Some blame went to railroad industry's delay in installing Positive Train Control

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The speeding Amtrak train that crashed in Philadelphia last year, killing eight people, most likely ran off the rails because the engineer was distracted by word of a nearby commuter train getting hit by a rock, federal investigators concluded Tuesday.

The National Transportation Safety Board also put some of the blame on the railroad industry's decades-long delay in installing Positive Train Control, equipment that can automatically slow trains that are going over the speed limit.

Engineer Brandon Bostian was apparently so focused on the rock-throwing incident he heard about over the radio that he lost track of where he was and accelerated full-throttle to 106 mph as his train went into a sharp curve with a 50 mph limit, investigators said at an NTSB hearing convened to pinpoint the cause of the May 12, 2015, tragedy.

"He went, in a matter of seconds, from distraction to disaster," NTSB board member Robert Sumwalt said.

Bostian, who has been suspended without pay since the crash for speeding, did not attend the hearing. His attorney didn't return an email seeking comment.

Had Positive Train Control been in use along the stretch of track, "we would not be here today," said Ted Turpin, an NTSB investigator.

"Unless PTC is implemented soon," NTSB chairman Christopher Hart warned, "I'm very concerned that we're going to be back in this room again, hearing investigators detail how technology that we have recommended for more than 45 years could have prevented yet another fatal rail accident."

Among other things, the NTSB recommended research into seat belts in railcars and ways to secure luggage that can become missiles in a derailment; training for railroad crew members on multitasking; and the use of new equipment and procedures to help crew members keep track of their location in spots where Positive Train Control is not in place.

In a statement, Amtrak said it has "taken full responsibility for and deeply regrets the tragic derailment" and will carefully review the NTSB findings and recommendations and quickly adopt them where appropriate.

The railroad noted that Positive Train Control is already in place on most of Amtrak's portion of the Northeast Corridor and that it has also installed inward-facing video cameras on locomotives.

The tragic chain of events illustrated the potential for tragedy when people throw rocks at trains — a problem railroads are almost powerless to stop but is so common the industry has a term for it: "getting rocked."