printman2000
Engineer
I was curious, How did you find out it was your friend on this train? I assume that info has not been released.
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Amtrak Derailment Philadelphia (5/12/2015)
- Thread starter BrianPR3
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Bierboy
OBS Chief
Bieng a former reporter, I am LIVID at the reporting going on right now on the Fox News web site. Here's a sample of the headlines...
- "Is America's national railroad a disaster waiting to happen?"
- "Amtrak's history checkered by crashes, warnings"
- "questions mount over concerns that have dogged the service for years -- from its contentious relationship with the federal government and its annual plea for funding to its history of deadly accidents."
Ryan
Court Jester
Good news that he's OK. Prayers extended.
ALC Rail Writer
Engineer
They have the crew debriefed, they have the on board data, they have the wreck site, and they have whatever live data Amtrak had at the time of the incident.
We should have an answer relatively soon, as in relative to drawn-out plane mysteries.
We should have an answer relatively soon, as in relative to drawn-out plane mysteries.
I totally agree but why limit your criticism to Amtrak reporting, Fox is infamous for its bias and airhead talent, they usually get it wrong!
This is not to say that CNN and MSNBC are not just as guilty, they often are!
Even the Gray Lady, the NY Times, had some bad reporting on this!
Hard to say if its because of ownership, poor producers and editors or just incompetent "reporters" and anchors!
This seems to be one time when the locals did the best, kuddos to Philly!
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ALC Rail Writer
Engineer
Very true, but I wonder if (as others have alluded) there is good to come out of this media blitz...Look at this thread and others like it; whenever an establishment political force mobilizes itself against something with grassroots support, the grassroots instinctively mobilize. At the end of the day headlines with death tolls less than/around ten people don't deliver the message that Amtrak is unsafe. More people will be directly impacted by the service interruption this accident has caused and, hopefully, demand improvements.
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R
RPC
Guest
First off, my prayers and condolences for all those involved in this crash - I travel those tracks several times a year - "there but for the grace of God go I."
But from a practical point of view, for those who need to get between 30th St. and Trenton, here's how to do it via mass transit.
From 30th St Station, you have two choices. The first is to walk to the PATCO station at 16th and Locust. This is a pretty long way, I'd guess a mile. Alternatively, walk out the SW corner of the station across 30th St. to the Market-Frankford subway station. Take the Market-Frankford line east to the 8th & Market station. Transfer there to PATCO.
Either way, take PATCO across the Ben Franklin Bridge to the Broadway/Walter Rand Transportation Center stop. Transfer there to the RiverLINE heading north. That ends right across the street from the Trenton Transportation Center.
I wonder if Amtrak will set up alternate transportation if the Corridor is out for more than a day or two. It would theoretically be possible for diesels to haul trains from Trenton to Woodbourne via the Trenton Cutoff, whence they could proceed under their own power over SEPTA. (I don't know if the Acelas could get through the curves at either end of downtown, though.)
But from a practical point of view, for those who need to get between 30th St. and Trenton, here's how to do it via mass transit.
From 30th St Station, you have two choices. The first is to walk to the PATCO station at 16th and Locust. This is a pretty long way, I'd guess a mile. Alternatively, walk out the SW corner of the station across 30th St. to the Market-Frankford subway station. Take the Market-Frankford line east to the 8th & Market station. Transfer there to PATCO.
Either way, take PATCO across the Ben Franklin Bridge to the Broadway/Walter Rand Transportation Center stop. Transfer there to the RiverLINE heading north. That ends right across the street from the Trenton Transportation Center.
I wonder if Amtrak will set up alternate transportation if the Corridor is out for more than a day or two. It would theoretically be possible for diesels to haul trains from Trenton to Woodbourne via the Trenton Cutoff, whence they could proceed under their own power over SEPTA. (I don't know if the Acelas could get through the curves at either end of downtown, though.)
G
Guest
Guest
Is this the female CEO from a tech company? The news said she left a meeting to grab this train, and hasn't been heard from since the accident.
printman2000
Engineer
I believe so.
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The NTSB will hold a media briefing at 5pm today. These are usually streamed by NTSB, and they should also be covered live and streamed by the Philadelphia TV stations - CBS3, 6ABC, NBC10 and FOX29.
printman2000
Engineer
CNN reported there will be another press conference around 2:15 eastern. Not sure who it it by, though.
O
Ocala Mike
Guest
It is part of the conservative playbook to demonize any and all government or quasi-government agencies that operate against the laissez-faire capitalism model (Amtrak, Obamacare, USPS, etc.). Not surprising that you won't hear much from them about insufficient spending on infrastructure to keep up with the rest of the civilized world.
PerRock
Engineer
As someone who works in the news business (designer for a newspaper) I've come to consider FOX news as more of propaganda machine then an news source. I akin it to various state-run news agencies under dictatorships.
----------
Checkin the wire now;
AP confirms 7 dead (as of 1:35pm) body was found at scene (not at hospital). The dead include an AP Video Software Architect , and a USN Academy midshipman. AP staffer's name released, USN not released.
The track was inspected by Amtrak on Tuesday, May 12, 2015 hours before incident. No defects identified.
An AP manager (I'm with holding names) was watching Netflix on his laptop at the time, presumably using up the precious wifi on board. *shakes fist*
The first car is described as being "a pile of metal." By AP manager
Livingston, NJ resident was sleeping at the time. (I'm including these to point out that not every passenger pays attention to train speed)
Photos from AP:
AP has many more, but those were the most illustrative in my opinion.
peter
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Latest Updates on Train #188 - National Association of Railroad Passengers http://ow.ly/MUyXR
Ryan
Court Jester
Minor detail, but video is blocked on the wifi, he was probably using his own bandwidth.
PerRock
Engineer
It may not have actually been Netflix as well, initial reports said Netflix, but they've been updated to just say that he was watching a video.
peter
According to MSNBC, the press conference will be Philadelphia Mayor Nutter at 2:15.
G
Guest
Guest
Train accidents happen around the world but it is a small percentage and still very safe. Amtrak will learn from this, fix the broken infrastructure and add positive speed control on this curve or a buddy system would work as well.
This tragedy is a reminder that our Birthday Girl's AU nom de computer, "Everyday Matters", is so very true!
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Bierboy
OBS Chief
Not looking good for Amtrak or the engineer; he's refusing to speak with authorities -- http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ebc621a9cd1b4abd9f2bf2b50fa12d05/latest-amtrak-crash-ntsb-crew-heads-derailment
Certainly not an admission of guilt, but, on the surface, it looks bad.
Certainly not an admission of guilt, but, on the surface, it looks bad.
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B
Big Iron
Guest
My sentiments exactly. Maybe it has been fixed but the article also said that 2 people on board the CONO that hit the flatbed pickup truck were killed. To use this tragedy to flog Amtrak is pitiful.
I'm a pilot and I have always been told NEVER talk without representation after an accident, even if you are 100% not at fault. It's to protect yourself and your career. It's not about obstructing investigators.
Ryan
Court Jester
It doesn't look bad, it looks like the responsible thing to do.
andersone
Conductor
My thoughts and prayers to all,,,
If I were the engineer I wouldn't leave the building without a lawyer and a clothes pin.
As long as we learn from these tragedies we can prevail,,,
ignore the root cause and we are melba (toast)
If I were the engineer I wouldn't leave the building without a lawyer and a clothes pin.
As long as we learn from these tragedies we can prevail,,,
ignore the root cause and we are melba (toast)
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