Train derailment near Olympia: Officials pushed ‘aggressive’ timeline before safety technology was ready

By Mike Baker, Christine Willmsen and Mike Lindblom, Staff Writers, Seattle Times; December 19, 2017

The corridor where an Amtrak train derailed Monday was years in the making. But in recent months, officials were confronting a mix of deadlines.

Washington state transportation leaders had long ago envisioned the corridor would be refurbished by 2019, according to state records, but to fully collect federal stimulus money, construction had to be completed by mid-2017. The state then vowed to open the line this fall.

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