(AP) Aerial Video Reveals Extent of Amtrak Crash (2:44min)

LOTS of photos at the link below. Link will update throughout the day.

At least six dead and 77 injured' after new high-speed Amtrak train derails after it 'hit something' on its FIRST day of service sending rail cars flying onto the interstate below

• An Amtrak train derailed near DuPont, Washington around 7:40am Monday
• The train derailed while crossing a bridge over Interstate 5, causing one car to crash onto the freeway below
• At least six people who were on the train have died, while 77 people were injured
• No motorists were killed on the freeway below
• It was the first day of a new high-speed service linking Seattle and Portland
• Local officials voiced their fears about the new train at a meeting earlier this month
• One official said it appears the train may have struck something right before the derailment
• The NTSB is sending a 20 person team to DuPont to investigate the derailment
• Records show that the train was going 81 mph right before it derailed
• Seventy-eight passengers were on board, in addition to five crew members
• President Trump blamed the crash on 'crumbling infrastructure' in a tweet

By Reuters and Ashley Collman For Dailymail.com and Associated Press | Updated: 15:18 EST, 18 December 2017

An Amtrak train making the first-ever run along a faster new route hurtled off an overpass Monday near Tacoma and spilled some of its cars onto the highway below, killing at least six people, authorities said. The death toll was expected to rise.
Seventy-eight passengers and five crew members were aboard when the train moving at more than 80 mph derailed about 40 miles south of Seattle on a route that had raised safety concerns.

An official briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press that preliminary signs indicate that Train 501 may have struck something before going off the track. The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said five cars and two semi-trucks on Interstate 5 were struck by falling train cars and multiple motorists were injured, but none killed. Police have not given an official death count, but the Seattle Times says it's at least six. Seventy-seven were hospitalized.


An Amtrak train derailed near DuPont, Washington around 7:40am Monday - causing multiple injuries and fatalities


The solid route is the updated line that opened Monday. Because it's straighter than the old Puget Sound route, trains could go faster

Train 501 was going south to Portland, Oregon when it derailed while crossing a bridge over Interstate 5 near DuPont, Washington around 7:40am Pacific Time, causing at least one car to fall onto the freeway below. Amtrak confirmed its train was involved but did not provide further information.

The train was making the inaugural run on the new route as part of a $180.7 million project designed to speed up service by removing passenger trains from a route along Puget Sound that’s bogged down by curves, single-track tunnels and freight traffic.

The Amtrak schedule called for the train to leave Seattle around 6am and arrive in Portland about 3 1/2 hours later.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... media.html

For reference ONLY...

Archive link: https://t.co/azpQ50zIxb

Local officials warned of safety issues ahead of deadly Amtrak crash
By KATU Staff | KOMOnews.com | December 18, 2017, 2:20PM ET

LAKEWOOD, Wash. — Less than two weeks ago, local officials warned of safety problems with Amtrak's new high-speed rail plan that resulted in a deadly crash during its inaugural trip Monday morning.

Local officials, including Lakewood mayor Don Anderson, were critical of Amtrak's new high-speed rail plan that uses Sound Transit tracks to cut through the city.

“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,” Anderson said on Dec. 5.

Before the new high-speed rail plan was enacted Monday, Amtrak trains had to slow down due to curves and single-track tunnels on the BNSF Railway main line tracks near Point Defiance and along southern Puget Sound. The new plan reroutes passenger trains to a bypass rail line along I-5. The proposed route was the same that Sound Transit uses for Sounder commuter rail service to Lakewood.

The new route saved passengers about 10 minutes.

More at link: http://komonews.com/news/local/never-ne ... trak-crash

The Latest: Transit agency: Employee killed in derailment
By Associated Press | Updated: December 19, 2017, 1:00PM



DUPONT, Wash. (AP) — The Latest on an Amtrak train derailment in Washington state (all times local):

9:14 a.m.
A victim in the deadly Amtrak derailment in Washington state has been identified as an employee of a local transit agency and a rail advocate.

Pierce Transit released a statement saying that Zack Willhoite, a customer service support specialist, was killed in Monday’s derailment.

Authorities say three people died and dozens were injured when the train plunged off an overpass over Interstate 5 south of Seattle. The train was making its inaugural run.

Pierce Transit says Willhoite was “admired by his colleagues.”
Lloyd Flem, executive director of All Aboard Washington, says Willhoite was a rail advocate and it was a given that he would be on the trip.

Federal investigators say they haven’t determined a cause of the derailment but revealed that the train was travelling 80 mph in a 30 mph zone.
___
8:35 a.m.
Crews have removed train cars involved in a deadly Amtrak derailment from a railway overpass in Washington state.

Authorities say there are three confirmed deaths. Dozens were injured.

The train cars were loaded Tuesday onto flatbed trucks and drive away on Interstate 5.

Authorities say a total of 13 train cars jumped the tracks early Monday south of Seattle.

The Amtrak train careened off the overpass above Interstate 5 during its inaugural run along a new bypass route. The train carried 85 passengers and crew members.

More at link: https://apnews.com/e239f41fefb64874a413 ... 0-mph-zone