Beginning December 18, 2017 Sound Transit said 14 Amtrak trains, at 79 mph, would pass through Lakewood at the following times: A.M. – 7, 8:25, 9:40, 10:35 and 11:05. P.M. – 12:20, 2:10, 3:15, 5:30, 6:15, 7:10, 7:50, 8:45 and 9:35.
One, just one, the first one, made that trip. But never reached its destination.
December 18, 2017 Amtrak 501 derailed just south of Tillicum spilling train cars onto I-5, killing three and injuring dozens.
Since then, and for the foreseeable future if State Sen. Steve O’Ban has his way, passenger trains won’t be coming through town anytime soon either.
O’Ban, who represents Tillicum and is a republican member of the Senate Transportation Commission, wants a legislative oversight committee to ensure this time, the next time, and the time after that where transporting people and safety protocols are concerned, the latter is checked and double-checked by a panel that’s accountable given it would be comprised of elected representatives, not agencies joining the stampede to grasp federal stimulus money – and sacrificing safety in the process.
“Passengers and the communities in my district,” O’Ban said, “through which this service will travel are entitled to certitude that the NTSB’s (National Transportation Safety Board) recommended steps have been taken. And the people should be able to feel confident that someone is looking out for their interests.”
Amtrak wasn’t. Nor, for that matter, were Sound Transit, Washington State Department of Transportation, and the Federal Railroad Administration according to the NTSB’s recently completed investigation into the accident.
According to Stacia Glenn, reporting for the Tacoma News Tribune, the NTSB “blamed Sound Transit for not sufficiently mitigating the danger of the sharp bend, Amtrak for not better training the engineer, Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) for not ensuring the route was safe before green-lighting a passenger train and the Federal Railroad Administration for using rail cars beneath regulatory standards.”
When Doug Baldwin, then wide receiver for the Seahawks, came to Tillicum Elementary School for an assembly October 10, 2017, his “Stay Back from the Tracks” safety presentation was meant to be “unforgettable.”
It was, just not in a way anyone could imagine. Just over two months later, Amtrak 501 was unable to stay on the tracks.
Why not? And who was responsible?
According to New York Post, “‘The sharp 30 mph curve where an Amtrak train derailed in Washington this week was not supposed to be there at all, according to a new report.
“An $11 billion Washington State government plan to speed up passenger and freight rail service throughout the Pacific Northwest called for an elimination of the turn. But that request was not included in the final design, once the state won federal funding for the Point Defiance railroad bypass south of Tacoma, Wash., The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
“The plan was ditched because the turn in question was deemed too costly to remove, the outlet reported, citing documents and state officials.’”
Too costly.
Corners were cut financially, and a curve of track left in place irresponsibly, and lives, costly, irreplaceable lives were lost.
Now there is an unforgettable lesson.
Speed kills. So can cutting costs.
Amtrak, WSDOT, et al had their chance to do safety right the first time. They didn’t. Now it’s the people’s turn, by way of their elected representatives.
Coming up: The Rail Division of WSDOT will be part of the featured presentation at the Tillicum Woodbrook Neighborhood Association June 6, 2019, 6:30 P.M., Tillicum Community Center, 14916 Washington Ave. SW.
To watch the four-plus hour NTSB May 21, 2019 meeting – or to view any of the segments – of the investigation of the Amtrak derailment click here.
Thank you for providing this information.
Thank you for, once again, speaking so eloquently about our need for train safety as it applies to Lakewood/Tillicum. Keep speaking out!
I have been skipping around on the NTSB video to which you directed your readers at the end of your letter. This is amazingly enlightening! Note the statement by the Vice Chairman of the committee, Bruce Landsberg: “I’m just amazed at the amount of failure …”(at 1:31:53) He goes on to note that ALL the organizations involved were tasked with safety as their top priority but, that NONE of them took responsibility for the issues that caused the tragedy. Further, the video is replete with identification of “…failures up and down the line.” (at 1:25:00) as noted by Chairman Robert L. Sumwalt. EVERY organization failed at their primary task of ensuring the safety of the train itself, the route, the crew training, community safety and so much more! So, Sound Transit and Amtrak and Washington State Department of Transportation and others… Was it worth killing three people and injuring five dozen more? Was the insane (and completely unnecessary) rush to worship your “golden calf” of High Speed Trains worth the destruction of lives, property and the safety of our family, friends, co-workers and communities? And, when will those responsible for this FAILURE, and there were many, be held accountable? Government cannot be immune from being held accountable for malfeasance and intentional disregard for protecting our lives. Our local elected officials tried to warn you. Lakewood Mayor Don Anderson and the City of Lakewood tried to tell you, Jay Inslee and Washington state, but no one would listen to us! It is time to get those deaf politicians out of office and send them packing. “We the People” are supposed to be in charge not, “We the people who think we know better than all you pathetic, stupid peons.” Can we finally get rid of these elitists who keep ramming their socialist fantasies down our throats? We don’t want it! Hey, Jay Inslee, Bob Ferguson, and other whacked out Communists/Leftists, take that, stick it in your pipe and smoke it!
Thank you, Stephen, for posting the excerpts you gleaned from the near-total safety meltdown of all agencies concerned that were highlighted – you might say the lowlights – of the NTSB hearing.
Speaking of Inslee, et al, according to Gov. Inslee’s announcement (TNT, Dec.20, 2017, updated 6:34 P.M.) “Amtrak is committed to make Positive Train Control (PTC) operational on trains in Washington as soon as possible, and before the federal deadline on Dec. 31, 2018.”
Wonderful. Just for three people dead and dozens more injured that so-called ‘commitment’ was three years – and decades more – too late.
On December 19, 2017, one day after the derailment (don’t call it an accident) The Seattle Times editorial board revealed that “safety regulators have called for PTC systems for decades, but Congress and the U.S. railroad industry have been slow to implement this lifesaving technology.”
Mandated in 2008 by Congress, PTC was required by the end of 2015.
Why wasn’t it then?
Why should the public be sacrificed to a rail system for which the need has not been substantiated; to die because deadlines are not kept; to believe promises – again – that are postponed?
To save an estimated 10 minutes of Amtrak travel time from Seattle to Portland, the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) estimated Lakewood and its neighbors could expect one accident every decade or so.
Try the first day. Only don’t call it an accident.
According to WSDOT’s Point Defiance Bypass Environmental Assessment (Appendix F: Traffic and Transportation Discipline Report, p.83), “None of the individual crossings are predicted to experience accidents more frequently than one in every 10 years.”
In March of 2013, Lakewood sued WSDOT to stop the Point Defiance Bypass project which would reroute Amtrak trains through local neighborhoods.
One year later, March of 2014, Pierce County Superior Court Judge Katherine M. Stolz ruled against Lakewood.
Lakewood cited safety among its concerns specifically with regards the Tillicum community.
“The Tillicum community would be directly impacted by the rerouted trains,” wrote reporter Brynn Grimley in the Tacoma News Tribune, January 8, 2014.
Lakewood’s lawsuit described Tillicum, together with its cross-I-5 neighbor Woodbrook, as comprising a total of 4,754 people, with but one way, in the case of Tillicum, in and out of town: across the railroad tracks.
“The Point Defiance Bypass Project threatens to destroy progress made in this neighborhood,” said Lakewood.
In its lawsuit, Lakewood charged WSDOT with “arbitrary and capricious conduct,” and inadequate mitigation. “No meaningful mitigation is proposed,” read the city’s complaint.
Excerpts from Lakewood Mayor Don Anderson’s op-ed on Christmas Eve, 2017:
“The WSDOT grant application did not even mention Positive Train Control, the automated safety system that can control train movements and help prevent derailments. The City of Lakewood’s pleas for a meaningful evaluation of the project and for safety enhancements were rejected by WSDOT, leading to a 2013 lawsuit.
“Federal preemption of railroad regulations caused a dismissal of the suit and gave WSDOT a green light to proceed. This is especially disconcerting when the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board has stated ‘Amtrak’s safety culture is failing and is primed to fail again.’
“Safety was clearly a secondary consideration.”
Lakewood was right.
Amtrak, the Feds (with whom we are fed up and all the others for that matter), WSDOT, Sound Transit were wrong.
And people paid with their lives.
THE FOLLY OF SAVING 10 MINUTES: If I remember correctly, this Bypass Route “upgrade” was to save 10 minutes versus continuing on with the Puget Sound route.
NOTE: The Amtrak schedule PRIOR to using this Bypass was FOUR Round trips/Day. AFTER IMPLEMENTATION the Bypass Route would be used 14 times/day, with the HOPE of increasing Ridership and REVENUE:
Morning:
7:00
8:25
9:40
10:35
Total 11:05
Afternoon
12:20
2:10
3:15
Evening:
5:30
6:15
7:10
7:50
8:45
9:35
TOTAL COST OF BYPASS UPGRADE: $11,000,000,000.00 ( That’s $11 Billion !!)
Considering the cost alone, did anyone do a Cost/Benefit Study, along these lines?
10……………………..Minutes Saved/Trip
14……………………..Trips/Day
140……………………Minutes Saved/Day
365……………………Days/Year
51,100……………….Travel Minutes Saved/Year
$ 215,264.19——->Cost/Minute For 51,100 Minutes Saved/Year
851.67……………….Travel Hours Saved/Year
$ 12,915,851.27—>Cost/Hour For 851.67 Hours/Years Saved/Year
How many more lives will this travesty cause just to save those 10 minutes.
The answer to Senator O’Ban’s question: “If safety is the FRA’s paramount concern, why was Amtrak granted this exemption?”
It’s “It wasn’t. And, I hope that scoring political points wasn’t for a trivial 10 minutes of time saving (and removing the best views on the existing route).” The politicians, such as then-ST Board Chair Dow Constantine, must also take a share of the blame, for they failed in their supposed oversight function, which they apparently don’t take seriously enough.
Citizens must also wonder similarly regarding the recent Max plane crashes as well, although in that case it was profits seeming to be more important than safety.