to a transcript from KING-5 News. “Come back when there is that accident, and try to justify not putting in those safety enhancements, or you can go back now and advocate for the money to do it, because this project was never needed and endangers our citizens for very, very, very little, highly subsidized, transportation enhancement.
“While it’s a great project for bureaucrats, it’s a terrible one for the community, and when somebody’s killed, I want somebody from WSDOT Rail back here telling me why they didn’t put in the safety enhancements,” he added.
WSDOT, Amtrak, Sound Transit, and others say some of the NTSB’s recommendations, such as having positive train control in operation, are in place, and they’re working on others. No date has been given for attempting to restart the line. The Amtrak Cascades train that derailed was the first and only revenue run on the bypass.
The NTSB recognized the remarkable level of incompetence necessary for the accident and needless death and injury to occur. I am a train lover, but Amtrak is an complete embarrassment. The engineer was unprepared for the speed limit changes and didn’t know where he was at? Unbelievable. And the boondoggle continues almost two years later with the bypass still unopened? Sadly, at the present rate, hell will freeze over before it reopens. How can the European, Japanese, etc systems be run so competently, while the American system can be so unreliable and problematic (even taking freight traffic into account)? The OR and WA state legislatures have attempted to help with some funding, but with little benefit.
My question – who approved this route, with a severe speed restricted S curve, for high speed passenger
service ? I looked at the map: the Interstate highway is nearly straight; while the rail route twists and turns
like an amusement park ride. I’m being nice; but one or more ‘biggies’ should be fired.
I’ve driven by that overpass over I-5 many times. It’s a head scratcher that the engineer was confused/lost especially on a first revenue trip. But I have been in an accident so I do know that the engineer has got to feel horrible whether it’s ever been stated. In regards to the mayor of Lakewood. It’s true the line has been there long before the city ( and Fort Lewis which is across I-5 ). But the mayor is going to look good in the future. Amazon has a warehouse a couple of miles to the west. Every truck that exits I-5 southbound turns right immediately over the tracks and hits a stoplight. Running a freight train at 30 mph won’t be any better than running a Coast Starliner or Talgo. The bummer is that the line they’re moving the passenger trains off is beautiful Washington state at its best
Why is this news? Isn’t that what was agreed to by all parties after the crash ?????
Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me that with PTC on, both the current route and the Point Defiance bypass present more-or-less the same risk level. What am I missing?
The whole thing is ridiculous. Should have been reopened as soon as PTC and training was completed.
Andrew, The summary of the NTSB report appeared on the trains news wire on 21 May. I printed that out since I was on that ill fated train and felt very lucky to have survived without major injuries. The summary basically said that there was pressure to put the new route in operation, the engineer had little experience with the new route, engineer not familiar with new Siemens Charger locomotives, was distracted by Charger’s overs speed indicator, missed 2 signs posted for speed reduction, Talgo sets did not provide adequate protection as some wheel sets detached, the train’s conductor was also in the process of qualifying, and no PTC on route at that time. It also said Amtrak should have taken a more proactive role instead of relying on host railroads to assess safety risks. Hopefully this gives you some insights on what occurred.
What was the NTSB’s conclusion for this accident?
GRANDSTANDING! This is the same mayor that blamed the Amtrak 501 accident on the unsafe Lakewood sub hosting passenger trains. That had nothing to do with the accident. He does not want passenger trains through his City on a line that has been there for for over 100 years since NP days.