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This lifesaving technology isn't on many passenger trains, but it should be

Amtrak Acela
Amtrak Acela

(AP) Amtrak's Acela is equipped with CEM technology.

An Amtrak train headed for New York derailed this week in Philadelphia — killing at least seven people and injuring more than 200.

The engineer, identified as Brandon Bostian, a 32-year-old New Yorker, says he does not recall what happened.

Various reports indicate that excessive speed most likely contributed to the derailment.

And according to Reuters, an advanced technology called positive train control (PTC), designed to prevent high-speed derailments and train-to-train collisions, was not in operation on the Northeast Corridor line at the time of the crash.

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Using satellites, PTC technology has the ability to send warnings to those in control of the train. If there's no response, the tech can automatically slow down or even stop trains that are moving too fast or approaching a dangerous area at too high a speed.

According to the Federal Railroad Administration, PTC technology is expected to be installed on roughly 70,000 miles of track in the US.

The US government has mandated that railroads adopt the technology by year's end. But federal officials told Reuters that Amtrak had not completed the installation of the PTC tech and that the system was not yet operational.

So what happens if PTC fails or is not available?

Your browser does not support the video tag. YouTube/CBS Evening News/Metrolink

Fortunately for train passengers, there is another technology that could diminish the force of a future crash.

It is found on a limited number of passenger lines in the US. It features train cars with "crumple zones," similar to what's found in cars, and is part of a suite of technologies known as crash-energy management (CEM).

Other forms of CEM technology include advanced couplings mechanisms, shock absorbers, and bumpers.

The crumple zones work by absorbing or redistributing a significant portion of crash energy before it reaches the passengers. Though this sort of tech is most commonly associated with automobiles, it has proved itself to be effective in trains.

Earlier this year, a CEM-equipped Metrolink train crashed into an abandoned truck near Oxnard, California. The incident caused several of the cars to violently derail, sending 30 people to the hospital. But no one died. In the aftermath, Metrolink officials told the Associated Press that the crash would have been much worse without the CEM technology.

In fact, crash research conducted by the Federal Railroad Administration shows that trains equipped with CEM crush-zone technology can "improve crash worthiness significantly."

Your browser does not support the video tag. YouTube/Volpe Center

So why isn't this lifesaving technology more commonly used?

The critical issue is money.

Incorporating CEM technology isn't as simple as installing aftermarket accessories to an existing train. Rather, such features must be integrated into the basic design.

This means operators would have to put money into new equipment — a move that anyone with millions invested in existing technology might hesitate to make.

According to the AP, Amtrak now uses CEM technology in its Acela high-speed trains, as do certain trains in service in Texas.

Based on the media reports of this week's Philadelphia derailment, however, it doesn't seem as if the train cars involved were equipped with CEM. Images of the passenger compartments suggest the derailed train was made up of Amtrak's Amfleet cars, which date to the 1970s.

Business Insider has reached out to Amtrak for confirmation and will update this post when we've received word.

Michael B. Kelley contributed to this report.

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