The Cause of the Derailed Amtrak Train Remains Unclear

Steve Glaser was successful sleeper car No. 730 connected Saturday, watching “The Great British Baking Show” connected his cellphone and looking guardant to the infinitesimal his Amtrak bid would permission the level prairie of cardinal Montana for the precocious upland passes of Glacier National Park, erstwhile the bid jerked violently. Instantly, helium realized it had derailed.

“If it stays upright,” helium thought to himself, “I’m OK.”

His car did, but others toppled over, sending passengers flying done the cars. When the train, which besides included 2 locomotives, came to a stop, Mr. Glaser, 66, and different rider worked unneurotic to pry unfastened a window. He grabbed his briefcase and stepped extracurricular to find bid cars strewn on the way and different passengers injured.

Eight of 10 rider cars had jumped disconnected the tracks erstwhile the bid carrying 145 passengers and 13 unit members derailed adjacent Joplin, Mont., sidesplitting 3 radical and injuring dozens more. As of Sunday afternoon, 5 radical from the clang remained hospitalized astatine Benefis Health System successful Great Falls, each successful unchangeable condition.

Officials person not released immoderate accusation connected what they fishy caused the bid to derail arsenic it was traveling though an seemingly level and consecutive conception of the route. The wreck is nether probe by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Most often, a derailment is caused by speeding astir a turn, arsenic was the lawsuit successful fatal Amtrak crashes successful Washington and Philadelphia successful caller years. Since those crashes, Amtrak has installed a braking strategy that prevents trains from exceeding definite speeds and that applies brakes to debar collisions with different trains oregon railroad equipment.

“The azygous largest origin of derailments and accidents are what are called quality factors,” said Allan Zarembski, manager of the Railroad Engineering and Safety Program astatine the University of Delaware.

But successful this case, helium said, the quality factors that mightiness origin an mishap similar this didn’t look to beryllium present. “More than likely, thing broke.”

Excluding quality error, helium said, astir wrecks are caused by faulty instrumentality — possibly a instrumentality oregon an axle, oregon the way itself.

The bid derailed connected tracks owned and maintained by BNSF Railway Company, a freight railroad. Most of Amtrak’s nationalist web runs connected tracks that beryllium to freight railroads, meaning Amtrak is not liable for way upkeep. A BNSF spokesman, Matt Brown, said Sunday that the conception of way wherever the bid derailed was past inspected connected Sept. 23.

Some passengers reported that the bid thrust felt bumpy for galore miles, which mightiness awesome a occupation with the train’s suspension system. But adjacent if a train’s unit takes enactment of a occupation similar that, its root could beryllium hard to place portion the bid is moving betwixt cities, Mr. Zarembski said.

If the turbulence was much sudden, Saturday’s vigor could besides beryllium to blame, said Russell Quimby, a retired mishap researcher for the National Transportation Safety Board.

Mr. Quimby said helium suspects the bid whitethorn person deed a conception of the way that had buckled from overheating.

“When that happens, the bid can’t negociate that choky small alteration successful the curvature of the track, and it volition tally up implicit the obstruction and derail and autumn implicit the broadside similar you spot successful the pictures,” helium said.

Around the clip of the accident, the somesthesia successful Joplin peaked astatine 84 degrees. Railroad tracks are usually astir 20 to 30 degrees hotter than the extracurricular temperature, Mr. Quimby said, which “could beryllium good above” what the tracks were designed to withstand.

In 1988, an Amtrak bid traveling the aforesaid way derailed in Saco, Mont., aft hitting a way buckle.

“This is simply a precise uncommon occurrence,” helium said. “We haven’t had 1 successful implicit 30 years successful this territory.”

It is unclear whether the bid derailed portion switching tracks, but if the power was misaligned, that could besides person been the cause, Mr. Quimby said.

Following the wreck, hospitals from crossed the authorities took successful passengers, immoderate of whom had suffered fractured ribs and collar bones. Aubrey Green, 88, who was returning to Portland aft a sojourn to Havre, Mont., said the car helium was riding successful fell connected its side, and 3 women “flew implicit the apical of me.”

After the crash, Mr. Glaser said “the assemblage took over.”

Sarah Robbin, the catastrophe exigency services coordinator for Liberty County, Mont., 1 of the astir agrarian counties successful the state, had spent overmuch of her clip implicit the past fewer years playing retired a script similar this successful her caput and readying however champion to respond.

In each of the tiny towns that dot Route 2, which cuts done bluish Montana on the railroad tracks, determination are conscionable a fewer 100 to a fewer 1000 residents. The nearest large infirmary is hours distant by car. Emergency services are sparse.

“We are a tiny county,” she said, adding that thing similar Saturday’s clang “would instantly overwhelm us. Being tiny and rural, relying connected your neighbors is highly important.”

In the municipality of Chester, astir 7 to 8 miles westbound of the derailment, a siren strategy alerts the 1,000 oregon truthful residents to immoderate important news. One ringing signals a metropolis meeting. Two, an ambulance. Three, a occurrence call. And four, “some unspeakable disaster,” said Jesse Anderson, who owns the MX Motel, a 20-room stopover that typically caters to anglers, operation workers and hunters.

When Mr. Anderson heard 4 sirens yesterday, helium assumed it was a mistake. But past helium saw occurrence trucks speeding done the 25 miles-per-hour main street.

“We had nary thought it was going to beryllium thing of this scale,” helium said.

Emergency responders from crossed astatine slightest 7 counties rushed successful to help. As the lone motel for 50 miles, eastbound oregon west, Mr. Anderson was called connected to location immoderate of the passengers. He offered his disposable rooms escaped of charge.

Families from a adjacent Hutterite colony brought nutrient for passengers portion they waited for rides and lodging successful the schoolhouse gym.

Traumatized by the wreck, immoderate passengers said they would ne'er committee a bid again.

Hedie Kachorek, 71, and her husband, Robert, person been riding trains unneurotic for decades. They were connected their mode to conscionable their grandson successful Seattle erstwhile the thrust started to get rough. After creaseless rails successful Illinois and Wisconsin, it started to get uncomfortably bumpy.

As the mates discussed getting disconnected the bid aboriginal astatine the Shelby stop, it went disconnected the rails.

Patrick McGeehan contributed reporting.