Report: Frankford Junction Is Curviest Stretch of Rail Between New York and Washington

Emergency personnel work the scene of a deadly train wreck, Tuesday, May 12, 2015, in Philadelphia. An Amtrak train headed to New York City derailed and crashed in Philadelphia.

Frankford Junction — where an Amtrak train derailed in May, killing eight — is the one curviest sections of rail in the Northeast Corridor, the New York Times reports today.

The Times arrives at its conclusion by splitting the corridor — which runs from Washington D.C. to Boston — into mile-long segments of track and ranking each for straightness. “Frankford Junction emerges as the most curved stretch between Washington and New York,” excluding areas near stations, the Times reports.

The curved sections don’t just create dangers for speeding trains — as the accident showed — but can also slow down train traffic, making Amtrak less efficient and less speedy in delivering passengers. Amtrak has two visions of how to solve that issue — one is just to build a new, straighter track.

The other? To realign existing curves. And yes, Frankford Junction is listed in Amtrak’s master plan for curve realignment. Not for safety reasons, though: The 2010 plan lists the junction for improvement solely as a means of speeding trains through the corridor.