(December 18, 2017 at 6:51 pm)Anomalocaris Wrote: Latest report says there are several derailed cars that are unsafe for rescuers to access and everyone in those cars are believed dead. If this is accurate the fatality can soon rise much higher.
This is apparently Amtrak’s very first run on this stretch of rail. This stretch has previously been little used. I suspect someone didn’t inspect the route first very thoroughly, or didn’t consider whether the curves in the rail were suitable for an express passenger train.
(b-mine)
The bolded is true, they've been talking about this reconfiguration of the rail line and it's opening today for some time now.
The rail in question is old rail that was supposedly upgraded for high-speed passenger service.
The death toll will almost certainly go higher. The fatalities so far are apparently in cars that are largely inaccessible to rescuers.
