Engineer says he misjudged train location in fatal wreck

SEATTLE (AP) — An engineer told investigators he misjudged the location of an Amtrak train before it derailed in Washington state on a new high-speed route while traveling at nearly 80 mph — more than twice the speed limit around a curve, the National Transportation Safety Board disclosed Thursday.

In an NTSB summary of interviews with the engineer and conductor on duty during the deadly crash, the engineer said he knew the curve with a 30 mph speed restriction was at milepost 19.8 and he planned to start braking about a mile before reaching it.

But he said he didn't see a marker at milepost 18 or a nearby 30 mph speed warning sign. The engineer said he then misinterpreted another signal at the 19.8 milepost.