Major Update In Philadelphia Amtrak Derailment Investigation Expected Monday

More than 2,000 pages of reports and evidence that will offer insight into last year’s fatal Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia are expected to be released by federal investigators Monday.

The NTSB is set to open the docket on the crash files, making public interview transcripts with the engineer, first responders and crew members, as well as black box data, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The information will not offer a conclusion behind the cause of the derailment or why Amtrak Train 188 was traveling well beyond the speed limit at the time it crashed, killing eight people and injuring hundreds.

The final report could take up to a year from the May 12, 2015 derailment, authorities have said.

But opening the docket will be the “most significant” public update on the crash in nearly eight months, the Inquirer said. The NTSB’s last update on the crash investigation was provided on June 10.

Investigators from the NTSB say the train was traveling 106 mph when it went into the Port Richmond turn, which has a 50 mph speed limit.

The engineer, Brandon Bostian, 32, has said he doesn’t remember the immediate moments leading up to the crash. Investigators have said they believe Bostian accelerated for about a minute before the crash and then hit the emergency brake just seconds before the train derailed.

Bostian was not using his cell phone in the moments leading up to the derailment, the NTSB says. The NTSB analyzed his cell phone calls, texts and data usage from tower records and information from the train’s WiFi system.

The FBI, which was asked to investigate damage to the left portion of the train’s windshield, found no evidence the train was shot at by a firearm before it accelerated ahead of the curve.

Amtrak has since installed a Positive Train Control system along the rail line’s Northeast Corridor tracks. Experts agree that such a system could have made automatic adjustments that might have prevented the derailment.

PHOTO: NTSB