Philadelphia Amtrak Crash May Have Been Prevented

The deadly Amtrak crash that occurred in Philadelphia on Tuesday evening in the Port Richmond section of the city may have been prevented by a technology called Positive Train Control. The technology would take over for an engineer when a train is exceeding the recommended speed limit and warn him or her to slow down. It also has the capacity to control the speed of the train should an engineer fail to heed the command.

Eight people died in the crash and over 200 were hospitalized. Six are still listed as being in critical condition. Many community members today are asking what could have been done to stop the tragedy from happening. Since speed was a factor in the disaster-the train was going twice as fast as it should have been when it jumped the tracks on a bend-Positive Train Control might have stopped the incident from occurring.

Democrats have been pushing for funding for the technology for years, but yesterday, Republicans voted to dramatically slash Amtrak’s budget by $252 million. The decision by the House Appropriations Committee came just hours after the devastating crash.

While it has been determined that speed was a primary factor in the train derailment, it is unclear whether a mechanical problem or human error were at play. A lawyer for the train’s engineer said his client “has absolutely no recollection” of the incident. The engineer has been identified as Brandon Bostian, 32, of New York. He is currently in the hospital recovering from multiple injuries sustained in the crash.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has been criticized for comments he made about Bostian regarding who is at fault for the tragedy. During an interview the Mayor gave on Wednesday, he stated that Bostian was “reckless” and that there was “no excuse” for what happened. Nutter later apologized for the remarks, saying that he did not mean to be “judgmental.”

As questions swirl about who or what is to blame for the deadly incident, attentions are focusing on possible ways to prevent such infrastructure disasters in the future. New technologies continue to emerge that could certainly be helpful, but without the necessary funding, some say, efforts to implement them will be futile.

Photo credit: viewpointsofasagittarian.com