Amtrak Cascades

WSDOT to retire Talgo trainsets

In the wake of the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on the 2017 Amtrak Cascades train 501 wreck on the Point Defiance bypass near DuPont, Wash., that killed three and injured 57, WSDOT (Washington State DOT) said it “will work with Amtrak to follow the NTSB recommendation to remove the [Cascades service] Talgo Series 6 trainsets from service as soon as possible.”

Commentary

Safety, translated from planes to trains?

Amtrak is “adopting a safety management system approach used by commercial aviation” as it responds to the Dec. 18, 2017 derailment of Amtrak Cascades train 501 that killed three people and injured more than 60, a railroad spokesperson told me Jan. 29.

WSDOT expands Cascades services

Ahead of the year-end holidays, the Washington State Department of Transportation is starting two additional Amtrak Cascades daily round-trips between Seattle and Portland.

Amtrak plans new Seattle locomotive center

Amtrak will build a $28-million locomotive service facility in Seattle. The U.S. passenger rail corporation said the project is its third major investment in the Seattle facility that provides services for the