As NTSB Investigation Deepens, Works Begins to Reopen Northeast Corridor
By Paul Kurtz
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Nearly all of the Amtrak cars that derailed Tuesday night near Frankford Junction have been transported to an undisclosed location for inspection by federal investigators.
And the focus at the disaster scene now appears to be shifting toward getting the Northeast Corridor up and running again.
Throughout the morning, flatbed trucks delivered fresh rows of concrete cross-ties and steel track to the disaster site, even as the NTSB kicked its investigation into high gear.
Board member Robert Sumwalt says he expects the crumpled cars to answer many questions.
"One thing that we want to find out is the crash survivability of these cars," he said today. "Why did some people get more severely injured than others?"
As for the human error element, Sumwalt takes issue with Mayor Nutter's assessment that the engineer was reckless and irresponsible.
"I think that's a subjective, judgmental statement," Sumwalt said today. "We're here right now just to find out what happened and why, and we're not casting any judgement calls. We want to talk to this person and find out what his perspective was."