Derailed Amtrak train lacked latest US safety controls
The commuter rail route where an Amtrak train left the track on May 12 was not governed by an advanced safety technology meant to prevent high-speed derailments, investigators said on May 13.
A system called "positive train control" (PTC) automatically slows or even halts trains that are moving too fast or heading into a danger zone. Under current law, the rail industry must adopt the technology by the end of this year.
The investigation into the cause of crash on May 12, in which seven people were killed, has only just begun but initial examination of the train's data recorders determined the train was traveling 106 miles per hour (171 km per hour) in a 50-mph (80-kph) zone.
It would have been impossible for a train to reach such speeds if PTC had been in place, officials said.
Amtrak has begun installing components of a PTC system but the network is not yet functioning, federal officials said.
Amtrak officials did not respond to calls for comment.
Federal rules require the national rail network to have an operating PTC system by the end of the year, though many lawmakers have endorsed rail industry appeals for more time to comply.
In March, the Senate Commerce Committee voted to extend the deadline for implementing PTC until at least 2020.
Both Republicans and Democrats supported the measure which will now go to the Senate floor.