PREVENTABLE

Tech Could Have Stopped Derailed Train

System due to be installed this year.

The Amtrak train derailment that killed seven people and sent more than 140 to the hospital could have been prevented if an automatic train-control system was in place, authorities said Wednesday. The Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement system, which is designed to prevent speeding, was due to be installed in Philadelphia this year, according to National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt. Positive Train Control is required by federal law to be implemented into all major passenger and freight railroads, including Amtrak, by the end of this year. Train 188 was reportedly speeding at 106 mph before the engineer, identified by law enforcement as 32-year-old Brandon Bostian, applied the emergency brakes and slowed it to 102 mph just seconds before the train derailed. According to his LinkedIn page, Bostian has worked as an Amtrak engineer since December 2010 and had previously served as an Amtrak conductor for four and a half years.