NTSB: Rails Were Out Of Alignment

The engineer of the Amtrak passenger train that derailed outside Washington saw a "misshapen" area of track seconds before the accident, a federal investigator said Tuesday.

About 45 seconds before the train derailed, the engineer told investigators he saw a "misshapen area" about 18 inches long on the track. The area was about 500 feet away when the engineer spotted it, said Carol Carmody, vice chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board.

The engineer applied the brakes and the train then derailed, Carmody said.

Investigators found the track in the area was as much as 30 inches out of alignment, Carmody said. She would not say whether the misaligned track caused the derailment.

"The alignment was existing before the derailment, let's put it that way," Carmody said.

The train derailment Monday injured 101. Sixteen people remained hospitalized Tuesday, including one in serious condition.

A reading taken before the accident showed the temperature of the rail was 118 degrees, Carmody said. However, she did not say whether that was unusual.

Earlier Tuesday, Rep. Jack Quinn, R-N.Y., who is chairman of the House Transportation railroads subcommittee, said initial reports show "the extreme temperatures in the Washington, D.C., area may have caused a heat kink in the track, forcing the train to derail."

Meantime, track owner CSX announced a "heat order" for all trains using its tracks nationwide, which requires Amtrak and other carriers to order their trains to slow down and follow other rules on days when heat threatens to warp the rails.

The derailed train was traveling from Chicago to Washington when it went off the tracks at about 1:55 p.m. Monday.

Rail crews Tuesday put the derailed cars back on track. An Amtrak locomotive began towing 11 cars at about 2:30 p.m toward Washington with two CSX locomotives also pushing from behind. At least six double-decker cars were visibly damaged.

The two engines and some train cars were taken earlier to Washington's Union Station, the train's destination.

CSX workers also used blow torches and cranes Tuesday morning to cut sections of the damaged track, which will be removed for examination by NTSB investigators, NTSB spokeswoman Lauren Peduzzi said.

About 100 yards of track had been removed by Tuesday morning, she said.

Backhoes were also working on the railbed Tuesday morning, and several cars arrived carrying what looked like replacement track. Peduzzi said she did not know when the track would be reopened.

Carmody said two event recorders had been recovered from the train.

The recorders are similar to flight data recorders, or "black boxes," on airplanes. They provide information including the speed of the train and what the engineer was doing, such as braking or throttling.

She said the train was going 60 mph at the time the brakes were applied and it derailed. She said the train's equipment appeared to operate normally.

"It was an emergency action, but the controls appeared to be functioning," Carmody said Tuesday at the site.

Murphy said the speed limit in the area is 70 mph.

Carmody said the locomotive was last inspected Saturday, the day before it left Chicago.

Asked on CBS' "The Early Show" if it is safe for passenger trains to use the same tracks that carry heavier freight trains, Carmody said: "It was appropriate for the weight it carried."

Crew members were being interviewed and the investigation could take months, Carmody said.

Monday's accident comes as Amtrak is trying to emerge from its worst budget crisis in its 31-year history.

Rep Connie Morella, R-Md., visited the scene Monday and met with passengers at Kensington's Town Hall.

"It couldn't have come at a worse time for Amtrak," she said of the derailment.