Brakes barely slowed Amtrak train before derailment: NTSB

Philadelphia

THE engineer of a US passenger train travelling at more than 100 miles per hour slammed on the emergency brakes just before it derailed in Philadelphia, leaving at least seven people dead, investigators said on Wednesday.

The speed was more than twice the approved limit, and the brakes barely slowed the train before the cars tumbled off the track late on Tuesday, leaving more than 200 people injured, some with broken ribs and collapsed lungs.