Amtrak will outfit locomotives on its Northeast Corridor line with "inward-facing" video cameras to improve safety, monitor engineers' performance and help investigators probe accidents and other mishaps, the agency announced Tuesday.
The move comes two weeks after a Northeast Corridor train derailed outside Philadelphia, killing eight people and injuring more than 200 others. Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the accident, which occurred as the train entered a curve at more than twice the speed limit. The engineer, Brandon Bostian, who suffered a head injury, has said them he does not recall the crash.
Following the crash, the Federal Railroad Administration ordered Amtrak to take immediate safety measures — but none related to cameras. The recommendations covered automatic train control technology, assessing risk on curves and putting up more speed limit signs.
The inward-facing cameras will first be installed in Amtrak's existing fleet of 70 ACS-64 locomotives running on the line that connects Washington, New York and Boston by the end of 2015. All new locomotives will have the equipment installed before they go into service, Amtrak said.
Keystone Service between New York, Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania will also get the technology, Amtrak President & CEO Joe Boardman said in a statement.
Amtrak's Acela Express trains will get the cameras sometime later, Boardman said.
Amtrak already has outward-facing cameras on its locomotives, along with other monitoring equipment.
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