Derailed Philadelphia Amtrak train 'was speeding'

Derailed Philadelphia Amtrak train 'was speeding'

An Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia, killing at least seven people, was travelling at twice the speed limit, say safety experts.

The New York National Guard has deployed to Philadelphia to assist local authorities

The driver applied the emergency brakes when the train hit 106mph (170km/h) on a 50mph track, said the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

But his efforts had only brought the speed down to 102mph when the deadly crash happened.

The speed was recorded in the so-called black box recovered from the wreckage.

Robert Sumwalt of the NTSB told reporters a speed control system in place along parts of that route along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor was not yet in place on that section.

"We feel that had such a system been installed in this section of track, this accident would not have occurred," he said.

Amtrak Train 188 was going from Washington to New York when it derailed on Tuesday night, leaving more 200 people injured.

The death toll rose from six to seven on Wednesday, as another body was found by the search and rescue team.

Only three victims have been publicly identified so far:

•    Jim Gaines, a 48-year-old father of two and software architect for the Associated Press, was travelling home to New Jersey following a work conference in Washington DC

•    Justin Zemser, a-20 year-old Navy Midshipman, was on leave from the Naval Academy in Maryland, and was visiting family in New York

•    Wells Fargo senior vice-president Abid Gilani, the company confirmed

One of the busiest stretches of passenger rail in the country, between Philadelphia and New York, is closed as officials continue to try to establish exactly what happened.

President Obama said he was "shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the derailment".

Funding cut

As emergency crews continued to dig through the wreckage, lawmakers in Washington debated the future of Amtrak's budget, with one spending committee voting to slash their funding by almost a fifth.

"We are divesting from America," accused one member of Congress.

"Don't use this tragedy in that way," another Congressman responded angrily.

Congress has only 18 more days before federal funding for transportation infrastructure expires, but the funding is likely to be temporarily extended.

Amtrak is a national publicly funded rail service, serving tens of millions of people every year.

Source: BBC