Amtrak Crash: Senator Blames Human Error

A US Senator has said human error is probably to blame after two people were killed when an Amtrak train hit a piece of heavy equipment and derailed outside Philadelphia.

Senator Chuck Schumer, of New York, said the victims in Sunday morning's crash were an equipment operator and a supervisor and both were Amtrak employees.

Train 89 was heading from New York to Savannah, Georgia, when it struck equipment on the tracks - described as a backhoe - in Chester, 15 miles outside Philadelphia.

The impact derailed the locomotive of the train, which was carrying 333 passengers and seven crew members.

More than 30 people were taken to hospital, but their injuries were not considered to be life-threatening, according to officials.

The National Transportation Safety Board has said it was unclear why the equipment, which is used for excavating, was on the same track as the train.

Data recorders on the train have been recovered and will be examined to determine how fast the train was going at the time of the crash, investigator Ryan Frigo said.

Mr Schumer said it was unclear whether the equipment was being used for regular maintenance - which usually takes place on Sunday mornings - or whether it was clearing debris caused by strong winds on Saturday night.

He said: "Clearly this seems very likely to be human error. There is virtually no excuse for a backhoe to be on an active track."

Autopsies on the two victims are set to take place on Monday.

Ari Ne'eman, a disability rights activist who was in the second car of the train when it crashed, said: "The car started shaking wildly, there was a smell of smoke, it looked like there was a small fire and then the window across from us blew out."

Amtrak said trains will run as scheduled on Monday, but advised passengers they may encounter delays on Acela Express, Northeast Regional and other services between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.

The crash comes almost a year after eight people were killed and more than 200 injured when an Amtrak train derailed at 106mph in Philadelphia .