(The Spokane Spokesman Review posted the following article on its website on October 19.)
SPOKANE, Wash. — The National Transportation Safety Board reported Wednesday that improper track maintenance and inadequate federal standards are to blame for an Amtrak derailment last year near Home Valley, Wash.
That April 3, 2005, derailment of Amtrak’s Empire Builder train injured 30 of the 115 people on the train as it headed from Spokane toward Portland.
The train was traveling on BNSF Railway Co. tracks. The NTSB said that BNSF failed to respond to multiple reports about rough conditions on that segment of track. That roughness was caused by the failure of concrete crossties, which ultimately abraded to the point that they allowed the rails to bend and the train’s wheels to drop between them.
The NTSB also said that the Federal Railroad Administration lacks sufficient standards to ensure concrete crossties will be properly maintained on some classes of track, including the track in question.
As a result, the NTSB recommended that the Federal Railroad Administration extend its safety standards for higher classes of track to lower track classes, where trains travel at slower speeds. The Board also recommended that BNSF make sure its track inspectors have enough time to perform their duties, and that all railroads establish new guidelines for inspecting and maintaining concrete crossties.