Amtrak crash: Train engineer tells investigators he doesn't remember derailment

The US. National Transportation Safety Board says the engineer of the Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia has told investigators he has no recollection of the trip from the time the train went through a commuter rail station not far from the curve where it crashed.

The NTSB said engineer Brandon Bostian told investigators he last remembered ringing the train's bell while passing by the North Philadelphia station Tuesday night. NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said, "He has no recollection of anything past that."

Bostian's lawyer has said his client suffered a concussion in the wreck.

The derailment of the Washington to New York train killed eight people and left many more injured.

• Amtrak train crash: Train accelerated into curve, investigators say
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Sumwalt said at a news conference Friday evening that the engineer has been "extremely co-operative" with investigators but reported gaps in his memory.

The engineer, who regularly works the New York to Washington route, displayed "very good working knowledge" of the territory, he said. 

Much remains to be done and no conclusions can be drawn at this stage, Sumwalt said. Investigators have been speaking to the crew and trying to gather evidence from the scene, but he said extensive work would continue in the weeks ahead.

Investigators looking into whether train was hit

Sumwalt also said the agency is going to work with the FBI and look into whether the train was hit by a rock or some other projectile just before the derailment Tuesday.

In the minute before the derailment, the train accelerated from roughly 110 km/h to more than 160 km/h, even though the curve where it came off the tracks has a maximum speed of 80 km/h.

Experts say the railroad's signalling system would have slowed the train automatically if it had hit the maximum speed allowed on the line, but older cab-signal and train-control systems do not respond to localized speed restrictions.

Bostian's lawyer has said he was not using drugs or alcohol. Sunwalt said that the NTSB doesn't conduct drug tests, but that law requires operators to perform them after a crash involving commercial entities. He said Amtrak has done the required tests, he said, noting that he did not have results. 

Preliminary checks have not found any pre-existing problems with the train, the rail line or the signals.

Because of his experience, Bostian should have known the route, even if there's not so much as a speed limit sign on the side of the tracks, said Howard Spier, a Miami-based lawyer who is a former president of the Academy of Rail Labor Attorneys.

"It's engrained in them. He knew it," Spier said. "I'm convinced he knew he was entering a speed-restrictive curve."

Brake system questions

The wreck has raised questions about positive train control, a system that automatically brakes trains going too fast. It is installed on the tracks where the train derailed, but it had not been turned on because further testing was needed, Amtrak president Joseph Boardman said.

Boardman said this week that he intends to have the system running across Amtrak by the end of this year, as Congress mandated back in 2008.

The system is already operating in other parts of the Northeast Corridor, the busy stretch of tracks between Boston and Washington. An older, less robust automatic-control system is in place for southbound trains in the same area as the derailment.

The last wrecked railcars from the deadly crash were removed Friday as Amtrak prepares to resume service on the line next week.

Also Friday, the first funeral was held for one of those killed in the wreck. U.S. Naval Academy midshipman Justin Zemser, 20, was laid to rest on Long Island. About 150 classmates from the academy joined his family and students from his New York City high school.

• Amtrak crash location map