Amtrak To Resume Service At Point Defiance Bypass

LAKEWOOD, WA — Four years after the deadly train derailment near DuPont, Amtrak says it is ready to resume service in the area.

In an announcement Monday, Amtrak confirmed that Cascades service would return along the Point Defiance Bypass beginning Thursday, Nov. 18. The first Amtrak Cascades train to use the bypass will leave Seattle at 7:22 a.m., and arrive at Tacoma 46 minutes later, the agency said.

To avoid a repeat of the deadly 2017 derailment along that line, Amtrak says it as worked the Washington State Department of Transportation, Sound Transit and other transportation agencies and experts to verify that the passage is now safe.

“Amtrak is continuously improving safety for the benefit of our customers, employees, and the communities we serve” said Amtrak President Stephen Gardner in a statement. “We are ready to safely resume service on the Bypass consistent with the steps required by our host railroad, Sound Transit, the Federal Railroad Administration and our own Safety Management System.”

Amtrak also highlighted several safety improvements that it says should secure the ride, including Positive Train Control, which automatically slows trains that are speeding too quickly, and the new Amtrak Safety Management System, which expands crew safety training, requires more thorough safety reporting, and allows employees to proactively identify and report safety risks.

The Point Defiance Bypass runs along I-5 between the Tacoma Dome Station, Lakewood, JBLM, DuPont and Nisqually. In the 2017 derailing, the lead car flew off the tracks while approaching the railroad bridge across southbound I-5 just southwest of DuPont. The lead locomotive then pulled all 12 rail cars free of the tracks. Six flew off the bridge and down a nearby embankment— blocking the freeway, killing three passengers and injuring 57 other passengers and crew members.

In response to the crash, Gov. Jay Inslee called a state of emergency, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was called to investigate the cause of the derailment. The NTSB's final report ultimately concluded that Sound Transit failed to take the adequate steps to address a sharp curve on the tracks near the derailment site, and the engineer driving the train had not been adequately trained.

The crash caused at least $40 million in damages, according to the NTSB.

Following the crash, a large part of the conversation focused on the Cascade's lack of positive train control — which could have taken control away from the engineer, slowing the train before it hit the curve and sparing them the derailment — and which has since been added to the line as part of Amtrak's effort to increase safety and reliability.