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Inslee Vows To Make Passenger Rail Service Safe

NWNews | By Austin Jenkins,
Austin Jenkins
Published December 19, 2017 at 3:45 PM PST
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee speaks at a briefing at the Incident Command Center for Monday's Amtrak derailment.
Austin Jenkins
/
Northwest News Network
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee speaks at a briefing at the Incident Command Center for Monday's Amtrak derailment.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is vowing to make passenger rail service safer. The Democrat made his comments Tuesday at the scene of Monday’s derailment of an Amtrak Cascades train in Pierce County.

“Given the nature of this tragedy, given the extent of loss, I feel we will succeed in improving rail transit coming out of this,” Inslee said.

Inslee said he’s talked to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation and been briefed by the National Transportation Safety Board. Three passengers were killed and dozens injured when the Amtrak train left the rails at high speed and crashed onto Interstate 5.

The derailment happened on the inaugural run of new, faster Amtrak service between Seattle and Portland.

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Austin Jenkins
Since January 2004, Austin Jenkins has been the Olympia-based political reporter for the Northwest News Network. In that position, Austin covers Northwest politics and public policy as well as the Washington State legislature. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) Emmy-nominated public affairs program "Inside Olympia." Prior to joining the Northwest News Network, Austin worked as a television reporter in Seattle, Portland and Boise. Austin is a graduate of Garfield High School in Seattle and Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut. Austin’s reporting has been recognized with awards from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors, Public Radio News Directors Incorporated and the Society of Professional Journalists.
See stories by Austin Jenkins
Austin Jenkins
Since January 2004, Austin Jenkins has been the Olympia-based political reporter for the Northwest News Network. In that position, Austin covers Northwest politics and public policy, as well as the Washington State Legislature. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) Emmy-nominated public affairs program "Inside Olympia."
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