About 9:21 p.m. eastern daylight time on May 12, 2015, eastbound Amtrak (National
Railroad Passenger Corporation) passenger train 188 derailed at milepost 81.62 in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. The train had just entered the Frankford Junction curve—where the speed is
restricted to 50 mph—at 106 mph. It was dark and 81°F with no precipitation; visibility was
10 miles. As the train entered the curve, the locomotive engineer applied the emergency brakes.
Seconds later, the train—one locomotive and seven passenger cars—derailed. There were
245 passengers, 5 on-duty Amtrak employees, and 3 off-duty Amtrak employees on board. Eight
passengers were killed, and 185 others were transported to area hospitals.
We determined that the probable cause of the accident was the engineer’s acceleration to 106 mph as he entered a curve with a 50 mph speed restriction, due to his loss of situational awareness likely because his attention was diverted to an emergency situation with another train. Contributing to the accident was the lack of a positive train control system. Contributing to the severity of the injuries were the inadequate requirements for occupant protection in the event of a train overturning.
We made recommendations to Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration, the American Public Transportation Association, the Association of American Railroads, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Philadelphia Fire Department, the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management, the mayor of the city of Philadelphia, the National Association of State EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Officials, the National Volunteer Fire Council, the National Emergency Management Association, the National Association of EMS Physicians, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
