Amtrak is boarding a baggage fee bandwagon that has generated billions in revenue for the airline industry. The passenger train operator will start on Thursday charging $20 to passengers who exceed limits for carry-on and personal items. Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the fees will help enforce the company’s established polices, preserve space on crowded trains and reduce safety concerns created by items that are too heavy. Customers are allowed to bring for free two personal items weighing up to 25 pounds and two carry-on bags weighing no more than 50 pounds each. Personal items might include things like a backpack, laptop, purse or other small bags. Passengers with children under the age of 2 also can bring onboard an additional item like a stroller or diaper bag. The fee applies to each item above those limits. U.S. airlines started introducing bag fees in 2008 and now charge a standard fee of $25 for the first checked suitcase. Those fees generated $1.6 billion for the airlines in the first quarter of this year. But the airline charges also are more extensive than what Amtrak plans, and Magliari said the train operator didn’t start its fees to make more money. “It is simply a space and safety initiative,” he said. He said the fee was aimed at a small percentage of the company’s 31 million passengers who exceed limits for what they can bring onboard for free. Passengers can avoid the fee by checking their bags through to the final destination, if that service is available on their train. (AP)

The Obama administration says it’s drafting rules to require that railroads install video cameras inside locomotive cabs to record the actions of engineers. The Federal Railroad Administration also says that other steps aimed at reducing human error are in the works. The cameras have been opposed by labor unions. Also, the National Transportation Safety Board has sent a letter recommending Amtrak install video cameras in all its locomotive cabs. Investigators are struggling to determine why an Amtrak train accelerated to twice the speed limit moments before derailing in Philadelphia in May. Their task has been complicated because the engineer says he has no memory of events prior to the crash, and there was no inward-facing camera in the cab. Amtrak has said it will install the cameras on some trains. (AP)

[VIDEO & PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE] This past Wednesday marked the completion of shloshim of Justin Zemser A”H who had tragically passed away in the Amtrak accident in Philadelphia. Dozens of stories, both from the Far Rockaway community and from the naval academy where Justin was enrolled have come forward about the incredible life Justin had led. At his funeral, hundreds and hundreds mourned him and openly wept at the loss of a young man who had the brightest of futures. Immediately after his petira, under the leadership of Rabbi Yaakov Bender, the office staff at Yeshiva Darchei Torah, undertook to learn mishnayos seder moed in his memory. On Wednesday, a siyum was held to commemorate the completion of that siyum. Rabbi Potash, longstanding YDT Rebbe, was mesayem. Rabbi Eytan Feiner from the White Shul had befriended the family during this period and read the Hadran. Mr. Howard Zemser said some brief tearful remarks explaining how the loss of their only child had broken their lives. He then followed with an emotional and moving recitation of Kaddish. This was followed by Tzvi Rubinfeld, who was Justin’s Oorah Torah mate who had regularly scheduled learning sessions with Justin. The gathering then heard R’ Boruch Ber Bender of Achiezer followed by a closing tribute from Rabbi Feiner. Chazan Chaim Gershon Shindler, who had taught Justin his bar mitzvah davening and laining, recited the Keil Malei. HaRav Yaakov Bender specifically cited the immediate moments after Justin’s death when Chazan Shindler had reached out to Cantor Joel Kaplan, who had then reached out to Boruch Ber Bender and Achiezer and what followed was the remarkable siyata dishmaya and hashgacha pratis that allowed Justin’s body and subsequent steps to all be held in the highest regard of kavod hameis. This was the only siyum held in Justin’s honor and the tremendous Kiddush Kvod Shamayim was felt by all. May we only share in simchos and happy occasions. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The engineer driving an Amtrak train wasn’t using his cellphone just before the train derailed in Philadelphia last month, safety investigators said Wednesday, deepening the mystery of what caused the accident that killed eight and injured about 200. In an updated report, the National Transportation Safety Board said its analysis of phone records “does not indicate that any calls, texts or data usage occurred during the time the engineer was operating the train.” The agency also said the engineer, Brandon Bostian, didn’t access the train’s Wi-Fi system while he was operating the locomotive. Investigators have said previously that the train accelerated to 106 miles per hour in the last minute before entering a curve where the speed limit is 50 mph. In the last few seconds the brakes were applied with maximum force, but the train was still traveling at over 100 mph when it left the tracks. Bostian suffered a head injury in the May 12 crash, and his attorney has said the engineer doesn’t remember anything after the train pulled out of Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, the last stop before the derailment. Bostian provided investigators with his passcode to the phone, allowing them access to the data without having to go through the phone manufacturers, the NTSB said. Engineers aren’t allowed to use phones while operating trains or preparing them for movement, but determining whether Bostian was using the phone was a complicated process. To determine whether the phone was in “airplane mode” or was powered off, investigators in NTSB’s laboratory have been examining the phone’s operating system, which contains more than 400,000 files of metadata. Investigators are obtaining a phone identical to the engineer’s phone and will be running additional tests to validate the data. The phone was used to make calls and send text messages the day of the accident, but inconsistencies in phone records presented difficulties, NTSB Chairman Chris Hart told Congress last week. The voice and text messages were recorded in different time zones and may not have been calibrated to the exact time as other equipment on the train, such as a camera focused on the tracks and a recorder that registers how fast the train was moving and actions by the engineer, he said. Accident investigators have said previously that they have not found any mechanical problems with the train. The track had been inspected not long before the crash. On Tuesday, the House passed a transportation spending bill that includes $9 million for Amtrak to install inward-facing cameras in locomotive cabs. Five years ago, the NTSB recommended the Federal Railroad Administration require railroads install the cameras so that investigators have a video and sound recording of what was going inside the cab in the event of an accidents. However, regulators didn’t convene an industry-labor advisory committee to work on possible regulations until last year. The committee has been unable to reach a consensus, and the railroad administration has said it will pursue regulations without the committee’s endorsement. However, it could be years before regulations are proposed and then made final. Rather than waiting for regulations, Amtrak will install the cameras on trains in the Northeast Corridor on its own, the railroad’s president and CEO, Joseph Boardman, said recently. The NTSB recommendation on cameras was made as the board wrapped up an

An emotional Amtrak CEO pledged to lawmakers Tuesday that safety technology that could have prevented a deadly derailment last month in Philadelphia will be put into operation, while Democrats and Republicans exchanged barbs over whether Congress or the Obama administration is most to blame for railroads not installing the technology. “We are responsible for the incident and its consequences,” Joseph Boardman told a House transportation committee hearing. His voice breaking, Boardman said equipping trains with positive train control, a technology that can prevent trains from derailing because of excessive speed, is the “single greatest contribution my generation of railroaders can make.” Amtrak had already installed the technology on tracks it owns in the Northeast Corridor from Boston to Washington, but it wasn’t in operation when Amtrak Northeast Regional train 188 entered a curve in Philadelphia at 106 mph on May 12. The speed limit for the curve is 50 mph. Eight people were killed and about 200 injured in the derailment. Several lawmakers raised questions about the train cars involved in the derailment, which were severely mangled. The cars were purchased beginning in 1975 and weren’t built to modern occupant protection standards, Boardman said. They haven’t been replaced because the railroad is still trying to replace cars built in the 1940s, he said. Accident investigators are looking at whether improved train cars could have prevented injuries or deaths in the Philadelphia crash, said Chris Hart, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. At the start of the hearing, the NTSB released a preliminary report that says investigators still don’t know whether the engineer involved in the Philadelphia derailment was on his cellphone before the speeding train crashed. It also remains unclear whether damage to the windshield was caused by the wreck or an object thrown at the train, the report said. The NTSB has said engineer Brandon Bostian, who suffered a head injury in the crash, has been cooperative but says he cannot recall the moments before the accident. The two-page preliminary report estimates damage from the crash at more than $9.2 million. Several Republicans, including Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., told Hart that they were baffled that accident investigators three weeks after the crash could still not say for certain whether Bostian was using the cellphone while the train was in operation. The phone was used to make calls and send text messages the day of the accident, but inconsistencies in phone records are presenting difficulties, Hart said. The voice and text messages were recorded in different time zones and may not have been calibrated to the exact time as other equipment on the train, such as a camera focused on the tracks and a recorder that registers how fast the train was moving and actions by the engineer, he said. “We were surprised at the complexity of that ourselves and we’re experts at this,” Hart said. “It’s very crucial to get that fact right. We will not be hurried into giving an answer.” Congress mandated in 2008 that Amtrak, commuter railroads and freight railroads install positive train control by the end of this year. Amtrak still has to do extensive testing of the system, but will meet the deadline, Boardman said. Most other railroads will not. Only Burlington Northern-Santa Fe has submitted paperwork saying it has completed a positive

Federal safety regulators and Amtrak officials face questions at a congressional hearing Tuesday on why technology to slow trains that are going too fast wasn’t in place before last month’s deadly derailment in Philadelphia. The hearing by the House transportation committee comes amid rising concern about rail safety. There have been seven major passenger and freight train accidents this year. Accident investigators have said Amtrak’s train 188 was going 106 miles per hour just before it derailed on a curve with a 50 mph speed limit. Eight passengers were killed and about 200 were injured. Amtrak has long had technology called automatic train control on some tracks leading up to curves along its 450-plus mile Northeast Corridor from Boston to Washington, but not on the tracks before the Philadelphia curve. (AP)

Amtrak said Tuesday it will install video cameras inside locomotive cabs to record the actions of train engineers, a move that follows a deadly derailment earlier this month in which investigators are searching for clues to the train engineer’s actions before the crash. The engineer, Brendan Bostian, suffered a head injury in the accident and has told investigators he can’t remember what happened. Northeast Regional train 188 accelerated to a speed of 106 miles per hour in the last minute before entering a curve where it derailed. The speed limit for the curve is 50 mph. The crash left eight people dead and about 200 injured. The train was equipped with a “black box” data recorder and an outward-facing camera focused on the track ahead, but neither of those devices reveals what was happening inside the cab. The National Transportation Safety Board has been recommending that the Federal Railroad Administration require passenger and freight train cabs to have audio recorders since the late 1990s. They revised that recommendation five years ago to include inward-facing sound and video recorders. Railroad administration officials say they support use of the cameras. In the past year, the agency has told the NTSB that it intends to propose regulations requiring the cameras. However, no regulations have been proposed and it typically takes federal agencies many months, if not years, to move from proposals to final regulations. Cameras will first be installed in 70 new Amtrak locomotives that will power all Northeast Regional and long-distance trains between Washington, New York and Boston, as well as Keystone Service between New York, Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Joseph Boardman, the railroad’s president and CEO, told reporters in a telephone briefing that about 38 of the locomotives will be equipped with the cameras before the end of the year, and the rest by sometime this spring. Amtrak is developing a plan for installation of cameras in the rest of its locomotive fleet, including Acela Express locomotives, but no time table has been set for those installations. The railroad has about 300 locomotives nationwide. (AP)

Federal investigators say they’re still trying to determine whether an Amtrak engineer used his cellphone at the controls of the train in a deadly derailment in Philadelphia. The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday records show calls were made, texts were sent and data was used on Brandon Bostian’s phone the day of the crash. They say they’re comparing the timing of the phone activity with data from the locomotive’s event recorder and outward facing video, radio communications and surveillance video. Bostian’s lawyer says he kept the phone in a bag, using it only to call 911 afterward. The May 12 derailment killed 8 people and injured more than 200. Investigators are looking into why the Washington-to-New York train was going double the 50 mph limit around a sharp curve. (AP)

The union for Amtrak’s locomotive engineers urged the railroad on Tuesday to put a second crew member at the controls of trains on the busy Northeast Corridor, where a derailment killed eight people and injured more than 200 others. “The public would never accept an airline operation with a single person in the cockpit,” the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen said in a statement. “There is no reason that rail employees and rail passengers’ lives should be viewed any differently.” Brandon Bostian, 32, was alone in the locomotive of Train 188 when it derailed May 12, about 10 minutes after departing Philadelphia for New York. Train 188 had a five-member crew — including a conductor who is still hospitalized with serious injuries — but they were in the passenger coaches, closed off from the locomotive. Amtrak hasn’t had a second crew member in the locomotive of its Northeast Corridor trains since Congress ended the requirement in the early 1980s, the union said. In a statement, Amtrak said it operates its locomotives in accordance with federal standards and that its locomotive engineers and train conductors work together to ensure safe train operation. “Amtrak is and always has been committed to safety as its number one priority and continues to work with all the stakeholders toward a consensus on the appropriate management of crew resources in passenger train locomotives,” the statement said. The National Transportation Safety Board is looking into why the train was going more than double the 50 mph limit around a sharp curve. It is also investigating whether an object may have struck the locomotive’s windshield before the crash. The FBI said it found no evidence a grapefruit-sized fracture on the windshield was caused by a firearm, and the NTSB said it was unsure anything had struck the vehicle. Investigators said Bostian, who was among the injured, told them in an interview that he couldn’t recall anything from the last 3 miles before the derailment. About 20 people remained hospitalized Tuesday. Five were listed in critical condition. Authorities say it could be a year before they determine the probable cause of the derailment. The union Tuesday called on Congress to require a second “fully trained and qualified” crew member in each locomotive, but stopped short of demanding that person also be an engineer. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., suggested Tuesday that Amtrak at least place a second crew member in the locomotive until automatic speed control technology is fully implemented. A former NTSB chief railroad crash investigator questioned the idea, saying putting multiple crew members in a locomotive was “more of a distraction” than a safeguard and most likely would not have prevented the May 12 derailment. The former investigator, Ed Dobranetski, pointed to a 1996 collision outside Washington, D.C., in which a commuter train engineer was thought to have been distracted by a conversation with a crew member riding along in the cab compartment, causing a crash with an Amtrak train that killed 11 people. Amtrak occasionally employs a second engineer on long-haul routes, according to Dobranetski. On some railroads a conductor or brakeman will sit to the left of the engineer. With only one set of controls to operate the train, their role is limited to calling out signals and hitting the emergency brake if trouble arises,

Federal investigators say they aren’t sure anything struck the windshield of an Amtrak train involved in last week’s deadly derailment in Philadelphia. An FBI spokesman says agents performed forensic work on the locomotive Monday, days after the May 12 derailment that killed 8 people and injured dozens. The FBI says it has ruled out that the windshield was struck by a firearm but is still investigating whether the train was hit by another object. The National Transportation Safety Board says an assistant conductor told investigators she heard the Amtrak engineer talking to a regional rail train engineer and both said their trains had been hit. Investigators say dispatch tapes didn’t have any communication from the Amtrak engineer reporting that his train had been struck. Federal investigators say they’re months away from determining the probable cause of the deadly Amtrak train derailment. The National Transportation Safety Board says any other reports on the crash that killed 8 people and injured dozens are “pure speculation.” Investigators have said the train was traveling over 100 mph just before it entered a curve where the speed limit is 50 mph. Amtrak resumed service Monday between Philadelphia and New York City. Four passengers and a train conductor sued Amtrak over the crash Monday. The railroad has said it doesn’t comment on pending litigation. (AP)

Amtrak trains began rolling on the busy Northeast Corridor early Monday, the first time in almost a week after a deadly crash in Philadelphia, and officials vowed to have safer trains and tracks while investigators worked to determine the cause of the derailment. Amtrak resumed service along the corridor with a 5:30 a.m. southbound train leaving New York City. The first northbound train, scheduled to leave Philadelphia at 5:53 a.m., was delayed and pulled out of 30th Street Station at 6:07 a.m. Both trains arrived at their destinations about 30 minutes behind schedule. About three dozen passengers boarded the New York-bound train in Philadelphia, and Mayor Michael Nutter was on hand to see the passengers and train off. All Acela Express, Northeast Regional and other services also resumed. Amtrak officials said Sunday that trains along the Northeast Corridor from Washington to Boston would return to service in “complete compliance” with federal safety orders following last week’s deadly derailment. Amtrak President Joseph Boardman said staff and crew worked around the clock to restore service following Tuesday night’s crash that killed eight people and injured more than 200 others. Boardman said Sunday that Amtrak would be offering a “safer service.” In Philadelphia on Monday, Nutter stood on the platform, greeting passengers and crew members. He pulled out his cellphone and took pictures as the train rolled out. “It’s great to be back,” said Christian Milton of Philadelphia. “I’ve never had any real problems with Amtrak. I’ve been traveling it for over 10 years. There’s one accident in 10 years. Something invariably is going to happen somewhere along the lines. I’m not worried about it.” Milton said he’d think about the victims and maybe say a prayer as the train navigated the curve where the derailment happened. Tom Carberry, of Philadelphia, praised the agencies involved in restoring service. “My biggest takeaway was the under-promise and over-deliver, and the surprise of having it come back this morning when that wasn’t expected,” Carberry said. “That was a good thing for Amtrak.” At New York City’s Penn Station early Monday, police with dogs flanked the escalator as a smattering of passengers showed their tickets to a broadly smiling Amtrak agent and headed down to the platform. A sign outside the train flashed “All Aboard” in red letters. The conductor gave a broad all-clear wave, stepped inside and the train glided out of the station. Passenger Raphael Kelly of New York, looking relaxed, said he was “feeling fine” and had “no worries.” Kelly, who takes Amtrak to Philadelphia weekly, said with a smile that if he did have any concerns, “I have to get over it.” Amtrak spokesman Craig Schultz said it was important to restore service, calling the Northeast Corridor “an economic engine here on the East Coast.” Almost 20 people injured in the train crash remain in hospitals, five in critical condition. All are expected to survive. Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board have focused on the acceleration of the train as it approached the curve, finally reaching 106 mph as it entered the 50-mph stretch north of central Philadelphia and only managing to slow down slightly before the crash. The Amtrak engineer, who was among those injured in the crash, has told authorities that he does not recall anything in the few minutes

The following is via OnlySimchas.com: Justin Zemser’s passing was a terrible loss for the entire Jewish people. He was humble despite all of his incredible talents and capabilities. May we learn from his incredible attributes and accept upon ourselves to do something meaningful in his memory. May his neshama have an aliyah, and may Hashem grant solace and peace to his wonderful dear parents. The 21-year-old resident of Far Rockaway, Queens, was one of the eight victims in the Amtrak crash in Philadelphia this week. Justin was studying at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and on his way back home. He was an only child. The Achiezer Organization was responsible for preventing any autopsy, and arranged for the local medical examiner to expedite the release of the body.

For the first time, Amtrak could face a $200 million payout to train crash victims — the limit set by Congress. But that may be too low to cover the costs of the eight lives lost and more than 200 people injured in last week’s derailment in Philadelphia. That payout cap for a single passenger rail incident was part of a late effort in 1997 to pass a law that would rescue Amtrak from financial ruin and help it one day become independent. Adjusted for inflation, which the law does not consider, that amount would be just under $300 million now. And Amtrak is still far from independent. An Associated Press review of past cases found that Amtrak never before has been liable for a $200 million payout for a single passenger rail incident. The Philadelphia crash could be the first time the liability ceiling — designed specifically for Amtrak — would actually apply to the railroad. It’s not known how high the costs of victims’ deaths and injuries from Tuesday’s crash will run. The train, which left Washington headed to New York, was moving at more than twice the speed allowed on a curve when it derailed not long after it stopped at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. Investigators haven’t determined why the train was traveling so fast. On Friday, an Amtrak employee filed the first lawsuit, asking for more than $150,000 in damages. Amtrak employees are not limited by the $200 million cap because it only applies to passengers. “I don’t think Amtrak has ever faced a situation like this, and since they own the Northeast Corridor, they’re 100 percent on the hook,” said Frank Wilner, author of the book, “Amtrak: Past, Present, Future.” Using past passenger rail accidents as a guide, some lawyers expect damages from the crash to be similar to a 2008 accident in Los Angeles, which resulted in a $200 million payout to victims. In that crash, the train’s engineer was texting and didn’t stop at a red signal when the train collided head-on with a freight train, killing 25 people and injuring more than 100. The money was paid to victims by Metrolink, which provides commuter rail service in Southern California, and Veolia Environment, a French company that operated the rail service at the time. A judge divided the $200 million among the victims, with sums between $12,000 and $9 million. In some cases, lawyers said the amounts were far less than the projected costs of medical care needed as a result of the crash. Paul Kiesel, a Los Angeles attorney who represented victims from the 2008 crash, said $200 million “can be just a drop in a bucket to compensate people who are the victims of passenger rail collisions in America.” But Kiesel said he is not aware of another passenger rail incident in which the $200 million cap has been a factor. Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said he was unable to say whether Amtrak had ever paid $200 million in damages for a single passenger rail incident. Among the almost 20 victims from the Philadelphia crash still in the hospital, six are in critical condition. It’s difficult to put a price on a person’s life, said Howard Spier, a Miami-based lawyer and former president of the Academy of Rail Labor Attorneys. But

Federal officials announced Saturday that Amtrak must immediately expand its use of a speed restriction system on Philadelphia’s northbound rails where a speeding train reached 106 mph, flew off the tracks and crashed, killing eight people. The Federal Railroad Administration said an emergency order would be issued in coming days that calls for Amtrak to ensure the presence of the automatic train control system that notifies an engineer when a train is above the speed limit and automatically applies the brakes if the engineer doesn’t act to slow the train down. The system is already being used for southbound trains approaching the curve where Tuesday’s derailment occurred. Amtrak said it would abide by the federal directive and others announced Saturday, adding that Amtrak’s “overarching goal is to provide safe and secure rail passenger travel.” The train was traveling from Washington, D.C., to New York when it flew off the tracks at Philadelphia. About 200 people were injured, and at least eight people remained in critical condition in Philadelphia hospitals Saturday. All were expected to survive. Investigators have been looking into why the train hit the speed of about 106 mph in a 50 mph zone. The FBI also is looking into the possibility that the windshield of the train was hit by an object shortly before the train derailed. The engineer, who was injured in the crash, told authorities he did not recall anything in the few minutes before it happened. The Federal Railroad Administration also ordered Amtrak to analyze curves to assess risks on the Northeast Corridor, the busy stretch of tracks between Washington and Boston, and determine if more can be done to improve safety. “In areas where approach speed is significantly higher than curve speed, the appropriate technology intended to prevent over-speed derailments must be implemented immediately,” the agency said. Amtrak also will have to increase the amount and frequency of signage alerting engineers and conductors of the maximum authorized speed. After the crash, Amtrak president Joseph Boardman vowed to have the next-generation positive train control system in operation along the railroad by the end of the year, as Congress mandated in 2008. The system uses transponders, wireless radio and computers to prevent trains from going over the speed limit. Company spokesman Craig Schulz said Saturday that Amtrak also plans to look into whether it could partially activate some of the capabilities already installed along the Northeast Corridor without delaying the complete activation of the next-generation system later this year. The system — which can be programmed with specific speed limits based on work schedules, track curvature and other conditions — is in service on only 50 of the 226 miles between Washington and New York. Amtrak hopes to resume limited service between Philadelphia and New York on Monday with full service expected the following day. Officials say the railroad has been repairing the tracks, signals and overhead power lines since the crash. NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said investigators have been documenting safety features in all cars and testing signals and signal circuitry as the track was being rebuilt. He said investigators planned to reconnect the damaged cars and connect the brake lines in order to test the braking system over the weekend. Sumwalt also said the FBI is investigating the possibility that the windshield of the

The National Transportation Safety Board says it’s examining damage on the Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia to see if it was hit by an object. The NTSB says an assistant conductor in the cafe car of the Amtrak train said she heard the engineer talking to a regional rail train engineer who said he’d been “hit by a rock or shot at.” She says she thought she heard the Amtrak engineer say his train had also been struck. NTSB member Robert Sumwalt says his team has “seen damage to the left hand lower portion of the Amtrak windshield” and has asked the FBI to look at it. The National Transportation Safety Board says it has interviewed the engineer of the Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia and found him “extremely cooperative.” But it says engineer Brandon Bostian said he couldn’t recall what happened in the crash. Bostian’s lawyer said earlier his client suffered a concussion in the wreck and had no recollection of it. He said Bostian hadn’t been using his cellphone and hadn’t been drinking or using drugs. The Northeast Regional train from Washington, D.C., to New York City derailed at a curve on Tuesday night, killing eight people. Investigators say the train sped up from 70 mph to more than 100 mph in the minute before it went into the curve. (AP)

As federal investigators try to find out why an Amtrak train that crashed in Philadelphia sped up in the last minute before it derailed, the railroad’s top official said it takes full responsibility for the deadly wreck. Joseph Boardman, Amtrak president and CEO, said in a letter on Amtrak’s official blog Thursday that it is cooperating fully in an investigation into the accident that killed eight people and injured more than 200 this week. “With truly heavy hearts, we mourn those who died. Their loss leaves holes in the lives of their families and communities,” Boardman wrote. “Amtrak takes full responsibility and deeply apologizes for our role in this tragic event.” He said the railroad’s goal is “to fully understand what happened and how we can prevent a similar tragedy from occurring in the future.” Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday that in the last minute or so before the derailment, the Washington-to-New York train sped up from 70 mph until it reached more than 100 mph at a sharp bend where the maximum speed is supposed to be 50 mph. Board member Robert Sumwalt said it’s unclear whether the speed was increased manually by engineer Brandon Bostian. So far, investigators have found no problems with the track, the signals or the locomotive, and the train was running on time, Sumwalt said. The last wrecked cars were pulled from the scene Friday and were being taken on flatbed trucks to an Amtrak facility in Delaware for further examination. Bostian refused to talk to police Wednesday, authorities said. But on Thursday, Sumwalt said Bostian had agreed to be interviewed by the NTSB in the next few days. Separately, the Philadelphia district attorney’s office said it is investigating and will decide whether to bring charges. Bostian’s lawyer, Robert Goggin, told ABC News that his client suffered a concussion in the wreck, needed 15 staples in his head and has “absolutely no recollection whatsoever” of the crash. Goggin also said Bostian had not been using his cellphone, drinking or using drugs. “He remembers coming into the curve. He remembers attempting to reduce speed and thereafter he was knocked out,” Goggin said. He said Bostian’s cellphone was off and stored in his bag before the accident, as required. Goggin said his client “cooperated fully” with police and told them “everything that he knew,” immediately consenting to a blood test and surrendering his cellphone. As the death toll climbed Thursday with the discovery of what was believed to be the last body in one of the mangled railcars, Mayor Michael Nutter again appeared to cast blame on Bostian, questioning why the train was going so fast. “I don’t think that any common sense, rational person would think that it was OK to travel at that level of speed knowing that there was a pretty significant restriction on how fast you could go through that turn,” Nutter said. Bostian graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management in 2006. He became an Amtrak engineer in 2010, four years after landing a job as a conductor, according to his LinkedIn profile. He lives in New York City. “I have nothing but good things to say about Brandon,” said Will Gust, who belonged to the Acacia fraternity with Bostian

Amtrak is working to restore Northeast Corridor rail service between New York City and Philadelphia. But service is expected to remain to be suspended through Monday. Service was suspended after a train derailed in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, killing eight passengers and injuring more than 200. New Jersey Transit is honoring Amtrak tickets between Trenton and New York. SEPTA’s West Trenton line also is honoring Amtrak tickets. Amtrak trains on Friday resumed running as scheduled between New York and Boston. However, modified service continues between Washington and Philadelphia through Monday. (AP)

House Speaker John Boehner says the fatal Amtrak crash was not caused by a lack of federal funds for the railroad. The Ohio Republican criticized what he called ‘a stupid question’ from a reporter Thursday about Democratic complaints that the government shortchanges Amtrak. Boehner says adequate funding has already been provided. He says the problem is that the train was traveling at twice the speed limit when it derailed outside Philadelphia. The accident killed at least seven people and injured more than 200. Federal investigators have said the train was traveling 106 miles per hour before hitting a curve where the speed limit is 50 mph. Boehner spoke a day after the Republican-run House Appropriations Committee voted to cut Amtrak’s budget to $1.1 billion, a $251 million reduction. (AP)

I am deeply saddened by the loss of U.S. Naval Academy student and Rockaway Beach resident Justin Zemser in last night’s train derailment. In his short life, Justin served as an inspiration to all our families in Rockaway and exemplified the very best our community has to offer. As a lifelong resident of Rockaway, I feel proud to have been a neighbor to this true American hero. Our families have faced such great hardship in recent years following Superstorm Sandy and it is through the service and leadership of young men and women like Justin that we managed to come together in our recovery. As a father of two young children, my heart goes out to the Zemser family at the loss of their only son. I extend my most sincere condolences to them during this time of unimaginable pain. (YWN Desk – NYC)

The engineer at the controls of the speeding Amtrak train that lurched off the tracks in Philadelphia, killing at least seven people, has no recollection of the crash, his attorney said. Lawyer Robert Goggin told ABC News that the engineer, Brandon Bostian, 32, of New York, suffered a concussion in Tuesday night’s wreck and had 15 staples in his head. Federal investigators have determined that the train was barreling through the city at 106 mph before it ran off the rails along a sharp curve where the speed limit drops to just 50 mph. But they don’t know why it was going so fast. “He remembers coming into curve. He remembers attempting to reduce speed and thereafter he was knocked out,” Goggin said. He said Bostian does not recall using the emergency brake, which investigators said was applied moments before the crash. The lawyer said the last thing the engineer remembered was coming to, looking for his bag, retrieving his cellphone and calling 911 for help. He said the engineer’s cellphone was off and stored in his bag before the accident, as required. “As a result of his concussion, he has absolutely no recollection whatsoever of the events,” Goggin said. He said he believes the engineer’s memory will probably return once the head injury subsides. Goggin said that his client “cooperated fully” with police and immediately consented to a blood test. He said he had not been drinking or doing drugs. Police had said on Wednesday that the engineer had refused to give a statement to law enforcement. Robert Sumwalt of the National Transportation Safety Board said on Wednesday that federal accident investigators want to talk to him but will give him a day or two to recover from the shock of the accident. Goggin said his client was distraught when he learned of the devastation. Sumwalt said a data recorder and a video camera in the train’s front end could yield clues to what happened. Amtrak inspected the stretch of track on Tuesday, just hours before the accident, and found no defects, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. Sumwalt said the engineer applied the emergency brakes moments before the crash but slowed the train to only 102 mph by the time the locomotive’s black box stopped recording data. The speed limit just before the bend is 80 mph, he said. Mayor Michael Nutter said the engineer was clearly “reckless and irresponsible.” “Part of the focus has to be, what was the engineer doing?” Nutter said. “Why are you traveling at that rate of speed?” More than 200 people aboard the Washington-to-New York train were injured in the wreck, which happened in a decayed industrial neighborhood not far from the Delaware River just before 9:30 p.m. Passengers crawled out the windows of the torn and toppled rail cars in the darkness and emerged dazed and bloody. Many of the victims had broken ribs and other fractures. At least 10 people remained hospitalized in critical condition on Wednesday. It was the nation’s deadliest train accident in nearly six years. There is no Amtrak service between Philadelphia and New York again on Thursday. Despite pressure from Congress and safety regulators, Amtrak had not installed along that section of track Positive Train Control, a technology that uses GPS, wireless radio and computers to

The deadly Amtrak derailment near Philadelphia appears to be yet another accident that didn’t have to happen. It could have been avoided if a long-sought safety technology had been installed on its tracks and trains, according to information gathered by accident investigators. Seven years ago, Congress gave Amtrak and freight and commuter railroads until the end of this year to install the technology, called positive train control, on their trains and tracks. But few, if any, railroads are expected to meet the deadline. Now lawmakers are proposing to give railroads another five to seven years to get the task done. The technology uses GPS, wireless radio and computers to monitor train position. It can automatically brake to prevent derailments due to excessive speed, collisions with other trains, trains entering track where maintenance is being done or going the wrong way because of a switching mistake. It’s all aimed at preventing human error, which is responsible for about 40 percent of train accidents. A preliminary review of the Amtrak train’s event data recorder, or “black box,” shows it was traveling at 106 mph in an 80 mph zone just before it entered a curve where the speed limit is 50 mph, National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt said Wednesday. The train’s engineer applied maximum braking power seconds before the crash, but it was too late. “We feel that had such a system been installed in this section of track, this accident would not have occurred,” Sumwalt told reporters. At least seven people were killed and about 200 injured in the derailment. The Philadelphia accident shares similarities with a 2013 derailment in New York on the Sunday morning after Thanksgiving. A Metro-North commuter train derailed in the Bronx, killing four and injuring dozens of others. The train’s engineer had fallen asleep and failed to slow the train from 82 mph to the maximum authorized speed of 30 mph as it entered a curve. An NTSB investigation concluded that crash would also have been prevented by positive train control. Not counting Tuesday’s derailment, the NTSB has investigated 29 passenger and freight train accidents that officials say could have been prevented by positive train control since 2004. Sixty-eight people died and more than 1,100 were injured in those crashes. The board has been urging installation of the technology, or its precursors, for 45 years. In 2008, a month after a commuter train and a freight train collided in Chatsworth, California, killing 25 people, Congress passed a law requiring that positive train control be installed by Dec. 31, 2015. But railroads have long complained that complications will prevent them from meeting that deadline. In March, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved a bill that would give railroads until 2020 to install the technology, and another two years after that if they need more time. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, which opposed the bill, complained at the time that some of its provisions would make it virtually impossible for federal regulators to ever force freight railroads to implement the technology. At least three of the bill’s key sponsors — Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. — have each received more than $100,000 in contributions to their campaigns and political committees from the rail industry over the

The Amtrak train that ran off the rails in Philadelphia, killing at least seven people, was hurtling at about 107 mph moments before it entered a curve where the speed limit was just 50 mph, an Associated Press analysis of surveillance video indicates. The engineer at the controls refused to give a statement to authorities Wednesday and left a police precinct with a lawyer, police said. More than 200 people were injured in the derailment that plunged screaming passengers into darkness and chaos Tuesday night. “We are heartbroken by what has happened here,” Mayor Michael Nutter said. Investigators recovered the locomotive’s data recorder and said they expected it to yield crucial information, including how fast the train was going when it jumped the tracks in an old industrial neighborhood not far from the Delaware River shortly after 9 p.m. The speed limit is 70 mph just before the curve and 50 mph along the curve itself, the Federal Railroad Administration said. An AP analysis of video from a surveillance camera located just before the bend in the tracks found that the train was going well over the speed limit just before the wreck, which took place beyond camera range, about three seconds after the train passed by. The engineer’s name was not immediately released. The accident closed the nation’s busiest rail corridor between New York and Washington — snarling the morning commute and forcing thousands of travelers to find some other way to reach their destination — as investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board arrived to examine the wreckage and the tracks and gather up other evidence. The dead included an employee of The Associated Press and a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy. Nutter said some people remained unaccounted for, though he cautioned that some passengers listed on the Amtrak manifest might not have boarded the train, while others might not have checked in with authorities. “We will not cease our efforts until we go through every vehicle,” Nutter said in the afternoon. He said rescuers expanded the search area and used dogs to look for victims in case someone was thrown from the wreckage. The train was en route from Washington to New York with 238 passengers and five crew members listed aboard when it lurched to the side and flew off the tracks at a notorious curve not far from the scene of one of the nation’s deadliest train wrecks more than 70 years ago. Passengers scrambled through the windows of toppled cars to escape. One of the seven cars was severely mangled. Hospitals treated more than 200 people for injuries that included burns and broken bones. At least 10 remained hospitalized in critical condition. Amtrak inspected the stretch of track on Tuesday, just hours before the accident, and found no defects, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. In addition to the data recorder, the train had a video camera in its front end that could yield clues to what happened, said NTSB member Robert Sumwalt. Passenger Jillian Jorgensen, 27, was seated in the quiet car — the second passenger car — and said the train was going “fast enough for me to be worried” when it began to lurch to the right. The train derailed, the lights went out and Jorgensen was thrown from her

Rachel Jacobs, 39, told her husband she was on the New York-bound train on Tuesday night and has not been heard from since; co-workers say they’ve checked with local hospitals and cannot find her Friends have expressed their fears for a tech CEO and married mother who texted her husband to say she was on Train 188 on Tuesday night – before it derailed near Philadelphia, killing six people and leaving more than 140 injured on one of the nation’s busiest train lines. Rachel Jacobs, 39, has not been in touch with loved ones since the Northeast Regional Amtrak train careened off the tracks at Frankford Junction shortly after 9pm on Tuesday, derailing seven cars and leaving dozens of passengers scrambling for their lives. Jacobs, who has a two-year-old child, was recently hired as the CEO of online learning tech start-up ApprenNet. She commuted to Philadelphia, where the team is based, twice a week from her home in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, she said in a recent interview. Around 8.45pm on Tuesday, she texted her husband to say that she was on the train heading back to New York. ‘We called, texted and emailed her right when crash happened, because we knew she was on the train,’ ApprenNet COO Emily Foote told PhillyMag. ‘I went to the hospitals last night and she wasn’t in any of them. I went to the churches and schools where people are being sheltered, and we still can’t find her.’ Karl Okamoto, a friend and colleague of Jacobs, told CNN that Amtrak do not have her on their passenger list because her ’10 pass’ ticket meant she could get on any train without reserving a ticket. He said they have no record of her on the train. Among the six people killed was a midshipman from the U.S. Naval academy in Annapolis, Maryland, a source told CNN. CNN reported that one of the six people who died was a student at the U.S. Naval Academy. Among those killed was a midshipman from the U.S. Naval academy in Annapolis, Maryland, a source close to the Naval Academy said. On Wednesday morning, federal investigators arrived at the scene as search teams worked with dogs to look for anyone still trapped beneath the overturned cars and to sift through the mangled remains to determine what went wrong. Among the investigators, a team from the National Transportation Safety Board arrived at the site early on Wednesday and the Federal Railroad Administration said it was dispatching at least eight investigators.

President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the derailment of Amtrak Train 188 “is a tragedy that touches us all.” In a written statement, Obama offered prayers to the families who lost loved ones and the passengers beginning to recover. He said he and the first lady were “shocked and deeply saddened” to hear of the derailment. The Northeast Regional carrying 238 passengers and five crew members derailed in Philadelphia shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday. The accident has closed the nation’s busiest rail corridor between Washington and New York as investigators try to determine what happened. “Along the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak is a way of life for many,” Obama said. “From Washington, DC and Philadelphia to New York City and Boston, this is a tragedy that touches us all. He commended first responders and said the effort to help passengers reaffirmed Philadelphia’s spirit of brotherly love. Vice President Joe Biden said in a statement that he has spent decades in Washington commuting via Amtrak to and from his home in Wilmington, Delaware. “Amtrak is like a second family to me, as it is for so many other passengers,” Biden said. “I’ve come to know the conductors, engineers, and other regulars — men and women riding home to kiss their kids goodnight — as we passed the flickering lights of each neighborhood along the way. Our thoughts are with every person who is grieving right now from this terrible tragedy,” Biden said. (AP)

An Amtrak train headed to New York City derailed and tipped over in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, mangling the front of it, tearing the cars apart and killing at least five people. Dozens of passengers were injured, and some climbed out of windows to get away. Mayor Michael Nutter, who confirmed the deaths, said the scene was horrific. “It is an absolute disastrous mess,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.” He said seven train cars, including the engine, were in “various stages of disarray.” He said there were cars that were “completely overturned, on their side, ripped apart.” “It is a devastating scene down there,” he said. “We walked the entire length of the train area, and the engine completely separated from the rest of the train, and one of the cars is perpendicular to the rest of the cars. It’s unbelievable.” Firefighters said dozens of people were hospitalized and six were critically injured. The cause of the derailment was unknown, but Amtrak said it was investigating and was trucking in portable lights to illuminate the scene overnight as workers examined the wreckage. Train 188, a Northeast Regional, had left Washington, D.C. The front of the train was going into a turn when it started to shake before coming to a sudden stop. An Associated Press manager, Paul Cheung, was on the train and said he was watching Netflix when “the train started to decelerate, like someone had slammed the brake.” “Then suddenly you could see everything starting to shake,” he said. “You could see people’s stuff flying over me.” Cheung said another passenger urged him to escape from the back of his car, which he did. He said he saw passengers trying to escape through the windows of cars tipped on their side. “The front of the train is really mangled,” he said. “It’s a complete wreck. The whole thing is like a pile of metal.” Another passenger, Daniel Wetrin, was among more than a dozen people taken to a nearby elementary school afterward. “I think the fact that I walked off (the train) kind of made it even more surreal because a lot of people didn’t walk off,” he said. “I walked off as if, like, I was in a movie. There were people standing around, people with bloody faces. There were people, chairs, tables mangled about in the compartment … power cables all buckled down as you stepped off the train.” The area where the derailment occurred is known as Frankford Junction and has a big curve. It’s not far from where one of the nation’s deadliest train accidents occurred: the 1943 derailment of The Congressional Limited, from Washington to New York, which killed 79 people. Police swarming around Tuesday’s derailment site, in Port Richmond, a working-class area, told people to get back, away from the train. They pleaded with curious onlookers: “Do NOT go to scene of derailment. Please allow 1st responders room to work.” Roads all around the crash site were blocked off. Waves of firefighters continuing toward the train cars, taking people out. Several injured people, including one man complaining of neck pain, were rolled away on stretchers. Others wobbled while walking away or were put on city buses. An elderly woman was given oxygen. Former U.S. Rep. Patrick

An Amtrak passenger train has collided with a truck in North Carolina, toppling the engine on its side and causing several injuries. Halifax County Sheriff Wes Tripp told The Daily Herald of Roanoke Rapids that the accident occurred around noon Monday. Tripp didn’t say exactly how many people were hurt. But he says those who were hurt had injuries that didn’t appear to be life-threatening. The sheriff says the engine was on its side. The car directly behind the engine was derailed, and a third car was partially derailed. There was no word on the condition of the truck’s driver. The Amtrak train was the Carolinian, which runs between Charlotte, North Carolina, and New York each day. (AP)

Amtrak passengers bound for New York and Boston endured a nearly 14-hour overnight wait at Chicago’s Union Station when their train was held up by weather-related mechanical problems. Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari says the 172 passengers were offered food and blankets and allowed to wait in the station and aboard the train. A small number sought and received refunds. The train was supposed to have left Chicago at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and travel first to New York and then Boston. Passengers interviewed by the Chicago Tribune complained of having to sleep on floors and said the waiting area was cold. Overnight wind chills were around 25 degrees below zero. Passenger Kathleen Bluemke told the Tribune that her 7-year-old daughter’s hands became swollen and chapped because of the cold. (AP)

Amtrak is canceling some of its trains and modifying the schedules for others because of the winter storm that’s battering the Northeast and the South. Acela Express trains between Washington and Boston, Northeast Regional trains between Boston and Norfolk, Va., Keystone Service between New York and Harrisburg, Pa., and Empire Service between New York and Albany, N.Y., are operating at reduced frequency or modified schedules Thursday. Amtrak has canceled Auto Train, Crescent, Carolinian, Palmetto and Piedmont trains. The Silver Meteor is canceled from New York to Miami and the Silver Star will operate south from Jacksonville, Fla. Amtrak says it is contacting customers and changing reservations. (AP)

Hundreds of Amtrak passengers who spent the night onboard three trains stranded in snow in northern Illinois have begun to arrive in Chicago, rail line officials said Tuesday morning. About 300 passengers on two trains that were stuck near Mendota, about 80 miles from Chicago, boarded buses in Princeton for the final leg of their trip, said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari. They began arriving in downtown Chicago around 7 a.m. Tuesday and more were expected to arrive throughout the morning. A third train loaded with 217 people spent the night at a BNSF rail yard in Galesburg; they were taking buses for the final 150 miles to Chicago. The trains — The Southwest Chief from Los Angeles, the Illinois Zephyr from Quincy and the California Zephyr from the San Francisco Bay area — got stuck after 3 p.m. Monday in blowing, drifting snow and ice that Magliari said made the tracks impassable. Several passengers speaking to news outlets by cellphone said conditions on the trains deteriorated and that they went long periods without food. “The conditions is cold; we’re wearing coats. And my husband is a diabetic. He hasn’t had any food all day,” Laurette Mosley told ABC News. “The bathrooms are flooded. The sinks are full with water and the toilets are flooded.” Mosely was traveling from California to Chicago to attend her mother’s funeral. Magliari said emergency workers were on standby, and that train crews handed out food and prepared for any medical issues, though he said there were none. He said the bathrooms on board the trains were working. “There was no good reason to take people out of warm trains … into the cold,” he said. “We sheltered them in place.” Another passenger, Bryan Plummer, told ABC News that they were given dinner but no snacks during the 15 hours they were stranded. “I inquired about breakfast service and they stated that at this time there was none planned. When the sheriff’s officer that was on board here, when he left around 3 a.m. this morning, he stated that the Red Cross was involved and was trying to get us some meals,” Plummer told ABC. Amtrak canceled nearly two dozen trains in Illinois on Tuesday because of the cold and lingering snow from a weekend storm that dumped more than a foot of snow in some areas of Illinois. Magliari said crews were clearing tracks and hoped to resume operations Wednesday. (AP)

Several cars of the New York City-bound Amtrak Crescent with 218 people aboard went off the tracks in South Carolina early Monday as bags flew and jolted passengers clung to each other, authorities and passengers said. There were no serious injuries, Amtrak said of the 207 passengers and 11 crew members aboard when the cars derailed shortly after midnight in the countryside on a frosty night with 20-degree readings from a cold front sweeping the Southeast. Passenger Carrie Lambert told The Associated Press by telephone that she was at the back of the train when she felt the car start to sway and then tilt. “The car felt like it was about to flip over. … I was holding on to my brother for dear life,” the Atlanta woman said. “Bags went everywhere. It was crazy. Really scary.” Amtrak said alternative transportation was hastily arranged for buses and trains to take stranded passengers to their destinations further up the East Coast as the busy Thanksgiving holiday travel week was opening. Most spent hours aboard the disabled train through the pre-dawn hours. Seven of the nine cars on Train 20 from New Orleans went off the track but stayed upright, Amtrak said in a statement emailed to The AP. It said Amtrak had no immediate word on the cause as investigators from several agencies and work crews converged at the site. Spartanburg County Deputy Fire Marshal Tony Barnett told AP by phone that the cars had derailed. But Amtrak in its later email said only that the train had become disabled when the seven affected cars lost contact with the tracks. The two locomotives of Train 20 remained upright and on the tracks, authorities said. “There are no cars overturned,” Barnett said, speaking from the semi-rural scene about six miles west of Spartanburg. Railway officials, firefighters, law enforcement and first-responders also were on hand. Capt. Derrick Miller with the Westview-Fairforest Fire Department told WSPA-TV the seven cars came off the tracks onto gravel. The station reported that work crews were at the scene deciding how to clear the area. Barnett said there were no serious injuries, though he added that four passengers with minor injuries were taken to a hospital for evaluation. In its statement, Amtrak said, “Heating, lighting and other systems were quickly re-established aboard the train, with meals and other refreshments provided to the passengers.” Temperatures were in the 20s during the early morning hours as much of the Southeast braced for a wintry storm promising sleet and freezing rain in many areas. Passenger Lambert said the train had electricity, but only two cars had heat as passengers waited for hours aboard the disabled train. She described passengers sitting in the dark, waiting for help: “We’re just sitting in the middle of the woods.” Around 9 a.m., more than 200 passengers were taken off the disabled cars and put aboard buses to scheduled stops in North Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C., according to Amtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods. Amtrak said the train had left New Orleans on Sunday morning and had been due in New York City on Monday afternoon. Amtrak said the matter was being investigated by Amtrak and Norfolk Southern, which owns, controls and maintains that portion of the Crescent’s route. The Federal Railroad Administration also was involved