Two Dead And OVER 100 Injured In HORRIFIC Amtrak Collision

WHAT IS GOING ON WITH AMTRAK, YOU GUYS?!

There have been THREE fatal crashes in the past 2 months… that’s INSANITY.

FIRST PHOTO: First photo from site of collision between Amtrak passenger train and freight train in South Carolina this morning; injuries reported https://t.co/edkl1D1APy pic.twitter.com/wl5G0LkqdM

— ABC News (@ABC) February 4, 2018

About 5,000 gallons of fuel spilled when an Amtrak train and freight train collided in South Carolina, authorities say. https://t.co/3mm4E36xQI pic.twitter.com/emntIKLWGa

— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) February 4, 2018

For anyone looking for a friend or loved one, Gov. @henrymcmaster says to call Amtrak’s phone line: 1-800-523-9101. pic.twitter.com/8oPTYH2dRe

— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 4, 2018

2 Amtrak employees killed, more than 100 hospitalized in Amtrak, CSX train collision, governor says https://t.co/awHOWqoa9E

— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 4, 2018

THIS is what happens when the government runs something that would be better off entirely privatized. People literally die.

According to this:

Horrible news from South Carolina this morning. If America is going to have a passenger rail system, we have to do much better than this. Via The State:

A crash involving an Amtrak passenger train and a freight train in Cayce, South Carolina, left at least two people dead and more than 50 injured.

Pine Ridge train incident update: @CountyLex confirms two fatalities, more than 50 injured transported to the hospital. Shelter for passengers open at Pine Ridge Middle School. Media update @SCEMD at 6:30 a.m. #alert

— SCEMD (@SCEMD) February 4, 2018

It would appear that something is seriously wrong with the way passenger rail is operating in the United States under the federal corporation AMTRAK. This crash is the third fatal AMTRAK crash since the AMTRAK Cascades train derailed in Washington State at the cost of 3 lives and 62 passenger injuries only 49 days ago. Last Wednesday’s crash in Virginia of a train carrying Congressional Republicans to a retreat killed one. And now, the South Carolina crash has killed at least two.

Each of these three accidents had a separate, probably preventable cause, though of course official verdicts await formal proceedings.

The Washington State crash was due to excessive speed going into a curve.

The Virginia crash was due to a garbage truck on a grade crossing being hit by a train. There were some media reports that a crossing barrier that should have prevented access as a train approached was not functioning, but that is not absolutely clear as the cause.

The South Carolina crash was due to two trains being placed on the same track – something that should not happen with the level of sophisticated signaling available to dispatchers.

Hmm. If AMTRAK hiring practices look anything like BMV hiring practices then I can tell you what the problem is right now…

You literally have to kill someone to get fired.

These people actually DID.

The sourcelink provides interesting insight into American railway travel:

Except in the Northeast Corridor, AMTRAK trains operate on tracks owned by private railways, which make their money from freight. The divided responsibility may have some relation to the problems being experienced.

Because we all know how good Gov. agencies are at communicating with private business.

Rail travel can be a wonderful experience for passengers, but only if the trains are safe. Hurtling down the rails at high speed can be scary if one suspects that a crash may be coming, and these accidents are going to do nothing to encourage people to utilize trains.

Japan is one of the heaviest users of train travel in the world, and the standards of safety, maintenance, and punctuality are beyond the dreams of anyone in the United States. If a passenger train arrives one minute late, there will be an apology to passengers over the loudspeaker system.

I did a quick and dirty calculation of the ratio of crashes to total passengers carried. AMTRAK carried 31.3 million passengers in 2016, while Japan’s railways carried 7.589 billion in 2014, the closest date I could find quickly, or 242 times more passengers. If Japan’s railroads had the same rate of fatal crashes as Amtrak over the past 49 days, they would have experienced almost 15 fatal crashes per day.

I realize this is unfair in various ways, but the point is still relevant. Fatal train crashes in Japan are very, very rare, and when they happen, they are a very big deal, because almost everyone uses trains a lot. This makes it worthwhile to invest heavily in safety measures.

I would say that it is safe bet that Congress will be holding hearings on safety at AMTRAK. Even Democrats in Congress take trains on occasion.

For those of you who may have someone affected by this…

If you have a family member who was on the train and are trying to get more information you can call 1-800-523-9101.

— Henry McMaster (@henrymcmaster) February 4, 2018

Praying for all those affected by this horrible tragedy.