Rail Passengers Urge Focus on Emergency Response Following Amtrak Derailment in Dupont, Wash.

For Immediate Release (#17-18) December 18, 2017 Contact: Xenophon Strategies – (202) 289-4001 RPA Expresses Concern for Passengers and Crew Washington, D.C. – The Rail Passengers Association is closely monitoring the derailment of Amtrak Cascades #501, which occurred in Dupont, Wash., before 8 a.m. PT on December 18. The train was reported to be carrying about 78 passengers and five crew when cars left the track near an overpass over the I-5 interstate highway. Photos and television coverage show that multiple cars derailed, with some blocking the freeway. Emergency responders are treating the incident as a mass casualty event and RPA is aware of at least three fatalities. While passengers on the derailed cars have not yet been identified, many Rail Passenger members and friends were aboard the next train, the #502 on that line. In response to the accident, Rail Passengers Association President Jim Mathews said, "As a former first responder, I know first-

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