Amtrak crash engineer didn't use phone before wreck, U.S. investigators say

Amtrak engineer Brandon Bostian does not appear to have been using his cellphone on May 12 when his passenger train derailed in Philadelphia, killing eight people and injuring more than 200 others, federal investigators said on Wednesday.

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In an updated report, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) 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 didn't access the train's Wi-Fi system while he was operating the locomotive.

NTSB investigators have said previously that the train accelerated to 170 km/h in the last minute before entering a curve where the speed limit is 80 km/h. In the last few seconds before the derailment, the brakes were applied with maximum force, but the train was still travelling at more than 160 km/h when it left the tracks.

U.S. Congress has been pressing the safety board for answers to the key question of whether engineer Brandon Bostian was using his phone. Bostian suffered a head injury in the 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.

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Later Wednesday, NTSB officials are expected to testify before the U.S. Senate commerce committee about train safety. One focus of the hearing is positive train control, a technology that can prevent trains from derailing because of excessive speed.

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, officials have said.