DUPONT, Wash. (AP) — The Latest on the deadly Amtrak train derailment in Washington state (all times local):
10:00 a.m.
Crews are working to finish clearing the wreckage from a deadly Amtrak derailment that closed a portion of a busy freeway in Washington state.
On Wednesday morning a locomotive from the train was being removed from the scene of Monday’s accident that spilled train cars onto Interstate 5, killing three and injuring dozens.
The wreck closed the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 south of Tacoma, during the busy holiday travel period. The Washington State Department of Transportation says it will reopen the freeway lanes as soon as possible.
Federal investigators trying to determine the cause of the wreck want to know why the train was travelling more than double the posted speed limit when it went off the tracks.
____
12:18 a.m.
Federal investigators probing a deadly Amtrak derailment are trying to determine why the train was traveling at more than double the posted speed limit as it entered the curve where it left the tracks and plunged off an overpass and partly onto a freeway, killing three people and injuring dozens.
National Transportation Safety Board member Bella Dinh-Zarr said Tuesday that early details from the probe indicate a conductor-in-training was in the cab with the engineer at the time of the derailment and the brake that eventually stopped the train was automatically activated instead of being applied by the engineer.
Technology that can automatically slow a speeding train was not in use on that stretch of track. Track sensors and other components were installed, but the system isn’t expected to be completed until spring.
