May 22, 2019

For Immediate Release
May 22, 2019
Contact: Harvey Bowen (360) 529-5552

All Aboard Washington is heartened that yesterday’s board meeting showed the NTSB is considering all factors that could be addressed to prevent similar incidents in the future. Our late board members Jim Hamre and Zack Willhoite who perished in this incident would expect All Aboard Washington to take all that can be learned from this incident and apply it to our advocacy while reminding our members and the traveling public that passenger trains are and remain far safer than most other forms of passenger travel. All Aboard Washington is looking forward to reviewing the upcoming NTSB report, learning from it, and advocating for safer, more, and better passenger rail services for Washington State.

AAWA Board President Harvey Bowen said:

"As a former test professional, I was concerned when I heard in the board meeting that the safety management and planning processes appear to have been far below the standards expected of modern transportation and testing systems. As the details of the report are released, I plan to advocate for more comprehensive and professional safety planning and management.

"In particular, I am glad that the report did not attempt to focus blame on one entity or individual. This tragedy appears to have been preventable at many points and in many ways. Without all of the errors or omissions, it would not have occurred or would have been less serious. By learning from this tragedy we can not only plan to avoid a repeat occurrence but identify and address all issues found in order to mitigate or remove those potential failure cases and improve overall safety."