Amtrak Ordered to Improve Safety and Increase Speed Limit Signage

The Federal Railroad Administration said on Saturday that Amtrak has been ordered to improve safety and increase signage informing of maximum speeds on its Northeast Corridor route. On Tuesday night, an Amtrak train traveling from Washington DC to New York derailed moments after leaving Philadelphia. More than 200 passengers were on board and eight people were killed.
According to Sumwalt, the track where the accident occurred was not fitted with the Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System (ACSES). ACSES is part of the Positive Train Control (PTC) system, which automatically enforces speed limits by slowing down or stopping trains that are going too fast or heading into danger zones.
In its statement, Amtrak said it was “also reviewing whether it can partially activate some of the capabilities of the Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System … components already installed in the Northeast Corridor. Amtrak will evaluate whether such an option can be undertaken without delaying the complete activation of PTC in the Northeast Corridor later this year.”
The northeastern regional service is Amtrak’s busiest, running about 22 hourly departures daily; more than 2,200 trains operate on the Washington-Boston route each day.