Airlines issue waivers after deadly Amtrak crash

Saturday, 19 Dec, 2017 0

Authorities said at least three people were killed and dozens injured after an Amtrak train derailment, which saw rail cars plunge onto a highway in Washington.

The train was making its inaugural trip on a new service from Seattle to Portland, OR, when several rail cars left the track and landed on Interstate 5 below, damaging several moving vehicles.

Two rail cars were left dangling over the side of the bridge over the I-5.

Aside from the three fatalities, ‘there are a lot of critical injuries,’ police spokeswoman Brooke Bova said.

The cause is still unknown but it is thought the train was traveling at up to 81 mph as it approached the curve.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board arrived at the scene late Monday.

Railroad owner Sound Transit said the track did not yet have sensors which could have enabled positive train control to automatically reduce the train’s speed as it neared the curve.

"On behalf of everyone at Amtrak, we are deeply saddened by all that has happened. We will do everything in our power to support our passengers and crew and their families," said Amtrak co-CEO Richard Anderson.

Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines has it would cut fares on its Seattle-Portland route through Tuesday, with prices lowered by more than half to $99.

Alaska warned customers that due to a website glitch, there is an error displaying the new fare but it does show up when paying for flights at customer check-out

Delta Air Lines said it will allow passengers a one-time free change for those traveling to or from Seattle on Tuesday.

 



 

profileimage

TravelMole Editorial Team

Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.



Most Read

Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know

Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham

Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago

Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research

Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact

Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference

Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role

Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal

Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination

Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness

Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future

Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
TRAINING & COMPETITION
Skip to toolbar
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...