This is when the Empire Builder is set to roll through Spokane again

September 27, 2021 6:18 PM

Rania Kaur,

Posted: September 27, 2021 6:18 PM

Updated: September 28, 2021 7:30 AM

by Rania Kaur

SPOKANE, Wash.– Anyone hoping to hop on the train and head out of Spokane will have to wait a few days or find another way.

The Empire Builder that rolls through the city derailed over the weekend in Montana. It killed three people and left many others hurt and stranded.

Now, Amtrak says the train won’t run again until Friday.

So far, investigators aren’t saying much about the crash.

Here’s what we know:

The train wasn’t speeding.
Investigators are looking at video from a freight train that went through the same area 80 minutes before the Amtrak derailed.

The reason investigators are looking at the video is to see if there’s anything on it that could help them determine why the Empire Builder went off the rails and the freight train didn’t.

Investigators are also looking at video from the Empire Builder’s engine.

“The locomotive recorder has given us the speeds of somewhere between 75 and 78 miles per hour. The speed limit on this section of track for passenger trains is 79 miles per hour,” said NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg.

Investigators aren’t ruling anything out when it comes to what might have caused the derailment. They expect the preliminary report to be done within the next 30 days.