Infrastructure in Shambles: Second Train Has Derailed in Pennsylvania

Earlier this morning, not long after Philadelphia officials announced that they had found the 8th and final victim of the Amtrak crash that occurred on Tuesday, another train was derailed in the city of Pittsburg. For reasons that are currently unknown, 13 cars fell off the tracks while the train was going a measly 10mph. Fortunately, all of the cars were empty and no injuries have been reported.

But it really puts things in perspective doesn’t it? This incident is putting the spotlight on an issue that nobody really wants to talk about, which is the crumbling infrastructure of America. The truth of the matter is that these accidents happen all the time, we just don’t hear about it unless someone dies. In fact, there have been almost 300 train derailments in Pennsylvania over the past 10 years, which have caused over $31 million in damages. Our railroads, among many other facets of our transportation infrastructure, are in a dismal state; and the problem is only going to get worse before it improves.

You wouldn’t know that by listening to the news however. The media seems determined to skewer the engineer who was piloting the train before all the facts are in. Yes, the train was going 100mph in an area with a 50mph speed limit, but for all we know the brakes may have failed. The idea that Brandon Bastian may have caused the crash is certainly within the realm of possibility, but we have no idea what happened here, and we won’t know until the investigation has concluded.

What we do know is that Brandon was well-regarded by Amtrak, his fellow employees, and pretty much everyone else who has bothered to talk to the media. Since the crash occurred, his peers have rallied around him in the face of media scrutiny, and given him support by leaving encouraging messages on his Facebook page. One of those messages stands out in a very big way.

“Hold your head up. What you know about yourself and those of us that know you is more important than anything being said in the media. Everyday we hold lives in our hands – 99.9% of the time it goes unappreciated and taken for granted. Yes, it happened to you but it could have been any one of us and you are not alone.”

That’s interesting no? To say that “it could have happened to anyone” is a very telling statement when it comes from another Amtrak Engineer. Could he possibly be referring to the abysmal state of our railroads? After all, it couldn’t just happen to anyone unless there is a factor outside of their control, and our crumbling infrastructure seems to fit the bill.

What else could have caused another train to fall off the tracks this morning? A train that was carrying nothing I might add, and only going 10mph. Isn’t that kind of bizarre? In a way, that’s way more terrifying than the Philadelphia derailment. That train had to go far above and beyond the limits of the track to cause an accident, but because several passengers died in that one, the media is mostly going to ignore the second crash that is absolutely baffling unless you put it in the context of our 3rd world transportation system.

It makes you wonder how far gone our roads, bridges, dams, and railroad tracks really are, doesn’t it? Personally, it makes me wonder how much we’re really being told.