I-5 SB north of Olympia closed
Due to train wreck onto HWY. All SB lanes of I-5 blocked near Mounts Road in Pierce County due to derailed train car. Avoid area! (From WSDOT twitter feed)
Forum Discussion
According to the WSDOT statement, this was a lightly used section of track that had been upgraded for use by Amtrack. Multiple agencies were responsible for the work. This was the first, or one of the first, scheduled runs to use this route.
As best I can tell from Google Maps, this new route rejoins the old one just a short distance beyond the freeway crossing. The original route was a scenic, but slow one, along Puget Sound. This short cut parallels I5 much of the way
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/news/2017/12/18/statement-amtrak-cascades-derailment
This was part of an upgrade to the Vancouver to Eugene route, intended to shave time off the Seattle to Portland run. It's a joint Washington and Oregon project (along with federal funding and Amtrak operations).
https://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2017/12/changes-ahead-as-new-amtrak-cascades.html
WSDOT's blog with updates:
https://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2017/12/amtrak-cascades-derailment-dupont.html
According to this
As best I can tell from Google Maps, this new route rejoins the old one just a short distance beyond the freeway crossing. The original route was a scenic, but slow one, along Puget Sound. This short cut parallels I5 much of the way
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/news/2017/12/18/statement-amtrak-cascades-derailment
This was part of an upgrade to the Vancouver to Eugene route, intended to shave time off the Seattle to Portland run. It's a joint Washington and Oregon project (along with federal funding and Amtrak operations).
https://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2017/12/changes-ahead-as-new-amtrak-cascades.html
WSDOT's blog with updates:
https://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2017/12/amtrak-cascades-derailment-dupont.html
According to this
Positive Train Control
From Sound Transit and Amtrak:
While equipment has been physically installed in the Lakewood subdivision where the incident occurred the system is not yet operational or certified for use. Full implementation is planned to occur by the second quarter of 2018 on that segment, in advance of the deadline.
Sound Transit, Amtrak and other agencies are working to implement positive train control in the Puget Sound region in advance of a December 2018 federal deadline. Work will continue in the coming months.
