A TRAIN that derailed onto a busy road in Washington state yesterday was making its first journey on a new rail line and was travelling at THREE TIMES the 30mph speed limit.
Five cars and two lorries were hit as the train passed over a highway in Pierce County, Washington state, during rush hour.
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Train carriages spilled out onto a packed motorway in WashingtonCredit: AP:Associated Press
It was making its first-ever run along a faster new route when it hurtled off the overpass south of Seattle. A total of 77 people were sent to hospital and four were said to be severely hurt.
A federal official told AP that early signs indicated Train 501 may have hit something before going off the track.
They also revealed this morning that the train was travelling 80mph in a 30mph zone.
AP had earlier reported six people were killed, though during an afternoon news briefing other officials said there were only three fatalities.
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The train was travelling along the new route for the first timeCredit: AP:Associated Press
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The train carriages spilled onto a busy road during rush hour, crushing motoristsCredit: AP:Associated Press
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Amtrak was already facing intense scrutiny over its dire safety recordCredit: AP:Associated Press
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It also emerged today that locals had opposed the new train line due to safety fearsCredit: AFP or licensors
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Emergency services work late into the night at the scene of the derailmentCredit: Reuters
Carriages crashed on to the Interstate 5 main highway near DuPont, with others left dangling from the bridge.
The train conductor called emergency services and said: "As soon as I know where all my train is, I'll let you know."
Hero motorist Daniel Konzelman bravely pulled more than a dozen people from the train wreckage moments after the crash.
He told the : “We found one of the train attendants. He couldn’t move. He was shivering and freezing from shock.
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One of the carriages hangs over the road, which had rush hour traffic at the timeCredit: Twitter @wspd1pio
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At least three people have died in the horror crashCredit: Twitter @PierceSheriff
“A lot of them had broken ankles. I think they were in so much shock they couldn’t feel anything.
"Almost all of them had head injuries and a lot of blood flowing."
"I just wanted to help people because I would want people to help me."
He described a grisly scene, with some people pinned under the train and others who appeared to be dead.
If people could move and seemed stable, he said he helped them climb out of the train. If they looked seriously hurt, he tried to offer comfort by talking to them to calm them down.
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The horrific accident took place 40 miles south of SeattleCredit: CNBC
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The train was believed to be carrying 78 peopleCredit: twitter @TacomaTransit
Aftermath footage of derailed Amtrak train hanging off bridge onto motorway in Washington State
They stayed to help for nearly two hours.
"I wasn't scared. I knew what to expect. ... I prepared for the worst and hoped for the best. I saw a little bit of both."
President Donald Trump also tweeted his respects to the victims, saying: "We are closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with local authorities."
A Washington State Patrol spokesman said the train had 12 cars and two engines travelling between Tacoma and Portland, Oregon. Multiple drivers were said to be injured on the roadway.
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The train derailed and fell off a bridge over Interstate 5 near Mounts Road between Lakewood and OlympiaCredit: Twitter @PierceSheriff
The train was believed to be carrying 78 passengers and five crew members.
The derailment could intensify scrutiny of the national passenger railroad company's safety record, which was already under harsh criticism following a series of fatal incidents.
Just last month, the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board issued a scathing critique of Amtrak's culture, saying a future breakdown was likely, and the board made nine safety recommendations.
Chairman Robert Sumwalt said: "Amtrak's safety culture is failing and is primed to fail again, until and unless Amtrak changes the way it practices safety management."
Sumwalt's statement was made when the NTSB issued its findings on a fatal Amtrak accident in April 2016 in Pennsylvania.
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Amtrak train 501 which derailed onto Interstate 5 near OlympiaCredit: Rex Features
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Officials said three people have been killed and at least 70 injured in the horror smashCredit: EPA
Passenger Chris Karnes told at least seven cars derailed from the tracks and the service was supposed to travel at a maximum speed of 79 mph at that section of track.
He said: "We had just passed the city of DuPont and it seemed like we were going around a curve."
"All of a sudden, we felt this rocking and creaking noise, and it felt like we were heading down a hill.
"The next thing we know, we're being slammed into the front of our seats, windows are breaking, we stop, and there's water gushing out of the train. People were screaming."
According to the state's transport department, the train was running down a new bypass, named Point Defiance Bypass route, which cost $181million of improvements.
It had been created to avoid slow curves and “single track tunnels on the BNSF Railway main line tracks near Point Defiance and along southern Puget Sound.”
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It was the first time Amtrak trains had used the new bypass.
The city of Lakewood, just a few miles north of the crash site, actually went to court in 2013 to stop the project, which redirected passenger trains from a curvy route along Puget Sound that competes with freight traffic and squeezes through single-track tunnels where only one train can go through at a time.
Opponents said the route, which shortened the trip between Portland, Oregon, and Seattle would expose car and pedestrian traffic to faster trains at more than a half-dozen street-level crossings in Lakewood.
Officials asserted the environmental review of the new route was inadequate and failed to consider traffic, neighborhood and other impacts.
However, a judge dismissed the lawsuit and the multi-million dollar project went ahead.
John Niles with the Coalition for Effective Transportation Alternatives, said: "These are new, upgraded tracks that's what is so surprising about this.
"They weren't worried about a train derailing."
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Emergency services pictured responding to what was reported to be a 'mass casualty incident'Credit: Twitter @wspd1pio
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The high-speed train was on a new route when it crashedCredit: Twitter WSDOT Tacoma traffic
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Emergency services scrambled to get to the scene of the horror crashCredit: Twitter @thenewstribune
MAYOR PREDICTED ACCIDENT WEEKS AGO
A local mayor of Lakewood said it was just a matter of time before these high speed trains kill someone in a meeting on December 5.
Mayor Don Anderson said grade separations – such as overpasses – should be included in the new route plans to keep trains away from cars and pedestrians.
He asked Deprtment of Transport officials to "do better", reports .
He added: "Come back when there is that accident, and try to justify not putting in those safety enhancements, or you can go back now and advocate for the money to do it, because this project was never needed and endangers our citizens."
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The train pictured before the terrifying derailmentCredit: Twitter @AlexRozierK5
KING5 Seattle reporter got off the train just minutes before it derailed.
He tweeted a video and wrote: "This is hard for me to watch. This was right before we got off the train.
"Had we stayed on that train who knows what would have happened. It derailed minutes later.
"Thoughts and prayers are with the people injured or worse."
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