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WSBT photo (October 23, 2012) |
WASHINGTON – The National Transportation Safety Board has released some more information regarding the Amtrak train derailment in Niles on Sunday.
The derailment happened shortly before 10:30 a.m. a half-mile north of the Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport at the intersection of Terminal Rd. and Renaissance Dr.
174 people, passengers and crew were onboard the Amtrak train. They boarded in Chicago at 7:20 a.m. CST headed towards Kalamazoo.
According to the NTSB:
- The train had a green signal allowing it to proceed at maximum speed.
- A switch leading off the main track just beyond the signal was reversed – aligning the train into a rail yard instead of the main track it was on.
- A derailing device was installed between the yard track and the main track as a protective measure to derail cars that might accidentally roll out of the yard before they reached the main track.
- The passenger train dislodged the derailing device but did not derail at that point.
- The train derailed about 290 feet beyond the switch.
- The train continued on the yard track and stopped with all cars upright.
- Empty ballast hopper cars were stored on the yard track, and the passenger train came to a stop 21 feet from the nearest hopper car.
Seven different ambulance services were called to the scene. In all, 10 people were injured.
The Amtrak train had four cars and two engines.
