Watch: Amtrak Debuts Airo
Amtrak on Feb. 10 showcased the first new Airo trainset from Siemens Mobility at Union Station in Washington, D.C. It features the Amtrak Cascades evergreen, cream, and mocha color scheme and Cascade
Amtrak Cascades
Talgo Series 6 Bistro Car Donated to Northwest Railway Museum
The Northwest Railway Museum is preserving the only surviving Amtrak Cascades Talgo Series 6 Bistro Car, #7304. The car has returned home to the Pacific Northwest from Indiana for conservation and exhibition,
B.C., WSDOT Invest in Next Phase of Vancouver-Seattle-Portland High-Speed Rail Study
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and the Province of British Columbia (B.C.) are supporting the feasibility of a high-speed rail service connecting Vancouver, Seattle and Portland with $4 million in funding and a $300,000 investment, respectively, toward the next phase of the Ultra-High-Speed Ground Transportation (UHSGT) project.
WSDOT to retire Talgo trainsets
In the wake of the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on the 2017 Amtrak Cascades train 501 wreck on the Point Defiance bypass near DuPont, Wash., that killed three and injured 57, WSDOT (Washington State DOT) said it “will work with Amtrak to follow the NTSB recommendation to remove the [Cascades service] Talgo Series 6 trainsets from service as soon as possible.”
Commentary
Asking the difficult question
You know what? I kind of like National Transportation Safety Board member Earl F. Weener, who has been an NTSB member since 2010.
Commentary
Safety, translated from planes to trains?
Amtrak is “adopting a safety management system approach used by commercial aviation” as it responds to the Dec. 18, 2017 derailment of Amtrak Cascades train 501 that killed three people and injured more than 60, a railroad spokesperson told me Jan. 29.
Amtrak 501 wreck: Engineer “missed” approach sign
The engineer of Amtrak Cascades 501, which derailed on Dec. 18, 2017 in DuPont, Wash., has told the National Transportation Safety Board that he does not recall seeing an approach sign with a speed restriction placed two miles before the 30-mph curve upon which the derailment occurred.
UPDATED DEC. 20: Overspeed cause of Amtrak Cascades fatal derailment
Three people were killed and more than 70 were injured as an Amtrak Cascades train derailed early Dec. 18 while traversing a curve leading into an overpass at Interstate 5 southwest of Tacoma, Wash., sending a locomotive and passenger cars crashing onto the highway below.
WSDOT expands Cascades services
Ahead of the year-end holidays, the Washington State Department of Transportation is starting two additional Amtrak Cascades daily round-trips between Seattle and Portland.
Amtrak plans new Seattle locomotive center
Amtrak will build a $28-million locomotive service facility in Seattle. The U.S. passenger rail corporation said the project is its third major investment in the Seattle facility that provides services for the