WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump isn’t waiting for the facts to emerge from the deadly Amtrak train derailment south of Seattle before using the accident to plug his infrastructure plan.
Trump’s first tweet on the accident Monday that killed at least six people and seriously injured a dozen more when the train tumbled off an overpass: “The train accident that just occurred in DuPont, WA shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. Seven trillion dollars spent in the Middle East while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways (and more) crumble! Not for long!”
THE FACTS: From what’s known, it’s not at all clear his coming infrastructure plan is relevant. The accident did not happen on a crumbling railway but rather on a section of track that had just been upgraded as part of a $181 million project for a new, faster route. The high-speed train was making its first run on newly constructed tracks when it derailed.
The new route was designed to speed up service by drawing passengers away from the sort of aging system that Trump speaks about: a route with curves, single-track tunnels and freight traffic.
Authorities initially doubted any maintenance problem was responsible because the stretch is new.
Transitdocs.com, a website that maps Amtrak train locations and speeds using data from the railroad’s train tracker app, says Train 501 was going 81.1 mph moments before the derailment Monday. Online state information puts the maximum speed along that stretch of track at 79 mph. But officials said it is too early to conclude that speed caused the accident.
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