Amtrak Crash Philadelphia Update: Train, Track, Signals Did Not Cause Deadly Derailment, NTSB Says

There were no apparent faulty components of the railroad tracks involving an Amtrak train's derailment in Philadelphia last May, according to information released Monday from an official investigation conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board. Problems with the locomotive and train signals were also ruled out as causes of the fatal incident that left eight people dead and dozens more injured, NBC Philadelphia reported.

Despite the "trove of documents" and evidence NTSB released, there was no clear infrastructure-related culprit for the catastrophe, or even a likely one, the Wall Street Journal reported. The crash was the worst U.S. train disaster in decades, the New York Times previously reported.

Amtrak train 188 was traveling at 106 mph — more than twice the speed limit — when it veered off the tracks, federal authorities said after the crash. The NTSB immediately launched an investigation into what caused the accident, and the board released several updates during the spring and summer, but it seemed to have few answers.

While lawmakers and federal officials considered a variety of explanations for the incident, little or no evidence emerged that there had been a technical problem with the train before its crash. In June, the NTSB also ruled out one of the primary ways human error could have factored into the crash when it said the train’s engineer was not using his phone at the time of the derailment, New York’s WABC-TV reported.

The engineer, Brandon Bostian, told investigators he did not remember the crash. “The next thing he recalls is being thrown around, coming to, finding his bag, getting his cellphone and dialing 911,” Bostian’s lawyer, Robert Goggin, told ABC News the day after the crash.

The evidence released Monday was expected to include raw data from the train’s black box, photos from the crash site and notes from investigators, the New York Times Magazine reported.