derailment
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Amtrak installs automatic train controls before service resumes
Following the deadly accident last week near Philadelphia, Amtrak installed a braking system on the section of track that could've prevented the derailment. The automatic train control system (ATC) keeps tabs on a train's speed as it heads toward curves, automatically adjusting it if the conductor fails to do so. ATC was already used for southbound trains in this spot, but not for those headed northbound like the one that derailed last Tuesday. In addition to the ATC, Amtrak is working to equip trains with a Positive Train Control system (PTC) which uses the ATC to further automate trains while avoiding collisions, maintaining safe speeds and providing safer conditions for work crews. Amtrak plans to have the PTC in place by the end of the year. The Federal Rail Administration announced today that Amtrak had completed all of its requirements to resume service along the Northeast Corridor between Washington, DC and Boston, and that the train company would continue to evaluate other curves along the route. [Image credit: Mark Makela/Getty Images]
Microsoft sues DHL over Xbox train derailment
You know who Microsoft hates? No, not Apple. It really hates DHL. Apparently, the delivery service has hit the folks in Redmond where it hurts: in the Xbox. It seems that 21,600 consoles were totally messed over by "impact damage, wetting, pilfering and shortage" when one of the company's freight trains derailed en route to Long Beach, California. The big M claims that DHL refuses to compensate for the lost goods, and has filed a complaint at a US District Court in Seattle, calling for $2 million in damages and stating that the shipper "negligently breached its duties as a common carrier, handler, bailee, warehouseman, agent, or in other capabilities." Harsh words, but really, who's to blame for this mess? Next time we suggest going with G.O.D.[Thanks, Andrew S.]
