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Photos, Video: Amtrak Train No. 501 Crash – High-Speed Cascades Train Derails, Questions About Testing, Tracks

By Paula Mooney
Published on: 04:28 PST, Dec 18, 2017

An Amtrak passenger train has derailed near Dupont, Washington, according to KIRO7. The train derailed near Lacey, Washington, with reports that a semi-truck being crushed beneath the train continuing to unfold, according to CNN. The Amtrak train had train cars that reportedly derailed and landed onto Interstate 5 on both sides, according to eyewitness Danea Orlob, a woman who told CNN that the crash looked bad, noting how she could have been closer to the accident if she hadn’t made a stop during her morning errands to get gasoline.

The Amtrak train derailment blocked all lanes of traffic as emergency personnel responded to the scene, with reports that Interstate 5 in the southbound direction will be closed for quite some time. According to the below tweet from the Pierce County Sheriff, the Amtrak train derailment has caused injuries and “casualties,” although it is not clear how many people have been hurt or killed. The region is being called one that features lots of traffic due to its proximity to Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The new Amtrak train runs on a route from Seattle to Portland and was reportedly headed in a southbound direction when the train derailed.

As reported by KIRO in the below tweet, there were 70 people on board the Amtrak train when it derailed. Video of the scene, along with photos of the derailed Amtrak train No. 501, are flowing into Twitter, as seen below.

According to Amtrak’s own website, a new schedule began on Monday, December 18, with train No. 501 showing a southbound schedule that planned to depart at 6:00 a.m. from Seattle and travel through locales like Tukwila, Tacoma, Olympia, Centrailia, Kelso, and Vancouver before arriving in Portland, Oregon, at 9:20 a.m.

As a result of the Amtrak train derailment, Interstate 5 in Washington is trending on Twitter, along with the word Amtrak. In the wake of the train derailing, questions about whether or not the maiden voyage of the Amtrak Cascades train route was validly tested are arising. There are also questions about whether or not there were issues with the train track that might have caused the train to derail in Washington state, as it traveled approximately 80 miles per hour, although there are conflicting reports about the speed of the train.

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