To say this is a classic failure to pay attention to the details is an understatement. Watch the brief video from the accident scene right after the train left the tracks. Those pictures tell the tale of things gone wrong. You might not be responsible for safety for a rail system, but if you are responsible for issuing warnings, you better nail down who does, what, when and under which conditions.
Finger-pointing post-disaster does nothing to bring dead people back to life. Make safety the No. 1 priority it deserves to be.
One last note: The new track was equipped with positive train control, but the rolling stock of cars and engines running on those new tracks were not. Therefore, the reason to purchase new equipment — after the disaster. If it had been brought up "before" this incident, likely nothing would have been done. It takes people dying to get people and organizations to be motivated to do the right thing safety-wise.
Steve Myers shared the link above.
