Well There‘s Your Problem
Well There‘s Your Problem

Episode 203: The Wreck of Amtrak 188

October 14, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

On May 12, 2015, Amtrak Northeast Regional train 188 entered a 50 mph curve at Frankford Junction in North Philadelphia at 102 mph. The locomotive stayed upright, but the first coach wrapped itself around a 100-year-old catenary pole. Eight people died. Forty-six were critically injured. The engineer, Brandon Bostian, survived with a severe concussion and no memory of the crash. The NTSB determined the cause was a momentary loss of situational awareness: Bostian had been distracted by radio chatter about kids throwing rocks at trains, and he mistakenly believed he had already passed the curve. But the crash was entirely preventable. The technology that would have automatically slowed the train—Amtrak's Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System (ACES)—was already installed on the track. It just wasn't turned on yet. And the reason it wasn't turned on traces back to a dispute over radio spectrum with the FCC.

The Curve and the Safety Systems That Weren't Active

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:07) **AI Rant and Podcast Warm-Up** - The hosts ramble about bad AI, Zencaster, and bomb collars before finally introducing the episode.
  • 2 (10:08) **Introductions and Setting the Scene** - The hosts introduce themselves and guest Gareth Dennis, setting up the topic of the Amtrak 188 derailment.
  • 3 (15:15) **The News: JTA Shutdown and Drexel Museum** - Two depressing news segments: an autonomous shuttle failure and a museum closure.
  • 4 (24:27) **What is Frankfurt Junction?** - Explains the history and geography of the tight curve where the crash happened.
  • 5 (32:25) **Railway Safety Systems: ATS, ATC, and PTC** - An explanation of the safety systems designed to prevent train accidents.
  • 6 (41:20) **The Chatsworth Derailment and the PTC Mandate** - How a 2008 crash led to an unfunded mandate for safety technology.
  • 7 (47:19) **The Radio Spectrum Problem** - The obscure regulatory hurdle that delayed Amtrak's safety system.

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Show Notes

get out the vote for our boy josh shapiro!

check out railnatter (and trainsatlantic):
https://www.youtube.com/@GarethDennis
https://www.youtube.com/@Trainsatlantic
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in the commercial: Local Forecast - Elevator Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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