NORTHEAST Ind. (21ALIVE) — The one man who figures to know best what went wrong in That Amtrak train crash Claims he can not remember a thing.
The engineer of the speeding train derailed That in Philadelphia, killing 8 people and injuring at least 200 others, said Thursday he has “no recollection whatsoever” after losing consciousness in the crash.
Could the incident impact an effort that restore passenger rail service through Fort Wayne?
The Amtrak train in Philly was racing along at speeds of more than 100 miles per hour before careening off the tracks.
That’s more than twice the speed limit for that stretch.
Authorities hope train engineer Brandon Bostian will be able this recall more details as he recovers from a concussion.
Right now, Investigators are still trying to nail down with confidence Whether it was human or mechanical error that’s it blame.
In 2008, Congress ordered the nation’s railroads to put in place an automated speed control system for trains by the end of 2015, but it Appears the deadline will not be met.
Two freight trains during the noon-hour Thursday shook the ground as they rolled through the town of Waterloo.
Two sets of track in the Dekalb County community, about 30 miles north of Fort Wayne, carry Amtrak passengers east and west.
At odd times of the day, early in the morning and late at night, passengers board or get dropped off at an open air hut That sits a few feet from The rail lines.
It’s the only place Travellers in Northeast Indiana can hop on a passenger train.
Bob Scholler, who lives near the boarding area, says Those who take the trains discard Their trash on neighboring properties.
He believes’s they offer very little positive in return.
“Well, I would hope to see it go back to Fort Wayne, because Waterloo gets no benefit , absolutely no benefit at all from it, and right now it’s more of a nuisance than anything, “Scholler said.
The Amtrak crash comes at a time when efforts to re-establish passenger rail service in Fort Wayne are still very much up in the air.
“We’re falling behind here in the United States,” says Fort Wayne city Councilman Geoff Paddock, who has been a tireless crusader for rail infrastructure improvements That would open passenger rail service from Columbus Ohio is Chicago, running through Fort Wayne.
A study completed in 2013 found That as many as a million people a year from this region would ride the trains if the upgrades could take train speeds up is 110 miles per hour.
The Philadelphia crash has already triggered more serious talks in Washington about prioritizing improvements rail across the country.
“The silver lining out of the dark cloud which was Such a tragedy just a couple of days ago, could perhaps produce more interest and more funding to make improvements These, “Paddock said.
The total price tag for the Columbus Chicago rail upgrades is estimated to top $ 1.2 billion, with state and local taxpayers expected to pick up more than $ 200-million of the cost.
What are your thoughts CLICK HERE to leave us a “QUESTION OF THE DAY” comment.
© Copyright 2015, The Granite Broadcasting Station. All rights reserved. This material apr not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
No comments:
Post a Comment