Funding Amtrak.
 

Did Donald John Trump really slash a lot of the funding for Amtrak and now as of this horrible accident just change his mind???

Trump budget slashes federal aid for rail, long-distance Amtrak routes - The Washington Post

If Amtrak was a private company they would be closed down.

Like all other government enterprises there is no accounting for having to be profitable, efficient, responsible or accountable.

Hence operating at a loss is not a problem.

The government spends over a $ trillion a year on welfare programs...and THEN we give them free medical care so they can sponge off us longer!

Talk about a f@cked up system!

President Trump Sought To Cut Funding To Amtrak Before Deadly Derailment

Another link to this issue. I used to love taking Amtrak every change I had. Did take it from Seattle to the San Francisco Bay area around 1988 after getting on it in Minneapolis.

Hey genius.. That section of rail is owned by Sound Transit and was brand new after a $181 million upgrade. The train was doing 80mph in a 30mph curve.

Amtrak along with the USPS should be allowed to crumble under its own weight. No more government subsidies..

How about future accidents on Amtrak? And Trump's policy by convenience?

Trump slammed by critics after using Amtrak derailment to tweet about his infrastructure plan - The Boston Globe

Funding for Amtrak should be cut. If it can't support itself on existing revenues let it fail. Long distance rail although arguably romantic is an antiquated, inefficient mode of transportation.

Because of the government bloat and no accountability.
I agree.
Let it sink or swim on it's own merit......not some politically motivated enrichment for the special interest groups in the congress' pockets.

For what I seen I doubt that curve was 30 mph limit, probably 50 mph limit. I do agree the train speed was too fast. My guess probably the engineer didn't know the route and wasn't paying attention to instruments. I would think modern train would also have gps screen data and along with the track lighting instrumentation. Now things we don't know? Was the engineer on drugs, fell sleep, control problem (runaway train)' track or wheel problem or car structure failure? We'll see what their finding produce?

NTSB has stated and local news here in Seattle have shown the trackside speed limit sign. It is verified as being 30mph.

Yes, this was the inaugural run on that stretch of track. Although they did a dry run with "dignitaries" the day before. It was being touted as a high speed run but it really isn't. Max passenger train speed anywhere on those tracks is 79mph. Not like the Acela line back east.

Unless there was some type of mechanical malfunction this falls on the engineer.

ALL public transportation should be self sufficient...none are that I'm aware of.

Not that it's directly related to the intended subject but this guy puts together a good summary of the events related to the crash itself..
Amtrak #501 "Cascades" Derailment 18 Dec 2017 - YouTube