Trail Switch News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

With 16 crew. it happened near a rail switch on a straight piece of track near joplin, montana. the section of track had been inspected two days earlier the back eight cars derailed with the last one topping over. three people were killed including a 28-year-old man who was with his wife going to portland. investigators will look at the track, any mechanical issues and whether there was human error. trains are still considered the safest way to travel but six fatal accidents on amtrak trains killing 19 people. according to the department of transportation, track defects account for a third of ...

Free those trapped and help the injured. >> we came together to respond. i was talking to the group earlier and they mentioned that the hardest thing after being out at the crash site was going home and being with their families. with the impact of what happened. >> the accident happened near a rail switch on a section of track that was just inspected two days earlier. experts say speed is likely not a factor because this train did have speed controlled equipment. amtrak ceo says they are cooperating with the investigating. they said we share the sense of urgency to understand why the accident...

Montana as federal officials urgently investigate what caused this amtrak passenger train to derail. the ntsb on the scene, saying today the derailment taking place on a gradual curve just before a rail switch. the black box revealing the train travelling just under the 8 79-mile-per-hour speed limit. they're taking it away slowly and right inside there, you can see the debris from that derailment. >> reporter: more than 160 passengers and crew members on board traveling from chicago to seattle late saturday when it derailed. dozens were injured and tragically, three people were killed. right ...

Switch -- and when i talk about a switch, i'm talking about a rail switch that can actually switch how the track goes from here to here -- for whatever reason, that switch was, as they say in the railroad industry, lined and locked, which basically means it was a-lined, aligned, for the train coming down this way to be diverted into the siding. >> reporter: so we're better understanding the how, but the why remains the big question here. why was that switch lined and locked in the wrong position, especially if other trains were scheduled to come down this path just as amtrak train 91 does ever...

Diagram the fatal mistake a switch on the railroad track locked with a padlock in the wrong position. listen to his description. >> i'm talking about a rail switch that can actually switch how the track goes from here to here. for whatever reason that switch was as they say in the railroad industry lined and locked. key to this investigation is learning why that switch was lined that way. because the expeck trags of course is that the amtrak would be cleared and would be operating straight down like this. >> reporter: so the key question for investigators, why, why was that switch locked and l...