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NTSB_logoWASHINGTON – As part of its ongoing investigation into the May 12, 2015, derailment of Amtrak Train 188 in Philadelphia, the NTSB today provides this update on the analysis of the engineer’s cell phone and related records.

The NTSB is conducting a detailed examination of the engineer’s cell phone calls, texts, data and cell phone tower transmission activity records from the phone carrier; and records from Amtrak’s on-board Wi-Fi system.

Analysis of the phone records does not indicate that any calls, texts, or data usage occurred during the time the engineer was operating the train. Amtrak’s records confirm that the engineer did not access the train’s Wi-Fi system while he was operating the locomotive.

To determine whether the phone was in “airplane mode” or was powered off, investigators in the NTSB laboratory in Washington have been examining the phone’s operating system, which contains more than 400,000 files of meta-data. Investigators are obtaining a phone identical to the engineer’s phone as an exemplar model and will be running tests to validate the data.

The engineer provided the NTSB with the passcode to the cell phone, which allowed investigators to access the data without having to go through the phone manufacturer.

Last year the NTSB lab processed about 80 personal electronic devices and more than 40 cell phones. The phone records analysis of the Amtrak 188 investigation has been more complicated than anticipated because the phone carrier has multiple systems that log different types of phone activity, some of which are based in different time zones. Investigators worked with the phone carrier to validate the timestamps in several sets of records with activity from multiple time zones to correlate them all to the time zone in which the accident occurred, Eastern Daylight Time.

NTSB’s Amtrak 188 accident webpage has links to all of the reports, videos, images, testimony and other related materials can be accessed: http://go.usa.gov/38MUB.

two-person_crewThe Amtrak crash that killed eight people this month raised questions of the safety of one-engineer trains, thwarting the idea of reducing freight crews for now, Union Pacific Corp. Chief Executive Officer Lance Fritz said.

While cargo operators would save money with a single person in the cab instead of two people, that argument will be a tough sell to railroad workers and union leaders after the May 12 accident in Philadelphia, Fritz said. Amtrak trains in the Northeast Corridor have used solo engineers since 1983, according to a union statement.

“It makes the conversation more difficult today,” Fritz said in an interview at Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York Wednesday. “That’s because it becomes a more emotional conversation as opposed to a conversation grounded in fact and the capability of technology.”

Read more from Bloomberg Business.

Amtrak LogoWASHINGTON, D.C. –  Senate Democrats representing states along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor urged the Senate Appropriations Committee to fully fund Amtrak’s funding request in the upcoming Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill.

The Senators also unveiled a new report from the Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Center detailing all the unfunded and underfunded safety and infrastructure projects along the Northeast Corridor that desperately need this funding. For years, Amtrak has been underfunded, causing Amtrak officials to have to choose between safety and infrastructure upgrades and contributing to a $21 billion backlog.

Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member on the THUD subcommittee, Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Bob Casey (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Edward Markey (D-MA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) made the announcement at a press conference in the US Capitol Building.

Read more from Real Estate Rama.

Amtrak LogoOn Tuesday night, an Amtrak train spectacularly derailed on its way through Philadelphia, killing at least seven people. On Wednesday morning, a House appropriations subcommittee voted to cut federal funding for Amtrak by about 20 percent. Those are two dots Republicans don’t want you to connect.

“Don’t use this tragedy in that way,” Rep. Mike Simpson is quoted in a POLITICO article as saying, after Democrats on the appropriations subcommittee for transportation and housing criticized Republicans for proposing and eventually approving the cuts.

The vote took place before news reports that the train may have been going around a curve at speeds of about 100 miles per hour when the derailment occurred. If those reports had surfaced earlier, the Republican objections to linking budget cuts to the derailment would likely have been much louder.

Read more from Moyers & company.

Amtrak LogoAt least seven people were killed and over 200 people hurt after an Amtrak train, carrying 238 passengers and five crew members, derailed and rolled onto its side in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia Tuesday night, according to officials.

Police said Wednesday that seven people had died, after the death toll had risen to six earlier when Temple University Hospital officials confirmed one patient had died of their injuries overnight.

All seven cars of Amtrak Northeast Regional Train 188 derailed and came off the tracks near Frankford Junction on the 2000 block of Wheatsheaf lane shortly after 9 p.m., officials said. The train was heading to New York from Washington, D.C., and has six passenger cars as well as an engine.
Read more from NBC 10 news.
 
The SMART Transportation Division has dispatched members from the SMART Transportation Division National Safety Team to assist the NTSB in determining the facts related to the accident.

CSX_logoRALEIGH, N.C. — A lawsuit filed Friday, May 1 by Amtrak and CSX alleges that a trucking company caused a March train derailment that injured 55 people by failing to take safety precautions or warn that the track was blocked.

The lawsuit in a Raleigh federal court blames Guy M. Turner Inc. of Greensboro for the March 9 crash in which an Amtrak passenger train collided with an oversized tractor-trailer.  

The lawsuit says the driver blocked the crossing in disregard of safety signs and failed to notify CSX, which owns the track, or Amtrak that the railway was blocked. It also says that the trucking company’s Turner Transfer division failed to take reasonable safety precautions.

Read more from the Winston-Salem Journal.

Commuters could be hit with an NJ Transit fare increase that might reach 9 percent in fiscal year 2016, based on budget documents for the coming year.

NJ Transit’s budget documents said revenue from fares would increase by 8.8 percent, from the $928.6 million earned in fiscal year 2015 to $1.01 billion in 2016, according to an Office of Legislative Services’ review of NJ Transit’s financials.

Raed the complete story at NJ.com.

WASHINGTON – Amtrak is partnering with NOOK by Barnes & Noble, Chuggington and others at select Amtrak Train Days (ATD) events taking place across the country this spring, summer and fall. These celebrations are occurring in more than 20 locations with the official kick-off event at Chicago Union Station on May 9, 2015.
ATD events will feature various components of the Amtrak experience at each location (a dedicated tour of the Amtrak Exhibit Train in select markets, interactive displays, excursion trains and tours). ATD tour and Amtrak Exhibit Train stops through June include:

The Amtrak and NOOK by Barnes & Noble partnership will create an enhanced travel experience by leveraging expert booksellers to curate a collection of free eBooks and e- magazines for Amtrak passengers – perfect for enjoying a comfortable train ride. Passengers will be thrilled to access bestselling titles from top publishers that have been customized to appeal to every reading preference, including classics, romances, mysteries, thrillers, children’s and business titles. To get ready for the Amtrak and NOOK promotion, you can install the free NOOK reading app today on your Android or iOS device by visiting www.NOOKapp.com.
Chuggington, the sponsor of The Chuggington Kids Depot and Chuggington Live (at our Chicago kick-off event) joins Amtrak with train-themed kids’ activities based on the popular ATK-15-021 children’s animated television series, Chuggington, on Disney Junior. Other partners include Operation Lifesaver, Amtrak Vacations and local and state partner affiliates.
This year, Amtrak is expanding its community program from multiple events on a single day to individual events over the course of the spring, summer and fall. Amtrak Train Days will focus on reaching current and new audiences across America to reinforce the importance, benefits and value of passenger train travel.
Communities from across the nation are invited to join in the celebration of passenger train travel by hosting their own ATD events during 2015. To register an event, find additional tour stops or for more information about ATD, visit AmtrakTrainDays.com.
Amtrak Train Days 2015 Sweepstakes is running from May 9 – Nov. 30. One Grand Prize winner will win a trip for four people courtesy of Amtrak Vacations, one Chuggington Prize Pack and a Walthers Model Train Set. Winners will be chosen on Dec. 1, 2015.
 

Amtrak LogoWASHINGTON – Amtrak is partnering with NOOK by Barnes & Noble, Chuggington and others at select Amtrak Train Days (ATD) events taking place across the country this spring, summer and fall. These celebrations are occurring in more than 20 locations with the official kick-off event at Chicago Union Station on May 9, 2015.

ATD events will feature various components of the Amtrak experience at each location (a dedicated tour of the Amtrak Exhibit Train in select markets, interactive displays, excursion trains and tours). ATD tour and Amtrak Exhibit Train stops through June include:

The Amtrak and NOOK by Barnes & Noble partnership will create an enhanced travel experience by leveraging expert booksellers to curate a collection of free eBooks and e- magazines for Amtrak passengers – perfect for enjoying a comfortable train ride. Passengers will be thrilled to access bestselling titles from top publishers that have been customized to appeal to every reading preference, including classics, romances, mysteries, thrillers, children’s and business titles. To get ready for the Amtrak and NOOK promotion, you can install the free NOOK reading app today on your Android or iOS device by visiting www.NOOKapp.com.

Chuggington, the sponsor of The Chuggington Kids Depot and Chuggington Live (at our Chicago kick-off event) joins Amtrak with train-themed kids’ activities based on the popular ATK-15-021 children’s animated television series, Chuggington, on Disney Junior. Other partners include Operation Lifesaver, Amtrak Vacations and local and state partner affiliates.

This year, Amtrak is expanding its community program from multiple events on a single day to individual events over the course of the spring, summer and fall. Amtrak Train Days will focus on reaching current and new audiences across America to reinforce the importance, benefits and value of passenger train travel.

Communities from across the nation are invited to join in the celebration of passenger train travel by hosting their own ATD events during 2015. To register an event, find additional tour stops or for more information about ATD, visit AmtrakTrainDays.com.

Amtrak Train Days 2015 Sweepstakes is running from May 9 – Nov. 30. One Grand Prize winner will win a trip for four people courtesy of Amtrak Vacations, one Chuggington Prize Pack and a Walthers Model Train Set. Winners will be chosen on Dec. 1, 2015.

Amtrak LogoThe FBI on Friday will offer a new reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible for a train derailment caused by an act sabotage in Arizona – nearly 20 years after it occurred.

The FBI did not say why the new reward is being offered now to find whoever sabotaged rail tracks in a remote area 70 miles southwest of Phoenix and caused the Amtrak passenger train the Sunset Limited to derail and fall off a bridge at around 1:35 a.m. on Oct. 9, 1995.

Read the complete story at NBC News.