The National Transportation Safety Board put it best, “Each death, each injury, and each accident that Positive Train Control could have prevented, testifies to the vital importance of implanting PTC now.”
Information and data currently available indicates that the Amtrak Cascades train that crashed in DuPont, Washington, on December 18, 2017, was traveling approximately 80 mph when it entered a 30-mph speed zone and began a steep curve to the left. PTC was not being utilized when the Amtrak commuter train barreled into the left turn, jumped the tracks, and plummeted onto Interstate 5 resulting in multiple deaths and serious injuries. Although the investigation into the cause of this tragedy is in its infancy, Positive Train Control -- which is intended to prevent train derailments caused by excessive speed -- would have been an additional safety layer that may have prevented this tragedy and saved lives.
In fact, Amtrak trains will not travel the stretch of rail where the Tacoma Amtrak train crash occurred until Positive Train Control is installed.