What Went Wrong in the Fatal South Carolina Train Wreck?

It has been an awful two months for rail travel in America, and for Amtrak in particular. In late December, an Amtrak train derailed near Tacoma, Washington, killing three people. Last week, a train carrying Republican lawmakers struck a truck near Charlottesville, Virginia, killing the driver. Then, on Sunday, an Amtrak train struck a parked passenger train just south of Columbia, South Carolina, killing the engineer and conductor.

These incidents together killed more people aboard passenger trains than die in such crashes most years—the notable recent exception being the high-profile wreck of another Amtrak train in Philadelphia in 2015, killing eight people. The depressing frequency of crashes recently means that the public is primed with ready explanations when the next train wrecks: It’s Amtrak’s fault. It’s proof of the decline of American infrastructure. It’s another example of the dire need for Positive.