why is our infrastructure crumbling?
I thought we just had a huge stimulus for shovel ready projects?
this guy did this intentionally. that’s my gut feeling
I don’t think he did. I think he was very negligent and was either texting or just not paying attention.
These days anything is possible, but it seems unlikely. There would be a high risk of dying yourself, and if that were the desire, you’d have to wonder what the motive for it was. Plus he apparently hit the brakes just before the train derailed. I suppose he could have changed his mind about intentionally wrecking, but a more likely explanation is that he suddenly realized that he’d made a (unfixable) mistake.
My guess is that he screwed up regarding where he was on the route. I’m pretty certain he would have known that the train wouldn’t negotiate that curve at the speed of 100 mph…and not far past that curve he would have been at a point where the 100 mph would have been doable. I think he thought he was there already, and he pushed the speed about a mile or so too soon.
The question is why.
My best guess is that he was distracted by something. If he was distracted by a rock hitting the train, then the result might be more forgivable than, say, if he was distracted by texting. I’m not at all saying that a rock did hit the train, but I think it’s possible.
But everything I’ve read says his cell phone was turned off and in his bag. I’m pretty sure that was one of the first stories the authorities checked out and they confirmed his phone had been off.
I saw a couple of interviews this weekend with his best friend. The portrait he paints is of someone who lives for the railroad and has since he was a small kid, and someone who is an absolute stickler for rules. I know that often times, the ones who want to portray someone in the best light are often heard from first, but so far, I haven’t heard of any story from anyone who has stepped forward to say anything negative about him (drugs, mental illness, relationship problems, irresponsible, etc.). Still waiting, though.
PTC…hmmm…
Whatever you hear about PTC’s status, it’s still some distance from being widely employed (hence the recent delayed approved by congress) and Amtrak raises some unique challenges as they ride other railroad company’s lines (and must interact with those companies PTC system).
PTC has been a top priority for the railroad companies (they fear the government imposed penalties), but it’s been a challenge.
Teriwtt is correct. Investigators confirmed that the engineer’s did everything according to protocol, including turning off his phone and putting it away in a plastic bag as required. He may have been distracted, but not by his phone.
Ha ha ha ha ha! Oh, that’s a good one! (Sorry, I’m a cynical structural engineer.)
This isn’t quite fair, and I may be wrong…but the only report I’ve read is the engineer’s lawyer’s statements. They say that the engineer had to retrieve his phone from his bag. I frankly am skeptical about that…sorry. He’s 32 and its 2015. If there is a report from investigators confirming this, then I’m all ears. I’m very suspicious of the lawyers statement. I’ll accept this if there is a credible source. For me that’s going to mean a confirmation that the phone in question is his normal phone, and that there is no activity associated with it in the five or ten minutes prior to the crash.
Hunt, you and I think alike. Sometimes. 
Fun fact, the Amtrak union was able to get a waiver on placing a camera on the engineer, hence why we have no video. Other railroads have to film the engineer (even though their unions also fought the requirement).
No rock or bullet hit the train,
No Septa engineer remebers having a projectile conversation with the Amtrak engineer, either.
That’s his lawyer talking. I am sure it’s easy to verify. We’ll see what the investigators have to say.
The article I read this morning suggests that a rock may have hit the train, but they don’t think a bullet or rock could have hit the engineer.
Based on my own life experience, I think it’s possible that the engineer was distracted by his own thoughts. I think this can happen without any identifiable bad behavior.
I agree with Hunt. It’s possible he was lost in his thoughts, daydreaming, and lost track of where the was. It’s all very sad.
I don’t know if it’s been mentioned before, but I heard that this route was new to him. If that’s the case, he should’ve been extra vigilant.
I’d be interested to know how often he’d run the route at night.
The union comment is not particularly reassuring. One wonders how many other engineers are relatively young.
That’s a strange thing for a union rep to say. Normally I would expect a union rep to focus on the possibility of a mechanical failure, at least at first.
DH took this line to NYC today. Said the train was noticeably slow heading out of philly til they got into NJ. I am hoping there is extra vigilance on the rails these days so I don’t need to worry as much 
I imagine that’s the safest route in the country now!
I wonder what complications there are.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-amtrak-crash-investigation-20150602-story.html
This easy measure could’ve taken sooner.